2008 Review of Tax Planning Applications

From the August 2008 Issue

In 2007, like every tax year, the IRS instituted a series of new tax rules
and calculations. Chances are that your clients can’t name half of them.
I know I can’t. When offering tax planning services to your clients, it’s
important to make them aware of the new rules and calculations that affect them.
It’s also important to advise your clients that tax planning is not just
an option for the wealthy. Almost every client that comes into your office to
have their tax returns prepared would benefit from some type of tax planning
service. So it’s best to have tools that will enable you to provide the
services they may request or the ones you suggest.

This review of tax planning products considers the following categories:

Program Use/Data Entry
Tax planning programs basically perform a variation of the same functions; the
main difference lies in the level of calculations performed. This section answers
some of the following questions: How many tax scenarios can be performed? Is
the user interface easily navigated? Are fields, toolbars and menus customizable?
Do worksheets update in real time?

Reporting
This section explores the reporting options available in each product as well
as report customization capability. It also notes the report formats available
and the availability of charts, letters and graphs.

Import/Export Capabilities
This area is particularly important when using a stand-alone product. Many of
the products reviewed here are truly designed to work in conjunction with their
respective tax preparation products, but integration with third-party products
is provided by several.

Help/ Support & Training
It’s always good to know that you can easily reach product support personnel
if/when needed. Help and training options are also important, especially for
the sole practitioner who doesn’t have the time or the staff to deal with
steep learning curves and complicated program setup.

Relative Value
As previously noted, most of the products reviewed here are components of various
tax preparation suites, which must be taken into consideration when trying to
assess the value of each product. As a result, relative value is usually assessed
by looking at each product’s capabilities, ease of use, total cost and
how quickly it would pay for itself.

As always, I suggest you pay a visit to all of the vendor websites where additional
information can be reviewed and online demos accessed. This information can
go a long way to help you make a decision as to what product is best for you
and your firm.

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BNA Software – BNA Income Tax Planner: If you currently offer tax planning services to your clients or intend to in the future, you may want to take a look at BNA Income Tax Planner. This program is designed to simplify your life, while providing your clients with comprehensive tax analysis and multi-year projections for up to 20 years.; Read Full
Review

CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business – ProSystem fx Planning: ProSystem fx Planning is part of the ProSystem
fx suite of products offered by CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business. Designed
to work in conjunction with the vendor’s tax preparation product,
ProSystem fx Planning can also be used as a stand-alone product.; Read Full
Review

Intuit – Lacerte Tax Planner: Lacerte Tax Planner is part of the Lacerte tax preparation
line of products. Designed to create accurate tax-minimizing strategies
for your clients, Lacerte supports tax planning capabilities for many
states.; Read Full
Review

RedGear Technologies – TaxWorks TaxPlanner: The TaxWorks TaxPlanner is an add-on product designed
to work with the vendor’s tax preparation product. TaxPlanner includes
federal tax phase-outs of current laws as well as inclusion of future
tax laws.; Read Full
Review

Thomson Reuters – Planner CS: Planner CS is part of the CS Professional Suite
of accounting and tax products from Thomson Reuters. Designed to work
with UltraTax CS, Planner CS provides users with income tax planning for
both state (where applicable) and federal taxes.; Read Full
Review