Tax-preparation software limited, local retailers say

by Christine Ballew-Gonzales

SBJ Contributing Writer

Those who wish to choose a tax-preparation software program to simplify personal or small-business tax calculation have few options, according to local accountants and software retailers.

Consumers will find woefully few selections when it comes to tax-preparation software, according to Software Central owner Jeff Clinkingbeard.

"Unfortunately, there are only two or three kinds of software out there to do taxes," he said. When choosing tax-preparation software, it's important to select the tax-preparation program that is compatible with the accounting software you are using, Clinkingbeard said.

The two most popular accounting programs in use are Quicken and Microsoft Money, although most consumers are probably using Quicken, Clinkingbeard said.

"Quicken users should be using TurboTax, which is put out by the same company, Intuit," he said. "It will actually pull all of that accounting information directly over." Such compatibility streamlines the tax calculation process by eliminating the need to re-key information into the tax program.

Microsoft Money users won't be that lucky, Clinkingbeard said. "Microsoft Money users don't really have a direct tax-preparation software package," he said. "They can choose anything out there, but they will have to start from scratch entering the accounting information."

A third tax-preparation software option, which is gaining popularity, is Kiplinger's TaxCut, according to Steve Perry, assistant manager of Babbage's Software. "Kiplinger's sold best for us this tax season," Perry said. "It's a little cheaper than the others." But Perry also recommended the Quicken product as being particularly easy to use.

Tax preparation software for business use is a completely different story, according to Dan Titus of the accounting firm of Roberts, McKenzie, Mangan and Cummings.

Medium to large businesses usually have their taxes done by an accountant, thereby eliminating the need for tax-preparation software. But those who do their tax-preparation in-house have more to worry about than software choices, Titus said.

"It's not so much the program, but whether you've got someone on staff who knows how to put the numbers in and what they mean," he said. "A lot of businesses have accountants who really don't have much knowledge about taxes."

Software choices for businesses usually revolve around the accounting software they must use in order to collect information for the certified public accountant who will do the business' taxes, Titus said. Titus recommended QuickBooks for the record-keeping function.

"QuickBooks probably has 80 percent of the market when it comes to small- to medium-sized businesses," he said. QuickBooks enables a business to easily compile an accountant copy of pertinent tax information, transfer it to disk, then send the disk on to the accountant.

[[In-content Ad]]