TRX Alliance

[powell777]

I was looking at the trx alliance software. Has anybody here used it? If so, please tell me what you like and dislike about the product. I have only read about people ordering the demo disk. I have seen some OLD POSTS about the software that you have to hand calculate some numbers, but no one gave an example. Also the post was a couple of years old and I am sure the software has been updated. Anyone have any experience with this.

Thanks

Tom

[chief]

Iam using TaxWise through TRX. This is the second year. Others are using their software which I think is TaxWorks. I understand that this is the last year they will offer TaxWise.

[joelgilb]

So CCH forced TRX to drop Taxwise also?

[kcjenkins]

I think they 'blotted their copybook' with CCH when they started recruiting through the community boards. CCH honored that year's sales, but cut them off for all future sales. Understandable, IMHO.

[Don in Upstate NY]

I think they 'blotted their copybook' with CCH when they started recruiting through the community boards.

Now there's a phrase one seldom sees anymore! Extra credit for raising the literary tone of the forum.

[On topic] A resales relationship can make good business sense for both parties if it brings in additional customers, and if the price difference is reasonable in relationship to the expenses no longer incurred by the primary vendor. The waters muddy quickly when the product comes with various options and has a list price that may or may not represent what clients actually pay.

By buying from TRX I enjoyed one year of Intellitax and two years of TaxWise at very reasonable prices. I never did and would not have bought either of these products from their original vendors at their list prices. I have renewed for next year - the TRX product (which they are not advertising using its colorful name) seems to be an acceptable choice.

[Terry D EA]

Don,

I took the plunge and purchase the TRX product this year which is Tax Works. At the beginning I questioned whether this was a good move or not. The price was attractive and naturally there was a learning curve. The program is input driven and not forms driven like ATX. Overall, I have had a good experience. The depreciation calculations threw me a little because the input screens don't show the current depreciation which is something I was told they were working on to correct. One other problem I had was finding the input to override a unallowed loss from the previous year that was allowed. The program picked the loss up from the K-1 line 1 which I was told they are also going to be working on. Other than that, no significant problems. The time it took to learn the program took a little while but did come fairly easy. One of the major pluses over ATX for me is the client profile screen. You can synchronize with the e-file center and the status of the return is displayed. Numerous reports from the e-filing center can be printed that allows you to verify the progression of the return including bank information. This is something I personally asked ATX for the last 3 to 4 years. One more thing, the returns print in order from the cover (slip) sheet right thru the end. The only sorting is separating the Fed client letter from the State which can be avoided by combining the letters. It is worth a try and as a new customer, you will get an offer that is hard to refuse.

[Ralph]

They ripped me and a colleague off by not sending us the Tax Wise program we ordered and not refunding our money. They sent their own program. Complained to the BBB and the State's Attorney General but neither of them received a response from TRX. BBB only gives them a "C" rating and the State's Attorney General informed me that TRX will be put on their Buyer Beware list. Stay away from them!

[Bob Hoffman]

They ripped me and a colleague off by not sending us the Tax Wise program we ordered and not refunding our money. They sent their own program. Complained to the BBB and the State's Attorney General but neither of them received a response from TRX. BBB only gives them a "C" rating and the State's Attorney General informed me that TRX will be put on their Buyer Beware list. Stay away from them!

Comments, Mike D?

[Mike D]

They obviously scored better than CCH with the BBB!!!

I purchased ATX for 2009 through TRX and was pleasantly surprised at the outcome. I will take my chances with TRX because I already am aware of how companies can exploit their customers having been one of CCH.

Mike Dubin CPA.

PS: I have posted my experience with TaxWise so far on the Renewal offers from ATX link.

[carolynm]

Can anyone tell me if the TRX Taxworks can import Excel spreadsheets -I have set up quite a few in ATX and just love to be able to each years figures in these spreadsheets and have the program do the allocations and take the figures to the linked fields....

[ralphv]

I used them last year and purchased the ATX TTO package. It was an excellent decision. Now they are offering Taxworks and at first was reluctant to change, but the deal they are offering is too good to pass up.

[DonnaA]

Can anyone tell me if the TRX Taxworks can import Excel spreadsheets -I have set up quite a few in ATX and just love to be able to each years figures in these spreadsheets and have the program do the allocations and take the figures to the linked fields....

I have not tried this, but here are some quotes from "Helpful Hints" in Program Help:

"Super Grids – Areas in the program that have multiple lines and fields for the same item have super grids. You can also import Excel files into any super grid. Make sure the spreadsheet columns correspond to the super grid, then click the Tools menu and select Import Excel Spreadsheet. "

"Simple Grids – Areas in the program that have multiple lines of entry for the same item have simple grids. Calculations from these entries do not take place until you review the return. To move through a simple grid, press Enter. Pressing Tab will move the cursor off the grid and to the next line of input. You can also import Excel files into any simple grid. Make sure the spreadsheet columns correspond to the simple grid, then right click on the grid and select Import XLS."

[carolynm]

I have not tried this, but here are some quotes from "Helpful Hints" in Program Help:

I found that too...and explored further. It seems those sheets are available to certain fields only -and not ones I'd need them for. I only found a few of them. Bummer.

What worries me about going with TRX is how long they'll offer THIS program...I don't want to switch and have to switch again. I'm leaning towards renewing with ATX -I'm comfortable with it (long-time user), have tried others and keep coming back. And at least with ATX I know it's limitations and what to watch for.

[syhopkins]

I found that too...and explored further. It seems those sheets are available to certain fields only -and not ones I'd need them for. I only found a few of them. Bummer.

What worries me about going with TRX is how long they'll offer THIS program...I don't want to switch and have to switch again. I'm leaning towards renewing with ATX -I'm comfortable with it (long-time user), have tried others and keep coming back. And at least with ATX I know it's limitations and what to watch for.

I spoke with the rep from TRX last week and she stated they had another four years on the contract. I am assuming they intend to renew it at that point with Redgear (makers of Tax works) however, there is no guarantee. This was the first year I tried TRX and there were a few hiccups at the beginning of the tax season. The first day of e-file, I was unable to e-file Maryland returns, which is where I am, so this presented a slight problem for me. In their defense, they did resolve the issue by Sunday, but I did not like having this type of issue from the outset. Another issue I had was with parts of the software itself. Since the software is forms based and I am a former ATX user, I didn't care for that from the outset, but again for $299 I will deal with it. The software had hyperlinks embedded on the pages similar to ATX, which will take you to other pages like the page for W-2's, but sometimes it would work and sometimes it wouldn't. Again a small inconvenience, but it takes time away from the tax prep process and every minute counts! Now according to the rep the software is supposed to be forms based next year, however, I would not hold my breath on that one. Overall, I would recommend the software, the staff was very helpful, although they had hours long wait times at the beginning of the tax season, but all of the software providers seem to experience that problem as well. These are just my observations.

SYH

[Julie]

I used the TaxWorks product from TRX and found it....definitely quirky. One minor issue was that I couldn't print the California 8453 until after I put in the 5-digit code for the federal 8879. For a return which is to be mailed to the client and the signature sheets returned, this is a nuisance. Second: I couldn't see any easy way to duplicate the return. I needed to change the dependents between the federal and state return, and could not do so without damaging the federal return. Result: I printed paper copies for my office records. Something I never do.

Overall, I'm not entirely happy, but I'm renewing with TRX ...the price was irresistible. I much prefer ATX software, but for half the price, I can put up with some quirks. I never had to call tech support for anything, unlike the last two years with ATX where I kept losing my ability to log into their website.

If I had 400 clients, I'd be back with ATX before now. The time wasted would be more than the price difference.

[Don in Upstate NY]

I used the TaxWorks product from TRX and found it....definitely quirky.

That's an interesting word. TRX TaxWorks is certainly the most powerful program I've used, but it does have its quirks.

I tried to attach a Preparer Note to a return (ctrl-N) and got a "program must shut down" error. Customer support was of no help - he was reading from a script and basically had me reinstall the program. No help there. Then my 2008 version starting having problems on startup with a similar "must shut down" error. Finally found the TaxWorks knowledge base and found out that neither TW08 or TW09 complies with the Microsoft DEP (Data Execution Prevention) protocols. I put the programs on the exclusion list and all is well.

I've just recovered from a major problem which I think was database related. I was using the 2009 program to initiate a 2009 return from a 2008 file, when I apparently tried to open the same 2008 file with the 2008 program. I lost all functionality in the 2008 program and all the prior year data path connections in the 2009 program. TaxWorks is based on the Microsoft SQL engine, which is fairly intolerant of errors. Removing the 2008 program using the uninstall process leaves over a hundred unresolved registry entries, not all of which are overwritten when the program is reinstalled. After numerous re-installs I'm finally back to where I was two days ago, but I'm not sure that I would know what to do I it happened again. {Being fair - customer support doesn't work weekends off-season.]

TaxWorks is one of the few programs that handles NY SDI correctly, and has a method to actually see what's in the e-file!

Summary - the jury is still out.