GeorgeM Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 "In TurboTax vs. Consumers, Consumers Win" About 1/3 of the way down the page: http://www.mousepri nt.org/ No surprise to anyone familiar with Intuit products. The last honest product the company sold was QuickBooks 99, which still works very well for everyday bookkeeping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joelgilb Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 This has always been an Intuit policy at all product levels, including QuickBooks. When I first started preparing returns in-house (for those that remember service bureaus and hand prepped returns) back in 1983 I think, I purchased Turbotax from Chipsoft. The DOS based software was supposed to be able to prepare one return, but if you repopulated the fields OR saved the file when it was blank and then overwrote it for the next return you could prepare an unlimited amount of returns. Then by writing a simple batch file (DOS guys) you could actually create a client list and save the files by client. Well a number of us used this little and fairly competent software to prepare professional returns, until Intuit bought them and crippled low end features (such as dividing social security by 2 and automatically putting the taxable amount on the 1040) to give us just enough problems to create a malpractice potential. This forced us to pay 1000's more for their "Professional Software" identical in all other aspects without crippling (well it did add a client list). Only Microsoft has a worse track record of screwing the consumer! And I think Intuit may have even passed them up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PapaJoe Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 Joel, The reason I'm an ATX user today is because I got tired of paying through the nose for Turbotax pro which was (basically) the same software Intuit sold to my clients for $39.95 so they could do their own taxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxxcpa Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 Joel, The reason I'm an ATX user today is because I got tired of paying through the nose for Turbotax pro which was (basically) the same software Intuit sold to my clients for $39.95 so they could do their own taxes. You could do your own taxes for as little as$ 9.95 at www.1040.com/taxxcpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virtual Managed Solutions Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 Hey Atticus - Do you get a comission for getting someone to do their taxes online who was directed from your site? I'm just curious more than anything. Didn't realize 1040.com was owned by Drake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joelgilb Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 Joel, The reason I'm an ATX user today is because I got tired of paying through the nose for Turbotax pro which was (basically) the same software Intuit sold to my clients for $39.95 so they could do their own taxes. Pretty much the same reason here! Also, I left Intuit to use TASSC and then that DAMNED INTUIT bought TASSC! At least with CCH, they are not competing with us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joelgilb Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 Hey Atticus - Do you get a comission for getting someone to do their taxes online who was directed from your site? I'm just curious more than anything. Didn't realize 1040.com was owned by Drake. let the taxpayers do their own returns. We make a lot more money fixing their problems than preparing their returns and helping them avoid problems! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joelgilb Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 You could do your own taxes for as little as$ 9.95 at www.1040.com/taxxcpa this is Drake? They compete with their professional customers also? Or are they setting up a way for professionals to get a different piece of the business? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 this is Drake? They compete with their professional customers also? Or are they setting up a way for professionals to get a different piece of the business? Nah; they've got a setup like CCH -- if you use their website builder, there's a "File your taxes online" button that folks can use for simple returns. When they click through from your site, you get a piece of the fee charged. AND, if they have questions while working, they link through to you by email, so you can get more business, turning them from an anonymous filer to a paying customer. At least, that's how it's supposed to work. I had the button all last year and no one nibbled. It still looks good -- providing a service with no commitment up-front. Catherine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lion EA Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 I don't have the type of client that does their own, too complicated. But, I thought about having that button on my web site. Then, I was afraid I'd spend more time answering questions about how to use the software than about how to do taxes and not convert a DIY to me. But, if no one is going to try it out, I can look generous.... So, Catherine, no nibbles at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 I don't have the type of client that does their own, too complicated. But, I thought about having that button on my web site. Then, I was afraid I'd spend more time answering questions about how to use the software than about how to do taxes and not convert a DIY to me. But, if no one is going to try it out, I can look generous.... So, Catherine, no nibbles at all? Not a single one that I know of. Which means that no one has completed their taxes -- because I would have gotten my (minor) fee. And no one has contacted me with questions or wanting to know how to give up. Closest I came was a kid at the local deli who asked questions every time I went in. I referred him to my site -- and he ended up just calling me and asking me to do his 1040EZ for him. He'd have been a good candidate -- but had wrestled so long on his own that he didn't have any "fight" left in him. Maybe this year he'll dare it. Catherine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRS Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 "At least with CCH, they are not competing with us." I wouldn't be so sure about that. http://www.completetax.com/aboutcch.asp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.