Drake Tax reviews

Best value for tax preparation software and you cannot beat the customer service

Opmerkingen: We love it. The people who say it is not a complete or accurate product are most likely just not as knowledgeable about tax preparation. We did some fairly complex returns to compare our previous software the Drake and Drake actually was more accurate than our former software. Drake does not however offer the same level of diagnostics and guidance for input as the other software. That is not a problem if you understand tax forms, but could be a challenge for someone who depends on the software to guide them.

Pluspunten:

The price and customer service. The software works so much better than prior tax preparation options we have used and it is 1/2 to 1/3 the price.

Minpunten:

The software is not designed for inexperienced tax preparers. All of our staff are experienced preparers, but I would be hesitant to throw a new person into a complex return with Drake as it does not do much hand holding like many of the other more expensive platforms.

E-Signature limitations

Opmerkingen: Drake is continually improving their product and that is an important goal. The price of an annual subscription isn't cheap but there is entrance pricing for new offices. Drake Tax Software is in my opinion so much better than many other high priced solutions. The customer service is simply great.

Pluspunten:

Great customer service, fairly easy to use and administer, diagnostic feedback and information is very helpful. Portals allows me to work with my remote clients efficiently but there are some key limitations.

Minpunten:

Portals remote e-signature is very helpful in most cases. However, in the case were the surviving spouse needs to sign in both places Portals falls down. It will not allow the surviving spouse to sign the return despite have death certificate and letter of testamentary. That is ridiculous and mind-numbingly stupid.

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

Opmerkingen: 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.

Pluspunten:

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.

Minpunten:

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.

The Best Software for Tax Preparation/Management

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

Pluspunten:

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

Minpunten:

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.

Great value for smaller firms

Opmerkingen: 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.

Pluspunten:

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.

Minpunten:

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.

Powerful Professional Tax Prep Software!

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

Pluspunten:

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!

Minpunten:

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 Software

Opmerkingen: I like the fact that the information rolls over from prior year. I can file personal and business returns. After the tax season, returns are free.

Pluspunten:

Pricing, if I don't want the unlimited, I order 10 return submissions then add as I need. State filing is included.

Minpunten:

Not enough educational videos for training

Form 8825 is manual

Opmerkingen: Use to be very good. Had very good technical with quick answers in customer service. That has totally gone downhill in the last 2 years. People answering the phone have no experience doing returns nor experience with the software. The software has many missing holes and if you don't know what you are doing as a preparer you will be sending out incorrect tax returns and the reviews do not pick up errors and there is nothing that tells you that the allocation of days on Form 8825 is manual - MANUAL!? WHAT?

Pluspunten:

The fact that data does not carry from federal to state, Form 8825 is manual for allocation of rental days to personal days and does not tell you that (how many returns have been efiled wrong?), Hard to trouble shoot, easy for a return to be wrong if you don't know what you are doing.

Minpunten:

Form 8825 - rental property should not be manual for allocation of personal to rental days!!!

Unacceptable product

Opmerkingen: 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."

Pluspunten:

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

Minpunten:

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.

Drake Tax

Opmerkingen: Good experience. Not great, but not too bad after all.

Pluspunten:

The software isn't hard to use, the user-interface looks fancy, and the customer support is great and responsive.

Minpunten:

The lack of support for external gadgets like scanners. in addition to that , it lacks remote access possibilities like remote-signatures, and mobile apps that taxpayers can use to submit their data to the tax-preparers without sending them any physical copies. The user interface isn't hard, however it needs to be simplified a little.

We are more profitable with Drake Tax

Opmerkingen: We have been able to be much more efficient with Drake Tax and have been happy to get our profits up by reducing all of the costs of our other software.

Pluspunten:

Drake Tax is easy to implement, user friendly, and very cost effective. We were using another tax software and the base cost was much higher and then we were always spending more money every month on special authorizations and e-file fees. Our costs were out of control. With Drake there is one annual fee and nothing else all year. And that fee covers all of our installations, every type of return, and all e-file fees, there are no hidden costs and no extras.

Minpunten:

There have been just a few times over the years where there was a statement or a form that I needed to include that the software did not produce. In those few cases though I just prepared the statement and attached it as a PDF to the return before e-filing, so, it was not a big deal.

NOT FOR TAX PROFESSIONALS

Pluspunten:

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

Minpunten:

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.

Drake is great !!

Pluspunten:

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

Minpunten:

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

AVOID Drake

Opmerkingen: 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.

Pluspunten:

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

Minpunten:

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.

Disappointed

Opmerkingen: This is not something I should repeat every time the file is not completely closed

Pluspunten:

Price.Close the file after five minutesStay open when we are working, which includes SundayGive Christians a day off!

Minpunten:

When a file is NOT closed, the timer should shut down after five minutes. And why are you not open on Sunday?

Tax Practice Review

Pluspunten:

Drake Tax Software relatively inexpensive and easy to use for small businesses such as ours. Support for the Tax Software ok if you get the right customer service representative.

Minpunten:

Drake's securefilepro is a disaster. It is extremely slow and very difficult for users to use. Support is nonexistent. Management could use a refresher course in customer service.

Drake Tax

Opmerkingen: I have used Drake Tax software for over 5 years now and I like how easy everything is. If I have any questions for the most part each tab has links that will take you directly to a video that explains it all.

Pluspunten:

I like that I can merge clients information from the previous year.

Minpunten:

Having to add each state when setting up the software. All states should be added automatically.

Drake is user friendly and we highly recommend it to all tax professionals.

Opmerkingen: We are able to prepare tax returns for all of our clients using Drake.

Pluspunten:

We love the ease of use and they have great customer service. Love that we can always call if we have any questions.

Minpunten:

There's nothing I can think of that we don't like. I've easily trained other co-workers to use it without a problem.

Lot's of problems with converted files

Opmerkingen: So far, I'm worried that I'll have to manually do each return to be sure Drake is doing things correctly.

Pluspunten:

At present, I'm worried. The customer service is prompt and very helpful.

Minpunten:

Can't see what the results for entries are without going through the steps to view the return, a waste of time and needless works. To many black boxes, can't find out where the numbers come from. Problems with MA wages for gov't employees and estimated tax payments can't be self computed or rounded no am I certain they can be e-filed. K-1 inputs should have the same entries as the K-1 forms. MA part-year resident returns are not properly prepared. Not as easy to use as the tax form filled programs

Excellent Tax Preparation Software

Pluspunten:

Extremely simple data entry with the option of choosing by form entry (W-2, 1099, etc) or by line tax forms. Once information is entered (such as an employer EIN) the data is automatically pulled on future returns for other clients.

Minpunten:

Only lacking is some information from prior years' returns did not pull forward requiring diligence for returning clients to ensure all information was correct.

Awful product

Opmerkingen: Awful experience and terrible software.

Pluspunten:

Not much good to say about Drake. They are lower price, but that low price reflects their low quality and lack of care.

Minpunten:

Awful customer service. I've spoke to customer service about 5 times total and every single time, I am faced with an incompetent rep and they are never able to help me. You can't reach higher ups either because they don't want responsibility. I don't feel like they care about customers and will see this with the declining number of users over the next while. They are going downhill and fast from reviews I've read over the last couple years. Not many people happy with the product recently.

Good product for the money

Pluspunten:

Drake is very user-friendly & easy to learn

Minpunten:

Some of the advanced tax prep/planning needs are not available or do not work very well

Best tax software on the market!

Pluspunten:

Ease of use. GUI is fantastic. Robust enough to handle the most difficult returns yet simple enough to be efficient.

Minpunten:

Updates could be done on a more timely basis.

I really like Drake Tax

Opmerkingen: Drake has been great to use so far

Pluspunten:

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

Minpunten:

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

Great tax product for the price

Opmerkingen: Top quality tax program and phone/chat support. Best I have seen for a tax program even during tax season.

Pluspunten:

This is a very good and well thought out professional tax program. Laid out in an easy way for professionals to navigate.

Minpunten:

The only word of warning the messenger in secure file pro does not have a live notification so you are not notified until the next days email.