JohnH

Good sales reps are always aware of one thing. "Sincerity is the key to success. Once you can fake that, you've got it made."

I just use the paper version. Haven't tried the web version, but I understand it's handy based on what people are saying on their forum. For me, sometimes I just like to hold a book in my hand to look something up. (Some old habits die hard) I might get more interested if they develop something for the iPad, though. I had already purchased the Tax Book back in October 2012 before I decided to abandon ATX and go with Drake in January 2013, so no deals were available to me. I'll be figuring out the pricing during May, but I assume it will save some money since I'm bundling The Tax Book with Drake this year. For the first time in my life, I'm thinking about taking the early purchase discount on my tax software since I'm convinced I'll be using Drake next year.

I meant to add something important to our side conversation concering learning more about Excel but it slipped my mind until this morning. There's a great site which provides email tips on using Excel. Here's the link: http://excel.tips.net/faq.html?awt_l=EXwEx&awt_m=Jmdj2_Z_QHsx4X There's a free version and a paid version. Both are very helpful, with the paid version just having more info each week. The tips usually arrive on Saturday morning, and they are frequently very useful. So I'm passing this info along just in case you want to get more involved in Excel and develop proficiency.

I've used the TaxBook for a very long time. I switched to them from QuickFinder about 5-6 years ago - maybe longer. The Taxbook satisfies almost all my needs, and they have an excellent forum as well.

Long ago when I first got into this field, I would take any business I could get. I gained a client who was a chronic payroll tax delinquent when he came to me. So we were meeting with an IRS collections agent who was being pretty hard-nosed. I'd call his demenanor fair but firm. My client blurted out something to the effect that what IRS was about to do would put him out of business. The collections agent looked him right in the eye, and without the slightest emotion or judgementalism calmly replied "Mr____, if you're going to spend your employees' withholding taxes, we INTEND to put you out of business." Not long thereafter he came up with the money and stayed current for many years.

Not required with the 2012 return, but I'd include a copy of the 2010 Form 8606, just to give them something to look at. If the reviewer happened not to understand the issue, maybe that would prompt them to ask someone for help.

Just to be clear, I'm not implying that I think they will shut down ATX or not. I was just brainstorming the scenario because marketing & sales is important to me in my other role. Most businesses contemplating major moves go to great pains to pretend that nothing has changed until the last possible moment. They keep insisting that "nothing has changed", "we're staying the course", "your interests are paramount", and so on. Then they lower the boom, hopefully at a time that has enabled them to keep loyal customers on the hook past the point that bolting to the competition is just too painful. I've seen it numerous times in the medical equipment field - happens all the time. It may seem insensitive and uncaring, but the objective in business is to make money, not friends.

I stick to the old-fashioned way. If it's important enough to track, it's important enough to take to the post office, get a certified mail receipt, and pay for return receipt. Well worth the $ 6.11 cost. I have my proof of mailing, and I get the green card back for my files (about 95% of the time). I also photocopy the envelope (front and back) after everything is inside, stickers are stuck on, and it's ready to go to the post office. I've heard people claim it's useless because you can't prove what's in the envelope, but I think that's bogus. The few times I've had to produce this info IRS always accepted it - in one instance it saved a proposed corporate return penalty in the thousands of dollars.

I think I'd include the 8606 and a copy of the adjustment letter. No cover letter needed. I'd use the explanation section of the 1040X to tie it all together, probably by simply stating that "The second required payment of taxes due for a 2010 IRA conversion was missing from the original 2012 return as filed. This amended return corrects that omission. Additional tax due of $800 is enclosed herewith." (or something to that effect). By simply stating that it "was missing", you avoid trying to offer various speculations about the omission and you have given them all the info they need to make the adjustment.

For an $800 refund amount I'd tell the client to deposit the check and pay the $800 with the 1040x. The small amount of interest they will pay will be a pittance compared to the hassles they will have if IRS mis-handles the void check. If the client balked at that I'd tell them to give me the interest bill and I'd pay it. In the long run that will be cheaper than the potential wasted time. Here's how to find the address: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Where-to-File-Tax-Returns---Addresses-Listed-by-Return-Type

The thought occurred to me that if we begin asking healthcare-related questions, we might find ourselves coming under the HIPAA regulations. If you think Circular 230 is a hassle, just try wading through HIPAA.

I'm curious about something. Would ANYONE on this forum seriously consider renewing early? Seems like a colossal waste of time for ATX to even ask. But on the other hand if they happen to be thinking about abandoning the product (as some have suggested), then a lack of early renewals might actualy help drive that decision. Looks like a bit of a Catch-22 for those considering hanging on.

I wouldn't have said this until I made the plunge into Drake, but after making that move I learned something about speed. Forms-based input is vastly overrated and it actually slows you down. It's appealing because it is intutive and simple, but it is very inefficient. Since inefficiency costs money, it turns out that forms-based entry is also a more expensive way to work. When I evaluate my backup for Drake, I think I will probably rule out ATX in part because it is forms-based. The only reason I might consider it as a backup is just because I'm familiar with it - more or less like an old pair of comfortable shoes.

In addition to what KC said, all the sales material I read was full of dodges, weaves, and every type of financial doublespeak you can imagine. And it all ended with "consult your tax advisor". So in the final analysis, they were building in enough land mines to sink anyone who agrees with the tax implications of what they recommend, should something go awry. There are so many ways a self-directed IRA can go wrong that all I saw was trouble ahead. Here's some good reading material: http://www.producersesource.com/featured-middle-right/7-self-directed-ira-issues-advisors-should-review-with-clients-before-they-take-the-plunge/ You can also google "Self-Directed IRA Problems" or a similar set of words. You'll get enough hits to keep you up all night reading them. Or you can just read one or two of them and let it keep you up all night wondering how you're going to tell the client you don't want anything to do with the mess they're about to get into.

I've had three clients over the years who asked me about Self-Directed IRA plans. After I investigated it the first time, I told that client he would need to find another accountant if he went through with the plan. I also responded the same way to the other two clients without even bothering to look into it more. If one were to call me today, I'd tell them exactly the same thing.

Isn't this a novel idea? When faced with a 2% decrease in revenue and a populace about to revolt, they sudenly discover that it's possible to make selective adjustments. Wonder where they got that idea? Could it be that they noticed that every taxpayer who earns wages figured out how to cope with exactly the same reduction in income (2%) back in January? Somehow we figured out we didn't need to stop making the house payment or park the car in the driveway. We PRIORITIZED.

It looks as though Proseries has a big following. Lots of good comments about it here and on other forums. I'm planning to check it out as my backup to Drake. (always need to keep the powder dry)

Regarding Excel (and hopefully not to take this too far off topic), let me suggest signing up for an Excel course at a local community college or training center. For about $150 and a couple of hours' time, you will more than get your money's worth in increased productivity. I've walked away from every course with something practical I could put into use almost immediately. It is important to find a course which enables each student to work at their own workstation simultaneously while the instructor controls the presentation. That way you can see on the main screen what you're supposed to see on your screen. If not, you usually learn two or three extra things while getting in sync with the presenter. Anyone who works with numbers should have some Excel proficiency. First of all, it frees you from the constraints of standardized software when you need control and flexibility. Secondly, it gives you valuable insights into how all software manipulates data, so you have a better intuitive understanding of how financial software does it's magic. It helps you to achieve some degree of software transparency that can apply across the board. As for number of returns and best practices, I'd say any office that prepares more than 200 returns is just begging for trouble by depending upon a single vendor. High volume practices scream for having at least two ACTIVE programs, and I believe this year has proven that hands-down. I'm not talking here about having a second vendor on standby - I'm talking about having the second vendor being in use on a stand-alone machine at the very least. It isn't very hard to gear up this way, the relative cost is minimal, and any claims to the contrary are simply excuses.

Refusing to learn something new doesn't render it ineffective. Macros allow you to customize & automate repetitive tasks which may be unique to your practice or to your way of doing things. They add to the functionality of the program. There are many Drake users who never use them - it's a take-it-or-leave-it option. But most Drake users who are willing to take the time to learn seem to quickly jump on the bandwagon once they discover what macros can do. I found them to be simple to write and highly functional, but that's because I already knew the capability of macros from using them in Excel and Access. I began using macros the first week I began using Drake and they are one of the many features that locked me into the program. Like many other Drake features, they help speed up the preparation of returns. And since we are selling our expertise measured in time, speed equals money.

I'm devastated. I didn't know it was impossible to achieve Grand Poo-Bah. So my useless posts have all been in vain? That means I have maybe 6 or 7 posts that achieved any purpose whatsoever.

Well, we could probably squeeze at least one more useless post out of this conversation to add a couple more posts to our tally. What do you think about that?

Yeah. The best way to get to Supreme Master or Grand Poo Bah is to post something agreeing with a previous post without adding any useful information.

But it does absolutely nothing to prevent Platinum plans (paid for with our tax dollars) for the politicians who are writing the legislation - for our own good, of course.

It seems to me that the wisest course would be to evaluate other software during the off-season by preparing some extension returns or even re-doing some typical returns from the regular season with several alternative vendors' products. Then after selecting the backup vendor, I'd tell them they're going to be my alternate IF they will let me use their conversion program during the off-season. With conversion complete, the decision to choose whether to use ATX or the alternate as my primary could then wait until the last minute. But even if I decided to stay with ATX as my primary (I won't, but I know some of you will) I'd still buy the backup program on a pay-per-return basis. Running some of my low-to-moderate complexity returns on a stand-alone computer would keep me (or someone in my office) proficient on the backup program. And the higher the number of returns my office prepared, the more obsessive I'd be about this entire process.

After this year's experiences and stories, anyone who doesn't have a secondary vendor lined up and ready to go on day 1 of the next tax season has no one to blame but themselves. This applies to those who had problems and to those who didn't. No excuses and no sympathy in 2014, regardless of how it shapes up.