Mike D

You need to open 2009 TRX installations dropdown on top and select upgrade systems, select all and upgrade from internet. Once completed return to TRX Pro via bottom button. Next go to file menu, select convert clients, select ATX and depending on your computers operating system select the data file. For example assume your running Windows 7 select the C:\Program Files (x86)\ATX2009\Database, for prior operating systems select C:\Program Files ATX2009\Database. Follow instructions and you should be able to convert. Once converted review carefully and edit as necessary. Unfortunately they only have 1040 conversions at this late date, no business as yet! Once converted open 2010 TRX Pro select client profile and then select upgrade on top. Follow instructions to bring all the 2009 converted returns to 2010. It took me a bit of editing time however most of my returns converted without incidence. If necessary call tech support, they were quite responsive to my inquiries. Good luck. Mike Dubin CPA

I would like to say I told you so but then again I'm certain that you have heard all of this before. I was a faithful user of ATX for 6 years through 2008 when I purchased ATX through TRX for 1/4 of the price I was paying. Since CCH acquired ATX it has been a total disaster. First order of business was to remove the ATX Community Discussion Center, second was to raise prices inordinately and third was to remove additional content without notification, i.e., free cpe, fixeds asset manager, etc,. These continued behaviors prompted me along with many others to leave ATX. I personally went with TRX and purchased Red Gear Tax Works from them for 2010 for a mere $299. To date I have some issues however the technical support is excellent and instead of eliminating software, they actually add some, accounting software! The best part of this change is that I will be able to continue to purchase this same software from TRX every subsequent year for the same $299 as long as I do so before May 1 each year. It's never too late to reconsider the inevitable. Good luck through the tax season and happy new years to all. Mike Dubin CPA

Please read my previous post below. Mike Dubin CPA In Topic: ATX Conversion Software to TRX 2009 17 December 2010 - 06:36 PM

I have finished converting all of my 1040 returns to TRX 2010, not without issues. Although it got progressively better as we all posted our concerns it still took me excessive time to convert these returns. Multiple states, depreciation, carrying sch A taxes from W-2 form, birth dates, etc. I have also had issues with custom letters which I am still working on. I am somewhat disapointed yet as there are still no conversion software available for business returns and the RIA research software does not work. One thing I am finding quite consistent with TRX is their ability to miss release dates. Other than these issues I have found TRX to be responsive and helpful, more that I could say about ATX support! I look forward to a successful 2010 tax season and wish all happy and healthy holidays. Mike Dubin CPA

I received a disc from TRX via UPS from which I loaded the software. The software deal that I sibsribed to is as folows: THIS IS WHAT YOU WILL RECEIVE WITH THE RENEWAL AND THE ADD ONS THAT YOU WILL BE GETTING FOR 2010 AND AS LONG AS YOU RENEW BEFORE MAY 1ST.. THE PRICE WILL BE ONLY $ 299.00 All 1040 fed forms w/ Free Efile All State 1040 forms w/ Free Efile All Business forms w/Free Efile All Entity Forms w/Free Efile MULTY OFFICE MANAGER RIA Research Client Write Up w/ Payroll (TRX) Fixed Asset Manager DOCUMENT MANAGER I downloaded the business management software a few months ago. I just recently downloaded the accounting software. I have not had adequate time to review so I can't give my opinion until such time as I can. Good luck Mike Dubin CPA

I received my 2010 TRX software and as I had previously reported my issues with the 2009 conversion software, I am happy to report that they have listened to many of our complaints and made quite a few corrections. I don't think it will ever be perfect but appears to be a lot more user friendly to me. Although I was expecting TaxWorks, they have provided 1040Works which is a somewhat toned down version of the former. The content and comprehensiveness of this package is very similar, most of the missing features are more functionality related. Some of the features that are missing are viewing multiple years in one screen, having the actual tax form in reel time on the same screen, etc. For example they provided an asset tracker, not a fixed asset program which on the surface appears to be quite comprehensive. I was a bit disappointed with this solution as they originally advertised a fixed asset manager. In addition they also provided me with their home grown accounting as well as business management software and RIA research. I paid $299 for all of the above which I estimate the true cost to be about $2,000. I will play with these when I get some time and let all of you know the outcome. It would be comforting for me to have some of you follow suite. Happy holidays to all. Mike Dubin CPA

I was contacted by Ryan from TaxWorks to forward some of the returns that I have had conversion problems with. I changed the sensitive information and sent him what I considered three of the most heinous ones. They contained a multitude of issues and inconsistencies. He responded to me by the next day and sent me a litany of resolutions and other outstanding issues, as well as a brochure as to what to expect from this conversion process. I have not had the time as yet to disseminate the data and therefore I reserve judgment at this time. I will however once reviewed share with all. Mike Dubin CPA

I am somewhat disappointed with this late communication regarding the issues that I raised some time ago. That being said I look forward to putting this behind us and moving forward. Are these adjustments that you have already corrected now available through the upgrade from the internet function? I will be happy to provide you with the returns in question. Please let me know ASAP how to get them to you? Will you also be correcting the business return conversion programs as well before they become available? I would like to go through the conversion process once as there will be many unresolved issues that need to be corrected manually for example, depreciation, multiple states, NOL, e file data, etc. One thing that all tax preparers share in common is that we don't need any additional unnecessary work, especially with software issues, as the tax season approaches, we will have more than enough to deal with. Thanks Mike Dublin CPA

As I have previously stated, I am patiently waiting for the developer of this conversion software to contact me. Once I hear from her I will share all of our mutual issues and dissatisfaction with our experiences. Last I checked with TRX they stated that I should be hearing from somebody by today 11/23/10. In the event that I don't hear from them, I will contact them after the holiday to follow up and of course keep all of you posted. Happy holidays Mike Dubin CPA

I am somewhat disappointed with the conversion software from TRX. I downloaded about one month ago and converted all of my 1040 clients; business conversions are not available as yet. The initial results were less than nirvana. The good news is that simple returns converted 100%, while others were rife with the following issues. Multiple states appeared as only one state Schedule D did not convert on all returns Form 6251 appeared on some but not others. Depreciation and NOL needed to be adjusted on all returns. Many other less significant issues. I spoke with Jeff from TRX who was involved with this software and advised him of my dissatisfaction with the conversion software, he looked into it and the result was that he was to have the developer contact me directly. As I previously stated, that was one month ago and I have heard from anyone as yet. The good news is that my entire practice is about 50 returns with about one third business. If necessary I can reenter all of them and still be ready for 2010. The bad news is that many of you are preparing quite a bit more returns than me and this can be a real problem for you. I have converted previously from Tax Relief 1040 to ATX and had only minor issues with depreciation. This is what I was expecting from TRX but to date it hasn't materialized. I would like to hear from others who have used this conversion software and see if the results are consistent with my outcomes. Remember we are all in this together and as a united bloc we should have some clout! I will keep you all posted and look forward to hearing from you about your outcomes. Thanks Mike Dubin CPA

The ATX 2009 conversion software is available on TRX software as a download as of yesterday. I had some initial problems trying to get it to work and spoke to Jeff who said it was the file structure on Windows 7 and proceeded to fix in 5 minutes. I converted all of my clients and looked at one very complex return which I had to tweak a bit to get correct. Took about 1 hour. So far so good. I will keep you all posted on my progress. Mike Dubin CPA

They are showing webinars on their web site from Oct 20 through Nov 20 daily @ 10 AM & 2 PM. I sat in on the webinar and found it to be quite redundant and parochial, but that's me. Best of luck Mike Dubin CPA

For all whose former ATX users who have decided to move to TRX, (Redgear),I Was advised by TRX last week that the 2009 conversion software from ATX to TRX should be abailable this Friday October 22. I have been patiently waiting and will let you know if and when I receive it and how successful it was. Mike Dubin CPA

I finally got the duplicate charge to my credit card issue corrected. I was assigned my existing PTIN correctly. I hope all of you fare better than me in your application process? Mike Dubin CPA

I have attempted to procure my PTIN on 3 different occasions and have encountered the following problems. Address information Zip code format Credir card info I was finally successful this morning and guess what, I was charged twice on my credit card. After 4 telephone calls to the IRS they gave me a toll free number to call them directly. The answering machine states that due to high call volume please call back at a latter time. I'm sure glad that I didn't wait until they got all of the bugs out of their system! I'll keep you all posted. Mike Dubin CPA

Thanks Bob I couldn't agree more. Mike Dubin CPA

I was curious to learn about the origins of this post so I contacted Doug Hughes, TRX President. This was his response to me. Mike Dubin CPA Mike, Yes it is some kids that used to work for me and are starting their own company doing what we do. I actually fired both of them for similar actions in the office. TRX will not bash anyone whether it is our competition or just an individual, we feel this is not in the best interest of the tax profession. I hope everyone understand the industry changes whether it be banking or testing know TRX maybe more important than ever to each independent preparer in making sure we all have a voice. Without the Alliance we are individual, with the Alliance we are as big as any of the large franchise companies. (TRX has 6000 +- members now and growing) Thanks for the heads up, Doug Hughes

I was advised by Red Gear - TaxWorks at the NYC Acoounting Technology show in May 2010 that H & R Block since the acquisition of Red Gear - TaxWorks has used this software for all of their business returns exclusively. In addition they advided me that they had entered into a five year agreement with TRX to provide Red Gear - TaxWorks to them for resale. I have been using the software and am quite happy so far with it. Anybody else out there switch to Red Gear - TaxWorks from ATX, Taxwise and/or any other software, we would like to hear from you. The more users that are accounted for the more potential clout we will have to for example, have TRX set up an independent board such as this one to facilitate all of our needs? Thanks Mike Dubin CPA

I spoke with TRX this morning and they informed me that the conversion software ffor ATX to Tax Works will not be available until the fall. They do have it for TaxWise. Mike Dubin CPA

Some facts about TRX software that may be helpful. They are providing 1040 Works from Red Gear, not Tax Works. This is why some of the features are missing! Still an excellent system without some bells & whistles. However the fact they they are offering an asset manager with the premium version, not their homegrown product, leads me to believe that they might just provide Tax Works which comes with a very robust asset manager, we'll see? They informed me upon my inquiry that they have about 500 members who converted to TRX Tax Works and are adding new members daily. This is good for all of us as they can all eventually join this board. I have inquired with TRX about setting up their own forum as well as looking into CPE credits for their training programs, they are looking into it. I will ask them further to share the link to this board with all of their Tax Works clients which should increase participation and help all of us newbees! I will be using the conversion tool next week and let you know how I make out. To date I have done about 8 returns from scratch and I must say that I have reached some facility with the program. There are not too many issues that I have encountered to date other that the normal getting used to the product ones. Happy fathers day to all. Mike Dubin CPA

I just posted on the General Chat link that I met with Tax Works Red Gear at the Accounting Technology Show in NYC last month at which time they indicated to me that TRX has a five year contract with them. I hope I received the correct information as I too do not wish to go through additional conversions and learning curves in the near future, Mike Dubin CPA

I spoke to Tax Works Red Gear at the Accounting Technology Show in NYC last month at their booth at which time they indicated that TRX has a 5 year contract with them. I hope I was given the correct information as I too am not up for additional conversions in the near term. Mike Dubin CPA

Crank, If my recollection is correct, wasn't Troy the one who warned us last year not to purchase ATX from TRX as they had no license/agreement? Seems to me that those of us who ignored his warning wound up with one great deal. Specifically 1/3 the CCH price and can now enjoy a 40% come back to us discount! What has CCH perpetuated once again to it's loyal customer base, screwed them royally! I rest my case. I have purchased the TRX Pro Premium software package that is presently being offered until May 31 @ $499 discounted from the normal $699, for only $299! This is Tax Works from Red Gear that normally costs about $2,500 for the same software. Plus TRX is providing RIA research, and their home grown business management, client write up and full payroll software with this package. Finally I will be paying only $299 for renewals in perpetuity! I am presently working with the software and find it to be a cut above ATX. Best of luck. Mike Dubin CPA

I have successfully completed 5 returns from scratch and have gotten excellent results. The schedule based input took me about 3 returns to get used to and the final 2 flowed smoothly. I did one return with 2 states and it worked much better that ATX. The software for me is very stable and hasn’t encountered any of your issues. Support has been exemplary. Wish you luck Mike Dubin CPA

I downloaded TaxWorks about 2 weeks ago from TRX web site without incedent, it took about 1/2 hour. I have done a few of my clients returns including my own and I now feel the learning curve is almost over. I am quite happy with the results. Mike Dubin CPA