Level 15

Question

3.21.2022 Update SNAFU

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
March 22, 2022
7 replies
8 views

@1569 and all the other PTB at Intuit.

It's 9:00 pm on the West Coast. Most (all) of us have been unable to work for at least 8 hours.

At my billing rate, plus the billing rate of my staff preparers, plus the wages of the support staff for even MY small office - the downtime cost is SUBSTANTIAL. The lost TIME is another issue, as the filing deadline is four weeks away. The loss of 8 hours, times the number of employees, is not recoverable.

I fully expect AND demand an explanation, and a partial refund of the software costs. An apology would also be appreciated.

Intuit's PR department really needs to take some CPE on the value of communicating with customers.

Lacerte Tax

This topic has been closed for replies.

E

EJO3

Level 3

I agree with "West Coast" totally. I have been with Lacerte for 35 years and this is the WORST year

as far as mistakes on input sheets for us Batch users and I can't believe the number of Updates. But

I have never been as frustrated as today with not being able to e-file. If you're going to charge us

AAA rates, then give us AAA service. Solve this issue NOW!

S

strongsilence

Level 10

Curious and honest question: Why do you use Batch input? I know little about it.

abctax55Author

Level 15

It's fast - if you use input sheets, or organizers that have the codes printed.

I can do the data entry in about 1/3rd the time with the batch vs interactive method.

HumanKind... Be Both

M

MtnTaxMan

Level 4

I have been frustrated with Lacerte for years. I love the program for it's comprehensive diagnostics but the list of poorly written sections is insane.

1. Why I have to tell Lacerte to print Multiple Pages of a Client Letter? It should print all the pages by default - same with an invoice.

2. If the the software doesn't blow up, freeze or give me an error that I have an option to send to Lacerte AT LEAST 4 TIMES A DAY I'm astonished.

3. Why can't I set the Direct pay and Credit Card options ON by default to all balance owing clients?

4. Running a database report? Prepare to wait - no option to cancel it.

5. If I enter a locked return, forget trying to click on field to see the details.

6. E-Signature. No way to mark an e-signature as downloaded. So every day I scroll and scroll and scroll by activity to see who has signed.

7. E-Signature. Wow --- what a watered down version of Doc-U-Sign. Why can't I create a custom template for, say, an engagement letter? NOPE. Have to manually place the client fields to complete every single time for say, an engagement letter.

8. Why can't I "hide" screens and fields within screens that i will never, 100000% ever use as long as I live.

9. Ever try to customize a letter? Writing it by hand is faster.

I have tons more -- I thought I would state these 9 at a time. have about 40 more.

Bruce W Tyler, EA

D

David10

Level 4

Amen brother !

IRonMaN

Level 15

I believe they had this issue scheduled for April 18th and someone screwed up and released it early.

That really, really, really sucks.

Slava Ukraini!

abctax55Author

Level 15

Hey Gabi, thanks for the thumbs up. But how about some info on whether the issue is solved. I need to notify employees - do they come in today or go skiing instead??????

HumanKind... Be Both

T

TaxGuyBill

Level 15

@abctax55 wrote:

But how about some info on whether the issue is solved.

I'm sure they will have it fixed in a week or two. 😨 😬

A

Anonymous

E-file and REP latency issues have been resolved and we are continuing to monitor closely.

abctax55Author

Level 15

Unfortunately, stopping mid-morning to download ANOTHER update - that may or may not work isn't feasible right now.

"YOU" - meaning Intuit in general - have no friggin' clue as to how all this all works on the user end. AND you don't seem to care.

I'll update during the lunch hour, maybe. Or likely just limp thru my work-around solution until all employees leave for the day.

Sorry Gabi - this isn't directed at you. But the overall dissatisfaction with Lacerte/Intuit is large - large enough to consider a software switch even this late in my tax prep career. And I *know* how much me switching will hurt Intuit /S

HumanKind... Be Both

M

MtnTaxMan

Level 4

AGREED !

Let's talk FOUR MORE INTERFACE ITEMS THAT DO NOT WORK AND TAKE UP OUT TIME.

1. Add PDFs to return. Oh, how fun. If I add a PDF and re-enter screen 4 to add another, I cannot click add PDF --nope-- Lacerte assumes I'm changing the prior PDF. I must click add new PDF. SLOPPY.

2. Anyone ever press the ESC to go back to the previous screen and nothing happens? The we touch ti again. NOTHING. Then we touch it AGAIN AND BANG WE ARE KNOCKED OUT TO THE CLIENT MENU -- SLOPPY PROGRAMMING. JUST HORRIBLE FOR THE PRICE OF THE PROGRAM

3. The Client Info menu. Great if you are 25. Not so great if you are 55. The text is so small I am constantly entering the wrong screen. Yea, yea, I could enter the screen number and press enter. Ever tried that? Try it and see what happens. I enter 25 enter and win up in screen 2.

4. Type CTRL-I to search for a client. Type SMITH and press enter. CLIENT NOT FOUND. I have 13 clients with the last name of SMITH. Good job for a $10,000 software package.

5. BIGGEST ONE THIS WEEK. Type a string such as Ameritrade Long to enter the summary transaction amounts. I scroll thru the available options and find Ameritrade long term summary press enter and Lacerte enters a completely different Table Editor string.

SLOPPY - JUST PLAIN SLOPPY.

Next Year, I will try another package and try to convert a few data files. If it goes smoothly, I'm done with Lacerte. I do know that converting from ProSeries to Lacerte was a total pain in the neck. I would have done it quickly by re-keying every return from the prior year and doing a pro-forms.

6. Not sloppy but impossible to do correctly - create or modify the Client Letter. I wanted to add a closing paragraph that stated. Your fees for the preparation of your 2021 Income tax returns is ______ and have Lacerte take the number from the Invoice screen. Doesn't work (and I know what I'm doing).

SLOPPY! I have total trust in the integrity of the calculations and diagnostics.

A

Anonymous

I apologize for the belated response. Thanks for posting back!

I'll take responsibility for the delayed communications on the outage early Monday morning, @abctax55. There were a few program errors we were looking at during that time. The latency you most likely experienced was due to a temporary misconnection with a third-party server, it was a bit out of our hands.

As for your comments @MtnTaxMan, I collected your feedback and will review it.
Lacerte Idea Exchange is where program enhancements are submitted. Thank you for taking the time to write these out and thank you for the compliments as well, I'll be sure to pass it along.

abctax55Author

Level 15

The latency you most likely experienced was due to a temporary misconnection with a third-party server, it was a bit out of our hands.

Sorry - that's just B.S.

HumanKind... Be Both

IRonMaN

Level 15

The buck stops here - X

No, it stops here - X

X here?

Maybe hereX

Possibly here X

I don't screw up that often but when I do, I take responsibility. Evidently Intuit doesn't quite have the same philosophy.

Sorry Lisa, I know I shouldn't post here because I don't have a dog in this hunt, but sometimes as Intuit customers we have to have each other's back.

Slava Ukraini!

J

Jenhenheacpa

Level 4

I lost 6 days of my time and my staff - from Friday after the update to Wednesday when they finally fixed it. I think Intuit needs to get us an extension of time too!

M

MtnTaxMan

Level 4

LACERTE SLOPPY PROGRAMMING NOTE FOR THIS WEEK-----

EVER RUN A CUSTOM DATABASE REPORT, LIKE, OH WHICH CLIENTS FILE A SCHEDULE D AND 8949 SO THEY DON'T SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT BEFORE FEB 15TH?

Yes, I have too.

Ever try to click "Cancel"?

Me, too.

Doesn't work.

SLOPPY!

With Intuit raising pricing virtually 6-8% every year......I am going to entertain the idea of Ultra Tax. Like I have mentioned, I am confident in the calculations with Lacerte, but the interface and pop up errors are getting to be too much. Sole practitioner paying close to $10,000 per year should not have to deal with sloppy programming.

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