ATX Paperless Plus

[Chowdahead]

Just renewed.  Thinking of making the leap to eliminate my paper files.  Paperless Plus costs $575 up front, and half that each year after.  No fee per workstation.  The salesperson said that it is integrated with ATX 2015. 

Can anyone confirm how integrated it is?  Is client's digital folder accessible from within ATX?  Can the client's documents be easily scanned right from within their return in ATX?  Or do I need to open a separate software?

Also, can the client's records (W-2s, 1099s, IDs, records, etc) be simply scanned and returned to the client?  We need to physically hold onto nothing anymore, correct? 

 

 

 

 

[Jack from Ohio]

I have not used Paperless Plus, but every program like it that I have had touch with is a waste of money and especially your time.

Just my opinion.  The technology is NOT as good as the salespeople say it is.

[Catherine]

I will respectfully disagree with Jack - with caveats.  I use the Drake document manager with Gruntworx.  I love getting the indexed pdf's back, nice and tidy.  I have learned that I still need to look at the originals (at least once) for any items hand-written on back or blank sides that I otherwise would not bother to look at in the pdf.  But it really is great to be able to keep all the originals AND give them back.  Electrons take up far less storage space than papers!  Then months later when the client calls with the CP notice or just a question, you have not only your work but the originals you worked from right there.

[SaraEA]

We use File Cabinet which is integrated with Ultra Tax.  The program automatically creates a file for the client and you can print the completed return directly to that folder.  Same with the 9325s. We then scan all the client docs and file them in the same folder by year.  We can also send copies of emails to the folder and make notes on the client's "home page."  A default folder under each client is "permanent documents," where we store mortgage notes, state registrations, POAs, 8332s, whatever.  When a client needs a copy of the tax form (what DO they do with the ones we give them?) or two years of W2s, we can send them directly from file cabinet with password protection.  Or when they call we have all their info right at our desks and don't have to go digging up files (and then refiling them, which never seemed to get done).  We have two monitors, and sometimes it's helpful to have prior years from file cabinet open on one screen, or instructions about how to enter some oddball items we stored there after we figured it out last year.

We keep almost no paper anymore. Exceptions are estates, which are almost always on fiscal years but the tax docs come in for calendar years so you draw lines dividing everything between the taxpayer's final return and the estate's first return, or the estate's first and second fiscal years.  I need those papers in front of me to make heads or tails out of.  When we first started scanning all our paper files, we had some clients with years worth of brokerage statements and hung on to those in the event they ever sell some of those investments.  It's not worth the time to scan 500 pages of documents and then search through 500 pages when you need something.

[SaraEA]

PS. We are adding ATX this coming tax season.  An accounting firm merged with ours and they want to keep their current clients on ATX, plus we will be using their payroll and information form processing.  We will have to figure out how to print these things to File Cabinet.  Maybe we'll end up scanning the client's copies and printing those to File Cabinet.  I'm not happy about the extra step, but I think ATX is much easier to use for payroll reports, W2s and 1099s than UT's Creative Solutions Accounting (which is AWFUL).

[Abby Normal]

I have manually scanned/printed and filed all documents as PDFs for about 13 years. Every 'file cabinet' software I've looked at does not let you access your PDFs without using their software. I don't like that, and I've yet to find any problem that file cabinet software can solve, or any efficiency I could gain.

[Roberts]

Agree with Abby. I scan all documents and keep them as pdf files. Just me but if you use a "file cabinet" software program, you are bound to that company and the price increases will eventually drive you nuts. My tax software allows me to put those pdf files into the return for later access - I rarely do so. I really like my tax software but  refuse to bind myself to it so that I can't easily leave if required.

I don't do scan and fill either. Don't trust them and if I'm verifying numbers, I may as well enter them myself and accept responsibility for the entries.

I also do returns with 2 computer screens. One has this years software - the second has last years running so I can immediately look back and forth. On the second screen I can quickly and easily look up last years pdf file of documents if so inclined while I keep the primary return in front of me.

[Randall]

The insidious thing about a lot of software programs today is that if you stop renewing, you can't access past versions that you already paid for, even when the software is installed on your own computer, and not in the cloud.

 

[jklcpa]

The integration is nice, but is totally unnecessary. Any good scanner's software and use of the pdf printer (ATX has this) will do the same thing.  Drake's doc manager integrates, but there is nothing there that I couldn't do on my own within my scanner's software. The filing system is a simple directory tree that is alphabetical, sets up a client file by name and year. It does integrate with the scanner and tax program, but if I wanted to, I could print the returns to a pdf on my own and specify that directory for saving the file. Likewise, I could scan individual documents using the scanner's software and specify the folder for saving. It could be on the hard drive, desktop, within my documents, or wherever I choose.

I can tell you for a fact that if it wasn't included in the Drake package and was faced with a $500+ price tag, I would not purchase that and would be doing it on my own via these other means.

Edited December 31, 2015 by jklcpa
Edit to add price consideration