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$360 for a partnership return? Are you trying to lose money? I don't know how many partners there are, but just producing the K-1 packages, calculating individual basis, loan differentials, etc. is worth more than that. KNOWING how to do those things is worth more than that. Even if their records are perfect, there's still a lot of work to do to complete the 1065. And how about the individual returns? I'd start at $800 if records are good and there are only 2 partners (all in the same state). This would not include individual returns. Accounting fees should be monthly and would depend on what kind of business it is--daily sales or occasional sales, weekly or more frequent deposits, employees or none, long or short bank statements. As others have suggested, don't trust that line about the former accountant not doing his/her job. Who could collect sales taxes and not notice they weren't turned over to the state for all that time (and not notice all the nasty letters)? Did the former accountant quit because of nonpayment? It's a real possibility, especially for someone who hasn't paid sales tax for so long. There are a lot of people who flit from accountant to accountant, moving on when their current person refuses to work for free any longer. Don't be that person. On the other hand, these potential clients might just want to get back in compliance and will be wonderful clients forevermore. Hopefully that is the case. But don't give your work and knowledge away. What would YOU be willing to pay for the services they need, knowing the amount of work that will be required?

Take a look at the books & records before you make a decision or a quote. It might not be as bad as you think, or much worse.

(My favorite icon.)

Thanks for the input. I totally agree regarding the sales tax. I always collect the accounting fees upfront when collecting the work from the client. Getting through the initial start-up should be fun. Just had to add my favorite icon. lol

The old ATX company used to have great support. I would need to call them 1-2 times per year for functionality issues. Normally, it was just not knowing how the software handles an issue. Two years ago, I stopped calling tech support. It got so bad that you had to sit on hold for more than 1 hour to get someone to answer the call, then they did not know anything about the software. They were KB readers and I had already read the KB looking for my issue. There were also issues with the integration of the bank products, and then there were issues all over the place last year with the simple task of loading the software. There are a few people at ATX that know what is going on, but they don't answer the phone. You have to find a way to "get" to them. It is too much brain damage for me. I get my support here. Tom Hollister, CA

I know that I can count on one hand the times that I have called tech support for anything. My support is "here" or I figure it out for myself. I called William Tasker once, years ago, and he was awesome. Since then, the only times I have called were for the issues I had with Beta testing 2013 and I got way more help from Jack than I did from ATX.

It seems to me that in every discussion we have about software, the time it takes to "get through" to Tech Support is a major consideration. I don't understand why this is at the top of the list. I didn't call Tech Support one time this past season. I don't think I even called ATX during the season from hell. I read the ATX forum daily, and this one, and it was helpful. I did call another software provider, when I tried them out briefly during the season from hell, and I remember getting through quickly, but my question had to do with removing a form from a return, and the solution the technician offered would have removed the form globally. As in, "Kiss Sch C-EZ goodbye forever, who needs it?" When I told her that her solution would result in removing a form globally, I was on hold a good while, I suppose while she consulted someone with more experience, or looked up "globally". I don't know. Is it the norm for you all to call Tech Support for your software? If so, why are you calling them? I'm not being facetious. I just really cannot get my head around why this is so important to some of you and not important to me at all.

Many times a fellow like this owes his CPA and does not want to meet and pay up? That would be the first thing I would check out before doing anything for this possible client. If that is the case you don't want this client!

If the client is too much of a wimp to call the former accountant, tell him to send them an email.

Tell your soon to be client to put on his big boy pants and contact his soon to be former CPA and end it himself. He shouldn't be dumping this on you.

Be sure to get all the notices and letters he has received from the State of Ohio concerning Sales Tax. He has received several, if he is 15 months behind. Do lots of research BEFORE you say yes. Too many gaps in the story for me...

Here's a pretty good starting point - IRS chart: http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Comparison-of-Form-8938-and-FBAR-Requirements I have one client who has an active foreign account which always stays below the FBAR limit, but he tells me he has always filed the form anyhow. The risk is so high and there is no downside to filing, so he takes the safest path.

Don't always believe that, you'll soon figure the truth yourself.

I have a small clientele with complex returns. No two are alike. Getting new situations each year is fun and challenging. Researching the tax law is great, and I might hit one of these boards for clues. But, there comes a time when I understand how the return needs to flow but have never done that in my software. Usually in March or April when I don't have time to duplicate the return and try a couple of possibilities. Probably once or twice a year I end up calling support to find out how to do something new in my software, or in which order to do several things so it flows correctly and does not duplicate something already picked up from the K-1, for instance, or even to find out why something IS duplicating. A year or two ago I was sleep-deprived and preparing a partnership with a SEP, a partnership with a SIMPLE, an S-corp with s SEP and an S-corp with a SIMPLE, two also had HSAs, one had employees, both shareholders and non-shareholders, that contributed to SIMPLEs. (When I'm king of the world, I'm going to make partnership and s-corp returns more alike.) One of the returns was duplicating the SIMPLE or the HSA as the numbers were identical. Tech support came into my computer and fixed it in moments. I took notes and have them in those four folders. But, the time I saved late that night paid for itself. As a sole proprietor when I went out on my own, tech support was at or near the top of my list as I shopped for tax prep software. I called one support line re downloading Flash to run their demo. The techie fixed the issue (Norton) but asked what I was up to and offered to walk me through using their software. I chose trusts, as I was new to trusts but getting some, and he walked me through all the menus in a trust return, spending hours on the phone with me. When the salesman called, I was ready to buy and have never regretted my decision. I don't call but once or twice per year, but the time saved is huge. When tech support saves me enough time to prepare a couple more returns instead of struggling on one with a problem, it saves me enough money to afford my pricier software.

The EIC should NOT be part of a tax return. The EIC should have been a function of welfare agencies.