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Thanks for the laugh, I needed it

I think you're completely off the hook as far as responsibility goes with this in the file. He is "almost finished" on 4/29/14. Well, he was almost finished! Of course he went to someone else. Or did it himself. Put it back in his lap. It's not your fault. What is wrong with people? Yes, Abad, you are "a bad" client... It needed to be said.

Oh I do not wonder AT ALL, Jack. Nor do you wonder why I delay upgrading until the bitter end (I upgraded to W7 less than a month before support for XP was to end).

Even if they repealed the 16th amendment tomorrow we would have work guaranteed for 10 years, as they work on collecting under the ten-year statute. And I would far rather help my clients figure out how to make more money in their businesses than help them plan for the annual tax hit! Every time someone asks me about a flat tax I say, "It's great - until you have to define income and expenses for businesses. And in three years the legis-vermin in DC would be paid off to put in enough special provisions that we would be right back with the self-contradictory mess we have now." That makes them think.

But many less computer-knowledgeable people on here choose to blunder ahead... Lately, I have been earning some decent money "restoring" WIN10 to WIN7. I only smile and nod when the person complains about how much has been lost in the transitions. They still write me the check. Those that I have counseled not to upgrade pay more for the retrograde. Sometimes I get paid for what I know, not what I do. Everyone would be wise to heed the advice about NOT UPGRADING or buying a machine with WIN10 on it. A word to the wise is sufficient.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU...................................

Well, I am going to say that no you're not. You decide who's right It looks like you are the one who initiates all of the conversations. What happens if you just don't ever email or call this guy again? I think he'll either float away or you can pretend you don't know who he is j/k. You would certainly be able to tell him that you don't want to work with him anymore because you can't get a response.

And it is all your fault, you know that. (/s) I would advise him to file anyway and hope for a miracle. It also sounds to me like that person was required to file, and filing and owing/not owing are two separate things. I would file.

And people wonder why I recommend NOT UPGRADING....

"Why is Microsoft pushing it so hard and giving it away? " Diabetic test meters are fairly cheap. The test strips they use are not. Maybe Microsoft has something up their sleeve that is going to cost us after we get hooked. Windows 10 updates are now mandatory. I wonder if they are pushing us toward the cloud and once we get there, they have got us and it will be expensive. Just wondering.

I have 7, husband has 8, I HATE 8. Will NOT TRY 10. Why is Microsoft pushing it so hard and giving it away? Hum you get what you pay for maybe

Thanks Elrod! Happy 2016 everyone!

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.

Happy New Year to all!

My advice is to print out ALL those emails (from and to) as pdf's (or as paper, or both) and put them in the client's file. Should this loser ever decide to sue YOU for being the "cause" of losing the refund, it will serve as an important part of your protection. CYA, always, especially since it's the losers we chase - to help them - that turn around to blame us for their failures.

Did you have an engagement letter or some document describing this engagement? I always use them even for the most basic engagement to, well, c my a. It also lays out expectations including the responsibility of the client to respond timely. As BHoffman noted, you seem to be the initiator of all correspondence even when no reply has been received from a prior contact. It is very difficult to care more than the client, isn't it? Yet we often have that nagging feeling that somehow we will be blamed. You might want to check with your insurer for advice. I've had to do it twice in 20 years and received good advice and a measure of comfort. Yes, it might be time to fire this client but be sure to document pretty thoroughly the sequence of events, your advice and a list of tasks yet to be done for which you will no longer be responsible. Send certified, return receipt. And don't look back. If you haven't been paid, think about how much cheaper emotionally it is to be relieved of this situation. A year from now, maybe sooner, you will be so glad.

Did you explain to him and warn him about the possibility of losing the refund or carryover as a result of missing the deadline? I would have dropped this person as a client a looooong time ago.

He loses any refund that was due. Period. Procrastination just cost him.

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.

I work in Rocky Mount, VA and live in Wirtz. Both are in Franklin County - formerly known as the Moonshine Capital of the World and setting for the movie Lawless. And i would not count on the government putting us out of business. There are too many special interests involved. Even if someone manages to pass a tax program that is simple, straightforward and comprehensible, after a short vacation enough exceptions and loopholes will be passed to complicate it again and we will be back in business. At least that is my cynical expectation.

So, this is it in a nutshell for me. I have moved on from the malignancy diagnosis for myself and we are handling the one for my husband. We feel that we are very fortunate and neither of us really wants to do anything else. We had our adventures when we were younger and are both involved in our own businesses. I started cutting back on business clients several years ago. Actually, one of my business clients who is semi-retired got notice yesterday that he has been randomly picked for a full blown audit in two weeks. I offered to have it held in my office but don't know why the decide to do these at this time of year. When I think I am starting to wear down, something like this happens and fires my ambition and confidence in my ability to handle it. Yes, each of us is different and my parents and grandparents also lived into their 90's with no signs of dementia. This could all change in the blink of an eye but I am not going to sit around waiting for another diagnosis of Cancer.

68. But my grandmother lived to 103, so I hope I have a lot of years left.

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.

I deal primarily with self employed folks. A few years ago I analyzed and surveyed all of them to determine if and when they would retire. The bottom line? Almost none of them planned to retire. Almost to a person, they were well planned financially for retirement and they said they may not continue doing what they are currently doing, but they will never retire. It's the nature of the entrepreneur. The point, they will be doing something constructive their whole life through. These are not the mall sitters unless a health issue has come into play. Even then, I doubt that I would see them sitting in the mall. That said, I will exit this profession soon, at least from a full time position. But I have years and years of things to do. It will be a long while before I am bored. A very Blessed and Happy New Year to each of you and yours!

Every year, for the past 5 or so years....I kept saying "This is the end. I've had enough" for various reasons (TRX catastrophe, IRS getting tough about foreign accts, tax preparer requirements etc)...but I hung in there. I dropped PITAs each year, to lighten the load. Again...this past Oct I "wasn't sure" because of ACA and tax preparer requirements......... I had a "suspicious" mammogram....and decided IF there was a malignancy I'd "retire" (I can handle cancer stress; I can handle tax stress; but knew I couldn't handle clients with problems when I have medical issues). I had a very quick sale...for which I am very happy. My operation was a success; my therapy is going well; my prognosis is excellent....so I can call myself a retired breast cancer survivor at this time...who has "retired rich" and wants to "die poor".

I have the Drake Demo software on my Laptop. I called them today and they said that they unlocked it so that I can add Delaware and try it. ATX is going to give me until December 15th now before I have to decide on returning it. Tomorrow, I'm going to a CPA friend's home practice to try out ProSeries from Intuit. I will be making a better informed decision this way. I was not yet fully ready to start my own business but I am doing it out of necessity for a dependable income. I am only going to be doing it part-time nights and weekends while seeking a day job elsewhere. I also wanted to thank you all again for pointing out that I need to be more careful so as to not insult people. I was never very good at being politically correct, but I can see where it is becoming a problem. I have been down on my luck for nearly 10 years since getting laid off of my last two permanent full time jobs during the Great Recession, and although I used to always have an optimistic outlook on the future, I suppose that I have developed a bit of a bad attitude lately so I will need to work on that going forward. I overcame a disability to go back to Graduate School for a Master's Degree of Accounting and Financial Management, taking night classes in Philadelphia while working temporary contract jobs during the day in Delaware. I finished with Distinction, at the top of the class with a perfect 4.0 GPA and then parlayed that into finally passing all 4 parts of the CPA Exam. Then I had to get additional CPA-signed affidavits of work experience that totaled over a year, since I had to get multiple ones and put them together piecemeal. This whole process took me about 6 years in total, and it was supposed to magically change my long-term employment prospects. So far that has not yet happened, and I'm about out of time and refinancing options, so I'm doing this to try and pull myself up by my bootstraps before its too late. Sincerely, Peter J. Chrustowski, CPA, CGMA, MAFM

Because we've hashed some of that out, the topic has now been derailed. Let's try to get this thread back on track by discussing the ATX handling of this return and its input. If anyone would like to start a separate topic on the merits of the various professional designations, that would be fine too, as long as it doesn't lead to personal attacks. Thanks.

ATX is a very high quality tax software program for an EXPERIENCED tax return preparer. The CPA designation does NOT indicate such experience. I am seeing statements and questions in your posts that indicate very light experience in preparing personal tax returns. As an E.A., my studies and testing were 500% more about tax and preparation than the CPA exam. Your statement is demeaning and condescending. I would have handled the situation you described in less than 5 minutes by knowing how the return is supposed to be prepared and when it is correct, and making sure the numbers flow and are entered appropriately. For the record, I live in Ohio (check the name) and do about 5 DE returns a year. Never have had any issues with multi-state.

Excuse me Peter, but I take that as a slight. As an EA, I dedicated the same two days of my life to an exam (8AM to 4:30PM), had the four parts scored on the same type of weird scale (1/3 or whatever pass), and have to take the same continuing education (24 hours required by the IRS, 30 by the professional associations; you might have to take more). The exam has changed some since I took it, but it's still a bear that requires months of study. Unlike a CPA, all four parts of my exam were devoted to tax. Only one of your was. Also unlike a CPA, I am licensed to practice in all 50 states; you can probably practice in one. I work at a CPA firm. One CPA gives us most of his tax work to do. The other does his own tax work but gives me his tough situations, the ones that require legal research or considerable knowledge that takes time and patience to learn and apply. The CPAs do audit work that I cannot, but that has to do with training and education, not software. By the same token, they give me their tax work that they cannot or choose not to handle because of my training and education. I'm glad I work for them and not you. How can you imply that a software program that doesn't seem to handle multistate issues is "okay" for anyone who does serious taxes? I guess you don't think EAs do serious taxes. You are an accountant who also does taxes. EAs are tax professionals who also do some accounting.

With my developer hat on: Cloud removes some very nasty headaches. No support for installation, maintenance, updates, backing up data, etc. Factoring in support for just these issues is a HUGE part of software cost. Like it or not, modern computer users are insulated from having to know how computers function, and expect software vendors to train them if needed. This is not a bad thing, as it means more can use the wonderful tool, it is just different. (Imagine if GM had to teach me how to drive, give directions, make repairs, fill the gas tank, etc., all for free, because I bought a GM vehicle.) Much more easily to handle proper licensing as one can monitor exact access and cut it off as needed. Costs go up as one has to charge enough to cover customers being online 24/7 and moving large amounts of data. But, those costs get passed on, and if the customer is not all that active, I might make more money. (I would not want to have to run a meter and bill for access.) Unless I am sloppy and do something incorrectly, I have zero liability for lost data, so no new risk there. The bad is all on the customer. Outages. Intuit has suffered them, as has Amazon. If these two, expecially Amazon, cannot keep up 100% of the time, then how can anyone else? Intuit's online payroll was unavailable for more than 24 HOURS not too long ago... Amazon is the back end for MANY cloud services, so it is safe to say they are the best, and yet they cannot be perfect. If data is lost, the customer has likely trusted they did not need an online backup and are in bad shape. Slower data entry is almost a given, and a bad thing for even a lousy keyboarder. For safe data, each entry must be stored and added, slowing down entry. Well, unless you live in a Google fiber area and your cloud service is in the same loop... (For example, I am writing this using a remote connection to my main computer, and even at slow typing, I have to "wait" a few ms for the remote software to send the keystrokes to the main computer, update the display, and send the restults back to me and update my display. This is a very fair comparison to cloud or even network based software speed.) So for now, we remain softare installed on the customer's computer and do not require internet access at all. We continue to consider a cloud offering, but nothing on the horizon.

Yeah, I got the same email and several things caught my attention: 1. Usually you would expect to see a resume of the company and the principals - there isn't one 2. Gives a street address in Cheyenne WY - No registration of the name with the WY Secretary of State. 3. Checked with the IRS Website - No firm in WY listed as an approved software provider or an approved transmitter Frankly this could be from anywhere and it could be anyone - No way to tell if it's reputable firm or if it's scam. My writeup and payroll processing software are cloud based, so I don't have a problem with being in the cloud. However anyone who would sign up with this solicitation is taking a blind leap of faith.