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First thing you thought of doing? (and your results)

DatabaseRobert
Level 4

My hopes and aspirations were pretty pedestrian: the first thing that came to me was "take the address on page1/client info, move it to page73/Form 8822 (notify IRS of change of address), and take the [external] new address to plug into page1."
  Sadly, the return still needs to be unlocked in order to get the new form to be recognized & printed, so it's not the one-click solution I had hoped for, but it's still an improvement over "type things out, again."

 

Robert
(I used the same alias here as on the Yahoo!Group for "LTUG/Lacerte Tax User Group".)

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DatabaseRobert
Level 4

Normally I don't like replying to myself, but it came to me that others may have a use for something we do here.
  We have several DYMO label printers scattered around the office.  These are just thermal printers, but they're great for "one-off" labels that you don't need a whole sheet of.  (Like for "that ONE client who lives in Alaska"...  what do you need a whole sheet of Alaska DoR labels for?)  Or sending mail to the client: I just need one, not a 3x10 sheet of Avery labels to the same client.

 

However, we also used them--in the days before the ODBC connection, just with a straight read of the DBF file--to pull out partners/beneficiary information.  We never bothered with Slip Sheets (use a whole sheet of paper, which adds up and may change the postal rate), just print off a quick label.
  But if you reach out to Data2, where the partners/officers/estate beneficiaries are stored, and grab their name [keep as one column], street [keep as one column], apartment [keep as one column], and city/state/zip [combine into one column, add ", " and " " so you get "Cityname, ST  ZIPCODE"]...
  ...then you get a multi-row list of multiple columns.

 

Which the DYMO software interprets a "Ctrl+V/paste" of as, "You have 6 labels here!  Do you want me to print (with each row being a new label, eacn column being a new line on the label)?"
  Presto!  Roll a half-dozen labels, slap them on the K-1 envelopes being given to the primary signer, and they just need to put on their return address (label) and postage.

 

Now, if I could just convince the estimates to store their "send to" address in a convenient spot....

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DatabaseRobert
Level 4

Heh: and another one!

 

I just had occasion to set up the efile transmission for about a dozen FIDuciary returns, and while it is still code 49 to put in today's date for filing (same as INDividual module)...  it is nowhere near as easy to *get* to that entry.
  INDividual module, you type "4.1<enter>49<enter>Ctrl+V<paste in the date from clipboard>Alt+C" back out to the client list, and move down to the next client to deal with.
  But in the FIDuciary module...  you type 2.2<enter> to get to efiling, then you have to Ctrl+UpArrow to get to the "general" section, and only then can you type in code 49 and paste in your date.
  Much more of a hassle.

 

Queue the ODBC connection!  It's always the same code (49)...  and page 4.1 over here/page 2.2 over there, are always going to be the same *series*.
  Script, paste in date code, done.
  Irrespective of module!

 

 

 

Robert

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