OnMyFreeTime

It is my opinion that you should not list your personal information such as your EFIN # on this board or any other public board...

Thanks

This is absolutely correct for many reasons. In the interest of not giving anyone any ideas, I will not list those reasons.

I doubt the validity of this person's technical knowledge. Deleting the program by using the add/remove function has NEVER been the correct way. Your client's data is at risk if you do that.

This "person" has not answered a single question with any sense of real knowledge about the program.

I SMELL A HOAX OR A TROUBLEMAKER. BEWARE OF HIS RECOMMENDATIONS!!

Obviously, you should do what I say at your own risk and I see no reason to defend my responses. For the record though, uninstalling through add/remove programs is the correct way. It runs the UNINSTAL.EXE located in C:\Program Files\Common Files\ATX\2007. You can tell that this is the right way because when you do it, it says ATX/Kleinrock product uninstaller at the top and obviously shows a list of ATX products to uninstall. When you select the product to uninstall and click NEXT, you will see that it says "Uninstalling will remove all program components, but will NOT remove your client data folders."

If you had tested this yourself, you would have realized that you get left with the Backup, Database and Masters folders(leaving you your automatic backups, your entire Database, all of your returns folders and all of your updated forms).

Anyone asking questions here in an unofficial ATX community should, of course, be wary of responses you get. The first and best thing to do would be to actually call in for support and speak to a rep in an official capacity.

I don't understand. Why do reps have to get permission to call out to a customer? Isn't the reps job to help the customers? Do CCH employees have to get permission to go to the bahroom?

Yes it is, however, the majority of the customers call in when they have problems. When we have customers waiting on hold that called in, it would be quite unfair to them to give another customer a call out and make them continue to wait. If everyone calls in, the system becomes fair(as fair as possible). The exception to this rule is when you ask a rep to call you back at a specific time to follow up on an issue they could not resolve immediately, they can go get permission then and there to schedule a callback. I didn't make the rules, nor do I have any ability to change them. From where I sit, the rules are the rules just like the law is the law. Just because we don't agree with it, doesn't mean that we don't have to abide by it.

Can you answer tech problems on previous years' software? Specifically, when I try to open 2004, I get MX3 object not found or registered, then, run-time error '91'; object variable or block variable not set. I did find mx3.ocx in net setup.

Yea, this could be a number of problems. I see the runtime 91 errors from time to time and to be honest, they can show up anywhere and unfortunately they are not very descriptive. I reccomend running NetSetup first, making sure the software is not set to be running in compatability mode(I've seen it, I promise). If that fails, I would uninstall from Add/Remove programs and then reinstall the software. If that fails too, we would typically reboot the computer into Safe Mode and try it again to rule out the possibility that another program is interfering with ATX. If we determine that nothing is interfering at this point, I would have you call in so that we can clean out the entire program(salvaging the data of course) and reinstall it from scratch

OK I'LL BITE i spoke to atx a few times on this till i got tired of hitting my head against the proverbial wall. THE state voucher letter has on the option screen as an entry for an alternate due date for the 4th estimate. but entering 12/31/08 for example doesn't flow to the letter. so you have an option entry not linked to the letter - can you get it fixed?

I've got some time later tonight, I can test this and verify that its not just happening on your computer. If it's a legitimate defect, I can get it submitted, it will be up to the QA dept to notify the forms dept. The turn-around is pretty quick though(sometimes just a few hours, sometimes a few days). Basically, I have to reproduce it, then they have to reproduce it, then they have to fix it.

I will check it out for you.

DILEMMA:

I have 3 tax returns which were e-filed (Federal and LA state) on 3/6/2008. The 3 federal returns have been ACK'd. The 3 state returns still show IRS CLEARED.

I called Tech Support and was told they'd look into it and get back to me. So far, this hasn't happened. So I sent an e-mail to LA E-file Help Desk. Didn't get a reply by Monday noon so I called LA E-file Help Desk and was told that those 3 returns were ACK'D by the state on 3/7 and the refunds have been sent out. So far so good for my clients. Kathy from LA E-File Help Desk (to whom I had sent the email) called me this morning; when I relayed what has transpired so far she said she'd call ATX and find out what's going on.

Tech support thinks my issue has been resolved. It has not. My system still shows those 3 returns as IRS CLEARED. I have done a "synch" with the ATX system 3 times, the most recent one within a few days; those 3 returns are still IRS CLEARED. Tech support keeps suggesting I call them; I think it should be the other way around - they should be calling me.

For the record, the status of the return on your system can vary from the status in the ATX system(the ATX system is always correct though). I have seen a few times this year where something slips up and you don't receive the updated status or don't receive the acknowledgements back from the Filing Center. Sometimes the acknowledgements come down and ATX just tosses them out and you have no idea this has happened. I don't have the 3 SSNs and I couldn't look them up unofficially for you if I did. I do suggest that you call in as well. It is difficult for reps to get permission to call out to customers, it would be much quicker if you were to call in. There is a transmission log that they could take a look at to find out exactly what is happening, and since we are so far past the date that these have been transmitted, it would be a good idea to do so. Customer Service will get the call and it may be a good idea to recommend they send you to technical support so that the transmission log can be looked at.

I can't vouch for the other people here, but let me see if I can clear some of this up. For the record, I'm here in an un-official capacity and am by no means obligated to help anyone in this way.

Can you explain why the security around accessing MyAtx has been tightened to such an extreme? I am currently locked out, and have been putting off calling ATX to get back in. I also saw a thread earlier that we would not be helped with problems accessing prior years software until after tax season. Is this true? And finally, why do I not have form 2555 yet, or the 2008 version of form 941. I realize this is a lot of topics, but it is hard to find time to talk on the phone, whereas hopefully I can post this and come back in a little while to answers. Thank you for joining us.

The security for the MyATX website was stepped up because they now use the same login system as the TaxWise product. The TaxWise product is used by the IRS and Military and therefore they have additional security. They can quickly and easily reset your password to your registration code so that you can log-in once again and change the password to something you can remember. There is currently no wait time to get to Customer Service to have this done(that of course can change at any time.)

As far as prior year software, earlier in the season there was extremely high call volume. Because of this, they stopped supporting all but the current year until after Tax Season. This was mandated earlier in the season due to high call volume. To my knowledge, they are supporting 05,06 and 07 right now(which is standard for tax season, they support the 3 most recent years) and after April 16th they will support all of the prior years.

As far as your form questions, I cannot help you unfortunately, I do not have those answers.

One of my co-workers pointed me to this site. I work in Tech Support, not Customer Service. The difference(this year specifically) is that Technical Support handles and fixes errors that occur within the software. Customer Service takes care of form questions, how-tos, actual tax-related questions and various other non-technical problems.

That being said, if you have an error in the software, feel free to ask and I will try to help. Unfortunately, typically, all I can help with is errors, software functionality, and maybe answer a few "Why does this happen" questions. I am here of my own accord in an un-official capacity and you can ask questions/listen to me at your own risk.