Drake Tax

1st year user

Comentarios: This is my first year with Drake and it is very functional for the cost. Drake is constantly improving and listens to their clients.

Puntos a favor:

Drake has myriad training avenues and has provided for solid tax planning opportunities.

Contras:

Some of the functionality is clunky. There are fields that could auto-populate from demographics that do not. This requires repeat entries.

Switched to Drake

Comentarios: switched to Drake this tax season and went well, good customer support

Puntos a favor:

Easy to navigate from one form to another

Contras:

old world look and feel, for example software could not handle a business name with a . in it

Wouldn't Use Again

Comentarios: Started off working well but went downhill in the last few years. Too many updates as well.

Puntos a favor:

I had used for 14 years. If you have simple returns to prepare, it might be OK. Otherwise, look elsewhere. Paying more money will save you time in the long run. Too many boxes to check, details to check.

Contras:

Business returns had balance sheet errors, M1 errors, depreciation errors, errors on the sale of an asset.

The Best Software for Tax Preparation/Management

Comentarios: Overall I would Highly recommend Drake Tax and accounting software.

Puntos a favor:

The many functions and features provided to service your clients and provide them the best value for their money.

Contras:

Billing section. Also every year we get the full package from Drake. I would love to see them maybe include a few free Continuing Education Credit with the purchase.

Powerful Professional Tax Prep Software!

Comentarios: There is a reason DrakeTax is the #1 Professional tax software in the US. It does an amazing job.

Puntos a favor:

I really love the worksheets feature, it is integrated so nicely and really helps me keep track of my work. The integration with the TaxBook is also very helpful!

Contras:

DrakeTax has a learning curve as it is not set up interview style, you have to know what you are doing and where to go. It also is outdated visually, it reminds me of a windows program from the 90's or early 00's.I wish the pay-per-return feature was available for corporate returns.

Drake is OK for the price but has flaws and the product support doesn't live up to prior reputation

Comentarios: I tried Drake tax because I received sales calls at least 4 days a week for over a year....so I figured I'd try the PPR version. I also tried it because Drake had a superior reputation for product/customer support (i.e., when something may not appear to report correctly, they respond and address it if so). That may have been true at some point, but I haven't found it so. As a new user, over the course of about 18 months, I contacted Drake maybe 5 times about an issue with either Drake Tax or Drake Portals. In most cases, the first point of contact didn't really understand the issue (which is OK). But, I hardly ever received any callback response from anyone who could respond to the issue (after being told I would). So, as far as I am concerned, Drake has no more support or concern about potential reporting issues than any other competitor (which is generally none). As long as that's the case, it seems better to go with a tax prep software that gets reporting right more often than not, such as Prosystem, Proconnect, or Ultratax if you can afford it.

Puntos a favor:

For the money, Drake Tax offers more value compared to competitors. It's certainly not the worst. If you can't afford a more robust solution like Ultratax, Prosystem, or Lacerte, and you don't do terribly complex returns, Drake is a reasonable choice, and the Drake portal integration is pretty serviceable. The asset manager in Drake Tax is one of the best I've used, and handles group/bulk sales quite nicely. The built in integration with a document manager which automatically creates client folder structures when a new client is added is also handy.

Contras:

Allocating things between states in Drake can be cumbersome, making you create a separate tab for each state rather than allocating in a grid, etc. Certain things do not flow correctly to the return without substantial preparer oversight or adjustment. State specific codes or items, vacation home loss carryovers, QBI reporting, PY basis losses reporting on Sch E among others. Product/Customer support has historically had a good reputation, but I've certainly found the opposite to be true. I've found no more concern for product support and customer inquiries than any other platform, which takes away a big reason for considering Drake in the first place.

Drake is a best in class tax preparation software.

Comentarios: Overall, very good. I'll be very sad if I need to leave them to find a better cloud-based tax software.

Puntos a favor:

I've been using Drake for over 10 years for tax prep. The pay-per-return was a fabulous price for when my practice was very small. Now that I have nearly 200 tax returns, I use the unlimited version and it's priced much better than comparable tax prep software. And their customer service over the years has been amazing. I've used several other tax software programs over the years and so far, this is the best.

Contras:

The ONLY thing I find frustrating with Drake is the inability to work in the cloud without paying $100/mo per user for their hosting service (on top of the cost of the software). I have a remote accountant that would love to help enter tax data but I'd have to pay for all of the users in my office just to have the one remote accountant have access as well so it's not cost effective. They really need a cloud-based accounting option.

Great value for smaller firms

Comentarios: Overall we have been happy with Drake for several years now. We looked at some alternatives this summer in response to the issues our clients had with the esignature process but ultimately determined Drake was still the right fit and we found another solution for the esignatures.

Puntos a favor:

Drake is a very affordable tax preparation software that doesn't nickel and dime you for every feature. Most other software charges you extra for additional states. Drake runs quickly and covers our needs for tax preparation.

Contras:

The biggest drawback for Drake is the esignature process through Drake Portals. The system is not user friendly and many of our clients had difficulty completing the process or didn't receive clear communication once they did complete it that they were done.

Great Tax Software

Puntos a favor:

Drake Tax is easy to use and is generally very accurate. I like that it pulls information from one year to the next, which saves time on data entry. It is also very easy to speak with someone from Drake on the phone.

Contras:

Sometimes navigating to a different screen can be difficult. There can also be difficulty with determining how taxes are being calculated in the program.

GREAT VALUE.

Comentarios: It takes some time to dive it. It would be the best value product once you get used to it.

Puntos a favor:

Its price is unbeatable. At this pricing point, it's impossible to find a comparable product.

Contras:

UI is not particularly user-friendly. It appears to be a product from 1990.

I really like Drake Tax

Comentarios: Drake has been great to use so far

Puntos a favor:

It is very affordable and the customer service has been really great

Contras:

It is sometimes hard to figure out where to input some items

Tax Preparation

Puntos a favor:

The customer service and ease of use of software. The customer service department is awesome and you do not have to wait more than 2 minutes to speak with an agent.

Contras:

Secure File Pro-had an oversight with payment. When I did pay, it created a new portal that wrote over my existing portal. I lost 7 years of tax docs for client who uploaded directly in the portal.It would have been helpful if there was astern that this could occur before submitting payment.

I now know why this software is so cheap

Comentarios: Not working anywhere close to how it shouldOnly seeming advantage is price, but that is exponentially vanishing as my time is wasted trying to get it to work as it should.

Puntos a favor:

So far nothing. The conversion from Ultratax does not work as it should.No basis converted for 1065 & 1120S returns.Has not converted asset information.

Contras:

Has not successfully imported my asset data from Untratax, and customer support can not figure out whu

Best customer service and great value

Comentarios: Drake is a wonderful company to work with their values come through in all they do

Puntos a favor:

The great customer service and the values the company stands for

Contras:

I enjoy working with Drake if I have a problem they can usually help me quickly

Amazing Customer Support

Comentarios: Great software overall. Occasionally there's bugs (on state and local) but those tend to be resolved quickly once Drake is notified

Puntos a favor:

If you ever get stuck on a complicated tax return their customer service line is always a great help. I've never had to wait more than 5 minuets on hold and they usually answer in under a minuet. There's options for you to send the tax return to the customer support specialist securely so they can look at exactly what you are. If the problem was especially complicated, they would get back within the week.

Contras:

The software looks a little dated. Switching between screens is not intuitive and the screens don't always match up with the forms on the tax returns. There's less accuracy on the state levels and even less on local.

NOT FOR TAX PROFESSIONALS

Puntos a favor:

Costs; easy to update yearly; efiling is accurate and timely.

Contras:

Tech support is hit or miss depending on what person you get. I have dealt with clearly untrained support reps throughout the years. If you are a tax professional with a substantial number of clients, I would NOT recommend this software. Drake will not work with you at all regarding the default selections and the program is very limited when it comes to customizing it for a larger practice. Even when we point out obvious coding errors, many of them are never corrected despite repeated calls and emails to their support. Every year they seem to get worse. They really do not seem to care about the concerns and feedback of their customers. The only reason we have not changed from Drake is the investment in time it takes to change platforms. Moving thousands of clients requires a substantial investment of time even with the conversion softwares provided by other platforms. Maybe that is why Drake seems to care less for the concerns of their customers.

EA Tax Prep

Comentarios: Great have used it for over a decade

Puntos a favor:

Amount of forms ease of use and price customer service [SENSITIVE CONTENT] values

Contras:

parts of system not flexible needs to allow more run for professionals to act professional

Drake is great !!

Puntos a favor:

Drake is software is really so easy to use, I been working on this software for about 2.5 years now, the most I like about it, is that all the tax forms are included, very easy to navigate around the software, in the calc window its shows you almost everything , if the return is eligible for E-filing, all the errors that need to be clear, the fees, the refund or the balance due, if there are any notes before E-filing it will show you so that you can go check that, I can even Email the returns to the taxpayer, I can use the signature pad, if the return got rejected for any reason it shows you exactly what's wrong, in order for you to resolve and resubmit , I can even set limited access to other tax preparers and adjust all that ... Drake is great, so recommended

Contras:

what I really need on the software to support the remote signature ,other than that all good.

Unacceptable product

Comentarios: I wanted to lower my costs so I switched from the CS professional suite. The first year was extremely painful to change, and coming into my second year, I can't file returns because their product is not complete, and all the support team can offer is "that they are doing the best they can."

Puntos a favor:

It is cheap. Efile tracking is simple. The data entry is relatively straight forward.

Contras:

The support is terrible. It is hit or miss that you are going to get someone that actually can help you resolve your problem. For the 2018 tax season, as of mid-February there were still state forms "under development." Other software companies are able to file state and federal both, while Drake is delayed and still developing its product. State apportionment is a HUGE pain.

AVOID Drake

Comentarios: Unpleasant, I was falsely told that I had more time to evaluate the product after purchase then I actually did so when I asked for a refund (no returns were filed) I was denied. Basically I was stuck paying for a cheap, inefficient program I won't use that would have cost me much more time to make sure everything was calculating right. Very disappointed.

Puntos a favor:

Cost is the only pro for the program. I find the low cost doesn't make up for the shortcomings.

Contras:

Navigation is cumbersome with multiple inputs needed for some tasks and other screens are hidden and have to be searched for so entries can be made and then some of the input screens are very limited. The program is quirky and inconsistent which did not lend itself to confidence in it and the interface was not efficient except for the most basic of returns. Some may find the shortcomings acceptable for a higher profit margin but I do not.

Easy and straightforward

Comentarios: Highly recommend

Puntos a favor:

I like how simple it is to use Drake and to train new employees. It is a very straightforward software and simple to use.

Contras:

Honestly this is a great softwares and I don’t have any negative feedback on it.

Drake review

Comentarios: 1 Love Lacerte's tax analysis, wish Drake offered this. 2 Drake does not automatically carry info to form 4797 on disposition of assets.

Puntos a favor:

Good tax, software with excellent support.

Contras:

Yes, tax analysis ie maximum employer contribution. Maximum ira contribution.

Simple to Compex

Puntos a favor:

The price and ease of learning the program

Contras:

Can't think of anything I don't like, lol

Drake

Puntos a favor:

The features stay consistent from year to year so it is easy to transaction between years.

Contras:

When updates happen they are automatically done in the software. If you didn't have a physical copy printed out, it would be hard to answer why the IRS did an adjustment to a client's taxes due to a tax law change.

Best Tax Software

Comentarios: Being an Accounting service, this software helps during tax season and all year tax filings for our small business owners as well as individuals.

Puntos a favor:

Ease of use. Customer support team is awesome year after year. Affordable cost.

Contras:

If you enter a social security number incorrectly, you cannot change it. You have to buy another return which 100% sucks.