New diagnostic info in ProSeries

[Jim-from-Ohio]

Very helpful info.. I usually can do better but I engaged in seldom done small talk which slowed me down a minute. 

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

I saw people asking about this earlier in the season, but didnt see it feature available yet, I guess it must have just rolled out recently.

Did it pop up unprovoked or did you have to click on something?

[Jim-from-Ohio]

just popped up 

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

I just updated, but I got nothing  

[IRonMaN]

I hope I also get nothing.  That is the dumbest thing that Intuit has ever come up with.

[Frustrated-in-IL]

Well, wait until tomorrow.  Intuit will come up with something dumber.

They need to justify the price hike.  They can point to this "enhancement" as a valuable time management tool.

[TaxGuyBill]

They are TRACKING everything I do?  Not only the time, but the details of the return to determine if it is "similar" to others?

Holy crap.  That is creepy and invasive.  I suppose we are programming their AI to do tax returns, so Intuit can rip us off in yet another way.

[Frustrated-in-IL]

I am glad I am not the only one who feels that way.  My invoice is $8554.68, and that is AFTER a "discount" of $1266.02.  I feel I pay Intuit a good amount of $$$ every year and my blood boils when I see those **bleep** TurboTax commercials, which are aimed toward a good percentage of my client base.  I would imagine they are aimed at any return which we, as professionals, can do in say two hours or less (or in Jim's case, 14 minutes).  You know, no K-1's, rentals, etc.  To now know they are tracking what and how long it is taking me is frightening.

It is getting to the point I am afraid to pick my nose or scratch!

On the other hand, maybe it will track the number of Fireball bottles I consume weekly.  That would be valuable information and might make it all worthwhile.

[IRonMaN]

I guess I am probably the only one here who has never said a single discouraging word about Turdddotaxxx. 🤪

[ljr]

I had all these thoughts as well - especially since I just reviewed my renewal quote - sigh - but I think in the back of my mind I thought they were probably already tracking this in some way anyway and were just going to now let us in on it. 

For the most part I know how long a return takes me (with and without the chit chat) and how long is SHOULD take most of my staff members so this might just be interesting to look at. Or use for staff reviews and training purposes, to see where they might be a little weak. 

[Frustrated-in-IL]

I have already implemented this information as an evaluation tool with my staff, knowing that the time it “should” take to complete a return is totally skewed by including Jim’s completion times in the results.  I have concluded that based on the time my staff takes to complete returns, I will have to fire my staff immediately.  Considering I am the only staff member, I think I have just put myself out of business.

[IRonMaN]

Think about the stupidity of that information provided to Jim.  It takes Jim only 14 minutes to prepare the identical return that it takes one of us 2 hours and 25 minutes?  Are the rest of us really that slow or are we comparing apples to cantaloupes?  How many of us can't prepare a return with 2 W-2s and one 1099-INT in 14 minutes?  But how many of us can prepare a return in 14 minutes that has 10 W-2s, 12 broker 1099s, 5 rental properties, 11 K-1s, and a partridge in a pear tree?  Other than to make Jim feel good, does it really provide any real meaningful information?  Now if it came back and said "congratulations IRonMaN, you prepared that return in 12 minutes and as a reward we are releasing form 5227", I might be willing to listen.

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

They're probably including TT tax  prep time in their averages.

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

and I still haven't gotten any popups!

[PATAX]

@Jim-from-Ohio @IRonMaN I thought I saw something pop up about time tracking, if I wanted to use it, but I think I just ignored it. Is it worth the time to monitor the time tracking?

[Frustrated-in-IL]

I think you should just ignore it.  Knowing Jim's completion times are making your time look worse, it will just give you an inferiority complex.  Just the thought of my completion times being compared to anything skewed by Jim's times has me thinking about therapy.

[Taxprohere]

I received my first popup message yesterday upon efiling.  It stated I completed it faster than the average time but still much slower than some guy named Jim in Ohio.  And it offered the option that if I was interested in learning more about this feature, my credit card could be contacted, Intuit would contact me.

[Frustrated-in-IL]

That is precisely why this feature is useless.  In the time it took you to type your message, Jim completed three tax returns.  I can't compete against that and I am smart enough to know that.  I don't need Intuit hitting me across the head with a 2 by 4 every time I do finish a return.

[IRonMaN]

I'm going to help everybody out.  I am going to create some sample returns each morning and leave the returns open all day long.  That should help bump up the average time so folks don't have to feel bad that they can't compete against Jim.    Maybe Intuit will even develop a new scale for comparisons - "it took you 4 times as long to complete the return as Jim, but you were 12 times faster than IRonMaN.

[IRonMaN]

I just did an update and magically a little popup window appeared telling me that you people just can't keep up with me.  It showed the file names of two clients.  One says I prepared it in 24 minutes compared to you tortoises out there that take 8 hours and 20 minutes to do.  Another one says it took me 2 hours and 19 minutes to prepare while the rest of the world takes 6 hours and 23 minutes for you non-roadrunner types.  So I'm always a bit curious, who are these clients.  Um, I can't find any clients with those client numbers ............................. back to the drawing board.

[Taxprohere]

My in-office client yesterday during the one-hour tax prep, I also showed them my office aquarium, discussed various nano fish they have; they were asking about my bunnies which I disclosed they'll be pooping on their shredded signature pages three years from now.  Meanwhile, I think I heard Intuit's digital fingers tapping on the desk and whispering tsk, tsk!