We've done Payroll, bookkeeping and accounts software several times but what tax software would you recomend.
I seem to have it down to a choice of four at the moment (although quite happy to change on recomendation)
1) Ftax
2) Taxcalc
3) PTP
4) QMS
Personal favorites at the moment are Ftax and QMS but happy to be told why other software is better.
I know that VT Accounts will quite happily play with all of the above but wouldn't mind hearing about any reason that you would not contemplate using any of the above with VT.
Right, looking forwards to your replies,
kind regards,
Shaun
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
It's a big thumbs up for TaxCalc from me. IRIS, CCH or Sage could come along and offer their software for free and I wouldn't move from TaxCalc. It's just so easy to use and the support helpline is top notch. For the money (approx £400 for unlimited clients) TaxCalc is great value.
I used Ftax a few years ago and although it was very cheap and did the job, the support was terrible and by email only (no telephone support). The software itself was basically a PDF version of a tax return which you populated. Not sure if it's changed since but I wouldn't recommend it for book-keepers with more than a few tax clients.
Just my opinion, best of luck making your decision.
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Stuart
Birmingham City FC - Blues is my religion St Andrews is my church
ok. Taxcalc slides up the scale and Ftax goes down.
I know that Bills vote would be for Taxcalc as well.
Any champions out there for any of the other contenders?
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
just been reading their site and they've gone on the list.
Price wise they seem to come out slightly more expensive than Tax calc but I'll see what drops out of my evaluation trials as, as we all know, cost isn't the only factor.
On the VT front I'm finding myself praying that they stay off Sage and Iris's radars as I would really hate for them to come along and destroy yet another great piece of software.
Cheers again,
Shaun.
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
Plus the ubiquitous Excel 2010, what would we do without it.....
Tax software came down to between BTC and Taxcalc........it was a close run thing, with Taxcalc edging it due to the 'simplestep' way of inputting data which I really like. Used Ftax for a couple of SA800's last year and I didn't really like it as its pretty much just a PDF version of the tax return. I was very tempted by BTC's practice suite integration but to be honest I found the pricing structure confusing compared to Taxcalc.
While I do like Sage 50 (am I the only one?) like you I hope they never get their hands on VT as I absolutely love that. VT FA just rocks......I did have a trial of Sage Final Accounts and it was like something from the 80's......which perhaps it was..........ok enough let's keep this thread on tax software..........
One final thing I per-ordered Taxcalc 2012 and they threw in v2011 for free when I emailed support asking if I could do my one remaining 2011 return with them. Awesome service.
......by the way I believe VT used to 'recommend' BTC as their preferred tax software but now just produce a list of recommendations as I understand other are working on their own tax program....don't quote me on that though.......see here http://www.vtsoftware.co.uk/tax_packages/index.htm
I think that Ftax that was an early leader has fallen by the wayside.
I don't think that there is anything wrong with Sage 50 but their approach of taxing accountants on the basis of our client base should see them hung, drawn and quartered.
On the bookkeeping side I did dally with Quickbooks very briefly. Bought it from Amazon at a ridiculously low price (£65) but ended up selling it a few weeks later, still unoped on Amazon resellers for £155... And mine was the cheapest on there!
Well, the profit on that certainly made VT Accounts seem that much cheaper this year.
The fact that I'm buying everything else around VT probably speaks for itself as to how highly I regard the product... I don't think that people would like it if they didn't understand the manual side of things but I'm pretty old school and even before I start typing data in I know where exactly I want to see it come out on the accounts so as with yourself, VT was perfect for me.
Thanks again... Right, now off to beat my printer with a large stick until it gives me the document that it seems to have eaten.
all the best,
Shaun.
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
I've been using the PTP tax module for a few months now and not had any problems with it. Quite easy to use with only a few phone calls to the helpline.
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John
Full Time Book-keeper, Dad of 3 Teenage Girls, Part-Time Taxi Driver :)
