Hi - I recently switched over to TaxCycle from CCHiFirm and am looking for suggestions on how to streamline the process for both myself and my clients in using the product to maximize efficiencies. If anyone else has switched over, do you have any tips? How did you introduce the new product to your clients?
I switched in 2012. I never introduced the new program to my clients. I assume the information needed to prepare a T1, T2, T3, etc in TaxCyle is the same as in another program. I assume the process is the same, too, on the client-side. Maybe I’ve misunderstood your question.
CLIENT COLLABORATION
Other than TaxFolder for signatures and in season document sharing, TaxCycle does not have any of the collaborative tools of some other apps or tax programs. Even the PreSeason and PostSeason Letters are missing the bells and whistles of some apps.
I suggest using a separate collaborative or fetch/push apps.
Beware of DoxCycle. It will suffle all your pages and pdf docs into some random order.
LEARNING TAXCYCLE
Each tax prep application has it’s own innate structure and workflow procedures. I recommend re-entering 10 use cases of prior year clients into last year’s TaxCycle to learn how it works.
Test:
Data entry and proofing
Reports
Printing
Workflow
Templates
Hi Kevin - thanks for the prompt response. I think I was hoping for a standard pre-season letter to send to my clients with a link to DoxCycle and an intro to TaxCycle.
Thank you for your prompt and detailed response. I appreciate the details about learning TaxCycle. I am a former Profile user and the look of TaxCycle is almost identical but I will definitely follow your instructions.
Hi Dominque. I was with Profile for over 20 years. Made the switch to Taxcycle a couple years ago. Shortcuts are the same, support is better, forms get approved by cra faster. You won’t regret.
There’s a preseason letter, but no links to the programs.
There isn’t a design intention (yet) to have taxcycle cloud based, so trying to have clients update fields in the return isn’t possible.
what links to programs would you like to see? For the client to do input???
If you are looking for a way to have your clients submit documents for preparing their return, TaxFolder or some other portal is likely what you need. I don’t have any experience with CCH’s iFirm product but I can’t imagine a client having access to their return as we’re preparing it. I have enough nightmares.
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@kevin LOL I agree. I do have TaxFolder.
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A preseason letter with link to document management system which is used for fetch and push sounds wonderful. Certainly this is what I would prefer. In my opinion neither DoxCycle, nor TaxCycle, nor a combination of DoxCycle with TaxFolder fill this function well.
DoxCycle is not a document repository. It shuffles to order of pages in your PDF’s. You loose such basic identity a PDF naming and PDF ordering. It has no PDF mark-up, totally, or other features as some apps have. You can not create “TaxBinders” as DocIT pioneered. It is not even intended as a basic document sharing portal. Instead is a random ordered single mass document per client, per tax year with the intention to import data into TaxCycle T1 module. Please correct me if I am wrong because I gave up on DoxCycle many years ago.
Please note that DoxCycle pre-dates the release of TaxCycle. It was tweaked to work as a data scrap with data entry into TaxCycle. Some lawyers use it to house legal matters. In the 10+ years the I have used TaxCycle there has been little to no enhancements to this product. In my estimation it would need a complete rebuild and rethink from the ground up. As far as I can tell it had not been a priority before Xero purchased TaxCycle. Since then there is seems to be still little vendor appetite to invest in filling this need, nor vocal customer demand in volume to justify such an investment.
Please correct any misunderstanding on my part.
For some, DoxCycle is fine as it is and does what they want.
For me, it is a source of frustration and annoyance with an tax software application which I otherwise love and far prefer above all the other small firm choices.
As I understand it, TaxFolder is basically a request an online signature app. It has some use for asking for documents but other solutions are better. It was never intended as document management or document workflow system.
I have tried several US based tax, bookkeeping, or workflow apps to fill this need.
1- The cost benefit never worked out for me as a sole practitioner. For large tax firms there are other good stand-alone or integrated choices.
2- There best features are targeted to US based IRS forms, tax returns, and apps. Again, a lot of work for limited features that work well in the US but not so well in Canada.
I have also tried several Canadian apps. None so far which work well with Canada tax and TaxCycle. Too much work and cost for too little benefit.
This year I am using LedgerDocs for bookkeeping, PDF accounting document management, and PDF to Excel conversion. The tax document management product is largely ignored. They are focused on the bookkeeping side.
So, I am still looking for options for Canadian Tax Preparation and document workflow, client interaction, and long-term (10 years) archiving. Ten years is the statute barred limitation for filing, adjusting, and processing of personal income tax returns.
I have given up on making requests to TaxCycle regarding this need unless and until there is a clear interest or serious investigation. So… make your voices heard, those of you who love TaxCycle and want something better than DoxCycle and/or TaxFolder.
For now, I am cobbling together a few other apps to make this work better in a paperless and online work flow.
You are entitled to your opinion.
As for me, I have used both Doxcycle and Taxcycle since their inception, and with a little bit of ingenuity, both have served me very well, and still do serve me very well.
I send out a preseason letter, which combines an engagement letter with comprehensive checklist from Taxcycle. This is sent out via email, and provides e-Courier links.
One of the strong features in Taxcycle, compared to other tax software is its template editor.
I also prepare US returns, and using Custom fields produce my client letters which also include the US info in Taxcycle. In my experience, Taxcycle is miles ahead on even the expensive pro US tax software, also as far as client reporting is concerned.
For document management, I have not found an easier way than using the Microsoft file system. Have a folder for each client with various subfolders. Everything for each client in one place. Have been doing this filesystem for over 35 years.
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I agree somewhat with you Bert. I tried to make DoxCycle work for a few years but I couldn’t make it do what I wanted. Maybe my expectations were too high.
I found a program that saves documents in a MS format of folders and subfolders and has a built-in PDF annotation side. I’ve used it for many years and it’s flexible enough for what I want. You are correct, though, in saying that anything you can make work for you is the answer. I’ve looked for a do-it-all solution and have concluded that it just doesn’t exist right now. Most people end up cobbling together a number of tools. The answer depends on what cures YOUR pain point.
TaxCycle’s advantages are customer support, the template system (difficult to understand at first but well worth the work), customized print sets, and a relatively bug-free program which gets fixed shortly after bugs appear. What a difference from where we came from with Profile.
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DoxCycle only reorders documents if you drag and drop. If it’s a multipage document you need to use the “import” function for a multi-page file 