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I attended the NYC accounting technology show in NYC on Wed 5/1. CCH SFS (ATX) had a large and well staffed booth. They also had a breakout room where they took people for private conversations. I went to their breakout room and spoke with several key product leaders as well as the new CEO Jason Marx in long conversations about 2012 and the future, probably two hours in all. We talked about the disaster of 2012 and what their plans are going forward. I will let them handle the communication of their plans, but I left with no doubt that they intend to fix ATX for 2013 and remain a player in this market. I made it clear that in order for me to be retained as a client going forward, I will need more than a "trust me, we will get it right in 2013 and 2012 will not repeated." The execution and communication is up to them, but while I am in the process of evaluating other software, I will also remain open to staying with ATX provided they can earn my trust back. I left feeling that they genuinely understand that trust and confidence has been lost and that they know that have a hard road in front of them. The highlight for me was meeting @michaelmars at the conference. We have known each other for many years via this community and private correspondence, but to meet in person was really awesome! I am not trying to convince anyone, just simply sharing my experience from spending time with them at the show.

WITAXLADY, Jainen is giving you some very excellent advice. You are trying to be sympathetic to your clients, but they need to hear that what they did is theft. They need to understand that the IRS does not give a crap about their lives, lifestyle or desires. They want the money that your clients stole from the government and the employees. What you are telling the IRS is that they will not be able to collect the money. What the IRS sees is they are able to save money to buy new machinery. That doesn't add up. You are trying to say that they need to stay in business to keep ten people employed. The IRS sees a theif with ten potential victims on their payroll. Somehow, you need to get past the idea that this is a program that with just the right verbage in the narrative and the right combination of made up numbers on the 433 that the IRS will just automatically approve the offer. It ain't like that. That is not how the program works. If there is future potential earnings that they can take at will (via levies and seizures) over time to get more than you are offering, that is the best course for the government. Your job is to convince the government that they will get more now than they will get over time. How you do that, given the information that you provided here, is going to be a real challenge. It doesn't help that there are commercials on all night long that say "you can erase your tax debt by calling this 800 number.". We all know that ain't so either. Don't take anything you are hearing as a personal attack on your abilities and competence. It is not. Jainen and the others are pointing out the issues with your offer. And there are issues. They need to be resolved. Just my 2 cents. Tom Hollister, CA

There are all sorts of posts about these things and the AICPA has issued some sample letters as have some of the malpractice insurance companies. You should contact your insurer for guidance if you have not. My letter simply states that I have prepared the tax returns for xx number of years for the client and I will be happy to supply the client with another copy to give to them. I get all kinds of flac from the banks about this but tell them that is all I can do and they need to do their own diligence. The most funny one I have had is a bank called me to ask if one of our mutual clients was still in business. I said, "do you have gas in your car". The response was "yes, why?" I said, "then get off your rear-end and get in your car and drive the five miles to his place of business and see if he is open." She (the banker) doesn't call me anymore.

I will be holding our rep's feet to the flame!! We will see if all the talk about "Wanting to keep our customers" and other drivel is fact or not. Fool me once, shame on you; Fool me twice, shame on me; Fool me 12.15 times, I am a blithering, mindless moron!!

To expand upon what KC said: President Eisenhower (who ordered federal troops to enforce desegregation laws) was a strong supporter of civil rights and pushed VERY hard for enactment of federal civil rights legislation. His efforts were for naught, as the Senate Majority Leader, the then-senior Senator from Texas, refused to allow the bills passed by the House to come to the floor of the Senate for a vote. A number of years later, when some political winds shifted and it was PERSONALLY profitable politically for that former Senator to support the legislation, he changed his tune. The same man who stymied passage of civil rights laws in the mid-50's is, to this day, lauded for signing those same laws a decade later. Who? Lyndon Baines Johnson. Racist and political opportunist. Democrat, from a long line of Democrat racists -- they are the party that started and populated the KKK. They are the party that instituted the very FIRST gun-control laws -- designed to prevent the newly-freed blacks from arming themselves for their own defense against the KKK. After all, you don't want your victims able to fight back. Don't bother with ad hominem attacks -- you just point out your own ignorance and I pay no attention. Look it up yourself; the facts are historically correct.

Why should we have background checks when criminals already have guns?

Long ago when I first got into this field, I would take any business I could get. I gained a client who was a chronic payroll tax delinquent when he came to me. So we were meeting with an IRS collections agent who was being pretty hard-nosed. I'd call his demenanor fair but firm. My client blurted out something to the effect that what IRS was about to do would put him out of business. The collections agent looked him right in the eye, and without the slightest emotion or judgementalism calmly replied "Mr____, if you're going to spend your employees' withholding taxes, we INTEND to put you out of business." Not long thereafter he came up with the money and stayed current for many years.

Just to be clear, I'm not implying that I think they will shut down ATX or not. I was just brainstorming the scenario because marketing & sales is important to me in my other role. Most businesses contemplating major moves go to great pains to pretend that nothing has changed until the last possible moment. They keep insisting that "nothing has changed", "we're staying the course", "your interests are paramount", and so on. Then they lower the boom, hopefully at a time that has enabled them to keep loyal customers on the hook past the point that bolting to the competition is just too painful. I've seen it numerous times in the medical equipment field - happens all the time. It may seem insensitive and uncaring, but the objective in business is to make money, not friends.

OK... time to end this discussion as no one is going to change anyone else's mind. Our country is split on most issues and things are apparently going to stay that way for a long time!

Well it appears that most criminals are smarter than some liberals! They know how to get guns without any background checking.

I get 10-15 rolls at a time once a year (usually just before the rate goes up), so the delivery charge is inconsequential. Agree with all you say!

Should we also require background checks for anyone selling ANY deadly weapon? Knives of every variety, box cutters, baseball bats, crowbars, lug wrenches, pipe and the list goes on... "Sorry ma'am, I cannot sell you that kitchen carving knife without fingerprints and a background check." "Sorry son, all little league games have been cancelled because there was no background check done on the people that purchased the bats." REALITY AGAIN!! A gun is only a deadly weapon when in the hands of a criminal with deadly intent. I took one of my pistols and placed it on a chair in my bedroom. Two weeks later and not a single shot had been fired. If the gun is the deadly weapon, I would have been dead a long time ago.

Called OPR this morning. Suprise suprise, I got an answering machine that said leave a message and we will call you back. Doesn't anyone with a government job work anymore. Tax returns still stuck from Jan e-files, applications submitted on the first day of the renewal period not processed. The IRS is just frikkin' lazy. Tom Hollister, CA

Dream on!! It will NOT become law and even if it did it will be ignored.

I use first class mail to send return packages under the "magic" 13 oz limit. Above that weight, they want you to bring the packages to the post office. No such restriction on Priority Mail! My time is worth far more than the extra $1.50 to send Priority, plus I get the delivery confirmation. Plus the discount for buying online, and my carrier picks everything up. As for stamps -- yes they will send rolls for $1.00 fee through USPS dot com -- but there is still the free-delivery "stamps by mail" available. Ask your carrier for the envelope. You can order rolls and booklets, forever, postcard, and make-up (1-cent, etc) stamps that way. Stamps dot com is too pricey to be worth it for me. However, I have Endicia stamps through my Dymo label printer -- as long as you buy the postage rolls from them, it's a free monthly service. They are coming up with some changes in the next few months, though, so we'll see if I continue. It's not quite as all-encompassing as stamps dot com; you can get many variations on postage but it doesn't do Media Mail or packages (whereupon I go to usps dot com at least to get rates).

Another reality check question.... WHO will run and oversee such a program? Who will enforce such a law? Who will enforce the protection of personal information when these background checks are done? How will such a law be enforced? Best last question... How will you get the criminals to line up for the background checks when they obtain the guns they have illegally? La La land is the source of the idea that these kind of laws will ever make a small dent in criminals obtaining and using guns.

Go find some frickin bananas! They will improve your mood!!

Yep- This is pretty much my take as well after researching and hearing opinions on this board. Holding RE that has a mortgage on it should definitely be done outside of an IRA. And I agree, no upside for the accountant. Julie

Come help me with extensions!

When you speak to an account manager, one of the main questions they ask is if you are standalone; what system you are using and/or if you are networked. I didn't get the impression that they were ready for networked users YET.

>>no need for a loan at this time<< Sorry about "jobs in a small community," but that's not really a factor here. Anyway, I'd guess they would not be pleased to learn the company stole their Social Security contributions and is now asking the government for a half million handout. For changes, start by hiring a new bookkeeper, one that is competent or at least honest. Restructuring rates is essential. Presumably the contract company doesn't want to lose a reliable carrier, so maybe its CPA can help them come up with something. Even a truck or a loan--that's the kind of thing the IRS is looking for in an OIC. Another approach would be to ask the ten employees for help, perhaps with some equity sharing. Real changes, not we-can't or we-already-did or we-don't-need or there-is-no-purpose. As for the attorney, I would guess he realized that these clients need a payment arrangement but were not willing to pay for the bankruptcy version. Attorneys sometimes avoid OIC because, as you see, it is an enormous amount of work with little chance of success. Especially since the clients continue to be unreasonable.

Very good question. I have asked many times this question: "What law can be passed to make criminals give up their guns?"

>>$2500/month but the last 3 months they only had $500 a month extra to put aside - so they are not making much money anymore<< You are confusing cash flow with profit. In raising these questions, I don't imply that there are no good answers. Just that you need to develop good answers. The key is what Max said about "collection potential." IRS can simply take everything you have. So it's no good only offering what they can get anyway. You have to come up with assets that are otherwise beyond their reach, such as a 3rd party loan. If you can't do that, you have to convince them to exclude certain assets, such as those which produce income--but in that case you have to at least give the IRS the income! There is room to negotiate, but only in good faith. Saying you'd rather buy a new truck than pay your taxes just doesn't cut it. Have you talked with the clients about a payment plan? Great solution, easy to start and maintain. IRS will suspend enforcement for years. Even if you get an OIC or payment plan, it won't succeed with the old business model. You need genuine, specific changes in accounting procedures. If you keep talking about paying all cash, IRS will never take you seriously.

That is funny. Tom Hollister, CA

I suggest you read the most recent blog from Niger Innis, National Spokesman for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). "The purposeful restriction of knowledge has been at the heart of untold misery and hardship in this world. Serfs were kept illiterate so as to not jeopardize the feudal system. Slaves were kept in the dark on a variety of subjects so as to not provide them the possibility of escape. Today, knowledge remains elusive to so many because the media does not allow for facts that run contrary to the narratives they favor. Nowhere is this more evident than in the narratives concerning gun control. Though our supposed betters in the media see no reason to share this with the American public, gun control, a sanitized term for the systemic restriction of rights, has its earliest origins in racism. The concept is simple enough: enable the selected group to remain armed while working to disarm the unselected group. In America, this has been mainly black, Hispanic and immigrant populations." here's a link to the whole thing http://www.theblaze.com/contributions/the-long-racist-history-of-gun-control-in-america/ A black man speaks out on gun control. Project 21 member Niger Innis, whose family has suffered greatly from gun-related violence, decried liberal attempts to further regulate the ability of law-abiding Americans to own and use firearms. At the 2/22/13 “Black Leaders Speak Out on Gun Control” press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Niger said: “The Second Amendment is not about guns. It’s about freedom. It’s about liberty. And it’s about full humanity of decent people.”

... LMAO, Think so Gail!

For an $800 refund amount I'd tell the client to deposit the check and pay the $800 with the 1040x. The small amount of interest they will pay will be a pittance compared to the hassles they will have if IRS mis-handles the void check. If the client balked at that I'd tell them to give me the interest bill and I'd pay it. In the long run that will be cheaper than the potential wasted time. Here's how to find the address: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Where-to-File-Tax-Returns---Addresses-Listed-by-Return-Type

Proof that idiot libs can't read sarcasm. Nuff said. Tom Hollister, CA

Our office is in between two houses. We have had both FedEx and UPS drop packages off at the houses on either side of us, and the delivery receipt for the sender shows that it has been delivered because they scanned it when they threw it out the door of the truck. One FedEx overnight delivery of a client's tax information was placed on the basement steps of our neighbor, and sat there for a week until the client called to see how we were getting along and we started hunting for where the package had been delivered. The USPS is not perfect, but for what they charge, I think they usually do an excellent job. They could probably be more efficient if they were allowed to develop their own business model instead of being constrained by Congress to operate a certain way.

Well spoken! You and I are most likely on the same spot in the conservative group. Personal responsibility is one of the biggest hinge pins of my beliefs.

You are the one who brought skin color into the discussion. You associated predudice against EIC recipients as racism, fanned by Republican states and right wing talk shows. Well, I am a Republican and I am further right than most of my neighbors in this beautiful screwed up state. What I am not is racist. I have eaten tortillas off the back of a truck tailgate in the strawberry fields of Watsonville with some of the hardest working, kindest, brown skinned, beautiful people in the world. Most of them illegal. And I think they should have to go back because they broke the law. I see all races come into my office and go through the same EITC checklist for all of them. I try to treat every person based on the creed of Martin Luther King Jr. "to see not the color of their skin, but the content of their character". I don't believe poverty or social status gives anyone the "right" to break the law. And I don't think the law should see color in anthing they do. What ticks me off is the liberals who need to push color in my face at every opportunity. I remember one year being very excited to see a Monday Night Football game. The high powered offense of the Minnesota Vikings in the Randy Moss era were playing the ferrocious defense of the Tampa Bay Buccanneers led by Warren Sapp. On paper, this should have been the game of the year. What did I get when I turned it on....Al Michaels going on and on about how it was a historic night because it was the first time in NFL history that 2 black coaches and two black starting quarterbacks were in the game. What the hell.....two great teams, regardless of color, with two great coaches (Tony Dungy and I forget the other guys name, but he made history with his post game speech in Arizona) were playing that night. Did liberal Al talk about defense, offense, coaching strategy? NO. It was all about the history of the night. It got so bad that I turned it off. So don't put your liberal crap out there that Republicans and right wingers like me are racist. I am American. Nothing more, nothing less. And I don't need some liberal know it all to tell me that my political affiliations and views make me racist. That is BS, and you should apologize for your remarks. (I doubt you will, because you liberals only see offense when it is you pointing it out, you never see your own racist tendencies). Tom Hollister, CA

You know taxed, I have been reading your liberal drivel for a couple weeks now, and it really irks me. I live in CA, the most liberal state in the nation. And I am really offended by the notion you liberals put out there that somehow because I think it is a constitutional right to bear arms, because I believe in hard work and a hand up, not a hand out, and because I am affiliated with the republican party, that I am some kind of racist. That is bull........ You don't know me. I take offense at the broad brush you paint me with. Tom Hollister, CA