WHY CAN'T WE MASS PRODUCE TAX RETURNS?

[troy2]

MY NAME IS TROY YOUNGBLOOD AND I AM THE OWNER OF TY ASSOCIATES, I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE YOU SOME SUGGESTIONS THAT I BELIEVE YOUR ORGANIZATION HAS THE TECHNOLOGY TO BRING INTO BEING.

FIRST AND FOREMOST, I PURCHASED ADDITIONAL FEATURES OF THE SOFTWARE THAT I THOUGHT WOULD TREMENDOUSLY HELP MY BUSINESS, IT TURNS OUT THAT THERE WAS NO FUNCTIONALITY IN THESE AREAS. I WANTED TO BE ABLE TO UPLOAD MY CLIENT’S TAX DOCUMENTATION INTO THE SOFTWARE AND HAVE THE TAX RETURNS DONE, INSTEAD, I FOUND THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT PROSERIES DOESN’T EVEN OFFER.

WHAT I DID DISCOVER WERE NEW SUGGESTIONS AND I PRAY THAT YOU ARE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT THEM FOR FUTURE YEARS.

IN THE HOMEBASE OF PROSERIES IN PURLE LETTERING, YOU HAVE THE WORD “INVITE” THIS FEATURE SEEMS TO SEND AN EMAIL TO A CLIENT IN OUR HOMEBASE DATABASE TO LET THEM KNOW THAT WE ARE INTERESTED IN THEM GIVING US THE AUTHORIZATION TO UPLOAD ALL OF THEIR TAX DOCUMENTATION, WE CAN CLEARLY SEE ALL OF THEIR W-2’S, 1099’S, 1098’S, ETC. 

IT GIVES RISE TO GIVING A TAX PRACTICE THE ABILITY TO MASS PRODUCE RETURNS, MUCH-LIKE AN ASSEMBLY LINE IN CAR MANUFACTURING. INSTEAD OF JUST OFFERING THIS FEATURE TO JUST FOR ONE CLIENT AT A TIME. WHY NOT GIVE US THE ABILITY TO DO IT IN 100 AND 200 HUNDRED CLIENT BATCHES? A GROUP INVITE OF SELECTED CLIENTS, A GROUP UPLOAD OF ALL OF THE CLIENTS WHO HAVE ACCEPTED THE INVITE AND EVEN A BATCH EMAILING SYSTEM WHERE WE CAN HAVE A CUSTOMIZED LETTER, MUCH-LIKE THE ONE WE ALREADY HAVE IN THE SYSTEM PERTAINING TO THE RESULTS OF THEIR RETURNS, ETC. WITH INSTRUCTIONS ON WHETHER THEY APPROVE OF US E-FILING THEIR RETURNS AND WE THEN, CAN DO A BATCH OF E-FILES IN THE EF CENTER AND BE DOWN WITH IT.

THE TAX IMPORT SYSTEM OF HAVING THE CLIENT’S HAVE A PASSWORD WITH INTUIT AND DO A LOT OF THE LEG WORK, WILL ONLY FRUSTRATE MANY OF THE CLIENTS. WE ARE MAKING THEM WORK AND THAT IS WHAT THEY ARE PAYING US TO DO FOR THEM!

PLEASE TAKE THIS FEEDBACK SERIOUSLY, YOU HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY, NOW JUST IMPROVE YOUR SOFTWARE.

SINCERELY YOURS,

TROY YOUNGBLOOD

TY ASSOCIATES

[jeffmcpa2010]

<Sarcasm font on>You own an business - but don't know how to turn off the unreadable ALL CAPS...<sarcasm font off>

Do to being so hard to read that is basically as far as I got.

By the way this is a forum for software users to try to assist each other with problems that pop up from time to time - Not an Intuit or Pro Series development forum. I am not sure of the likelihood that posting here will get your ideas to anyone that matters.

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

"I WANTED TO BE ABLE TO UPLOAD MY CLIENT’S TAX DOCUMENTATION INTO THE SOFTWARE AND HAVE THE TAX RETURNS DONE,"

Soooooo, you dont want to have to actually prepare a tax return?

[IRonMaN]

If you are looking to be the Henry Ford of tax return mass production, why should folks pay you when they could “mass produce” their own returns on TurrrddoTaxxx?

[IRonMaN]

Sometimes when folks provide us with more information than we really need, I get curious and use my friend Google.  I was enthralled by your Refund Planning section of your website.

[qbteachmt]

For the Invite, you seem to be asking about Intuit Link? That's how you invite the taxpayer, sending them an invitation email which attaches you to them, creating a portal that is secure for you and them to share and communicate. If you paid for this, it might help to understand the function. Here is a training site with videos (scroll down for ProSeries):

https://proconnect.intuit.com/link/training/

By the way, this is Peer Users. You are not contacting Customer Support or Tech Support or Sales. This is a web-based discussion forum. You might be getting forum platform notifications via email, but this is not secure and it is not email.

[itonewbie]

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@troy2 wrote:

...I WANTED TO BE ABLE TO UPLOAD MY CLIENT’S TAX DOCUMENTATION INTO THE SOFTWARE AND HAVE THE TAX RETURNS DONE..

---

To be able to do that on scale, at this present time when neither the compliance ecosystem nor the technology is ripe for it, the returns you prepare will have to be the most basic.

Even then, some level of human intervention would be inevitable.  While you can certainly import data from certain information returns such as 1099's, someone, whether credentialed or not, will still have to review the return and sign on the dotted line - that is, provided your clients will make all the basic input from an electronic organizer.

If you are looking for electronic organizers that can bridge your clients' entries into the return, it is available only in Lacerte as an add-on but not ProSeries.  Electronic organizers, however, are not for everyone and can cost you more time than it's worth - garbage in, garbage out as the saying goes.  For one, clients who have simple returns tend to either (a) not want to complete an electronic organizer because their returns are so straightforward that they may as well prepare their own returns if they had to make any input or (b) lack the sophistication to enter the data correctly.  Clients with moderate to complex returns would fit the profile better; unfortunately, the reliability of these clients' input is inversely correlated with the complexity of their returns.

There will may come one day when everything can be automated - when everything is known to the government and AI takes over our lives.  Until then, it's about striking a balance.  The day I can "UPLOAD MY CLIENT’S TAX DOCUMENTATION INTO THE SOFTWARE AND HAVE THE TAX RETURNS DONE" is probably the day I will be forced to retire from this business (and perhaps focus on only consulting unless AI has also overtaken the human brain).

[garman22]

If the government goes to digital currency, you will get what you ask for but you will NOT be needed as the IRS will prepare most tax returns on their end. 

Accountants will still be necessary for businesses etc but the mass prep will be done on the IRS' end. 

[abctax55]

Jeff - I'm really interested in the 'offer and compromise'.  I might have clients that could benefit, since I've never heard of it.

[itonewbie]

Now that they've let the cat out of the bag, everybody will rush into the business...  Hope I'm not too late. 😆

[jeffmcpa2010]

'offer and compromise'

Lol...

On second thought - it might not be funny.

I hope we all didn't just get "phished"...

[joshuabarksatlcs]

"Offer and Compromise"

I did that with my dates in my younger days.  It worked.

Now that I'm at my age, I can only compromise.

[Taxprohere]

And here we are, peeking at this website knowing we're increasing traffic to it, but like motorists slowing down as they pass a traffic accident.  The entire website seems tortuously worded.