RENEW or NOT thinking about moving to Thomson Reuters have you used Ultra Tax?

[michele]

I have been with Lacerte for 12 years thinking about moving to Ultra Tax. Has anyone moved from Ultra to Lacerte .  I am sure everyone keeps seeing their fees going up. being business owners we understand fees have to go up . (Just got off phone with billing as I needed more users than what they had listed I could right off see the raise for the esignautres.) Overall tech support is awful. To get someone that know something you have to just say thank you hang up and redial and hope for someone different. Early on I had a an account representative .That does not exist anymore. It is kind of like yes we will take your money but  sorry about you once we have the money.    Why did you move from Ultra Tax ?  How was support. I rarely need support and know Lacerte inside and out and the thought of learning another program is not a fun idea.  I am already having to get rid of efile cabinet after being with them for 8 years as they became Rubex and that was a nightmare for us during tax season now they are becoming Revver so  I can't deal with their growing changing pains any longer.Thx

Michele

[TaxGuyBill]

I've never used either, but I'll throw out a few thoughts to ponder:

1. All software will have pros and cons, so *IF* you change, it is likely you'll really like some things, but be disappointed with other things.
2. From the posts that I've read through several forums and groups, UltraTax users seem to be slightly happier with the product than Lacerte users.
3. Yes, changing software really sucks, so it shouldn't be taken lightly or done without good reason.
4. Intuit's primary focus is for accounting software (Quickbooks) and tax Do-It-Yourselfers (TurboTax).  Thomson Reuter's primary focus is tax professionals.

[dustinwoo]

I made the move last year for the 2022 tax return filings. The cost savings that I estimated was $30k. I use Docusign so the e-signature did not factor in my decision. 

The learning curve is huge. I have experienced staff and they are having a hard time. The transition, even though there is Ultratax conversion, does not convert the states info and all the carryovers may not move to the right areas. You would need to double check a lot of last year figures to make sure it transitions well. I am very behind in my returns this year and it's such a headache. Ultratax is very database feeling and some of the inputs do not make logical sense, unlike how it is with Lacerte.

I would say Lacerte tech support is a lot better than Ultratax. It seems like Ultratax reps are reading how the community forums have solved the issues without them knowing how to solve it first hand. I felt Lacerte reps were a lot better in this category. 

Would I make the move knowing that what I know now? Yes, without a doubt. I'm saving $30k this year and Ultratax has given a deal to have fixed fees for 5 years. So potentially, that's $30k for 5 years. The other kicker was that Ultratax gives a set fee for any type of return in all states. So I'm not paying extra REP fees. This helped because a lot of clients moved out of CA during the pandemic and they still are with me. I had the Lacerte Unlimited 1040, 1120S, 1065 with CA access, but with out of state clients, that's just increases my fees. 

[michele]

Thanks for the input. I would have to move over 2500 clients and that is a big undertaking. I am pretty tech savvy but would not have a lot of help as my accountants and staff run the program but don’t understand the ins and outs of everything. Every state and depreciation schedules would probably drive nuts making sure they are correct and all the carry over schedules for investments and such. Sometimes I think Lacerte sees the number of clients you carry in a data base and thinks you will just go ahead and pay 20,000-30,000 a year because of the headaches it will cause to make a move. A lot to ponder but can’t sit around if that is the road I travel down as it will require a lot of work

thx

michele