jshtax Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 Just worked on a return and it tried to autosave and I got the message I was not connected to my network and the return could not save. Waited a few minutes tried again and it said same message followed by the lovely ATX crash pop up box/screen. It appears I am screwed on the data I previously entered but is there a fix to this out there? And before anyone says anything....yes I was connected to network as I clicked on shared folder to verify. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cathy Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 I also had something similar...when shutting down the program for the night, an error message appeared saying that the back-up copy couldn't be saved. I forgot the exact error it gave and was so fed up with this program I'm still having crash on me when I go to re-create an efile, just another reason I'm so far over the fence that it doesn't look like I'll be back with ATX for the upcoming season! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack from Ohio Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 2012 is what it is. By now, you should have figured out that you must click on save every few minutes while preparing to prevent data loss. This has been the case since February. There is no fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jshtax Posted October 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 2012 is what it is. By now, you should have figured out that you must click on save every few minutes while preparing to prevent data loss. This has been the case since February. There is no fix. I just hadn't seen that box before saying I was not connected to the network when trying to save a return. Fortunately I had only cleaned up some forms from previous year(something I need to let them know to change for 2013 if possible but since its a form input software I don't know if that is possible) that were no longer needed. Not to get off track but it is very annoying that forms roll from one year to next that need to be removed. I guess this is a downside to form input software opposed to input screen input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack from Ohio Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 I just hadn't seen that box before saying I was not connected to the network when trying to save a return. Fortunately I had only cleaned up some forms from previous year(something I need to let them know to change for 2013 if possible but since its a form input software I don't know if that is possible) that were no longer needed. Not to get off track but it is very annoying that forms roll from one year to next that need to be removed. I guess this is a downside to form input software opposed to input screen input. You are way behind the ball on this one. Old news. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jshtax Posted October 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 You are way behind the ball on this one. Old news. I guess I should consider myself lucky for not getting that response any sooner than I did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcjenkins Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 Sorry. I guess Jack is having some problem in his life that is making him short-tempered and not very courteous right now. I'm hoping he gets to feeling better real soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jshtax Posted October 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 Sorry. I guess Jack is having some problem in his life that is making him short-tempered and not very courteous right now. I'm hoping he gets to feeling better real soon. He cant help it. He is obviously a very self serving individual who likes to make himself feel better. You take him to task or offer an opinion different than his and he does not know how to react. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jklcpa Posted October 7, 2013 Report Share Posted October 7, 2013 I am not going to speculate on why someone/anyone is acting the way he or she is, but what I do know is that all of this nastiness and the blasting needs to stop NOW. It is causing the whole tone of the forum to become really ugly, and there is no reason for us to be treating each other this way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Taxed Posted October 7, 2013 Report Share Posted October 7, 2013 >>> Not to get off track but it is very annoying that forms roll from one year to next that need to be removed. I guess this is a downside to form input software opposed to input screen input. One of the reasons I like Drake after using ATX and other form input based software. Jshtax, unless you are deeply vested in ATX, you should give Drake a try. Get the 2012 demo and do a few actual returns to compare the speed at which it calculates. As a matter of fact they have the 2011 conversion program from ATX so you could try 2011 to see your conversions of your actual cases. 2012 conversions will be released later this month. There is another member here JohnH who switched to Drake and he swears by the speed too. Perhaps he will chime in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnH Posted October 7, 2013 Report Share Posted October 7, 2013 For the most part I've stopped commenting on ATX vs Drake, because I see how passionate some on this forum are with respect to ATX. Some of you are going to stick with ATX no matter what the cost and no matter what the risk. From a business standpoint that continues to puzzle me. I'm also astounded at the number of practices who are totally reliant upon one vendor and don't have an alternate vendor already identified. Large practices with a high volume of returns should have an alternate vendor's software actually running on some computers in their office, just so they don't get blindsided by something like what happened with ATX this year. Yet I continue to see this blind loyalty to ATX and little indication that any preventive steps are being taken. It's October folks, and the comments lead me to believe that most are just sitting with their fingers crossed, hoping all the promises will be fulfilled. But I will chime in here since you've hit upon the biggest difference between these two vendors. There's nothing in this price range to compete with Drake on speed. It isn't fancy and some of the screens aren't as pretty, but it's designed for speed. Input is fast, return management is fast, backups are fast, and updates are lighting fast. There are times when I miss the direct input on the form a little, but that becomes less and less of a problem once you get accustomed to Drake. Their Macros also aid you in designing special input keys - again making return preparation FAST. Since we sell our expertise measured in time in this business, faster speed translates into more dollars in the bank. Hard to argue with that logic. I knew within a few days of switching over that Drake was going to be my primary software going forward, not matter what happens with ATX. I now regard ATX at best as a candidate for my backup vendor, provided they really get their act together. But I'm still very much of a skeptic in that department as well. I think you're going to have to settle for lots of compromises in the future, and one of those is likely to be speed. If that's the case, then you're going to be committing to earning less over a given period of time. Some ATX diehards are willing to accept that trade-off, but I'm not. I actually wish I had switched to Drake years before I did, just so I'd be more experienced in using it today. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnH Posted October 7, 2013 Report Share Posted October 7, 2013 I'll add one other comment. I was away from the office for the past two weeks, and since I still consider myself a Drake novice, I was curious about how quickly I would fall back into the routine with the software once I returned. No need to worry though - Drake is just as logical and intuitive as ATX, once you break the dependence upon the sacred "direct entry" mentality. As I've said before, direct form entry is vastly overrated. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADGFINANCIAL Posted October 7, 2013 Report Share Posted October 7, 2013 JohnH well said. I switched to ProSeries and since the break with ATX feel much better. It was worth the small price increase. I've done about 45 returns so far and that program is also logical and intuitive. The support is great. I feel good about next year. August @ ADGFinancial.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelmars Posted October 7, 2013 Report Share Posted October 7, 2013 i too am fairly pleased with proseries but miss a lot of atx. atx is easier to edit, generate and fix letters, has more, what I consider, basic forms and better linking back to entries... Adding muni interest for multiple states is very difficult in proseries too which is big for me. proseries does have great support, fairly better diagnostics, better on passive loss etc. carryovers and regular vs. alt min calculations, multistate tax credits are automatic, has no state k-1 inputs to enter state adjustments [this might become a deal breaker for me for this coming season] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Taxed Posted October 7, 2013 Report Share Posted October 7, 2013 I don't think any of us will find that one tax prep software that has everything we like. So looking for the utopia is a futile exercise in my opinion. After all if we all worked the same way all the vendors would have the ultimate solution and they would all look alike?? Some people look for seamless integration with Fixed Assets, payroll etc. and that I think is better suited for the upscale software like Ultratax, Prosystem FX, Lacerte etc. I am certainly not in that league. I think after trying various options you have to settle for an option that works for most of your cases. Yes there will be a few exceptions that will drive you crazy and you will have to plan for it (charge more, or take more time to do it early in the season). One think that drives me crazy is slow software. After you input the data, you are ready to take a peek and in Drake I found that to be the fastest in all the software that I reviewed. I ran the same case on ATX 2011 and Drake 2011 and saw the difference. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcjenkins Posted October 7, 2013 Report Share Posted October 7, 2013 The sad thing is that while ATX forms were a big factor, in the beginning it was ATX's SUPPORT that was it's outstanding strength. William and his whole team were not only extremely knowledgeable, THEY REALLY CARED ABOUT OUR PROBLEMS. What a change once CCH bought it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack from Ohio Posted October 7, 2013 Report Share Posted October 7, 2013 The sad thing is that while ATX forms were a big factor, in the beginning it was ATX's SUPPORT that was it's outstanding strength. William and his whole team were not only extremely knowledgeable, THEY REALLY CARED ABOUT OUR PROBLEMS. What a change once CCH bought it. I told the new President of ATX those very words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelmars Posted October 7, 2013 Report Share Posted October 7, 2013 So did I but I think its in one ear out the other Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack from Ohio Posted October 7, 2013 Report Share Posted October 7, 2013 So did I but I think its in one ear out the other I told him face to face and I made sure he understood what I said. Now whether he did or will care is another question entirely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnH Posted October 7, 2013 Report Share Posted October 7, 2013 It's wasted breath - you may as well be talking to the wall. You're fooling yourself if you think it will make any difference - they know exactly what they are doing and why. Most of the time they tolerate listening because they know it makes you feel good to hear yourself saying it. And maybe you'll stick around a little longer in hopes that you had an impact. That's they way the game is played (or that's the way the customer is played) in the aftermath of most buyouts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Taxed Posted October 7, 2013 Report Share Posted October 7, 2013 JohnH is correct in his observation. Did any of you guys really think they would say, No we don't care about your concerns? They will agree with you in front of you and do waht they have to do based on their business plan. I have worked for corporate America far too long to know how it works with customers. In one of my prior jobs, I was customer service manager and no customer was ever wrong when they called in to complain, even when the real reason was the customer's own stupidity?? They would write complaint letters cursing the company addressed to the CEO and got a form letter reply that was so polite that they must have thought they really gave us a piece of their mind! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILLMAS Posted October 7, 2013 Report Share Posted October 7, 2013 I didn't know shorthand for the internet existed, if you scroll all the way down you will find WTF, OMG, and my favorite *$, see if you can guess what it means. http://www.netlingo.com/acronyms.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaraEA Posted October 8, 2013 Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 "Large practices with a high volume of returns should have an alternate vendor's software actually running on some computers in their office, just so they don't get blindsided by something like what happened with ATX this year." JohnH, is this really practical? Alternate software isn't free. And would returns already have to be converted to the new software so they're ready to go? That's a major hassle. And do you have to train staff ahead of time to use the alternate just in case? The whole thing sounds like a major expense to me, too much for even a large practice to absorb. What you're saying is that no one should trust their software vendor to deliver a viable product. We pay dearly for that product and have every reason to trust that it will work. What happened at ATX this year (and moreso at TRX) is that the product didn't work as expected, but those expectations were based on long histories of favorable results. This event is the exception rather than the norm. It is no reason to double up on software alternatives "just in case." You must be the type of person who built a bomb shelter under their backyard, whereas the rest of us are taking our chances and saving our money. I think the ATX debacle didn't prove the need to have a backup software but did prove the need to recognize when problems aren't being solved and to move on quickly. When every single upgrade created even more issues, it was time to procure something else that worked. The lesson learned is that blind loyalty to a program is not a good thing. It is good to see the soul-searching on this site from people who have been dedicated users for years. For the first time they are facing the fact that the ATX they knew isn't the one they have now and deciding if they should do something about it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Taxed Posted October 8, 2013 Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 I can't speak for large practices but as a one person shop with seasonal help, I do worry about having a backup software should the primary vendor fail to provide a reliable software for whatever reason. This year I got burned and I looked at pay per return options for my complex returns with Intuit. Yes it is more work and hassles, but that is the price to pay. The alternative is complete embarresment and possibly going under! Going forward, I will always have a backup option because i never never want to get into a situation that happened this year. I don't think my old body and mind can take another hit like that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jklcpa Posted October 8, 2013 Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 My philosophy about the backup software is that I have a plan of action thought out in the event my chosen software is defective. So while I won't be purchasing and running second software, I have a good idea of which vendor I'd go to. I switched from ATX in early Feb this last year, so it is doable. I wasn't super busy yet so I took one day on the weekend and converted all of my returns and checked them. Had I been busier, I could have converted them in smaller batches, something like weekly as the client appointments were made. It only took a couple of minutes to check each return's converted file and then rollover, and that small amount of time could have been easily absorbed into the prep time. The time I spent on each return was certainly less than waiting for each file to rollover and load in ATX and the multiple times one needed to shut down so to clear the resources the program was using, or the time wasted when it locked up or lost data. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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