Fast Path Membership

[kristinacoley]

I decided after 20+ years to try a new software due to the lack of customer support available from Lacerte. I have two returns to efile for the 2019 tax year of which I paid for and am being denied unless I pay the $484 to renew the fast path.  Does anyone have input or advice?  Cannot believe it has to be renewed for a year I am not even going to use!  So frustrating, and in my opinion we should have access to our complete 2019 program if we paid for it!

[sjrcpa]

Yes it sucks but that is the way it is. Pay up or prepare them in your new software.

We complained when they first instituted this several years ago. You can see where that went.

[kristinacoley]

Thank you for the reply and am now convinced that leaving Lacerte was the best thing I could have done. 

Thanks again!

[abctax55]

Please share what software you switched to, as many of us are considering changing.

[IRonMaN]

But we asked for the fast path fee.  Well at least that's what many people say at Intuit when the thing first kicked in.  It's kinda like buying a car that you can park in your garage and admire for as long as you like, but if you want to actually drive it you will need to send a check annually to the dealership.

[Terry53029]

I believe most pro software will let you convert your present software to their software. I plan on Simi retiring after this year, but I will still do family and friends, so I am looking for something more affordable than ProSeries which has become too rich for me, and lacks support. Any recommendations. I came across a program called Nexus, but it sounds too cheap, so I am still looking

[abctax55]

" Simi " retirement?  Can you 'splain, Lucy 🤣

Congrats; I'm jealous.  

A lot of folks like Drake; I tried it a few years ago and it wasn't robust enough for my client base.  But I bet it has improved, and it sounds like the returns you'll continue to do may not be 'that' complicated?

[Karl]

I'm sorry, that is frustrating.

Will your new software provider let you e-file prior year returns on their software? I was able to do that when I switched to Drake, and later to Lacerte.

I know it would be frustrating to redo the returns, but it's probably less irritating that paying Intuit the fast path fee.

Best of luck!

[Terry53029]

@abctax55 Am closing office, and plan on doing a lot of fishing with my grandson, but will be doing probably around 15 returns or so. Just looking for a reliable software that won't break the bank, as I bought a new bass boat, and we all know that is a great money hole.

[abctax55]

"The two happiest days of a man's life - the day he bought the boat and the day he sold the boat"

"Boat: Break Out Another Thousand (dollars)"

"Boat: A hole in the water into which one pours money"

But hey, enjoy that retirement!  Hope the fishing turns into catching too.

[IRonMaN]

"and plan on doing a lot of fishing with my grandson"

But don't ever take the time to figure out what a pound of fish costs when you factor in all of that overhead.😁  My father-in-law passed away recently.  He loved to fish and his obituary stated that the size of the fish that he caught was determined by whether he was talking to the game warden or talking to a friend.  May all of your fish be "friend size".

[kristinacoley]

So after being a Lacerte user for 20+ years, I decided their quality and output wasn't what I was paying for and asked the local preparers who they use and their thoughts and input as well as researched the various firms in the area and looked at multiple reviews of the software out there and just about everything I found turned to Drake.  I contacted them just to ask for a demo and ask questions.  I wasn't put on hold for 2 hours and nor is the pricing through the roof.  I have always believed that you get what you pay for, but not anymore!  I have completed the pain free conversion to Drake and so far am happy!  

[Karl]

Congrats!  I came from Drake and had few complaints.

If I may offer one caveat, if you are in an income-tax-state, put extra review on your state returns.  This was Drake's weakness that prompted me to leave them for Lacerte four years ago.

I'm in California, with MANY fed-state tax differences.  Drake didn't have the inputs for me to properly completed the state form for a 1031 exchange of CA property for non-CA property.  Drake also doesn't track separate state basis for S-Corps.

As much as I loved the price and customer service from Drake, those things were putting more manual review and distrust in software outputs than I could handle.

I do sincerely wish you well, and only hope that if you go in forearmed, you can have a wonderful experience.