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Maybe if you send them a message through Twitter.....

Magic 8-Ball says "Answer hazy; ask again later!"

My Crystal Ball is still out at the repair shop.

Hah! TODAY it works. That is exactly how I tried multiple times to access as I have done multiple times in the past. But when I needed it earlier this week, I got as far as clicking on the entity to use and got this message: This service will be unavailable due to system maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience. If more information is available, you can find it by selecting the service from the Tools page. Return to IRS.gov home. At least agent 2 was able to assist me to prepare to mentally yell at this client for not letting me know about this earlier and that he actually paid IRS a balance due. IRA withdrawals - $18,600 but no 1099 R's for me. He isn't yet at RMD's and of course did not complete the questionnaire so how do I know? My Karnak turban hasn't been working well for some time.

I tried that one year. Backordered, backordered again, then the wrong forms. It is much less stressful to pay the $9 or whatever it is to know I have enough of them. Tom Modesto, CA

Yeah, ain't that quite the word?! "Just" is sometimes the size of the Taj Mahal. Then again, sometimes it's even bigger still!

Most of my clients can't even handle a spreadsheet. Got one tax client who enters everything on a word processor, columns as crooked as a dog's hind legs, no totals. I'm jealous of you people who only have to catch em calling assets liabilities and such. My one techy guy just has to figure out if sales tax is included in his sales figure. /s

You complete me.

They are free if you order them online via the IRS site - they'll mail you however many you want. I order a bunch and hand them out to whoever wants them. A grouchy CPA in my building literally has his clients walk down and get copies from me occasionally. Several became nice investment clients for me. https://www.irs.gov/businesses/online-ordering-for-information-returns-and-employer-returns

I used to use Sage Accounting and would still prefer it except none of my clients are capable of handling it, more's the pity. And not only do I not have an iPhone, I still have a *stupid* phone! Voice and text only; no internet, can't even send or receive pictures. Maybe that means I pre-date the dinosaurs. Puts me in with the slime molds, perhaps?

The IRS website has a "where's my amended return refund" link on their website (if you can find it--I cannot get used to the new interface).

We also print a copy of the compete 1096 / 1099 and W-3 / W-2 packet for the client. We do not use the red version though for the client copy. I have not used the red version since we started e-filing 1099s several years ago.

Have you tried smoke signals? Although it might be hard getting those reinforced concrete buildings to catch...

Edsel, The problem with this strategy is that most clients are going to blame their preparer if this goes bad. Plus, it doesn't solve the problem.

I still buy a pack of 25 1096's every year. I have 4-5 clients that need to send out 1099's. I don't even know how to efile a 1099, but I can print out the copies pretty quick. Tom Modesto, CA

I print it to go with the Payer copies, for my clients. Those "in the know" want/expect to see it. And once, some years ago, a lower-than-expected 1096 total clued in a client that he had missed a contractor - we were able to file the missing 1099 on time. He would not have looked through the stack; he just saw the total and thought "Wait, something's not right here." So I'll keep printing it as long as I can.

Drake may be calling this by a new name this year. I read your description and that is exactly the process I used last season. In the doc manager there is a "portal" tab for secure file pro. That is where the documents are sent to the client and received by the preparer as well. For those clients of mine that used this, it has been a blessing. I work off of two monitors and once I retrieve the client documents, I open their docs on one monitor and the Drake package on the other. No more paper on the desk. The client can sign through the portal or in some cases, I use signature flow as well. Either way, this is a great feature.

The Master Tax Guide is a really good book. ATX/Kleinrock used to have something similar, but when CCH took over, they discontinued that book and replaced it with the Master Tax Guide. That made sense when they did that. The MTG (or the Kleinrock equivalent) has always been included in my software cost. I don't like CCH, but I am too lazy to learn a new software and go through the conversion process. Since I don't have to interact with ATX except at renewal and occasionally with their (non)support department if something goes wrong at the beginning of the year, I tolerate them. But 2012 is never far from my thoughts every time I deal with ATX. Rants are not supposed to be rational, they are always bizarre to the person who is not ranting. Tom Modesto, CA