Eric Posted October 24, 2008 Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 October 24, 2008 CCH Small Firm Services Acquires IntelliTax Addition Expands Unit’s Ability to Serve Small Tax and Accounting Professionals Kennesaw, GA. (October 24, 2008) – CCH Small Firm Services (SFS), part of Wolters Kluwer Tax and Accounting, today announced that it has acquired the tax preparation software company IntelliTax®, formerly known as Orrtax Software Solutions. SFS provides the ATX™ and TaxWise® lines of tax compliance and accounting software to 45,000 small professional firms in the United States and Puerto Rico. IntelliTax offers tax compliance software to 4,000 similar firms, who will now be offered the TaxWise program for the 2009 tax season. The acquisition further expands the ability of SFS to serve as a partner to small firm professionals, delivering tax preparation software and services to increase their productivity, efficiency and accuracy. "The acquisition is great news for small tax firms that specialize in individual and business tax services for their clients,” said Jeff Gramlich, SFS President. “SFS already focuses on the type of high-volume electronic filing that is so important to many IntelliTax users. In addition, TaxWise will offer them an even wider range of tax forms and features than they have now.” “TaxWise is a proven software product,” said Matt Scheuing, President of IntelliTax. “We’re pleased that our customers will benefit from the additional features and services that TaxWise will offer them.” SFS processed and electronically filed more than 15 million tax returns this year to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and state revenue agencies. And for the past 11 years, TaxWise has been the exclusive provider of personal tax software to more than 10,000 IRS-sponsored Volunteers in Tax Assistance (VITA) sites and IRS walk-in offices. The terms of the agreement were not released. About CCH Small Firm Services CCH Small Firm Services (SFS) is a provider of tax and accounting software solutions, research products and training to 45,000 small professional firms throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. SFS offers both the ATX™ and TaxWise® product lines, including recently launched accounting and practice management products, for a growing customer base of small firms. For more information visit www.cchsfs.com. CCH Small Firm Services is part of Wolters Kluwer Tax and Accounting. About Wolters Kluwer Wolters Kluwer is a leading global information services and publishing company. The company provides products and services globally for professionals in the health, tax, accounting, corporate, financial services, legal, and regulatory sectors. Wolters Kluwer has annual revenues (2007) of €3.4 billion, maintains operations in over 33 countries across Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific and employs approximately 19,500 people worldwide. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Its shares are quoted on the Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. Visit www.wolterskluwer.com for information about our market positions, customers, brands, and organization. Forward-looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by words such as “expect,” “should,” “could,” “shall,” and similar expressions. Wolters Kluwer cautions that such forward-looking statements are qualified by certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from what is contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Factors which could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, general economic conditions; conditions in the markets in which Wolters Kluwer is engaged; behavior of customers, suppliers, and competitors; technological developments; the implementation and execution of new ICT systems or outsourcing; and legal, tax, and regulatory rules affecting Wolters Kluwer’s businesses, as well as risks related to mergers, acquisitions, and divestments. In addition, financial risks such as currency movements, interest rate fluctuations, liquidity, and credit risks could influence future results. The foregoing list of factors should not be construed as exhaustive. Wolters Kluwer disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. http://www.wolterskluwer.com/WK/Press/Corp.../pr_24Oct08.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJM Posted October 24, 2008 Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 A bit scary..... the part about "who will now be offered the TaxWise program for the 2009 tax season". Does this mean TaxWise was shut down? If not, sure seems like it will be. The fact that the users were not offered ATX means, I guess, that we ARE on a very short leash. Hope we still have ATX thru this tax season. JohnH seems much smarter to me now! I was too cheap to wait and see, instead taking the discount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don in Upstate NY Posted October 24, 2008 Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 Look at me smile! I bought IntelliTax/OrrTax for $299 for next year (thru TRX) and now presumably will get TaxWise! http://www.taxwise.com/index_intellitax.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tax Prep by Deb Posted October 24, 2008 Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 Look at me smile! I bought IntelliTax/OrrTax for $299 for next year (thru TRX) and now presumably will get TaxWise! http://www.taxwise.com/index_intellitax.html Are you genuinely happy or is your smile your attempt to keep a positive attitude? I felt that IntelliTax price was too good to be true, watched the board for some of the reviews and was almost ready to move myself, but do to circumstances decided to stay one more year with ATX renewed to get my discount and lock in my price and now I'm glad I did. TaxWise might be an OK program but I really did not want the added stress of having to learn a new program. As it turned out my world was turned upside down last month with my dad passing away unexpectedly and besides being my dad, best friend, he was also my greatest guy Friday. He literally ran my office for me during tax season. So I really do not want to have to learn anything new this year. I'm hoping for an extremely easy year! Haha Haha! Deb! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRS Posted October 24, 2008 Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 "Hope we still have ATX thru this tax season." Looks like another uncertain tax season ahead. With the economy, new tax laws and everything else that is and will probably continue through the season, we don't need the "stress" of wondering about ATX's future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David1980 Posted October 24, 2008 Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 Does this mean TaxWise was shut down? If not, sure seems like it will be. If you mean IntelliTax, yes. Basically UTS bought IntelliTax's customers - the software development ceased and nothing will be released in 2008 so none of the employees are needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcjenkins Posted October 25, 2008 Report Share Posted October 25, 2008 TaxWise was not shut down, Intellitax was shut down. And the users will be encouraged to go to either TaxWise or ATX, depending on which of those programs suits their needs better. Some will no doubt come over to ATX, some to TaxWise. But I doubt that many will like the TaxWise format as much as they liked ATX. Just my guess, based on my own reaction to it. TaxWise has fantastic user numbers only because the IRS uses part of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David1980 Posted October 25, 2008 Report Share Posted October 25, 2008 TaxWise was not shut down, Intellitax was shut down. And the users will be encouraged to go to either TaxWise or ATX, depending on which of those programs suits their needs better. Some will no doubt come over to ATX, some to TaxWise. But I doubt that many will like the TaxWise format as much as they liked ATX. Just my guess, based on my own reaction to it. TaxWise has fantastic user numbers only because the IRS uses part of it. They're definitely getting pushed to TaxWise. ATX has only been mentioned in customer communications in a "Hey this company also owns ATX". Here's an excerpt of an email I received today as a customer. As a side note, it's interesting to note Drake also sent out an email today, probably went to all prospects, including information about CCH buying IntelliTax and of course suggesting they go with Drake for 2008. Excerpt from IntelliTax email: Dear Tax Professional, We are pleased to announce that CCH Small Firm Services (SFS) has purchased IntelliTax in a transaction that will significantly strengthen your ability to provide quality tax and accounting services to your clients. We want to tell you about our plans to ensure a seamless transition as you start preparing for the 2009 tax season. SFS already publishes TaxWise® and ATX™, two quality tax software products with which you may be familiar. They are used by nearly 45,000 tax professionals like you. For the past 23 years, TaxWise has been a leading software program for tax firms which specialize in a high volume of e‑filed returns, particularly for tax businesses with multiple offices. And TaxWise has also been a leader among independent tax professionals who offer bank products to their clients. For the coming tax season, you will receive TaxWise software instead of IntelliTax at no additional cost. There are many benefits for you, including: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don in Upstate NY Posted October 25, 2008 Report Share Posted October 25, 2008 Are you genuinely happy or is your smile your attempt to keep a positive attitude? I felt that IntelliTax price was too good to be true, watched the board for some of the reviews and was almost ready to move myself, but do to circumstances decided to stay one more year with ATX renewed to get my discount and lock in my price and now I'm glad I did. TaxWise might be an OK program but I really did not want the added stress of having to learn a new program. It was a real smile. While IntelliTax worked OK for me last season, I never had a warm fuzzy feeling with it. There had been a number of bugs that I found when I loaded my 2006 returns into it as a learning experience, but they had either been fixed or had a known work-around for 2007. It is tightly integrated into the operating system, and uses the Microsoft SQL service as its engine. The SQL engine and the automatic update feature run all the time, not just when the tax program is running. So it is somewhat of a resource hog. But it was quite a deal for the price. I'm also an instructor for the AARP TaxAide TCE program, which uses TaxWise. So I'm familiar with the program, and have never had any concerns about its accuracy. And this season it looks like I'll only be using one program! So :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyDaleOne Posted October 25, 2008 Report Share Posted October 25, 2008 Did I see an advertisement that said ATX had 35,000 users? If so, Taxwise has only 10,000 users. That may apply only to the tax professional segment, such as us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chief Posted October 25, 2008 Report Share Posted October 25, 2008 Look at me smile! I bought IntelliTax/OrrTax for $299 for next year (thru TRX) and now presumably will get TaxWise! http://www.taxwise.com/index_intellitax.html Don, are you making assumptions? I hope they are true but we need to hear from Doug Hughes as to what TRX is going to do. I just changed and paid for ORR. I would be pleased to get TaxWise as it was the first software I used. I didnt like their sales staff who were like used car salesmen. The sky was the limit in the price of their software and I wasnt ready to play those kind of games. TRX Alliance is an excellent idea for small preparers and I still hope I made the right decision to switch when I did. I had always wanted to go with a forms based software but it looks I am doomed to remain with a menu driven program. Ipredict that all these ATX clients will be forced to TaxWise. Nothing remains the same; we all must learn to cope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRXRep Posted October 25, 2008 Report Share Posted October 25, 2008 Don, are you making assumptions? I hope they are true but we need to hear from Doug Hughes as to what TRX is going to do. I just changed and paid for ORR. I would be pleased to get TaxWise as it was the first software I used. I didnt like their sales staff who were like used car salesmen. The sky was the limit in the price of their software and I wasnt ready to play those kind of games. TRX Alliance is an excellent idea for small preparers and I still hope I made the right decision to switch when I did. I had always wanted to go with a forms based software but it looks I am doomed to remain with a menu driven program. Ipredict that all these ATX clients will be forced to TaxWise. Nothing remains the same; we all must learn to cope. As you may have read over the Internet and on the web sites of Tax Wise and Intellitax that CCH/Tax Wise has purchased Intellitax. Intellitax who is the software provider for the $299 package was bought out by CCH/Tax Wise who now will in turn produce a product for TRX's $299 package. The product will have the same features as Intellitax provided. TRX working with Tax Wise will have a online training package to get all of the Intellitax users comfortable with Tax Wise before the filing season begins. This aqusition will greatly benifit all of the companies involved. TRX is in the prcoess of moving to a new facility so TRX will not be open on Monday October 27th but will reopen on Tuesday October 28th. Thank you, Dustin Hughes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcb39 Posted October 25, 2008 Report Share Posted October 25, 2008 Are you genuinely happy or is your smile your attempt to keep a positive attitude? I felt that IntelliTax price was too good to be true, watched the board for some of the reviews and was almost ready to move myself, but do to circumstances decided to stay one more year with ATX renewed to get my discount and lock in my price and now I'm glad I did. TaxWise might be an OK program but I really did not want the added stress of having to learn a new program. As it turned out my world was turned upside down last month with my dad passing away unexpectedly and besides being my dad, best friend, he was also my greatest guy Friday. He literally ran my office for me during tax season. So I really do not want to have to learn anything new this year. I'm hoping for an extremely easy year! Haha Haha! Deb! Deb...so sorry to hear about your Dad. Some of us can relate very well and understand. Tax Progams aside; keep your chin up.....one day at a time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tax Prep by Deb Posted October 26, 2008 Report Share Posted October 26, 2008 Deb...so sorry to hear about your Dad. Some of us can relate very well and understand. Tax Progams aside; keep your chin up.....one day at a time. Thanks for your thoughts! I literally have to take it a day at a time. My dad and mom had been married for 50 years, so as you can imagine she is having a rough time, so I'm not able to work as much as I should, but right now her emotional support is the most important thing I can do. My hopes is that this tax season I can involve her as much as possible. We share a home together so hopefully I can keep her busy in my office. My dad and I had built up about 200 clients, and although I was able to handle everything on my own last year, due to the fact he was in the hospital and recovering for most of the tax season, it's very difficult to give the kind of quality care that I have built my business on. I would consider dropping some clients, however now I am the sole provider with the exception of the small social security she receives. So only time will tell. Deb! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcjenkins Posted October 27, 2008 Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 Deb, I'm guessing that the best thing you can do to help her is to let her know that you NEED her help. It may give her a feeling that she has to push herself to be there FOR YOU, and that focus will help her to look forward. Being needed is always important, and after her focusing so much on caring for him, she needs a new focus. So don't hesitate to put her to work, you will be helping her as she helps you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAXBILLY Posted October 27, 2008 Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 My mom came to work for me in 1983 after my dad died and was of great help. I had to put her in a nursing home this May (she has dementia and doesn't recognize me) and I miss her smiling face and the help she gave me. She couldn't wait for the season to get started each year because she loved to talk with my clients and they loved talking to her. This season will be different for sure so enjoy your mom while you can. taxbilly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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