Diagnostic with details of changes to a return as a result of Lacerte version updates

[sararidgwell]

I think that it would be helpful for there to be a Diagnostic message for all files (locked or unlocked) that indicates what numbers, if any, have changed in the file as a result of a Lacerte version update. Currently, you cannot easily see what (if anything) was changed unless you manually compare the numbers in the version of the return from before the update (e.g., if you saved the return as a PDF, or had locked the file in Lacerte prior to the update) vs. the return as it currently shows in Lacerte.

For background: When Lacerte pushes out a version update, any files / returns that are unlocked could potentially have numbers that are changed as a result of the update (depending on what the version update entailed). When you've locked a return, you will see a generic diagnostic message saying that the client file is locked and tax return amounts are now protected from being modified due to updates to the program. This diagnostic appears on all locked files, but it does not give any specifics around what numbers would change in the return as a result of version updates. Instead, to see what has changed, Lacerte recommends that we make a copy of the return, unlock that copy, then manually review the cover letter and tax summaries to see if there are any differences. This is very time-consuming and can result in a lot of duplicate client files. Additionally, when a file is locked, you cannot even change the status of it without unlocking it -- which means (for example) that if we have a file that is in the stage of "Awaiting 8879" or "Awaiting Acknowledgments by IRS and/or state", but then Lacerte pushes out an update that impacts numbers in the return before we are able to move it to "Final" status, the return that we have in Lacerte may no longer align with the return that was filed with the IRS and/or state, since we have to unlock the return to move it into "Final" status (at which point any number changes as a result of Lacerte updates could be pushed through).