PPC offers one of the largest collections of tax and financial research primary source documents and analysis. The key offerings for tax professionals are traditionally known as PPC’s Deskbooks and also include additional PPC and government publications. They are available individually or in bundles through its Federal Tax Compliance Service (FTCS), Business Tax Planning Service and Individual Tax Planning Service. PPC’s FTCS is also available as an online service through Checkpoint. The CD-based version of FTCS is the
focus of this review. It is available in a version with more than 6,000
federal and state forms for $895; a version without forms for $695;
or a base package that includes only the core PPC Deskbooks for
$395.
EASE OF USE – 4.5 Stars
PPC’s research programs generally
share the same interface, which
opens to a primary screen that houses
the PPC Library Publication List.
The PPC Library Publication consists
of a menu tree of all research sources
available through PPC, including
those that may not be subscribed
to by the user. The system includes
traditional pull-down menus and
icons, including selections for
search functions such as copying,
saving or tagging search results,
and also for moving between documents
and search results using forward
and back browser-style navigation
buttons. Most of the program’s
research libraries are maintained
on CDs that must be used to access
the materials, with the exception
of a few sources that are accessed
via the Internet, such as Tax Act
overviews and PPC’s Five-Minute
Briefings.
Searches are easily initiated via
the magnifying glass icon on the
toolbar, which prompts the system’s
query window. Searches can focus
on keyword, phrase or natural language
queries, and allow filtering by
proximity or truncation. The FTCS
resources available in the Publication
List are divided by category and,
when opened, provide access to specific
resources such as PPC’s Deskbooks.
When opened, sources appear in a
new window, with the Publication
List remaining available via a tab,
allowing users to have more than
one document or search open simultaneously.
The program maintains a search history
that allows re-searching prior queries
and also contains an accounting
terminology thesaurus. Search results
or sections of documents can be
easily copied and pasted into word
processing documents. The system
does not provide a mechanism to
automatically perform recurring
searches. Technical support is included
in the subscription cost.
CONTENT – 4.5 Stars
PPC’s FTCS research libraries
include electronic versions of its
1040, 1041, 1065, 1120, 1120S, 5500,
706/709, 990 and Payroll Tax Deskbooks;
Internal Revenue Code and Treasury
regulations, as well as the Tax
Cases and Rulings CD, which provides
an expansive collection of federal
tax cases, IRS revenue rulings and
procedures, private letter rulings
and more. The Deskbooks cover key
issues regarding reporting and provide
discussion, references and examples
with filled-in forms, as well as
practice aids that help keep important
information at hand. Additionally,
the system comes with online access
to PPC’s Five Minute Briefings,
and an optional tax forms service
containing more than 6,000 federal,
state and local tax forms. The system
does not include state tax content.
INTEGRATION – 3.5 Stars
The CD-based version of FTCS offers
limited integration with other programs,
providing primarily copy and paste
functions.
CUSTOMIZATION – 3 Stars
PPC offers saving of searches and
bookmarking of search results, but
offers little other customization
options.
UPDATES – 4.5 Stars
PPC offers monthly updates to its
CD-based research programs, in addition
to special updates as warranted
by changing tax developments. The
Five-Minute Briefings and other
online content are updated as conditions
require. The CD and online updates
are included in the subscription
price.
RELATIVE VALUE – 4 Stars
PPC’s Federal Tax Compliance
Service provides a good electronic
version of the vendor’s Deskbook
resources, along with a few additional
features such as the Tax Cases and
Rulings CD, the Five Minute Tax
Briefings and a very strong selection
of forms. The system is strongly
suited toward smaller and mid-sized
firms looking to move away from
print-based research sources.
2005 OVERALL RATING: 4 Stars
The products were reviewed based
on the following criteria:
-
Ease of Use. This section explores navigation features, including accessibility of primary search tools and functions. As
well, the ability to save common
searches or specific results,
or copy and paste contents of
documents, adds to ease of use.
Higher scores in this area reflect
a comfortable, easy-to-use interface
that provides intuitive access
to key functions. - Content. This section points out the research libraries available, including federal and state sources. It also identifies what type of content is available: primary sources such as code and rulings, as well as expert analysis and insight. A higher score here is earned by products with a comprehensive array of federal resources, including the availability of state research products. Research analysis is also considered, although not all professionals will seek such guidance.
- Integration. This section observes the ability of the software to work with tax preparation or write-up programs to automatically find areas of potential relevancy within the research, as well as
the ability to attach or link
saved research results to appropriate
client files. Programs receiving
better marks in this category
make working between tax preparation,
write-up and the research program
more efficient. - Customization. This section covers the ability of the programs to organize specific areas or subscribe to only specific areas, which allows practitioners to narrow down research content to only those areas relevant to their practice. A mountain of research is available; products scoring well in this section provide good sorting and personalization methods that enable users to tailor the program to meet their needs.
- Updates. With constantly changing tax law, the currency of information can be crucial. This section looks at how often research libraries are updated and by what method: CD, online automatic. Few practitioners enjoy performing software updates. As such, this section identifies
the frequency and ease with which
product updates are performed,
with automatic, schedulable and
online update capabilities receiving
better marks. - Relative Value. This section offers the reviewer’s subjective opinion of the “bang for the buck.”
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