Gail in Virginia

Personally, I think that most of the time you can only get as much out of any type of training as you are willing to put in to it. No matter how engaging the speaker is, or how comprehensive and clearly presented the webinar is, if you don't make the effort to learn it is just a matter of "buying" CPE. We have a duty to our profession to be more involved in our own learning than that, regardless of the venue we choose to obtain our required credits.

I just logged onto the ATX board. I have not renewed for 2013, in fact we decided early on to try ProSeries this year. So far, though, I am not blocked from the board. Maybe we have just been overlooked for blocking. Jack's comments about ATX being designed to be a truly server based program have me questioning if we should have stuck it out another year, but we have already loaded the new soft ware, converted the returns and started working with the new program. So we will see what this season is like. But when you tried to log onto the ATX sponsored board, were you logging in as adminstrator? How long has it been since you changed your password - they have that 90 day rule, you know. Good luck.

I have 41 hours so far this year, up a bit from last year's 33 but down from the previous year's 63. So far, I take classes that I feel will benefit my practice and at least one update class, and always wind up having enough credits. Some years have better offerings close by than others.

That is why I buy every year of QuickBooks now. We did not used to, and I still recommend the three-year plan Jack describes for all if my clients.

We don't normally send organizers until January. That way people have started getting their informational statements from their employers and investments to use in completing the organizer. I usually try to send out a newsletter in December, with a pocket calendar enclosed. I have been waiting for the mileage rate to complete that.

I am glad that some people have experienced a rebate of the $9.95 fee, but although I called several times and was told that the fee would stop and would be reversed, it never was and they continued to charge it. So I put a stop to it by cancelling the agreement to take credit cards through them. Apparently, your mileage may vary.

We were using Intuit since we are in the Pro-Advisor program, and the first year was no monthly charge. After that, they began charging 9.95 per month, even in months when we had no activity. We are now using Square.

I won't damage a piece of clothing, or wear it and return it, but if I notice damage that I can repair fairly quickly I have negotiated for a discount. Why should I pay full price for damaged goods?

It doesn't even take much of an accident. Ten years ago, my son fell off our back porch (about 3 feet high) and broke his arm. I added up the bills that the insurance company paid, and it was over $30,000. Glad we had insurance - our part was slightly less than $3,000. - a much easier number to cope with although it seemed like an awful lot at the time. I am sure that it would be even more now.

I also don't like to roll over in advance because it makes it easier for me to see who has and has not been in yet if I wait until the client is due to come in or has come in before I roll over the return.

When dryer sheets used to come in a roll, I cut the roll in half and hung it from a toilet paper holder above the dryer. Very convenient. Now I just rip them in half before I throw them in the dryer and use half at a time. I remember reading somewhere that, particularly for delicate knits, too much dryer sheet could cause spotting to occur in the dryer. I have never noticed half a sheet not being enough - even for towels.

I am not cheap. I am frugal. I save zip lock bags (if they have not contained meat), wash them and re-use them. I write my grocery lists on the back of junk mail envelopes. I use the portion of the page for tax payment coupons that I have cut off as scrap paper. I try not to print unless I really need a hard copy. I used to re-roll my adding machine tape and run it through the calculator the second time to print on the other side, but that becomes a pain if you need to tear off a tape and attach it to something to show your addition. I prefer to think that I am doing my bit for the environment.

We don't do many of them either, but I did have one a few years ago that had to prove the children lived with him. In my experience, which is not extensive as I said, the IRS typically only questions the fathers about where the children live. Highly discriminatory in my opinion. Quite a few fathers wind up being more of a parent than the mother.

Maybe we should try this business model. I could start telling my customers that I now bundle tax preparation with check book balancing, at a low introductory price provided they pay 9 months in advance of using the service. Think that will work?

I like the paragraph you include in your letter, John. Thanks for sharing that. We try not to increase fees every year, but most everything else that I pay for goes up over time so my fees have to as well. A few things, like electronics, have come down but paper has skyrocketed in the last five years. Software is more expensive, especially QuickBooks. Education is expensive, and it seems like I need more of it every year just to stay in the same place. I have a few long term clients whose price has decreased because the complexity of their return has decreased as they got older and simplified things. But I don't think we should apologize for raising fees every year or two. And our best clients will understand that. I also raise fees a lot more and more often for PITA clients just to make me feel better about doing the return. And if it gets to the point where that isn't enough to make me feel better, I suggest they go elsewhere. We are still trying to grow our business but some clients I just don't need. Sometimes we just need to remember that we are professionals, and charge accordingly.

I was still in the pre-school stage so I don't remember this day 50 years ago. I remember when I heard that Bobby Kennedy had been shot.

I have never had any desire to jump out of a perfectly good airplane - I am afraid of heights, so they will have to set the plane on fire to get me to jump out. But you go Rita! I understand it is an awesome experience.

I have never worked Black Friday either, and as a rule I don't shop that day because I hate crowds. But I am thoroughly disgusted with all of the stores that are now opening late on Thanksgiving day (8:00? not really that late). Can't they give their employees a little break? I miss the days when you had to plan ahead because almost everything was closed on Sunday.

Did anyone have problems with the EFTPS system yesterday? I tried to log on and could not.

A couple of points I would like to bring out. First, I think this post probably should be in the political section. Second, employers have been skittish about hiring and paying a decent wage for quite some time now even without Obamacare. Stocks are at record highs, CEO's are earning record salaries, and yet employment is not reflecting the improvement to the economy at nearly the same rate. The last statistic I saw about the difference between what CEO's and the lowest paid employee of a firm earn now as compared to 40 years ago really emphasize that. Finally, there is so much dis-information available about the entire healthcare plan that the results of a poll like this are not surprising. If there were not, things like the Jimmy Kimmel street poll where people approve of the affordable care act but are worried about obamacare would not be the norm.

I ran ATX's system requirement check, and every computer in our office, including the server, passed everything except Broadband speed. I am in a rural area, and we pretty much have to take what we get for broadband, and remember that it is better than when we had dial-up. I don't understand why i can stream a movie, but the internet speed isn't fast enough for a tax program to work properly (at least according to ATX.)

Maybe you could set it up as an online computer game, like World of Warcraft (or whatever it's called), and sell it as "fun", make tons of money and teach teenagers and young adults something all at the same time! Okay, maybe not, but I like the idea of charter schools or even home-schooled students using it. Way too many governmental hoops to jump through for private schools to go for it most likely.

I live in a rural area where I never got trick or treaters, so I participate in trunk or treat at church. The rain held off this year, so we had about 700+ kids come by our car! I love seein the costumes, especially the younger ones. I had one little girl that finally opened her bag but as soon as I put candy in her bag, she reached in and took candy out and put it in my bowl. She was my favorite this year.

It sounds like both you and your wife have a good attitude, and that can be so important. I will continue to hold you both in my prayers - sometimes it is as hard to help someone you love through this as it is to go through it yourself, from what people tell me. Please keep us posted as you have time, but the most important thing is to be there for your wife.

I don't see how they could try to match PTIN's to schedule C income. The returns I prepare using my PTIN are all income to the corporation. I don't have a schedule C, just a W-2 and a K-1.