Virtual Managed Solutions

BUT, if you want to find out if you already have it or not - Go to your Control Panel - Click Add / Remove Programs - Then search through the list and you'll see .NET listings. From there you'll be able to see if 3.5 has been installed. If it has not, then use the link listed above.

Here is a link to the update I found on Google - It's the official .NET Framework 3.5 download page from Microsoft Visual Studio : http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...;displaylang=en

ACS41 - That would be the first thing I would think of. Or any other important mailing(s) that come to her address. Something else that comes to mind is being tricky with your questions. Ask questions that could possibly lead to the answer, but don't be so blunt about them that she picks up on what you are doing. This is a touchy subject and I think it may be rather hard in getting the answer. Good luck with it though.

I think it's great to see new users registering to use this community. In the last week alone I think almost 10 new people have signed up.

For the past week we have been calling our current customers and scheduling PC cleanups to get them ready for tax season. We have also noticed an influx of people signing up for that exact service, so I figured I'd let everyone know what that entails. When you surf the web, lots of cookies and temp files get created and if those build up, it tends to take a lot of memory. You may or may not know this, but spyware is also installed onto your system without your knowledge most of the time while on the internet. There could be numerous programs in your Start Up folder and / or installed on your PC that are not needed. When you delete / remove programs, if not done the correct way, could damage a lot of your registry code. All this combined will slow your PC down and the systems full potential is not being used. What we do during a PC cleanup : (1) Remove unwanted programs and clean the Start Up folder (2) Repair any damaged registry code (3) Remove unneeded files / cookies / temps (4) Update Windows and / or Virus program (5) Scan for virus' / spyware (6) Run Disk Cleanup / Defrag (7) Run Diagnostics (8) Anything else you want done All this, for 1 PC, is only $199. With that price, you are still guaranteed Unlimited Technical Support on anything PC related during the full year of sign up date. We will respond to all help calls within 90 minutes of first hearing your request and we are available 24/7 during tax season! This price is the best around. GeekSquad (from Best Buy) does an in-home cleanup for $299, or will do a remote session for only $199. You may ask yourself, why not just use them, but the reason why our services are beneficial is because when we charge the $199, you get Unlimited Technical Support on ANYTHING PC related for a full year. When you pay GeekSquad the $199, all you get is the cleanup. No Support is included in their pricing. Just wanted to give everyone a heads up that we are here to get you ready for tax season. We know that this time is crucial and you don't have the time for any problems, so we want to help alleviate that concern before it happens. Let's get everything taken care before the craziness starts.

Out of curiosity - did they mention why they are doing that?

@jainen - That's the thing - We would not be competing. We do not offer a tax program, we only offer technical support and other managed services geared toward the tax professional. Supporting a tax product (such as ATX) is something we miss and something we loved doing. Creating a relationship with our customer, knowing they can call anytime and get the help they need, becoming friends in a sense. Right now we have ATX, ProSeries, TaxWise, TaxWorks and Drake customers who call in for technical support with the program. We are familiar with the product, but are not experienced with it. We give our "Best Effort" in all software matters. I was thinking that if we are already getting calls in regard to tax prep software, why not learn them all? Get versed in everything and be able to provide the best customer service out there. There's no competition - only gaining the confidence you can trust us. @taxxcpa - I understand, because just like this forum, you can get all the help you need. There's really no need for technical support at all when you have a community such as this. I have heard great things about Drake support and understand them to be top notch. We wouldn't want to replace the actual support for the program, but we could be another route if we decided to go that way. It's not about working for the tech team, it's all about experience. I remember ATX hiring 40 techs 2 weeks before tax season and getting them "trained" in the software. Who would think that 2 weeks before the season starts you would be able to learn the product. But after you see how we did the training and the level of expertise behind these technicians, you get a better sense of who we really were. It wasn't about us, in the end it was all about you guys. That's what we miss.

I want to thank everyone for their responses as they were very helpful - A few I would like to focus on (using the "rchinchilla" method).. @BulldogTom - That is exactly what I was trying to say. I should have thought the question out a little more, before typing it out so quickly. It was a thought I had all day yesterday and I thought asking the question would be more appropriate than racking my brain for answers I didn't have. Very well said Tom! Too many times being an ATX Rep, did that happen with our customers. Some of the times it was us saying that, because it was our policy. If we got to the point were we concluded it wasn't a software issue, we were supposed to end the call. I personally used to feel horrible, because I could sense the frustration / "let down" in the speakers voice. This is why VMSUS offers the support we do. @jainen - I totally understand this issue. Being with ATX for so many years, we've bonded with many tax professionals and empathize where you are coming from. This is not only my thinking, but my co-workers as well. Those critical 3 months are your life blood. You have unforseen circumstances, stressful deadlines, late nights, and the list could go on. I was thinking "what if" we could take that extra step to make it a little easier for you. Find a way to make things less stressful. Less demanding. Maybe, learning all the top software out there isn't the way to do it, but it was a thought. You're point did hit home and I'll take it to heart, but please know that we do miss all our relationships with you guys. @JRS - Essentially, taking over your computer is how we fix things as well. But I want to stress the fact that we don't take it over completely. You have complete control the whole time. Once the connection between our computer and your computer has taken place, you are able to sit there and watch our every move. If you feel we are getting too close to sensitive information, all you do is move your mouse and it disconnects us from you. We tell you what we are doing before every move. We understand the type of information we are being entrusted with and we take that into the highest regard. Once the connection has been terminated, it's done. We cannot connect again without you being involved. @David1980 - I'm glad you brought that up, because that is a path we would like to continue down. As it is right now, we are offering software support for a couple different (not tax) software providers, but we all started out in tax software support and that is where our ties remain. Quite frankly, we miss it and would like to find a way back in.

This is a "what if" scenario - What if you had us for Technical Support and you knew we supported the different kinds of tax prep software (ie, Lacerte, TaxWorks, Drake, ProSeries, and so on..) - We knew the ins and outs of the software and we could provide you the same level of support as we did with ATX - Would you call our Technical Support, or would you call the software provider's Technical Support?

BulldogTom - You are correct on the date. Here is a PDF with all the dates for anyone else who is curious : http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p2043.pdf

Out of curiosity - When do all of you guys get "incredibly" busy? I know tax seasons officially starts soon, but the busy-ness doesn't start until some time after. I'm trying to get everyone's input on this, because I do make some outbound calls to tax professionals and I'm curious as to when I should stop calling?

IMO, I think that is a great idea! You wouldn't believe (being a Tax Software salesman at one time) how many people were different in their preferences. It seemed to be 50/50 on that particular preference. Half loved the forms idea, the other half loved the input screens. You couldn't make everyone happy. Could you imagine being able to take all the preferences, whether it be the input screens/forms, colors, text, overall look, etc. from each program and by clicking a few boxes, be able to create your own look? You're onto something with that idea Roger!

No, ERC would be one of the camera guys running around like a mad man trying to catch something hilarious on film. Or better yet, he'd be the person from the crew that would munching down on a huge cheeseburger and look over to one of the castaways and ask, "Want some?" Then be like, "Oh wait, nevermind - you need to outwit, outlast and outplay. It's a great burger though.." ERC is quite the character, but a very good friend.

I would if I could and today would be a great day, because everyone brought in there left over cookies and candies. I have a stomach ache from eating fudge and pumpkin cookies all day.

TaxTrio - if you could, please email me any more info on this. Did you install anything new? Remove anything old? Get any error up til the blue screen? Thanks in advance.

Love it! The first laugh I've had today. Thanks Catherine. Happy Holidays to everyone!

What I replied with yesterday was what I had heard through the grapevine (AKA, "very reliable sources"). They had told me it was an all too COMMON mistake that CCH made last year. I would imagine that is what's happening again this year. That's what happens when someone new takes over and cuts everyone's jobs thinking they are making it easier on the inside, but the new people on the inside had no idea how to do the job. They probably should have thought it through a bit more.

Firefox does check spelling on this board. It checks pretty much everything you enter as text.

CCH owns TaxWise and ATX plus others accordingly. This happened a lot last year too with the fulfillment department just messing up on orders. It happened, because CCH tried consolidating everything to make it easier, but essentially made it all that more confusing to people putting the orders together. There were a lot of reports where people got a package labeled ATX, but there would be a TaxWise CD in it. I wouldn't worry, but it's always good to call just to make sure.

Roger, I want you to email me. Would like to talk to you about a couple of things. Thanks in advance.

Mozilla Firefox all the way! Has a spell check built in - I like it, because it makes me look smarter than I am.

It has been my experience that it is getting harder and harder to cash checks without having at least a savings account established at any bank, proper I.D. or not. It may be different from area to area, but thought I would share my thoughts. I can lend no ideas on fees & pricing, but I'm sure others will be very helpful!

I lived in San Antonio for over a year a while back and I remember "their winters" too! Never dropped below 60 - to me, being from Maine all my life, considered that a heat wave and was always made fun of for wearing shorts and a t-shirt when everyone else was wearing sweaters and winter jackets. If they only knew !

We just got hit with over a foot of snow over the night - The winds are gusting upwards of 30 MPH and they are calling for another 4-8 inches of snow throughout the day. I personally walked through knee-deep snow at times just to get to work this morning. Consider yourselves lucky - most of you will never see this!

Now that's the Janitor Bob I remember and enjoy!