Drake Updates...

[taxtrio]

It is so nice! Drake updates are no problem! No worries! Drake just works...like it is supposed to!

The more I use Drake the more I love it. I love the features, the built in email, the planner, the estimates are easy to program. And I have used about half of the paper this year, last year with ATX I wasted paper, time, and stress level was very, very high.

Now I just concentrate on my clients and their taxes.

Nice! Nice! Nice!

I am glad ATX is somewhat better this year but they still have trouble with their updates as is shown today. My sympathies to you ATXer's. Hope is gets better soon.

Taxtrio

[Catherine]

I must say the more I use Drake the more I like it (and I was very much of two minds in switching; I love the ATX format). There are a few quirks, but all in all it is way faster.

[jshtax]

If someone would come manually convert our 1200 returns I would do it in a heartbeat but that is time wasted I could be with my kids or golfing.

[jklcpa]

If someone would come manually convert our 1200 returns I would do it in a heartbeat but that is time wasted I could be with my kids or golfing.

Your latest post "ATX issues" says a lot though about wasted time during the busiest part of the year. The one-time conversion might take some doing, but how much aggravation would it have saved you, and how much more productive would you have been when it mattered most?

I could use a vacation about now. For a fee, I'll come down to GA (?) and do your conversions.

Will you renew with ATX for next year too?

[JohnH]

If someone would come manually convert our 1200 returns I would do it in a heartbeat but that is time wasted I could be with my kids or golfing.

You could "migrate" over the course of a Couple of tax seasons. Buy both programs for a couple of years - maybe one full access and the other on a pay per return basis. Then pick and choose which returns you run on Drake based on their complexity. A return that takes 20-30 minutes to prepare is probably not worth taking another 10-15 minutes manually entering the client data before beginning, but for a return that takes ab hour and a half or longer , the extra 10-15 minutes is a wise investment.

I'd probably keep the simple returns in ATX and focus in getting the more complex returns into Drake since you get the highest efficiency from preparing the most complex returns on the fastest program. And there is absolutely no doubt that Drake runs circles around ATX when it comes to speed. Anyone who says differently just doesn't know what they are talking about. That discussion is beyond settled.

When year 2 rolls around, you're definitely realizing tremendous gains in efficiency and it will make the time spent converting the simpler returns seem more productive. I've been blown away by how fast my tax preparation has become in year 2. In addition to the efficiencies and speed of the program itself, I'm now reaping the rewards of having taken the time to manually enter my client data last year.

I can think of other creative ways you could handle the changeover, but if you get it done you are not likely to regret it. If you simply can't commit the time to convert everything all at once electronically, then doing it a step at a time is the next best thing. You would still yield tremendous productivity gains in the areas where you realize the best return on your time invested - the most complex returns.

Personally, if I were preparing 1200 returns I'd be running two separate tax programs on an ongoing basis anyhow, but I've beaten that horse to death in other discussions and so there's no reason going over it all again.