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Ari, I've found that to be the case as well. It might be a good idea in future to move these Drake-related posts in the subforum titled "DRAKE" that is found at the bottom of the main page under "Other Vendors" so that those that are evaluating tax software choices this summer will be able to find these reviews more easily. Eric, could you move these posts and the ones in the thread also in this forum entitiled "DRAKE appraisal"?

Today I still have access to the official forum. Yay me! Until several months ago I hadn't been on there since prior to the 2007 shutdown, and before that I rarely used it. I expect that my user name will be deleted at some point. I'm not terribly worried about that either. I did go to my account and print off the prior year installation codes just in case they aren't stored with my program disks. I have back to 2009 loaded on this machine anyway.

I still have the tax and payroll programs on my computer and I suppose I could use them to prepare paper returns, but within hours of my refund request being received, my connection with them was cut off so that I wouldn't be able to update the program or forms, or efile. I don't even know which update I had loaded, I think through 12.9, and I hadn't run a forms update prior to the request either. I suppose if I'd really wanted to use it in that way I could have updated the forms first. I opened the program once or twice since then, to delete the returns not completed and once to look at a worksheet calculation linked to a form.

Jack, I don't know about that. Did you see my other post about the sales rep calling and offering me the 2012 ATX program for free...now that it is all fixed?

ATX sales is reaching out to those that requested refunds and are trying to get us back by offering the 2012 program for free. He did apologize for the program and the problems it had early on, but he tried to tell me that the problems are fixed, no slowness, no crashing. He wanted me to reinstate my account, download the updates, and try to do some returns so I could see how much better it is working. He wanted me to rejoin the ATX fold. He would not acknowledge that it's even possible that the errors with 2012 would affect next year's work, whether the preparer continued on with ATX or converted to another software provider. He told me that because I'd only processed the one return, that I had no idea whether I would have had other problems or not. That's simply not true. I did have several other easy returns that ALL had problems that I chose not to finish with the ATX program. When time is money, I chose to move to the other software and complete the returns there, and to get up to speed before the larger and more complex returns started coming in. Why on earth would I want to recreate a return over again with software that might continue to have ongoing problems? I did have corrupted files, crashing, inability to reopen a return I'd worked on, inability to save a return before closing, lost data. It was my choice to discontinue using software that wasn't working well for me. This rep just didn't want to accept that. He wanted to know if I had hard documentation of my problems. Maybe this was part of the point of the call, ya think? I don't, I simply deleted those returns and I've moved on. When I expressed concern that if I did renew I wouldn't be eligible for any refund of the product's cost, he said that wasn't true and that I could get my money back. He said that isn't their policy. Here is the last sentence of the very first section of the CCH refund policy: "To prevent abuse of the refund policy, a refund of tax preparation software may only be requested once in customer’s CCH SFS account history (as of April 1, 2010)." That seems pretty clear to me. He also said that it wasn't necessary for me to return the materials, and that just isn't true that I needed to do that. From the very last sentence of that same refund policy: "C. Return of Materials: Final approval of the refund request will require the return of all tangible materials that had previously been sent to customer. Customer will be responsible for all shipping fees associated with the return of such materials." After 5 weeks, multiple calls to the CCH A/R dept and a few emails to Kimmie, I finally received my refund today. Why would I ever want to do business with a company such as this again? Why would I want to do business with a company or a sales rep that thinks it's OK to call during our busiest final few days before the deadline?

The husband died in October 2012. The wife and I were discussing her estimates for 2013 and looking at her current monthly social security benefit payment, I noticed that she didn't receive any increase other than the COLA. Last year's benefits to the husband were $24K and hers were about $11K. With one simple phone call to social security admin, lots of apologies from their representative, and filling out a form, the wife will be getting more than double what she thought she'd have.

I put in my request on 2/26 and it was refunded back to my credit card this morning for the full price of TTO less the $99 handling fee. Total refunded was $1601.10. I had a couple of returns that were in the works with the program that weren't completed, only 1 return actually efiled through ATX. I did efile W-2s and 1099s through the payroll program that the company didn't count in my processing total, which I really think they could have. It took a while, but I wanted to post that the company IS honoring refund requests.

When they bring in those Goodwill or charity receipts for goods donated with nothing filled in (!) - What's the maximum I can claim? Or they ask how much they can get away with claiming for cash donations!

If you purchase their full program, not pay-per-return, it comes with the tax program, the client write-up, online research, the forum, some CPE, and you can set up your own website or portal. The write-up program is where the payroll and information returns are prepared. I haven't heard great things about that module for write-up work (iirc, someone said it was like making journal entries for everything), but the tax reporting part of the program is supposed to work well. I can't say because I purchased the program on a pay-per-return basis for this season because I didn't need all of the full program in mid-Feb, didn't want to put out another $1500 up front while I'm still waiting for my ATX refund, but I might consider Drake's full program for next year. http://www.drakesoftware.com/site/Products/PricingPurchasing.aspx

Yes, they have the 990 forms. After tax season if you request a copy of their program, you'll get the fully functional version and be able to see the forms available. You can use it to prepare returns to paper file, but I don't think you could efile without purchase and going through their setup. The payroll and 1099 informational returns are a separate module. I didn't purchase that since most of mine were already complete by the time I purchased in February, so I went with the PPR to minimize intial cash outlay to Drake since I'm still waiting for my ATX refund (approved and finally should be credited back to my cr card this week. Oy!). I do know that with Drake's program, it files 941s and 1099s directly through the IRS FIRE system. I'm not familiar with that, but I checked and would have needed to sign up and wait for some sort of approval and user access for that system, and since those returns were mostly complete I chose another method to finish the 3 filings not yet efiled through ATX because I didn't need the hassle during tax season. I'm guessing that the FIRE system is a direct file upload. I'll check that out soon.

That is true, but in past years and including this year, loyal customers that renew Drake get a substantial discount on the following year's full-access program. I think that renewal price was around $1100 and might have been for an early renewal. That is a big difference. It also includes a website.

No, overriding does not stop an efile, but for some unexplained reason, it won't produce the credit form for DE if I override to correct the allocation between TP and SP.

One being under 65 would be ok, but they don't have earned income. SS disability is considered pension once a person reaches the minimum retirement age, and SSI isn't earned income for the EIC. I don't think they qualify, but I'm no expert. Some other members here have a lot of experience with the EIC. Do you have their birthdates entered? Maybe the program is allowing it because it thinks the one getting the SS disability is under 62?

That's nothing new. Did you see the post he made where he said something like he was independently wealthy and prepared returns for his clients out of the goodness of his heart and his genuine desire only to help people and not for the revenue? I might have vomited a little in my mouth with that one.

Really, who? The official forum is clogged with so much whining and individual posts, that could have been solved by using the search function, that it's almost unusable. That's why I've stayed over here. This was the first year I'd been back since before 2007, and seeing all the problems being posted in early Feb helped push me to Drake. My returns weren't in yet so I didn't have much of anything to test the program with except for dummy returns I'd create and those all had problems and crashes. I felt like I couldn't wait and wonder if it would work for me.

I switched to Drake and prepare all the returns except 990s. Some returns are little, most are larger complex returns or business returns with lots of fixed assets. The program is fast, and I am faster now that I have learned where certain input screens are located within the program. The first thing I found that is superior to ATX is the credit for taxes paid to other states. In ATX, the credit took some juggling and linking, but with Drake it is automatic and I haven't found any that required corrections or overrides to the input. Second, creating the efiles and transmitting them with Drake is lightning fast. There is absolutely no comparison on speed of this part of the process. Drake is superior. On the negative side, when I converted my 1065 and 1120 series returns to Drake, the 2011 converted file had all of the proper figures, but the line items for the expenses didn't flow to the proper lines. Example, accounting expense might have shown on the supporting schedule as bank charges. This wasn't a big deal to me because we aren't really using that file for the actual return as this was only a conversion file. The only thing that was affected by this line mismatch was the 2-year comparision. My clients all like that form so I fixed those mismatched expenses and made sure that the 2011 conversion was correct in all ways. I spent one weekend checking every converted file. Someone warned to carefully check the fixed assets and depreciation on the converted files, but I found no errors at all there. Second negative, and this is probably me not knowing properly how to input this, but I preferred ATX schedules for the state estimates flowing over to Schedule A. I don't care for the input when the 4th quarter 2011 estimate is paid in Jan 2012 and the 4th 2012 estimate is paid in 2013, and then trying to get the proper amount to be reported on the state return for the paments. I've got it worked out, but I think ATX is easier for these inputs. The only return that I haven't been able to get worked out is one Delaware return that I will have to paper file. It has an oddball credit for the historic preservation of the taxpayer's home. This is a very large credit that is being used a little each year and carrying forward. Drake is trying to split 50-50 (yes, it is a joint credit), and is trying to allow more credit that the total tax. It should be taking the credit only up to the net tax after exemptions (Delaware's exemptions are a credit against the tax). On this one return I can get the Form 700 for the credit to print properly with an incorrect application on page 1 of the DE return, OR I can override the credit applied on page 1 of the DE return but the override stops the program from producing the Form 700 for the credit. So for this one return, I will efile the Fed and paper file the DE. Other than that one return above, I have had no problems using the program at all. I don't think it is quite as easy or flexible as ATX, and it has the forms I need for my clientele. Overall, I am very pleased with its performance, especially with those out-of-state credits. Delaware is so small, and I live right on the PA line and am 20 mins from MD and NJ, that a lot of my individual clients have multi-state returns, so that one improvement has been a real timesaver for me.

You are correct! Never trust my memory fully, at least not on the few hours of sleep these last few days.

First client of the day, the wife brought me a beautiful pair of earrings that she made from pear shaped cultured pearls with swarovski crystals.

I remember him and his posts too. Isn't he a lawyer? A search for his user name couldn't find it. More of Kimmie's handiwork thanks to BoobyinNJ and that Kamman was posting about class action lawsuits.

Jack, I don't think that's completely true. Someone over on the official forum posted yesterday that they are at the 1700 mark for returns processed so far this season on a standalone installation and are not having the major problems except for general slowness and some crashing. There are too many variables to make sweeping generalizations about the functionality of the program from one user's setup to the next. One think is for sure, and that is that the program wasn't designed to run properly on a network.

^ that's what I was thinking too, or that maybe the preparer wanted to include the Sch A in the printed package to show he/she did the work but really used the standard deduction when filing the return.

Welcome NYTaxLady! I think you'll find this board is more friendly, more user friendly, more professional, and with 99% less whining and hardly any questions that could be solved by reading instruction manuals or forms' instructions. We also have the ability to PM each other and edit posts. Those 2 things are totally lacking on the official forum.

Were you serious of joking? Joan is real; she posted the answer right above yours.

It's not fixed, but even if true, what good is it now at the end of March when many of the preparers will be done with return preparation in two and a half weeks.

I'm not sure if ATX does it automatically, but the excess is reported on Form 5329, line 47.