Wayne Brasch

cientax, This company is not using a good system of internal control. Consequently, many "funny" things could be going on with the company money. I would record those checks to an Accounts Receivable in the name of the shareholders and relatives involved. This would make each of them responsible for returning the money not spent for materials. Wayne

taxbilly, The ATX website is open and working properly now as of 4 or 5 minutes ago. Wayne

Eli, The ATX website is back up and working properly now as of a couple of minutes ago. Wayne

The Internal Revenue GuideWire to which I subscribe announced today that Revenue Procedure 2007-70 contains the standard mileage rates for 2008: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-07-70.pdf. Wayne

KC, This has nothing to do with what you have listed above, but I was wondering how your husband is doing. You've not said anything about him in a while. I hope he is doing much better. Wayne PS: I look at Accountant's World everyday.

Marilyn, I like the idea that ATX updates forms and program when they see a need to do so-even after an archive disk. Wayne

Bob, You are correct about the third party payroll service. This was one thing I told Microsoft I didn't like about the program. I also told them that if they wanted to have a truly great accounting program, they should include financial statement analysis within the program. They also didn't implement that either in the final form of the program. To me a big part of accounting is to let my clients know what their financial statements really mean, not just give them a rather obscure set of figures. I use other means to get this accomplished in my practice. Wayne

jjstephens, I know nothing about the ATX Client Writeup program, but you might want to consider looking at Microsoft Office Accounting 2007 Express which can be downloaded free from Microsoft at http://www.microsoft.com. It is a large download and will take some time if you use a dial up Internet Service Provider. On the other hand, there is Microsoft Office Accounting 2007. This is the full version and costs generally around $160 at software stores. This version has more features than does the Express version and may be what you are looking to use. I beta tested this program for Microsoft before they put it on the market. Wayne

Deb, I got mine Tuesday, October 30 along with a evaluation demo of Scan&Fill and Document Manager. Wayne

Today when I received the 2006 Archive Edition of the ATX software, they included an evaluation copy of Scan&Fill as well as Document Mssanager. Wayne

Gene, I agree with you. All of those personal "conveniences" will cost all of us more money if we're not careful. Wayne

Eli, I'm afraid I'm not pulling your leg. Many times large corporations do many stupid things. I'm waiting for the other shoe to fall, so to speak. Wayne

Tom, Hopefully, we will still be able to update forms and program right through the MAX interface as you can now, but I wouldn't be too much surprised to see that was changed also. I've still not renewed yet kind of waiting to see what other surprises come our way. Wayne

Marilyn, I think it ususally comes out near the end of October. Wayne

There is now a new version (update) for MAX now available. Wayne

Jack, Last night after reading your concern and having gotten that same e-mail from ATX, I sent an inquiry to ATX about this matter. I got a call this morning before 9:00am from James Taubin at ATX. He said that MAX will still handle all Ohio city forms with no change. That Ohio City package is for those who don't buy MAX. Wayne

Jack. Surely, they wouldn't do this. Maybe we should ask them by sending that question to their Tech Support people and see how they respond. Wayne

John, Did you make sure you were logged in to that website? Is your name showing on the right side of the screen when you enter the website? I had no problem connecting with them and looking in the knowledgebase and download center. Wayne

jainen, I truly hope you are right about this! I admire these blind and visually impaired people trying to be productive in the workplace. Maybe they can get IRS caught up with their backlog of work and maybe they can take care of internally some of the correspondence that IRS sends out to our clients with which we have to deal. Many problems within IRS could be solved if more IRS employees were a little more conscienctious with and about their job. Maybe these people can help in that respect. Time will tell. I wish them much luck! Wayne

jainen, No sarcasm on my part was intended, if that's what you mean. I admire people with disabilities who want to and do work instead of sitting back and relying on handouts from whomever or wherever they may come. I realize technology is a great help for people with macular degeneration, but will they be able to function in the stress-filled job that it must be working for IRS? Will they deal with taxpayers directly? Will their disability be a distraction to them and others trying to handle the job they've been given to do? IRS presently has enough problems, as it seems from GAO reports dealing with the present able-bodied employees they now have. I just am thinking this is going to stress out IRS management even more. This may cause some of their supposedly more gentle nature to evaporate. We'll have to see how it plays out over time. I truly hope it works well for these people who want to work in this situation. Wayne

Carolyn, I, of course, don't know what process you go through when you are preparing a return, but I always have the previous year's return right in front of me while I'm preparing the current year's return. That way, I don't have to worry about what didn't get brought forward properly. I also don't have to remember that a carryover of some kind needs to be considered in the current return. I see it on the previous return and make sure it is reflected in the current one. I do this for every form and schedule that may have been included in the previous return. Wayne

I updated forms through MAX a few minutes ago and noticed that there were quite a few brand new "Available Now" NJ tax forms. This means that the forms were not just updated, but were added to what we already had in MAX. This should be of interest to those of us who deal with NJ returns. Some of you were complaining a day or so ago about how often ATX updates forms. I, myself, appreciate the way they, from time to time, add additional forms for our use. That way we can be more productive for our clients. Wayne

This fact came out yesterday on Accountant'sWorld.com and probably other places, but that's where I saw it. That's really going to make our lives a lot more fun! Dealing with blind IRS personnel is going to be a treat. What do you think? Wayne

Tom, You might want to look at http://www.taxalmanac.org/index.php/Highli...007_Tax_Changes. Wayne

taxxcpa, I, on the other hand, have appreciated the fact that when ATX saw that the program or a form could be made more efficient they would update it. I don't e-file so that was not a factor as it was for you. Wayne