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Level 1
December 7, 2019
Solved

Are there alternative options for me to use, rather than the 50 return basic?

  • December 7, 2019
  • 2 replies
  • 25 views

I prepare 30 federal returns and most have only one state. Is there another option rather than the 50 return basic?

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Best answer by TaxGuyBill

That would be the best (most economical) ProSeries option.

You could buy ProSeries Professional, that will cost you more.  You could try Lacerte, but that would probably cost much more.

Another option is Proconnect Tax Online (PTO).  It is completely cloud-based.  However, if you are already using ProSeries, it could be quite a learning curve.  If you want to test it out, you can try it for free (you need to pay when you print or e-file the tax return).

https://proconnect.intuit.com/tax-online/


If you want to try a non-Intuit product, there are a lot  out there.  For smaller business, lower cost options like Drake, ATX, or TaxAct Professional are probably the most commonly used.  

2 replies

December 7, 2019

That would be the best (most economical) ProSeries option.

You could buy ProSeries Professional, that will cost you more.  You could try Lacerte, but that would probably cost much more.

Another option is Proconnect Tax Online (PTO).  It is completely cloud-based.  However, if you are already using ProSeries, it could be quite a learning curve.  If you want to test it out, you can try it for free (you need to pay when you print or e-file the tax return).

https://proconnect.intuit.com/tax-online/


If you want to try a non-Intuit product, there are a lot  out there.  For smaller business, lower cost options like Drake, ATX, or TaxAct Professional are probably the most commonly used.  

itonewbie
Level 15
December 7, 2019

Agree with Bill.  I use PTO; with Lacerte under the hood, it's quite a capable tax product and it being cloud-based is a plus.  Nevertheless,  there could be a steep learning curve for data entry and frustration with the lack of user-control in some respects (compared to its higher-priced sibling).

Try negotiate the rates for PS with Intuit if you can.  Don't know about Drake (which doesn't work well with international returns) but ATX is quite open to fee negotiation - even if you don't switch, you'd know your baseline.

[Edits: Darn auto correction on cell phone]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Still an AllStar