How do you decide between Lacerte Tax, ProConnect Tax, and ProSeries Tax for different client types and firm sizes?

[chickpeafilae]

I am trying to understand how different firms choose between Lacerte Tax, ProConnect Tax, and ProSeries Tax depending on their workflow and client base.

From what I know, each tool seems to be designed for slightly different use cases. For example, Lacerte Tax is often considered better for handling more complex returns and larger firms, while ProConnect Tax is fully cloud-based and offers more flexibility. ProSeries Tax seems more straightforward and commonly used by smaller practices.

I am curious how others are making this decision in real scenarios:

• Do you choose based on return complexity or firm size?
• How important is cloud access vs desktop workflow for your team?
• Have you switched between these tools, and what influenced that decision?

Would really appreciate hearing real-world experiences.

[sjrcpa]

What are you using now?

How many people will use the software?

What types of returns will you do?

How many states?

Cost is also a factor.

[IRonMaN]

Back in 1878, the software we were using was acquired by Intuit.  Intuit then provided copies of Lacerte and ProSeries for us to review.  When the dust all settled, ProSeries offered a lower price hike from our old software and was an improvement over the old software so we went that route.  Over the years, clients with more complicated returns have passed away and have been replaced with clients with less complex returns so the selection over time appeared to be a good choice.  Plus, for someone that liked math in school, I could never really get the hang of minus one equaling zero.

[BobKamman]

@IRonMaN You liked math in high school so much that you probably don't remember from history class that 1878 was the year Edison patented the phonograph.  

[IRonMaN]

I bought one of the first phonographs they made.

[BobKamman]

And an early vinyl recording?

[sjrcpa]

Somewhere Intuit has a chart which compares the various program offerings.

[George4Tacks]

Here is my  comparison:

ProSeries is TurboTax with a few more bells & whistles and no interview to slog through.

Lacerte integrates states much more easily than ProSeries and does presentation to the client in a neater form (e.g. One client letter with federal and every state filed, instead of separate letters for each) Lacerte costs more than ProSeries

ProConnect is Lacerte Online (sorta) but the interface is slower to work through. Lacerte was created before the arrow keys existed and there are several keyboard shortcuts that don't work in this online version. ProConnect is probably aimed at smaller firms than Lacerte.

Here is a comparison of several of the features of each. https://accountants.intuit.com/support/en-us/help-article/compare-products/comparing-lacerte-proseri... 

[chickpeafilae]

Just adding a quick follow-up after thinking more about this comparison. It seems like the decision isn’t just about features, but more about how the software fits into the firm’s workflow and client complexity over time.

For example, scalability and collaboration become more important in larger firms, while speed and simplicity might matter more for smaller client loads or seasonal work. I’m starting to see that the “best” choice really depends on how structured the internal processes are rather than just the tool itself.

I’ve also noticed a similar pattern when working with QuickBooks bookkeeping services 
 systems, where the structure of the workflow often matters more than the specific tool being used.

Curious if others also evaluate these tools more from a workflow fit perspective rather than purely on functionality or pricing.

[TaxGuyBill]

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@chickpeafilae wrote:

I am trying to understand how different firms choose between Lacerte Tax, ProConnect Tax, and ProSeries Tax

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Why are those your choices?

Unless you an Intuit employee that receives a huge discount on Intuit software, personally, I would NEVER recommend somebody to switch to an Intuit software.  While the software itself is decent, the company is not.  If I wasn't already using Intuit software and don't want to deal with the "learning curve" of switching software, personally, I would NOT use Intuit.