Intuit Lacerte vs. Wolters Kluwer ATX

This software is great for a tax preparer that wants the whole package from organizers to customer returns with letters and invoices. This is the best software with everything combined together. For new tax preparers looking for expensive software and are willing to some items (invoices) organizers, scheduling) through other means, Intuit Lacerte might be too expensive. But once the practice grows the time saved having all the “bells and whistles “ is worth every penny!

Incentivized

I have been using ATX for at least 15 years. It is competitively priced for a part-time tax preparation firm like mine versus some of its competitors. The software is straightforward to use with very little training needed, and it includes the "paint by numbers" i.e. "interview" tax prep approach if desired (I virtually never use that as not needed, but it is a nice alternative for the more inexperienced preparer perhaps). I have found it to be pretty intuitive to use, and the file capability is very straightforward. I will continue to use it going forward, as while there are a couple of competitors that are slightly cheaper, certainly not enough difference to warrant changing software and again I'm overall pleased with the product despite the couple of areas that I commented are a bit clunky. Not a big deal. Overall good product.

Incentivized

• K-1 transfer capability
• Supports more than 5,700 tax forms - federal and all state forms
• Year-round e-filing

Incentivized

• Calculation/preparation of personal tax return for individuals.
• Calculation/preparation of small business tax returns, i.e., Schedule C for individual bus owners.
• Electronic transmission of completed tax return to IRS and applicable states.
• Preparation of summary letter and billing to tax clientele.
• Modeling of pro forma tax results for succeeding years and prep of estimated tax payments needed.

Incentivized

• Technical glitches
• Frequent software updates

Incentivized

• The preparation of the summary letter of the tax return module is a bit clunky but usable.
• The preparation of the next year's quarterly estimates module, while automatic, is a bit clunky to override with more specific info versus what is automatically populated from the current year's return.
• The print feature can be a little cumbersome getting to work on a local printer, resulting in some printing issues.

Incentivized

Lacerte customer service has been great. They are very knowledgeable about the product and can help resolve problems quickly.

Incentivized

Just let it do the standard install. No issues whatsoever.

Incentivized

I’ve heard other tax preparers talk about their software and their likes and dislikes. When I offer to show them Intuit Lacerte most are blown away by what it does. One preparer used ProConnrct online tax (also by Intuit), and she loves how easy Intuit Lacerteis to use. She said having live support (not chat) to actually be able to show issues and work through them was great. Both programs use the same calculations, but the extras (trial balance, organizers with prior year data, invoicing, scheduling, filters, etc) are what makes Intuit Lacerte the best!

Incentivized

Turbotax is the most popular but not applicable if you are a tax preparer as it won't let you sign a tax preparer. Their tax prep version, Pro Series, is a bit more expensive, and I have found it not significantly different enough nor provide any applicable benefit to me changing. I also evaluated Drake tax prep software, but again, while it has some nice features, it could not justify the change effort compared to any incremental features I might use. ATX continues to offer the right product features for what I need at one of the cheapest costs.

Incentivized

• Able to process client requirements faster
• Docusign feature a big plus
• Lacerte Diamond Passport fees is highly priced at 17.5K USD + fastpath additional per user. They could consider to bring down the cost so that it works out lucratively.

Incentivized