mcb39

The impression that I got when speaking to a rep was that they were not preparing for networks. Three stand-alones would be fine. Correct me if I am wrong. That post from ATX Michelle was posted on the Original ATX Board.

I had almost the identical client, except that mine was long-term. She was so well prepared on the Geothermal info that I only had to enter the numbers. She has a carry-forward credit

OMG!!!!!

Very little turnover here.; other than due to death, divorce or no longer needing to file. For every one that drops off, at least two new come from referrals. I never advertise. My clients take my cards and pass them around. Oh, and I fired one last year who came from the same mold as the client that Lion described. The best thing I ever did. Her sisters and children stayed with me which was a big surprise.

It was only in the very beginning that you had to download the new driver. Now, all (4) of my HP printers are working well with Win 7

It's called LOVE My two full grown (men) sons are my biggest supporters and sometimes my greatest dependents. Just sent a big bowl of home made chili home with one of them tonight.

Same here!

That's what I thought too, but I can just click on your avatar and instantly access both of those functions. Although, if you hadn't posted recently, I could then go to my "friends" and then it would be advantageous.

Mine is one year old this month and is an i5 quad core (originally 4G ram updated to 16 G) 500 GB HD. Win 7 Home Premium 64 bit. I know that with the 23" monitor; Office 2010 with three licenses and very little garbage; I didn't spend $1000. I hope this system lasts me for 10 years like the XP did, but that could be a stretch. Funny thing was that my basic tower jumped over $200 in December just before Win 8 hit the streets. As you know, Joan, neither of us had massive problems; nothing we couldn't live with until they fixed it. When I called my rep, she asked what my system was and when I told her she said, "Good!" so they seem to have identified the best system (s) to run 2012 and 2013. Will see what they decide going forward.

I don't know either but now Elrod has two and jasdlm has three.

I use EaseUS for backups at least once a month. The neat thing about it is that you can set it back up to an external drive and set it to shut off the computer when done. I do it just before retiring for the night or my IT pal can do it remotely. This is the best backup software that I have used in a long time. "Ghost" was wonderful until you had to get the new version for Win 7. We forgot about that in a hurry. I alternate external drives and do it much more often during peak tax season. Not only does it copy and restore your drive, but IT tells me that you can actually open and read files from the backup. He trusts it and I trust him so "Life is Good!"

My brain is 73. Never say never! I just read an article on the best way to keep your brain upgraded and active. "Make It Think!"

I got ten years out of my XP system and it is still going strong. However, the latter part of the 2011 tax season it was really struggling to make computations; particularly on Partnerships. I knew it was time and started studying and planning with the help of my IT friend. My new system was not all that expensive; nor is it top of the line. I generally like to walk the middle of the road and that is pretty much what we did. After the ATX system issues were apparent, we maxed the Ram from 4 G to 16 G; and I am really not sure that was necessary or even helped all that much. We just decided that as long as we were replacing perfectly good chips, we might as well go for broke. All in all, my season was not as cumbersome as some of yours. I did have a few incidents which were quickly resolved or worked around. So, IMO, equipment does matter. You just have to know when and how much.

That isn't what destroyed this marriage. She should have disclosed her entire life story. Now, two little children have to suffer too. One hers from before; one his, which is the reason he married her in the first place.

Are you really expecting ideal? I should have added that each of my computers has its individual laser printer. They are so inexpensive now and I don't need a workhorse for the laptop. For whatever reason, I am less stressed and more rested than I have been in a long time. I do believe that just having another person in house to vent to is advantageous in itself. I don't have her coming in any more; she has two other part time jobs. I have been doing other things and trying to whip my extension clients into shape....just getting them to bring in the info is the hard part. Have done a few amendment and one injured spouse for the poor guy who lost two thirds of his refund because of an old student loan debt of his soon to be x-wife. He didn't even know about it as it was long before he met her..plus, she didn't work and contribute to the household income.

I laid out a lot of money last year never expecting the chaos that it turned out to be. At this point, I have the new computer and my assistant uses my old and trusty XP. So far, she has not gotten into preparing returns but I have asked her to think about it for next year. She did save me many, many hours of busy time by doing all the little things like assembly, phone duty, bookkeeping and data entry. I also have a fairly decent Win 7 laptop which I can carry with me when I leave town and still want to work. Under no circumstances would I consider networking. I have three computers and my tablet on WiFi.; and, like you, experienced a lot fewer problems than many. A really good computer is fairly inexpensive these days and maintenance and backup are the keys that keep things oiled. You seem to be doing a really great job and, in many ways, I feel that we think the same. Always good to see your posts.

For many of us the big dilemma last year at this time was whether to take the RTRP test and/or where to sign up for continuing ed. I, personally, took and passed the test on May 11 so that I could have it behind me and move forward. Well, we all know how that ended up. I have no regrets and I have always taken continuing ed; and always will. This year we have an entire new set of problems. I am not going to remove my RTRP certificate from the wall. I am not going to worry needlessly about 2012 software. I still have returns to finish and money to collect. Seems like I made the big decisions last year; put a 200 sf addition onto my office (with no regrets); hired part time help for the first time ever (again, with no regrets). Along with the new office I had purchased all new equipment so had three computers available for the three licenses that ATX allowed. That decision may have been what helped me to get through the season without all of the problems reported by others. I had also opted early on not to network (with no regrets). It was still a very difficult season even for me so I can only imagine what some of you went through; especially for our newer colleagues. Because of all of the above reasons and others, I am not going to let sofrware decisions drive me around the bend. I have been through this before; many years ago when Intuit bought out Parsons. It's been a long road since then, traveled all the way with first Saber and then various combinations of ATX products. This time I have a choice to either stay or leave. Since I am a sole proprietor, only I can make that decision after weighing all issues. I very much appreciate all of the (positive) not (negative) input on this board. You are a great bunch of friends, colleagues, and advisors. I thank all of you and sincerely hope that next year at this time we will all be much happier than most of us are now.

It sounds to me as though the most popular options such as Drake and Pro Series are dropping all of their "great" deals now that people have stopped jumping ship mid-season. Nor, is ATX in a bargaining frame of mind. We all need to look at the options, make our decisions and stick to them. There is no great hurry unless you like things tied up neatly before you can relax. I am not going to advise anyone what to do or not do.

I don't believe that he actually said that it was MAX or what version he was using. I was trying to see what package he was negotiating. If it was MAX he got a great offer and my rep lied.

You really need to find another part time job. It always feels to me like being shoved off a cliff, but I immediately went to the Dental Office desk for a week; now I am ready for a short rest. Clients are still calling.

When you speak to an account manager, one of the main questions they ask is if you are standalone; what system you are using and/or if you are networked. I didn't get the impression that they were ready for networked users YET.

Same here, only the returns that I open and actually change something on backup on closing. It is a little annoying, but there may be a way to turn it off as I always export.

The way I did it at the beginning of this year was to install the Program on the new computer and update. Reboot. Then, I exported all of the clients to a jump drive, carried it across the room and imported it into the program on the new computer. Not a single glitch. You can also use the backup and restore; also using the jump drive to transfer the info. Slick as can be. I was moving from XP to Win 7....no problems. In fact we moved three years that way.

Yes, but the recruiting letters for continuing Ed and software as well as reference materials are coming in daily. Life is so much fun.

Sounds like an interesting one, too. Again; the Subject of Preparers who do not give depreciation schedules to clients. I always do and always will. I feel that the information belongs to them.