Intuit ProSeries Tax

I really liked the ease of use. Switching back and fourth between pages/schedules was very intuitive and easy. I also like the ability to carry forward returns from previous years to keep the important information and data consistent in the records for each client.
The software was also up to date on the current incentives and deductions so that made the review process faster.

It can be a little pricey, so unless you are doing 100-200 or more returns it might not be for your business.
Also I wasn't able to open the same file on two different computers to work with a colleague from a remote location on a client return, that would have been useful in a few situations.

I do like some of the reports that the software generates. It creates a client presentation to show clients what is going on with their taxes. However, some of their business practices are less than ethical. I find this disturbing. I've prepared taxes for 15 years and have used 3 software companies. While they all have their pros and cons, ProSeries is the only one that tried to strong-arm me using an auto-renewal that you aren't allowed to opt-out. You have to call, wait on hold, and sit through a sales pitch so THEY can decide if they want to take you off the auto-renewal.

AUTO-RENEWAL- YOU CANNOT SHUT THIS OFF. Once you purchase the software, they automatically sign you up for auto-renewal, and don't let you turn it off. They give you a phone number to call that is available during limited hours. When you call- be ready to be placed on hold for a loooong time. I was told they would call me back in 20 minutes but this never happened. I had to call multiple times and wait on hold to finally talk with someone. I'm still on the phone as we speak (2 hours later) and I still don't have the auto-renewal shut off.

It is one of the less expensive packages available for professionals, and since it works off the IRS looking forms, is easy to use for someone familiar with IRS forms. It has a rapid learning curve from turbotax, but is not that intuitive for some of the more intricate bells and whistles the program offers.

The conversion of prior years tax files to Pro-series is a bit awkward, especially if converting the same company's turbotax files. While the sales reps tell you it will convert last year's turbotax files, it really will not. to do so requires one to obtain the current year's version of turbotax, convert last year's turbotax files to this year's turbotax files AND THEN convert THIS YEAR's TurboTax to Pro-Series! Now that's a trip and a very misleading statement from their sales force if one has to purchase this year's turbotax in order to do the conversion!\
The file system is a bit awkward also in that you must designate a place for ALL the client files. We like to keep a client's files together, the data file from the tax software along with W-2's, 1099s, K-1s etc in a file under the client's name and not group the tax software file with other client's. Once one gets used to this, it is workable but if you move a file you get a lot of strange reactions to the program. While it doesn't cause errors in the tax file or calculation, it will not print or e-file a return even if you launch the program from the data file location!

I use ProSeries Professional with other Intuit products such as Fixed Asset Manager in my daily work as a tax specialist. It is my long-term favoured tax preparation software for several reasons. Although any professional accounting software has a steep learning curve, I find ProSeries relatively painless to use. It is undoubtedly quicker and easier to use than alternatives such as TurboTax. In my experience, it produces very accurate returns. This ease of use allows me to spend more time where it counts, dealing directly with clients.

It would be beneficial for the direction of the ProSeries software if the company were to work on improving the capacity of the online version. There are also some minor user issues, such as the lack of particular worksheets, which force the user back on manual additions, such as W-2 forms.