PREDICTIONS FOR 2008 FILING SEASON

[Booger]

1. All the posters here who complained incessantly about CCH WILL BE BACK (using the ATX software).

2. Mel will NOT have a "substitute" software package ready for the 2008 season.

3. CCH service level to ATX product users will improve.

"The Great Carnack" Booger

[bstaxes]

To The Great Carnack

1. Hope all will be back whether they are ATX or not.

2. Hope Mel will have something.

3. What are you drinking??? Service level improved, sure hope so but I doubt it very much.

To All Others

Have a great summer. I will be checking this board during the off season to see what develops with the software.

[BulldogTom]

1. Not me

2. I disagree

3. It has to, it cannot get worse (that is like predicting the sun will rise tomorrow)

Tom

Lodi, CA

[SCL]

4) i received a 'tax refund express/tax alliance' postcard in the mail today. i almost went with them last year.

they seem to be a serious contender for the low volume tax prep business & hopefully for a few more years.

5) the great carnac has been predicting from the grave for awhile. i thought i heard: TRX - "what is the new ATX?"

[JohnH]

I predict I will finally perfect my Continuing Ed seminar that I've been working on for years.

It's called "Client Mind Reading for Tax Professionals", and think it's just about ready for production & sale.

It's guaranteed to increase your earnings in the future, as it will enable you to extract the essential info from the brains of those pesky clients who either can't or don't want to give you all the details.

I say it will help all of "you" because I'll be retiring on the royalties earned from the seminars.

[Jack from Ohio]

Booger might get a clue??

Don't take it seriously, I am just getting ready to lock the doors here and turn off the phone...

[joelgilb]

I predict I will finally perfect my Continuing Ed seminar that I've been working on for years.

It's called "Client Mind Reading for Tax Professionals", and think it's just about ready for production & sale.

It's guaranteed to increase your earnings in the future, as it will enable you to extract the essential info from the brains of those pesky clients who either can't or don't want to give you all the details.

I say it will help all of "you" because I'll be retiring on the royalties earned from the seminars.

It has already been done.

I tried to buy a tax practice from the widow of a friend that died mid tax season. Actually sat in his office (in 1986) and did returns for his clients. When I asked them questions they looked at me totally befuddled and said:

" I don't understand why you are asking for my documents and asking me all these questions, Norm never asked for them or asked me these questions"

I simply responded, "He must have known your situation better than me." and thought, 'no wonder the returns were such a mess!'

Found out he tied the W-2's and 1099s, filled in the refund at the end and made up the middle not to save them money, but to speed up his manual prep work. Over 50% actually got back smaller refunds than they were entitled to.

Wonder if he patent protected the idea. And since I worked on his clients, I bet you will have to pay me a royalty when you sell that seminar!

Joel

[bstaxes]

Let me know when the seminar is and where. It would help if I could read their minds, instead of having little slips of paper with info on it. "You want what?? The originals". "YES, I want to see them to be sure I got all the info". If I take the your seminar this year, then I can read you mind and know where it will be the following year. Until then have a great summer.

[indyscott]

It has already been done.

I tried to buy a tax practice from the widow of a friend that died mid tax season. Actually sat in his office (in 1986) and did returns for his clients. When I asked them questions they looked at me totally befuddled and said:

" I don't understand why you are asking for my documents and asking me all these questions, Norm never asked for them or asked me these questions"

I simply responded, "He must have known your situation better than me." and thought, 'no wonder the returns were such a mess!'

Found out he tied the W-2's and 1099s, filled in the refund at the end and made up the middle not to save them money, but to speed up his manual prep work. Over 50% actually got back smaller refunds than they were entitled to.

Wonder if he patent protected the idea. And since I worked on his clients, I bet you will have to pay me a royalty when you sell that seminar!

Joel

Joel, those are the guys you read about in the newspaper from time to time.. Definitely not a good long term strategy!

[Tax Prep by Deb]

I can only predict one thing! ATX lost it this year and as far as am I concerned is not even a contender for next year. Today was an absolute nightmare!

I didn't like the idea of learning a new software, however I feel that is exactly what I've had to do this year! ATX did not perform as well as they had in the past, and that is a crying shame!

The post card everyone is talking about TaxRefund Express is looking very inviting, but I too have faith that Mel will get something going. I'm very much interested in what he may be able to offer, but not the least bit interested in going through another year with ATX!

That's my prediction and I'm sticking to it!

Deb!

[joelgilb]

I can only predict one thing! ATX lost it this year and as far as am I concerned is not even a contender for next year. Today was an absolute nightmare!

I didn't like the idea of learning a new software, however I feel that is exactly what I've had to do this year! ATX did not perform as well as they had in the past, and that is a crying shame!

The post card everyone is talking about TaxRefund Express is looking very inviting, but I too have faith that Mel will get something going. I'm very much interested in what he may be able to offer, but not the least bit interested in going through another year with ATX!

That's my prediction and I'm sticking to it!

Deb!

The software is still good Deb, even better than the prior years. Just because CCH screwed up is not a reason to leave it. However, if Mel can come through, that might be one.

Joel

[TonyP]

The software is still good Deb, even better than the prior years. Just because CCH screwed up is not a reason to leave it. However, if Mel can come through, that might be one.

Joel

OK, I'm not a frequent visitor to this board, kinda busy preparing tax returns, but who is Mel? And what is he trying to do?

[joelgilb]

OK, I'm not a frequent visitor to this board, kinda busy preparing tax returns, but who is Mel? And what is he trying to do?

Mel used to work for ATX. Currently he is in Hawaii (his name here is "Mel in Hawaii") and is trying to write a new tax software for us to replace ATX. Many have promised support in one form or another.

Joel

[ann newman]

I not a great complainer (except to my sister and husband) but I won't be back with ATX. Firing tech support and I felt it's affects- things weren't fixed. The changes to log on the website were beyond stupid!!!! Later in the year things that used to work didn't anymore, maybe they wouldn't have put in any of the programming to allow some of the economic stimulus late stuff but we sure didn't have a chance without any designated programmers. Years ago I went through a software buyout where my program was the poor cousin programmed by another company's programmers and I learned to used a lot of whiteout (cause things didn't calc correctly)- now in these days of efiling - I'll just shop for something. And that's saying a lot because I've been with ATX ten years maybe. .. more years than I even have loaded on my computer currently.

Good luck on your predictions though as you are probably mostly right. I will miss the usefulness of this board on software issues but it's still a better board than my state CPA soceity for tax issues. Most of the posters here will give a citation - I really like that.

Ann Newman

[mcb39]

I not a great complainer (except to my sister and husband) but I won't be back with ATX. Firing tech support and I felt it's affects- things weren't fixed. The changes to log on the website were beyond stupid!!!! Later in the year things that used to work didn't anymore, maybe they wouldn't have put in any of the programming to allow some of the economic stimulus late stuff but we sure didn't have a chance without any designated programmers. Years ago I went through a software buyout where my program was the poor cousin programmed by another company's programmers and I learned to used a lot of whiteout (cause things didn't calc correctly)- now in these days of efiling - I'll just shop for something. And that's saying a lot because I've been with ATX ten years maybe. .. more years than I even have loaded on my computer currently.

Good luck on your predictions though as you are probably mostly right. I will miss the usefulness of this board on software issues but it's still a better board than my state CPA soceity for tax issues. Most of the posters here will give a citation - I really like that.

Ann Newman

Ann....Just because you prefer different software does not eliminate you from using this board. Many of the contributors here already do use other products than ATX and many more are on the fence for next year. Please don't feel that you can not still come here for information or to share your knowledge with us. Best Wishes to you with whichever way you choose to go.

[Joel]

I guess all of the predictions did not come true, as the 2008 filing season (for tax year 2007) is substantially complete and we don't have many days left.

[jainen]

>>the 2008 filing season (for tax year 2007) is substantially complete<<

I don't find this to be true at all. A good fourth of my clients are on extension. IRS revamped their computers last year so we can expect far more CP2000 and other letters. Stats issued this week show the IRS has backed off the big corporations and is going after OUR clients (and frankly, that makes sense to me). And we haven't even STARTED the rebate fiasco, which is based on 2007 filing.

I predict this particular filing season will stretch out indefinitely.

[joelgilb]

I not a great complainer (except to my sister and husband) but I won't be back with ATX. Firing tech support and I felt it's affects- things weren't fixed. The changes to log on the website were beyond stupid!!!! Later in the year things that used to work didn't anymore, maybe they wouldn't have put in any of the programming to allow some of the economic stimulus late stuff but we sure didn't have a chance without any designated programmers. Years ago I went through a software buyout where my program was the poor cousin programmed by another company's programmers and I learned to used a lot of whiteout (cause things didn't calc correctly)- now in these days of efiling - I'll just shop for something. And that's saying a lot because I've been with ATX ten years maybe. .. more years than I even have loaded on my computer currently.

Good luck on your predictions though as you are probably mostly right. I will miss the usefulness of this board on software issues but it's still a better board than my state CPA soceity for tax issues. Most of the posters here will give a citation - I really like that.

Ann Newman

ATX is still a good piece of software, Ann, even if CCh did a lot to piss all of us off. Still I am hoping Mel (former ATX employee writing a new tax software for us) does something. Until that time I am personally not looking at a compromise from somewhere else.

After some initial trouble in the beginning, I find it is not very difficult getting into their website. I don't like having to change the password so often, but now I just make a point of changing it along with all the other online sites (IRS included) at the beginning of each month. Good way to handle is to use the month and year (ie: "042007") at the beginning or end of your normal password. I find that every site so far accepts this.

As for support I received and gave my support here. Hardly needed ATX, but when I did I found that they did start to fix things mid to end of season, so I am hoping they learned their lesson. Clearly what they did in Dec (firing all the support in Maine) was more than STUPID.

Joel