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Lacerte User Definable Fields - VOTE HERE

steven
Level 5

Now, more than ever, we absolutely need User Definable Fields. I need the ability to put what I have traditionally had on paper into "bits" and do not have a place to put it. I have previously submitted this as a Product Suggestion and will be including a link to this post in another shortly.

We try to think of Lacerte as our "System of Record", but it's not very good at this. We export data for email (Here's your Organizer) and other uses, but the data we need to process tax returns does not really work well as a contact management solution. Family relationships are complex; and about 20% of our clients are also a responsible party (POC at least) for their children or parents. Lacerte offers me NO WAY to effectively manage these relationships. We can all guess (know) what a 17 year old will do with a Tax Organizer. Lacerte and other companies want us to think that this all fits in a nice little structured DB, but it does not.

I spent 5 hours today doing a mailing to our clients (Sanitizing the export) and this should have taken no more than an hour!

I will suggest a number of (20) fields of at least 40 Alpha-Numeric characters each as part of the Client Information section for each Tax Type (though I expect there are other places users may want these too, trying to walk here). They need to be exportable with the Client => Export => Export to File and should be configured as part of Primary Settings to:

  • Display (Yes\No),
  • Have a definable Label (Field Title)
  • Have what I will call a Proforma setting (copy content to next year or not).
  • They should upgrade both config and content (as selected) to a new year of the Lacerte program.

The "Why" should not be important, UDF should say it all, but here is some of what I need:

  • Responsible Guardian - Kids and seniors don't always do their own returns.
  • Responsible Guardian Email -
  • Responsible Guardian Relationship - (Child, Parent, Other)
  • Send correspondence via - Surface Mail or Email
  • Send Organizer Via - We currently have 3 ways to distribute an organizer, who gets what type.
  • Send E-File Via - Paper, E_signature, Secure Portal
  • Primary Contact - Taxpayer or Spouse
  • Primary Contact email -
  • Primary Contact Salutation -
  • So many other items

Many other software products have this capability at multiple levels of the DB Hierarchy. Sure, field types, drop downs, radio buttons and check boxes would all be nice, but I will be happy with a text field.

... and No, keeping this info outside of Lacerte does not work well, doing it now.

OH, and how about making the Middle Initial\Name a field of it's own. It's not hard to put it in it's own cell in excel, but I should not have to.

This discussion has been locked. No new contributions can be made. You may start a new discussion here

1 Solution

Accepted Solutions
George4Tacks
Level 15

Voting for this idea would be done in the later post by Steven at https://proconnect.intuit.com/community/lacerte-tax-idea-exchange/lacerte-user-definable-fields/idi-...

A similar idea you might vote for is https://proconnect.intuit.com/community/lacerte-tax-idea-exchange/more-client-statuses-please/idi-p/...

If you have an idea to improve the product, post it at https://proconnect.intuit.com/community/lacerte-tax-idea-exchange/idb-p/604/tab/most-recent

Threads like this are to ask for help using the existing program or tax questions. The idea exchange is new since this was originally posted. 


Here's wishing you many Happy Returns

View solution in original post

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17 Comments 17
George4Tacks
Level 15

Lacerte used to "sort of" have some of that. One leftover from it is in Screen 1 of the Individual, Miscellaneous "Custom Filter". Now they want to sell you https://proconnect.intuit.com/practice-management/ 

I love all your suggestions, so I will be the first vote that can be ignored. 


Here's wishing you many Happy Returns
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steven
Level 5

@George4TacksThanks for your support!

Yes, already use it, but it's not enough.

Already watched the video.  Appears to be all on line.

As a former E-Business Product Manager, we should all be scared, very scared.  Ubiquiti was recently hacked.

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George4Tacks
Level 15

The only way to submit to Lacerte is via Help > Lacerte Feedback. It used to go to something like what they now have for ProSeries and ProConnect where it could be voted on, but ....

Hmm? What doesn't Lacerte have something like ProSeries and ProConnect? Maybe @IntuitAustin or @IntuitBettyJo could look into that. 


Here's wishing you many Happy Returns
sjrcpa
Level 15

I figured they didn't bother spending any time on it since they would just ignore anything that was posted.


Ex-AllStar
steven
Level 5

I submitted Feeback to the Black Hole of Intuit AGAIN for this immediately after posting and included a link to this thread.

IntuitBettyJo
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi @George4Tacks 

@IntuitAustin is actually in the process of getting an Idea exchange set up for Lacerte.  We will be sure to move this item over to that space once its established.  Thanks for the mention! 

-Betty Jo 

steven
Level 5

@IntuitBettyJo @IntuitAustin 

As a general matter of course, and totally hi-jacking my topic, I consider it RUDE not to send an Email to anyone who submits feedback through the program, acknowledging the submission and reiterating the contexts as a record for the contribution.  Start by fixing this first.  It's a basic Form Auto Responder.

Oh, and please VOTE!

IntuitBettyJo
Community Manager
Community Manager

Thanks for the feedback @steven, we will definitely pass it along to the in-product team. 

-Betty Jo 

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qbteachmt
Level 15
steven
Level 5

@IntuitBettyJo Maybe I'm loosing it, but I thought someone replied to this thread with info regarding the Developers Community.  Is there some reason this might be missing?

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IntuitBettyJo
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi @steven

Not sure which reply you are thinking of.  I did want to let you know that our new Lacerte Idea Exchange  is now live, so if you have any additional ideas, you can submit them there. 

-Betty Jo 

 

 

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steven
Level 5

It's there now!!, not sure what happened.

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steven
Level 5

I have made the first contribution and saved it as a Favorite

https://proconnect.intuit.com/community/lacerte-tax-idea-exchange/idb-p/604/tab/most-recent

It appears that the Review button in the loser left is non-functional.

qbteachmt
Level 15

"but I thought someone replied to this thread with info regarding the Developers Community."

That was my post, and SDK Community is a part of this same forum you are in, now. From this topic, using a web browser, use the menu at the top to see Community > User Groups > Lacerte SDK. It's the only "other" user group here, in fact. Other than tax preparation program users.

*******************************
"Level Up" is a gaming function, not a real life function.
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steven
Level 5

Thanks and you did.  I came back to this post today and could not find your reply so after a few refreshes I added the comment and then after getting a reply from @IntuitBettyJo it was there again.  I assume it was a browser or cache issue.

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SLee207
Level 1

I agree.  There are numerous notes on clients I need to keep on a paper master and transfer over every year.  I wish there were user defined fields.  Since this post is a year old, have there been any changes?  I can't locate them if there are.

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George4Tacks
Level 15

Voting for this idea would be done in the later post by Steven at https://proconnect.intuit.com/community/lacerte-tax-idea-exchange/lacerte-user-definable-fields/idi-...

A similar idea you might vote for is https://proconnect.intuit.com/community/lacerte-tax-idea-exchange/more-client-statuses-please/idi-p/...

If you have an idea to improve the product, post it at https://proconnect.intuit.com/community/lacerte-tax-idea-exchange/idb-p/604/tab/most-recent

Threads like this are to ask for help using the existing program or tax questions. The idea exchange is new since this was originally posted. 


Here's wishing you many Happy Returns
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