Ranking the products.Tax preparation software is getting better--faster, more comprehensive and more stable. Those are the conclusions of a just-completed survey the National Association of Tax Practitioners (NATP NATP National Association of Tax Professionals NATP National Agricultural Technology Project (India) NATP National Association of Tax Practitioners NATP National Apprenticeship Training Program NATP National Athletic Testing Program ) conducted and shared with the Journal of Accountancy. The major areas of dissatisfaction, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the survey, are rising prices and customer support. The NATP asked its members to rate their software, and 1,096 of them reported what they liked and didn't did·n't Contraction of did not. didn't did not didn't do like about the products they used this year and their vendors' customer support. Although the association received information on 32 products--representing 620,000 computer-prepared returns--we include in our report only the results on the 16 that generated assessments from at least 10 users; we felt that assessments from less than 10 would not be statistically valid. Exhibit 1, at right, contains the vendors' names and how to contact them.
Exhibit 1: Tax Software Vendors
Vendor Tax program
AM Software AM-Tax Professional 1040
ATX Forms Saber 1040
CCH Computax ProSystemfx
Creative Solutions UltraTax
Drake Software Drake
Dunphy Systems 1040 Professional Tax Preparation
ExacTax Package EX
Intuit ProSeries
Lacerte Software Lacerte 1040 Tax Software
Micro Vision Software Tax Relief 1040
Orrtax Software 1040 Preferred
TAASC The Professional Tax System
Tax$imple Tax$imple
Taxworks By Laser Systems Taxworks By Laser Systems
Universal Tax Systems Taxwise
Xpress Software Xpress 1040 Software
Vendor Address
AM Software PO Box 681661, Kansas City, MO 64168
ATX Forms PO Box 1040, Caribou, ME 04736
CCH Computax 21250 Hawthorne Blvd.,
Torrance, CA 90503
Creative Solutions 7322 Newman Blvd., Dexter, MI 48130
Drake Software 235 E. Palmer St., Franklin, NC 28734
Dunphy Systems 6740 Huntley Rd., Suite 103,
Columbus, OH 43229
ExacTax 2301 W. Lincoln Ave., Suite 1000,
Anaheim, CA 92801
Intuit 2535 Garcia Ave.,
Mountain View, CA 94043
Lacerte Software 13155 Noel Rd., 22nd Floor,
Dallas, TX 75244
Micro Vision Software 140 Fell Court, Hauppauge, NY 11788
Orrtax Software 13208 NE 20th St., Bellevue, WA 98005
TAASC 6914 S. Yorktown Ave., Tulsa, OK 74136
Tax$imple 8 Emery Ave., Randolph, NJ 07869
Taxworks By Laser Systems 350 North 400 West,
Kaysville, UT 84037
Universal Tax Systems 6 Mathis Dr. NW, PO Box 2729,
Rome, GA 30164
Xpress Software 203 Bradley Dr., West Columbia,
SC 29170
Vendor Telephone
AM Software 800-859-8537
ATX Forms 800-944-8883
CCH Computax 800-457-7639
Creative Solutions 800-968-8900
Drake Software 800-890-9500
Dunphy Systems 614-431-0846
ExacTax 800-352-3638
Intuit 800-934-1040
Lacerte Software 800-765-7777
Micro Vision Software 800-829-7354
Orrtax Software 800-377-3337
TAASC 800-998-9990
Tax$imple 973-989-8955
Taxworks By Laser Systems 800-230-2322
Universal Tax Systems 800-755-9473
Xpress Software 800-285-1065
Vendor Internet address
AM Software support@amtax.com
ATX Forms sales@atxforms.com
CCH Computax cust_serv@cch.com
Creative Solutions sales@CreativeSolutions.com
Drake Software drakeinfo@drake-software.com
Dunphy Systems dunphy@dunphy.com
ExacTax etxinfo@exactax.com
Intuit www.proseries.com
Lacerte Software www.lscsoft.com
Micro Vision Software www.microvisioninc.com
Orrtax Software webmaster@orrtax.com
TAASC sales@taascforce.com
Tax$imple sales@taxsimple.com
Taxworks By Laser Systems www.taxworks.com
Universal Tax Systems sales@universalsystems.com
Xpress Software sales@xpressoftware.com
THE GOOD AND THE BAD Users were asked to rank their software from 1 (very dissatisfied dis·sat·is·fied adj. Feeling or exhibiting a lack of contentment or satisfaction. dis·sat  is·fied )
to 5 (very satisfied). The 16 products received an average rating of
3.97--up just a tad from the 3.95 of last year (see exhibit 2, at
right). The average rating for customer support also rose slightly--to
3.84 from 3.81. The 333 responding preparers who used their software on
a network rated their products an average of 3.90, down slightly from
4.00 last year.Three products tied for the highest rating, 4.3: Dunphy
Some 84% of the users said they would continue to use the same package this year, up a bit from 83% last year; 7% said they planned to switch, up from 6% last year; and 9% said they were undecided, down from 11% last year. These percentages did not include users who had had to switch because their products were discontinued dis·con·tin·ue v. dis·con·tin·ued, dis·con·tin·u·ing, dis·con·tin·ues v.tr. 1. To stop doing or providing (something); end or abandon: . Curiously cu·ri·ous adj. 1. Eager to learn more: curious investigators; a trapdoor that made me curious. 2. Unduly inquisitive; prying. 3. , not all the products with the highest customer-loyalty rating received the highest scores from users. The three products with 90% or better customer-loyalty assessments were ExacTax (93%), Creative Solutions (92%) and Drake drake 1. male duck. 2. loliumtemulentum. Software (90%). One possible explanation for the disconnect disconnect - SCSI reconnect is the natural hesitancy hes·i·tan·cy n. An involuntary delay or inability in starting the urinary stream. of a user to scrap a product; after all, even though it's it's 1. Contraction of it is. 2. Contraction of it has. See Usage Note at its. it's it is or it has it's be ~have easier these days to switch, such a move still causes extra expense and effort. ELECTRONIC FILING More preparers offered clients the use of electronic filing this year: 69%, up from 63% last year (see exhibit 3, below). And they filed a larger percentage of returns electronically this year than last year: 47% vs. 44%. However, fewer preparers charged a separate fee for that service: 55% vs. 58%. The 45% who did not charge a separate fee electronically filed 69% of their returns; those who charged filed 32% of their returns electronically. For next year, 70% planned to offer electronic filing and 56% of them planned to charge separately for the service. When asked why they failed to offer electronic filing, the most common responses, in effect, were: My clients don't don't 1. Contraction of do not. 2. Nonstandard Contraction of does not. n. A statement of what should not be done: a list of the dos and don'ts. want it and I don't see the benefit of the extra cost. Only 20% offered some type of refund anticipation loan A (Tax) Refund Anticipation Loan (RAL) is a high interest rate short-term loan secured by a taxpayer’s expected tax refund. United States In the United States, the taxpayer commonly applies for the loan through a paid tax preparation firm. .
Exhibit 2: How Users Rate Their Tax Software
Vendor Tax program
AM Software AM-Tax Professional 1040
ATX Forms Saber 1040
CCH Computax ProSystemfx
Creative Solutions UltraTax
Drake Software Drake
Dunphy Systems 1040 Professional Tax Preparation
ExacTax Package EX
Intuit ProSeries
Lacerte Software Lacerte 1040 Tax Software
Micro Vision Software Tax Relief 1040
Orrtax Software 1040 Preferred
TAASC The Professional Tax System
Tax$imple Tax$imple
Taxworks By Laser Systems Taxworks By Laser Systems
Universal Tax Systems Taxwise
Xpress Software Xpress 1040 Software
1040
Surveys Returns
Vendor returned filed
AM Software 31 224
ATX Forms 53 190
CCH Computax 35 597
Creative Solutions 61 782
Drake Software 134 858
Dunphy Systems 31 721
ExacTax 15 710
Intuit 213 413
Lacerte Software 164 543
Micro Vision Software 50 545
Orrtax Software 19 872
TAASC 110 575
Tax$imple 16 397
Taxworks By Laser Systems 22 690
Universal Tax Systems 76 591
Xpress Software 10 613
Satisfaction
1=very dissatisfied
and 5=very satisfied
Average
rating of
program
Vendor Program Network Support last year
AM Software 4.1 5.0 3.9 4.19
ATX Forms 3.4 3.5 3.5 3.3
CCH Computax 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.0
Creative Solutions 4.2 4.2 4.0 4.1
Drake Software 4.0 4.0 3.7 4.2
Dunphy Systems 4.3 4.3 4.4 4.2
ExacTax 4.3 4.0 4.0 NA
Intuit 4.2 3.6 4.1 4.0
Lacerte Software 4.3 4.4 4.4 4.2
Micro Vision Software 4.0 4.0 3.6 3.4
Orrtax Software 3.9 2.7 3.7 3.6
TAASC 3.5 3.1 3.4 3.7
Tax$imple 4.0 4.2 3.9 3.7
Taxworks By Laser Systems 2.7 3.3 2.3 3.6
Universal Tax Systems 3.5 3.6 3.0 4.2
Xpress Software 3.5 4.5 3.5 3.6
Plan to use product
next year
Vendor Yes No Undecided
AM Software 77% 0% 23%
ATX Forms 75% 11% 13%
CCH Computax 86% 9% 6%
Creative Solutions 92% 5% 3%
Drake Software 90% 4% 6%
Dunphy Systems 77% 6% 16%
ExacTax 93% 0% 7%
Intuit 86% 3% 10%
Lacerte Software 96% 1% 3%
Micro Vision Software 82% 6% 12%
Orrtax Software 78% 6% 17%
TAASC 75% 19% 5%
Tax$imple 75% 19% 6%
Taxworks By Laser Systems 55% 32% 14%
Universal Tax Systems 76% 12% 12%
Xpress Software 70% 20% 10%
Exhibit 3: How Respondents Handled Electronic Filing
Offer
electronic
Vendor Tax program filing
AM Software AM-Tax Professional
1040 45%
ATX Forms Saber 1040 38%
CCH Computax ProSystemfx 47%
Creative Solutions UltraTax 69%
Drake Software Drake 89%
Dunphy Systems 1040 Professional
Tax Preparation 74%
ExacTax Package EX 53%
Intuit ProSeries 72%
Lacerte Software Lacerte 1040
Tax Software 66%
Micro Vision Software Tax Relief 1040 56%
Orrtax Software 1040 Preferred 89%
TAASC The Professional
Tax System 68%
Tax$imple Tax$imple 31%
Taxworks By Taxworks By
Laser Systems Laser Systems 68%
Universal Tax Systems Taxwise 88%
Xpress Software Xpress 1040 Software 70%
Transmit Charge
eligible separate
returns fee for the
Vendor electronically service
AM Software 40% 50%
ATX Forms 36% 75%
CCH Computax 29% 50%
Creative Solutions 33% 73%
Drake Software 69% 35%
Dunphy Systems 44% 52%
ExacTax 41% 38%
Intuit 34% 62%
Lacerte Software 40% 58%
Micro Vision Software 27% 75%
Orrtax Software 56% 63%
TAASC 44% 57%
Tax$imple 32% 80%
Taxworks By
Laser Systems 58% 29%
Universal Tax Systems 59% 55%
Xpress Software 74% 57%
Will offer Plan to
electronic charge a
filing for separate fee
Vendor 2000 returns next year
AM Software 67% 40%
ATX Forms 63% 72%
CCH Computax 77% 61%
Creative Solutions 75% 71%
Drake Software 95% 32%
Dunphy Systems 81% 52%
ExacTax 67% 50%
Intuit 85% 63%
Lacerte Software 80% 55%
Micro Vision Software 86% 70%
Orrtax Software 94% 59%
TAASC 80% 58%
Tax$imple 63% 60%
Taxworks By
Laser Systems 81% 29%
Universal Tax Systems 95% 54%
Xpress Software 90% 56%
Some percentages don't add up to 100 because of rounding. |
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