TRX Evaluations

[B. Jani]

This year I moved from ATX to TRX and following is my observation about the program during the tax season. I am in NY and do mostly NY-NJ-CT and few more states. I have small practice with mix of individual, business returns.

Cons:

-printing to PDF is pain. What I mean is that it split the whole package into 6 or 7 different files. So now you have to combined all the file in one in order to do single print job for which you need a full Adobe. I am a paperless office and this took so much time to do it.

-after efile 9325 is not updating. You have to manually update it.

-you cannot print individual efile ack's. The report function will create all efiled during the day is the only option.

-it was calculating NJ 18% rent credit wrong. I called help line and was advised to override it.

-when you scroll to NJ 1040 NR 3rd page, the program crash, Called help line and no soluation.

-cannot PDF NJ 1040NR. printing problem. no soluation

-cannot PDF CT 1040NR. printing problem. no soluation

-for NY form LTC-249 not available at all. no soluation

-for NY it was calculating penalty eventhough refund is coming. called help line. no soluation.

-for NY, 414H and IRC 125 box 14 no carry over to state forms.

-for DC, non resident credit for low income of $2500 wrong calculations. no soluations

-business return 1120/s. make sure you know the rules. software is not completely automated and cannot efile either.

-fiduciary return 1041 for deceased. only federal available with limited forms. no NY state forms. Even on federal, software did not calculate 10% penalty for early distribution from IRA as no form 5329 available with program.

-client manager is based on social security number. not much flexibility.

-client letter is very wierd unless you have your own in word file. Will not include the mailing address where to mail the return.

Pros:

-Efile is breeze and most of all unlimited.

-software is mostly targeted towards mainly 1040 practice with regualr forms. do not have all forms

-update is very fast. if you mark auto update, you even do not have to worry about it.

-price of $299 is attractive if you have small practice mainly with 1040

-work similar to ATX as their is a + sign to jump to work sheet

-Asset Center is very good

-conversion from ATX to TRX was quick and accurate in all cases I have. Eventhough I rechecked it and found no error.

As I mentioned above, I will again renew it with them due to small practice and right price. I know the first year with new software is kind of tough but the customer service is quick and responsive and honest enough to tell me that form is not available or no answer so override the calculation. I like the honesty that they acknowledge the flow in their own program.

B Jani

[David1980]

-when you scroll to NJ 1040 NR 3rd page, the program crash, Called help line and no soluation.

-cannot PDF NJ 1040NR. printing problem. no soluation

-cannot PDF CT 1040NR. printing problem. no soluation

Those sound like system problems, I can do all of the above just fine. Which is to say perhaps you should have pushed those issues more to get someone in support capable of trouble shooting a system specific problem.

-for NY, 414H and IRC 125 box 14 no carry over to state forms.

That's because they require some funny entry to get those to carry. I know the 414H must be entered as 414HSUB in order for it to carry to NY return. I'm not sure what the literal is for IRC125's, but it's probably something you wouldn't think of like the 414HSUB thing. The main problem here is a lack of documentation as to program specific literal requirements.

-for DC, non resident credit for low income of $2500 wrong calculations. no soluations

I'm curious on this one, since there is no DC non-resident tax return. Rather they file that non-resident request for refund thingie (D-40B) which TRX doesn't seem to have at all. So rather than it just having a wrong calculation, it's missing the whole form necessary. :)

[Don in Upstate NY]

- printing to PDF is pain. What I mean is that it split the whole package into 6 or 7 different files. So now you have to combined all the file in one in order to do single print job for which you need a full Adobe. I am a paperless office and this took so much time to do it.

Agree. I tried their docuPrinter and it was more trouble than it was worth. I use the FinePrint pdfFactory printer that was included with ATX several years ago. It combines all the forms into one file, and also lets you delete pages that you don't want to keep. If you leave it open after you print the return you can also scan any backup data into the same file.

-for NY, 414H and IRC 125 box 14 no carry over to state forms.

As mentioned in the last post, the correct literal for the mandatory state retirement contribution is 414HSUB. It carries over to the IT-201 correctly. The literal SDI (see the drop down box) also will carry the mandatory disability premium over to Schedule A - state taxes. I wasn't aware that the IRC 125 (pre-tax cafeteria plan) went anywhere on the federal or NY return.

-client letter is very wierd unless you have your own in word file.

Actually, I thought the client letter was one of the strong points. It's fully customizable with merge fields and merge logic. It's miles ahead of the ATX letter, which is not suprising when you consider that ATX is trying to use a spreadsheet as a word processor.

There are a number of small bugs and inconsistencies in the program that are annoying rather than fatal.

- Formatting of the amount of a refund in the client letter is not customizable, and is $1234.00 for the federal but $1234 for NY. Commas would be nice, and either show the cents or don't.

- I'm not thrilled with the looks of the printed return. The data is in Courier and appears light. They sometimes use different font sizes to print similar data on the return. (On the 1040, taxpayer date signed is in a smaller font than preparer date signed.) If there ever was a contest for best looking return, the $99 version of TaxAct would win.

- The ERO date signed is printed on the 8879, but not on the corresponding TR-579.

The 2006 version had two bugs that I reported by e-mail. The 6251 was adjusting depreciation for assets used on a 2106, and the NY partial exclusion for taxpayers over 59-1/2 was apparently using hard coded dates and was several years out of date. I received no response to either of these (other than the automated "Thank you ...") but the bugs were fixed for 2007.

I just renewed also.

[Randall]

Thanks for these comments. They are more specific regarding pros and cons. Not just things like great, wonderful, friendly support.

[Kea]

I just renewed yesterday.

A couple of other "cons" that I found:

- They have a very limited space for text entries. For example on the Sch D, I really had to abbreviate the stock names. The 1040X section for explanation also did not allow for as much text on each line. Occupation line and some of the address lines were also limited.

- Since it stores all the files by SSN, if you amend a return, you can't keep the original. (You can change the name in your backup). Also you can't duplicated a file if you want to run "what-if" scenarios.

But for the price and my small business I can live with these cons as well as the other ones mentioned.

[David1980]

I wasn't aware that the IRC 125 (pre-tax cafeteria plan) went anywhere on the federal or NY return.

For NY the "New York City flexible benefits program, IRC 125" is added back with a code A3. I discovered that the literal for this to carry to the NY return needs to be "IRC125S".

[GeorgeM]

- They have a very limited space for text entries. For example on the Sch D, I really had to abbreviate the stock names. The 1040X section for explanation also did not allow for as much text on each line. Occupation line and some of the address lines were also limited.

I noticed on some entries if you paste the longer name it will take it for some reason.

- Since it stores all the files by SSN, if you amend a return, you can't keep the original. (You can change the name in your backup). Also you can't duplicated a file if you want to run "what-if" scenarios.

I would suggest you change the SSN in the backup, you canalso do it to run "what-if" scenarios.

But for the price and my small business I can live with these cons as well as the other ones mentioned.

Ditto on this one the "Price is Right"

[Don in Upstate NY]

For NY the "New York City flexible benefits program, IRC 125" is added back with a code A3. I discovered that the literal for this to carry to the NY return needs to be "IRC125S".

Thanks David. Although it's rare that I do a return for a taxpayer employed by NYC, (never so far), I would have missed that one.

[B. Jani]

Thanks David and Don:

I did called help line and the girl told me to put 414H and IRC-125 (NYC) manually that is why I put it as a cons. I really learned something new by posting on the board. Even she did not new the correct word 414HSUB and IRC125s to guide me properly. But no big deal.

As far as pdf is concern, I use paperport and survived the season due to new software learning, but really not good.

For NJ1040NR and CT1040NR, the help line signed on my computer and deleted the whole program and redownload but still had problem. I thought just me.

Thanks again and lets share any more short cuts as not enough documantation available, but it is very good basic program for small practice I believe.

B Jani

[rick in cal]

Thank you B Jani for the detailed pros and cons. The return mgr nonflexibility is a deal breaker for me. I also wanted to mention that the auto entry by zip code didn't work for me either because I've always printed in all upper case and the TRX auto entry prints in lower case. I've seen both methods used and I wonder if I'm in a distinct minority?

[David1980]

I've seen both methods used and I wonder if I'm in a distinct minority?

Well, I have no idea what the numbers are but personally I prefer mixed case print. After all, I WOULDN'T WRITE LIKE THIS ON THE FORUM. Don't know why I'd want to do it on a tax return. I think it looks better when it's mixed case. All caps makes me think of the old days when it was required because low tech couldn't handle mixed case very well.

Since we're talking about cool TRX tricks, you can actually see the efile image that gets sent to the server. Depending which service bureau you're using the location is named slightly different, but basically it's c:\intellitax\2007\intellitax\intellitransfer\ and the files end in something like .8000, .8001, .8002, etc... So when you get crazy rejections that make no sense you're actually able to look at the real efile image and see what is on that field. I think on TRX you simply replace the intellitax folders with TRX PRO.

[Don in Upstate NY]

Since we're talking about cool TRX tricks, you can actually see the efile image that gets sent to the server. Depending which service bureau you're using the location is named slightly different, but basically it's c:\intellitax\2007\intellitax\intellitransfer\ and the files end in something like .8000, .8001, .8002, etc... So when you get crazy rejections that make no sense you're actually able to look at the real efile image and see what is on that field. I think on TRX you simply replace the intellitax folders with TRX PRO.

That's a real plus. The last year that you could read the ATX e-file was TY 2002; after then the e-file file was encrypted and no longer available for troubleshooting. I still have the code I wrote to reformat the file for easier reading. I'll see if I can adapt it for OrrTax/TRX.

[cathyan]

On the upper case/lower case subject, I just want to say I use all upper case because I can see where I've input text, and it's easier to spot typos. That, and being a one-handed typist I don't have to keep looking for the shift key.

[Diane]

I've been evaluating TRX for 2 weeks now. I like the way the program works. But -- my problems are:

1. I do quarterly and annual payroll reports, including W-2's and 1099's, for 4 clients. I would have to find alternative software to handle these. That includes finding software that would also do the efiling.

2. I do 2 1041's. One of which is Maryland. They do not have the Fiduciary form for Maryland. I would have to either do it by hand or try to do a fill-in form on the internet.

3. I do 2 990's. They both require Schedule A. TRX does not have those pages. Again, I would have to do by hand or try to do a fill-in form on the internet.

3. I have several clients with Maryland Personal Property Tax Returns. Again, I would have to do a form fill-in on the internet.

4. Their tech support is wonderful and friendly. I've had to use them twice in the last week because one of the returns I was working on suddenly started to crash the software. Then I couldn't access the return. They accessed my computer from their location and removed and reinstalled the program. Later, I again could not access that particular return. Had to call and ask them to send back a copy of that return that they had so they could check it out. Restored that file, so far so good. But I still get an error message every time I save the file. I'll probably have to reinput.

5. I do 1 PA20S tax return. There are too many areas where the figures have to be input manually instead of being carried over. The PA RK-1 has to be input manually for each shareholder.

So, at this point, because of so many areas that have to be handled outside of the TRX software, I will be staying with ATX. I guess I've gotten used to having everything in one place and being able to complete my tasks within one software package.

Diane