Table of Contents
Tax season is upon us and it’s important to have the right tools in order to save time, money, and stress. Just as there are professionals out there that specialize in a variety of fields, so too should you be spending your hard-earned cash on software that has been developed for your specific needs.
The “cloud-based professional tax software” is a type of software that can be accessed from anywhere. This type of software is typically used by people who work remotely, and are paid on a per project basis. There are many different types of cloud-based professional tax software available to choose from, including QuickBooks Online, Intuit ProConnect, and Freshbooks.
We’ve compiled a list of the finest six software packages for tax professionals of all sizes and customers. A tax preparer’s business revolves on tax software, and the finest tax software for tax professionals has the ability to handle both individual and company forms. Tax preparers have a wide range of demands, depending on their need for accounting integrations, remote access, and budget.
The following are the six finest tax software for professionals:
- ProSeries Professional is the best tax preparation program for professionals.
- QuickBooks Online ProAdvisors should use ProConnect Tax Online.
- Drake Tax is the most cost-effective professional tax software available.
- Lacerte is the best program for complicated returns like consolidations.
- CCH Axcess Tax is the best cloud-based software for running a business.
- Certified public accountants (CPAs) that use the CS Professional Suite for their tax and audit profession should use UltraTax CS.
Tax software for do-it-yourselfers (DIY): This guide’s tax software is designed for professional return preparers and is not appropriate for individuals or companies that want to prepare their own returns. See our guide to the best small company tax software for DIY tax software.
Best Overall Professional Tax Preparation Software: ProSeries Professional
Accountants seeking for desktop software with a forms-based interface that can import account balances from QuickBooks Desktop might consider ProSeries Professional. ProSeries has four price categories, one of which is ideal for small businesses who prepare less than 200 returns each year or businesses that concentrate nearly entirely on individual returns. The ProSeries begins at $539 per year plus $82 per return, which includes both federal and state filing fees.
Expert Recommendation
ProSeries Professional is solid tax preparation software from Intuit. It can handle Forms 1040, 1120, 1120S, 1065, 1041, 990, 706, and 709, among others. It cannot, however, prepare Form 5500 returns. Particularly if you specialize in individual returns and acquire the 1040 Complete package, the pricing is fairly cheap. It offers all of the capabilities you’d expect from current tax software, such as e-file management, banking institution tax form downloads, and K-1 data transfers between returns. ProSeries is unable to handle a few sophisticated tasks, such as aggregating subsidiary returns and oil and gas returns.
ProConnect Tax Online: QuickBooks Online ProAdvisors’ Favorite Tax Software
If you use QuickBooks Online often, you’ll undoubtedly like ProConnect Tax Online. ProConnect Tax Online is a tax preparation tool built exclusively for QuickBooks Online Accountant-based businesses. The applications are closely integrated and may be operated from inside QuickBooks Online Accountant’s single interface. There is no yearly charge for ProConnect Tax since it is a pay-per-return service. ProConnect is free to trial for QuickBooks Online ProAdvisors, and they don’t have to pay until the return is submitted.
Expert Recommendation
ProConnect Tax is an excellent companion product for businesses who specialize in offering QuickBooks Online client services. It’s robust program that can produce 1040, 1120, 1120S, 1065, 1041, 990, and 709 tax returns. It cannot, however, produce form 5500 or 706 returns. The absence of a strategy for limitless returns is ProConnect’s major flaw. Whether you prepare a lot of returns, you should compare the total cost per return to the cost of various unlimited subscriptions to determine if the ease of ProConnect is worth the additional fee.
Drake Tax: The Best Professional Tax Software for the Money
Drake Tax isn’t just a little less expensive than its rivals; it’s a tenth of the cost. Drake, on the other hand, has been in business since 1977 and offers excellent tax software. All state programs are included, and you may complete several state returns for a single company at no extra cost. Drake is excellent software, however it is desktop-only and lacks sophisticated integrations. Drake is a suitable choice for tax organizations that produce a large number of individual and corporate entity tax returns because of its affordable pricing ($1,595 for the unlimited package).
Expert Recommendation
Drake Tax is an excellent bargain for businesses who need to produce any form of income tax return. Client organizers, a tax planner, an MFJ to MFS comparison, and multistate returns are among the capabilities that it shares with more costly software. There’s no need to print out Form 8879 for your customer to sign since the e-file center operates like other professional software products and offers the ability to attach electronic client signatures. Drake Tax does not come with a tax research service, unlike some other popular professional software. If you’ll require access to tax research, keep that in mind while making your selection.
Lacerte: The Best Software for Complicated Tax Return Preparation
Lacerte is Intuit’s premium tax software for preparing the most complex tax returns, such as consolidated returns and returns for oil and gas corporations. Lacerte interacts with Intuit Practice Management and can import balances from QuickBooks Desktop. Lacerte pricing may only be obtained by consulting with a sales person.
Expert Recommendation
Lacerte tax is high-quality tax software that is suitable for any size business that generates complex tax returns on a regular basis. Lacerte is expensive, but if you have complex returns, you should be able to repay the expense via client fees. All individual and company returns, including forms 1040, 1120, 1120S, 1065, 1041, and 990, may be prepared using Lacerte. It can also create gift and estate tax returns, as well as IRS forms 709 and 706 and benefit plan filings on Form 5500. Lacerte has time-saving capabilities such as importing financial institution paperwork, importing capital gain/loss transactions from a spreadsheet, and a QuickBooks Accountant Desktop Integration.
CCH Axcess Tax: The Best Cloud-based Software for Managing Your Entire Company
CCH Axcess Tax is a cloud-based business management software module from CCH Axcess. It’s a fantastic fit for small to midsized accounting businesses who want more than simply tax preparation software and prefer cloud-based apps. To offer in-program linkages to important tax authorities and analysis, CCH Axcess Tax interacts with CCH Intelliconnect, a premier tax research service. For price information, you must contact with a sales person.
Expert Recommendation
While it’s sad that their website doesn’t give additional feature information, as a CCH and Wolters Kluwer employee, I’m certain that the application will include all of the usual capabilities you’ll need to file practically any tax return. Despite the absence of specifics, CCH Axcess Tax entered our list due to its connectivity with other CCH Axcess modules, which allows for cloud-based administration of your complete organization. Another useful feature is the option to connect to CCH Intelliconnect without having to leave the tax software.
Using the CS Professional Suite, UltraTax CS is the best tax software for CPAs.
The fact that UltraTax CS is part of Thomson Reuters’ CS Professional Suite, an integrated system comprising more than 15 products that can be used to handle your firm’s accounting and auditing practice, payroll solutions, workflow management, and client portal, is its largest benefit. If your company is expanding and you need a management solution, UltraTax CS, which is part of the CS Professional Suite, can be a suitable option.
Expert Recommendation
Thomson Reuters’ UltraTax CS is a high-end professional tax software. When it comes to intricate areas like multistate and consolidated returns, it’s quite strong and will undoubtedly save you time when compared to less priced tools. The disadvantage is that it is costly. It does provide a low-cost option for up to 100 returns, but it only allows for one individual and 25 company returns.
Tax Software for Tax Preparers: How We Rated It
When reviewing the best tax software for tax preparers, we took into account the demands of tax professionals who prepare individual and company tax returns. The cost of the program, as well as the capabilities it offers, such as importing data, linking with client portals, and sending out returns and invoices for e-signature and e-payment, are all important considerations.
The criteria we used to assess the best tax software for professionals were based on the demands of bookkeepers, accountants, and tax professionals:
- Pricing: The cost of the tax software, includes yearly fees and, if applicable, the amount you’ll have to pay every tax return.
- Characteristics: The program should have all of the features that current software should have, such as e-file management, simple data entry, integration across all tax forms, and integration between federal and state returns.
- Ease of use: How quickly data can be entered into spreadsheets, and how simple it is to examine tax forms.
- Data import and accounting software integration: Determine whether the tax software can automate some data entry tasks, such as importing data from QuickBooks or Excel, extracting data from source documents using scan-and-fill technology, and downloading clients’ tax data directly from financial institutions.
- Integration with practice management software: Is the tax software compatible with practice management software?
- Client portal integration and electronic file sharing: Whether the tax software collects information from customers and sends finished tax returns to them digitally, including printing returns to a client portal, or having clients fill out a digital organizer and upload their documents.
- If the tax software can gather digital signatures for e-filing, that’s a plus.
Conclusion
Choose software with a price level that corresponds to the quantity and kinds of tax returns you produce. However, you should think about if you need to complete complicated returns and how much time accounting software and practice management interfaces might save you.
The “professional tax preparation software with bank products” is a type of software that is used to prepare taxes. The best professional tax software will allow users to import and export data, as well as provide other features like an audit trail.
Related Tags
- list of professional tax software
- which tax software is best for tax preparers?
- free professional tax software
- intuit professional tax software
- tax software for professionals tax preparers
