Thank You RF so much for your Hosting discussion thread.  We want User Experience before we decide.  We are attending the 2024 IRS Nationwide Tax Forum in Sand Diego Sept 10 - 11 and will spend time at the Lacerte booth to hear what Lacerte says - But we also want the User Experience input and perhaps we will meet some Lacerte Hosting customers and chat them up.  If so we will certainly ask them to post their Hosting comments here to your Hosting thread RF.

We are Lacerte users since 1988 and have all years of Lacerte 1988 thru 2023 working  (Lacerte  1988 thru 2005 are run on a Windows 11 machine in a "Windows Virtual Machine running Windows XP, and Lacerte 2006 thru 2023 are on the Windows 11 and run natively).  Both Microsoft and Oracle offer Windows Virtual Machines if you are interested.  We are two preparers with two computers, mine is Windows 11 and is both Server and my Workstation, the second computer is a Windows 10 Workstation which we will upgrade to Windows 11 after October 15 deadlines.

We see definite advantages of the "cloud" in general and like the idea that a much simpler and cheaper workstation could access Lacerte Online (and a laptop from anywhere with internet for those interested).  If I come to work and find my office building has burned to the ground, I'm a laptop with internet away from continuing with tax season.  The "building burned to the ground" actually happened to a fellow tax preparer whose computer and onsite backups also burned - his tax season was ruined.  

Each year our practice has become more paperless and we "print" more to pdf only than ever and are finding more clients use Intuit Link each year.  Tax Year 2023 is the last year that we will print a paper organizer for every single client since so many skipped their paper organizer and used the Intuit Link organizer instead.

But Lacerte's "execution" of Hosting and the actual user experience, not just the theory, are critical in our decision.  We need it but just don't have it.

Please post your comments, experience, and questions to this thread.

Please and thank you.