We have begun the process of Efiling for our clients. We notice your Standard Letter DOES NOT reflect the new IRS requirements that were launched on 09/30/25, stating that they will no longer take paper checks. As the ProSeries letter currently reads "Please file your FORM 1040 and check or money order....". This clearly has not been updated from the 2025 requirements. When I called into ProSeries today, the Specialist explained that letters will have to be altered individually....!!!!??? We are small company with over 700 clients. This will directly impede our ability to produce Returns at our normal rate. What is particularly upsetting is that we pay over $11K a year with guaranteed increase of 7% per year, which we pay without hesitation, YET YOUR SOFTWARE IS NOT ACCURATE/PROPERLY UPDATED? This is an outrage! This may cost us clients if this is not fixed IMMEDIATELY.
This is and should be a high priority for all Tax Firms, but especially ProSeries.
As of 9/30/25 they mostly are not SENDING checks anymore (although they still may do it at times, but the refund will likely be delayed).
And at some undisclosed time in the FUTURE, the IRS will mostly stop accepting paper checks (although there will be exceptions). But that does NOT apply as of right now.
Just Lisa - That was our intention, but when I couldn't access Letters from the Home Base I called Proseries. The Specialist told me I could do only on an individual basis. There was no way to change them globally.
If you are able to sent those steps to me, we would appreciate it.
I have posted this before and this might not be the best place to post it again, but I'm still absorbing the Executive Order that every prime number squared, minus 1, must be a multiple of 24.
I don't have any Standard Clients, so I don't send them Standard Cover Letters. I have about 8 semi-custom letters in my word-processing program, which is always open when I am running ProSeries. They are all on my letterhead and there are different versions based on whether the federal or state return shows a refund or balance due. I can also add a paragraph of comments or special instructions or random thoughts about the state of world affairs. The second page of the letter, which I don't always use, is an invoice that shows how much they owe and whether they have already paid.
This probably adds a couple minutes to each return. Back in the days when I was doing 8 or 10 a day, I got home 15 minutes later so that my clients didn't get some off-the-shelf generic verbiage designed by a company that makes most of its money from TurboTax. Also, it helps that I know how to spell. Won the state spelling bee a long time ago, when the population of the state was much less.
Now that I'm aiming for 2 or 3 returns a day, you can point out that I'm wasting five minutes, just to look more professional. At least the clients keep coming back. I think they like me.
And by the way, that prime number edict doesn't apply to 2 and 3.
In 32 years of practice.. the letter never bothered me on bit.. maybe because I never even thought of using them or even needing them.. client is at my desk.. return is prepared.. the review on their own monitor as I work on return.. print out... sign by the x.. here is your refund.. thank you very much. have a nice day
I thank you all for your comments. Most of the responses are completely ineffective for our firm as we have 700 clients. To sit with each client and create an individual letter would require more man power and additional CPAs and increase our prices to our clients. We are a small mom and pop shop and intentionally keep our clients prices down by effectively using ProSeries standard tools. We have been doing it this way for over 20 years and we have many happy return clients. It seems to me that many of you manage much smaller firms, or just manage your business differently. Which is perfectly acceptable if that works for you.
As for the reference to 'IRS is still accepting paper checks', that is true, but the processing time will be significantly slowed. You may want to look that up and perhaps alert your clients that insist on continuing to pay by check. We have.
We are producing on average 15-20 returns a day when we are in the heat of the season. Stopping to staple an addendum to cover up the misinformation proseries is dispensing is going to be a potentially costly problem.
This is terrible way to reach out to Proseries, but it is their way of escalating a problem. Having to take my issues to a public forum...and listen to how others run their business....which have NOTHING to do with our business is ridiculous. I was just told by the (3rd) agent that I spoke to about this, that she Proseries does not escalate client complaints. They must go through this process. Her supervisor has to approve a customer complaint to get it to a person that can help us. They generally DO NOT approve complaints to be escalated.
Yet they are perfectly fine providing outdated directions for clients.
In the mean time, I am creating a physical document to cut and paste over the inaccurate information that Proseries is providing. Yes, this is an OUTRAGE.
Happy Tax Season to us all. I am still looking for a resolution resolution.
As we mentioned above, it is not outdated or misinformation because the IRS does still accept checks. I am puzzled why you are concerned about something that is completely accurate.
I have seen no indication that processing checks is slowed. Maybe you are looking at the circumstances for when the IRS will be ISSUING checks that will be slowed (six weeks)? At any rate, even IF the processing of taking checks is slowed (which seems really doubtful), it doesn't really matter because the IRS still has the payment on time.
@Mare You are missing the easy fix. In the event that you want to tell your 700 clients to not write checks, it is incredibly easy to do that.
Top Bar: select "Tools">>>>>Letters>>>>>NOW HERE IS WHERE IT GETS REAL TRICKY,,,I MEAN EASY.>>>>>Manage Standard Letters>>>>>your first option (of many) is "Standard Client Letter"click that tricky little edit button.......and...and...and you have the Standard Client letter, just waiting for you to input your own choice of words,..in any paragraph, indicating that you don't want them to send a check or many checks,or many Czechs even. And the beauty is you hit the save button, and that letter will now appear for each of your 700 clients.
Most of us attack the dull, boring mundane standard letter ProSeries provides as soon as we download it. Bolding some parts, underlining some parts, changing Fonts for effectiveness, and the bold of us make our own paragraphs with the insert and/or trigger codes.
PM me your email...I'll send you a sample of one of my "Standard Client Letters"
No need to customize each letter. You customize the standard letter which applies to all clients for that type of return (ie ,1040). (like ddvols4 posted as I was reading and writing!)
I also cannot modify the template. It appears that I have made the changes and have the modified letter selected as the one that should print but when I print the changes are not there. Call me stupid, but I have followed al instructions and it is not working. I do not have 700 clients, but I am a sole practitioner and this is still going to be a total time suck when I can least afford it. Does anyone know if they have a tutorial video on how to customize these letters because I am clearly missing something in the instructions. I suppose it can always be Word or Adobe to the rescue but this is the last thing I need 6 weeks before the deadline. I appreciate any tips, trick or assistance. Thanks!
First of all, dont call yourself stupid. One of the members of the community will do that for you. That seems to be what many of them are good at...but I digress....
Anyway, we created a blurb that we cut and paste on to the letters where it states the client owes and they'll have a voucher, basically explaining the upcoming changes. We also include directions on how to pay on line if the person is not ready for the full amount to come out of their checking account within days of transmitting the efile. We also have brightly colored notices posted in the office.
Many older clients are the ones who will struggle with this and the IRS will allow exceptions in certain circumstances but if no banking information goes with the efile and the tax payer makes no payment online, they will receive a CP53E notice and will request a response within 30 days for banking info or a valid reason why it cannot be provided.
It will hold up payments and potentially refunds as well.
Look up Executive Order 14247 on the IRS website. Good luck!
