4 Must-Use Lacerte Features for Extension Season

Tax season is hard – and not because you’re actually doing taxes. It’s everything you have to do that’s not taxes, including collecting documents and signatures, sending clients reminders, and collecting payment. Add on to that tax law changes and confusion around the Affordable Care Act, and well, tax season is about as easy as herding cats.

The good news is that you’re not alone. In fact, many of your peers experienced similar challenges and put a lot of their clients on extension. And, with just a few months left before the extension deadlines, you have plenty of time to incorporate some new tools into your workflow that will make it a ton easier to herd those cats … I mean, clients.

Lacerte® tax software comes with 30+ time-saving features built in to help you save time in your workflow. Below are the top four time-saving features we recommend adding to your workflow during extension season, in order to help you with the administrative side of your practice.

Intuit Link. Developed with your clients in mind, Link saves you precious time tracking the influx of multiple client tax documents securely, quickly and all in one place! Workflow features, such as tax organizers with a checklist based on prior year tax data and client activity snapshots, allow you to know when you have everything you need to get started. New for tax year 15, Link will be fully integrated with your Lacerte software and available at no additional cost.

Financial Institution Download, aka FIDO. FIDO takes a huge bite out of 1099 data entry time, at about 62 minutes, per return. It downloads financial institution data directly into a client’s tax return, including 1099-B, 1099-INT, 1099-DIV and W-2s. Just click on the “clients” tab. Import, and then select “tax import.”

K-1 Transfer Utility. Automatically import K-1 data into Individual modules from Partnership, S-corporation, and Fiduciary business modules and between business returns, and save about 23 minutes per return. Simply mark the return to be exported, and then choose to export or import the K-1 data.

eSignature PLUS. It’s not just a better way to finish and file a return; it’s a game changer. Instead of 10 minutes to mail an 8879 package, you can do it in less than a minute. Instead of five days to get a clients’ 8879, it’s back in as little as seven hours. And, forget about nagging clients to return documents; eSignature sends automated reminders. We’ve even replaced the five steps to verify a return and e-file with just one click. And, what about clients that request copies of their return over and over again? Now, they won’t because returns are stored securely online for up to a year. And, last but certainly not least, instead of waiting an average of two months for clients to pay, eSignature can get you paid in as little as seven hours. Cha-ching!

That’s it! Four great tools to help you unlock efficiency in your practice so that you can focus on what you love – doing taxes. And, let Lacerte handle the rest.

Click here to learn more about Lacerte’s time-saving features.