Catherine

And some of the new features are terrific!

Starting with a bath in a cereal bowl... Baby Owls

I saw a demo of it at the NE IRS Rep Conference in CT a couple of weeks ago and was really impressed. I find getting transcripts on e-services time consuming, laborious, and annoying. This program logs you in, retrieves ALL information on e-services for your client (again assuming CAF check goes through), downloads it to spreadsheets, indexes yearly transactions by DATE (not the hodge-podge you get through e-services) , gives you a summation history of all the years you have POA for - filing status, extensions, liens, collections, examinations (and THAT tidbit shows up here up to six months before the first letter goes to your clients so you can get early warning and amend!), and more. I am buying it - today; it has been on my to do list since I got back from the conference. taxhelpsoftware.com or 404-910-3605 for more info

Here it is, @Margaret CPA in OH - enjoy! snowman.pps

Papers, please... not a nice phrase. Grrr.

E-services yes; account transcripts no. Or not reliably. I get gobbledygook when printing (to pdf) from Chrome, and Adobe seizing up when printing (again, to pdf) from Firefox.

This one is mine - but in white, not black. http://www.amazon.com/Gibraltar-MSK00000-Lockable-Security-Mailbox/dp/B000CSK2EY/ref=sr_1_13?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1449029008&sr=1-13&keywords=locking+mailbox

ALL THE TIME!!!!! And it's not even my picture...

At one point I had a whole powerpoint slide show of those strips. I should put it back on my web site.

I got a locking USPS mailbox and installed it on the wall outside my office. Installation access is from inside the open box, so once it is closed and locked it is a secure as the fastenings.

Are you using Internet Explorer? The IRS system does not work properly with any other browser - so we are stuck using the one with the most (and the biggest) security flaws if we want to see everything and print what we see.

Elrod's picture reminds me of the Calvin and Hobbes snowmen pictures.

OK. Client had -and took - Office in Home expenses for years. Fine. In the last year of his business, however, he had a loss (medical reasons; lots of complications on that year's return). I thought it was possible to take the loss on office in home expenses (and any carry-forward losses, which he does not have) in the final year of the business. But I can find nothing online or in the various pubs that either confirms OR denies this. Lots of mentions of carrying losses forward to when they can be taken. Ditto for depreciation on the home office; can it be taken -- and if not, then it would be excluded from the "allowed or allowable" depreciation recapture upon sale of the home (no income due to illness; he sold before he totally ran out of money), yes?

Your information is correct, and the issue is definitely to make the software bend to your will. Have you tried overrides on detail screens? Those can work even when nothing else seems to cooperate. I stopped using ATX after the 2012 debacle so cannot give ATX-specific advice other than overrides.

@Margaret CPA in OH - most computers these days have un-zipping capability built in. But we all have *those* clients who cannot figure out anything even slightly outside the norm.

@Margaret CPA in OH you can also try WinZip; it has encryption capabilities and the program is about $30.

I am SO grateful for all of you. May you all have a wonderful holiday; one to look back on for years as a pinnacle in your family's times together.

If you click on your own member account you will get a listing of all your posts. Perhaps you can also search there.

If you are looking for something dead simple, try ye olde One-Write System. One-Write I'd rather have a small client on a good paper system than a poorly-kept electronic system.

An extra twist in MA -- coverage counts for federal purposes if you have even ONE day of coverage. But in MA, coverage must be for 15 days in a month or it is considered NOT covered. So I get to ask two separate sets of questions of anyone who does not have 100% coverage. At least this year, more people won't be blind-sided by the existence of the questions. I hope?!

Wishing you a quick and full recovery! Most of the folks I have known who have had the surgery wonder, afterward, why they waited so long. Colors are much brighter and everything is in focus once again, they say.

Signature Flow by CPAperless costs a couple of bucks per client. NO huge monthly fees; use it when you want. Sends securely, e-signatures are accepted by the IRS, comes back to you automatically once signed. Signature Flow info

One of the really nice things Drake has is a built-in pdf printer that allows you to password-protect your files as you print them AND set the password (or use their default algorithm). And you can call the file whatever you wish; again over-writing their default naming convention. But I will make note of the other two that @Roberts mentions. Always good to have options! But I am very surprised about the cnet warning; that has historically been a source of known-good download files, not malware.

A central problem with one-size-fits-NONE regulations. Sigh.

True, but my state (MA) still holds *me* responsible should a data breach be traced to email I sent. Heck, it holds me responsible if it comes from an email sent TO me by a client that I did not (1) delete from my system - including attachments, and (2) email the client back, separately (no "reply") telling THEM to delete the email and attachments from their system. First important step: stay out of looney-tune-central MA. Wish I could follow my own advice on that one...