Well I have to admit that I liked the integration to Docusign with Taxcycle; however, it appears it is too good to be true. I signed up for the standard plan that was part of the deal with Taxcycle and used it mainly for T1 returns which is about $400 per year. Personally I thought it was a bit expensive compared to other options but decided to sign up regardless because of the integration with Taxcycle.
I just got a call from Docusign saying I had exceeded their Reasonable Use Policy and I would need to purchase a corporate license next year for just under $2000 if I wanted to continue using the program.
So how many packages do you think I sent last year to get this phone call? 1,000?, 2000?, or say around 250 packages? Well the answer is around 250 packages. I guess you are only allowed 100 packages for the standard license. That would be 50 tax returns if you are dealing with a couple or about $4 per signature.
It would cost me twice that if I purchase the corporate license and that would still only give you a maximum of 500 packages or still around $4 per signature if you used all 500.
Since I have refused to pay the $2,000 per year for the program for the 250 signatures I need, I am waiting for them to cut off my license. It is a shame, it worked very well this year. I guess I will need to look at other options or go back to the old fashion way.
I am using Adobe and paying 9.99 us per month. There is no limit of package. Also Adobe gives you extra useful features like converting pdf to excel Word etc. Tax cycle should consider Adobe and another popular program so we can get a choice according to our needs and pocket.
We used somewhere between 5 and 600 before we go the call that we exceeded the “Reasonable Use” of 100. We are projecting to use 2-3 times our 2019 usage for 2020 tax season. So I played along and got a quote… 1000 signatures = $4,554, 1500 signatures = $6,148, which is crazy.
However a little birdy told me to not pay anyone for this service and to stay tuned… maybe Nov 4th?
@james1 / @msbuttar - We have looked at Adobe. It’s true they are $9.99 a month, but as soon as you use the API to do integrations like we do with DocuSign, that price goes up… and they won’t even post that price on their website (see below):
I did not sign up for the online conference this year but I likely would be interested if you have come up with a more fairly priced solution. So are you going to give us a hint or are you hoping that we are paying attention after the US election is over.
I used Signnow last year and it worked quite well. I am currently testing Verifyle Pro, and will consider using it for 2020 season. It is free for first year for CPA’s and 50% off afterwards. I think that will work out to 72 per year. It works good for my proprietorship.
I’ve been using sharefile for my signatures and client portal. It’s not the cheapest but I have been very happy with it. And it just set up a print set for the things that need to be sign. Made it very easy to use, and I like the unlimited storage that comes with it.
I am sure there are several options to Docusign; however, the purpose of using Docusign is that it integrated with Taxcycle. The issue is that the cost of using Docusign as an integration product is just out to lunch. I am sure every option is fine; however, but they do not integrate with Taxcycle which is the point of my thread. That being said, there appears to be something in the works and we should hear about it on the 4th
I use RightSignature. The reason I like it is it forces the clients to draw the signature, plus there is no visible box around the signature. (Well, using it the way I use it, which is print the electronic signature, the scan it back into doxcycle.
PLUS, using Adobe Acrobat, I can extract the MR-69 from the signed package and that version actually transmits to Revenu Quebec!
Yes, I use it. I am using Adobe Acrobat Pro and love it. It’s simple to use and gives me lots more than DocuSign. Also more affordable than Docusign.
@Arliss, I’m guessing everyone was waiting for someone else to post secret, LOL.
In yesterday’s seminar, Cameron announced that they investigated about 6 or 7 different software companies specializing in electronic signatures, and they all had high fees to integrate their software into an existing software using API’s, similar to the way TaxCycle currently integrates Docusign.
Cameron’s solution was to develop their own document signing software.
They are calling it “TaxFolder”.
It will be available coming January 2021, with sales starting in about 2 weeks time (an email will be sent with the details).
The software will support:
Secure document sharing with your clients
Secure portal for your clients to upload source documents
Seamless integration with TaxCycle printing
Automatic tracking to TaxCycle workflow
Will allow signing of other documents not related to TaxCycle. Thus there will be a way to set up signing locations on those other documents.
TaxFolder Pricing:
They are limiting it to the first 500 TaxCycle customers only for this year. They want to make sure that they have enough resources to support everyone in a timely manner so starting out small for this year’s trial test run. They will expand the number for the next tax year.
$595/year (first user).
$155/year each additional user in the company
Includes as many signature envelopes as you need for each engagement
Invite up to 500 of your clients to your custom branded portal.
That’s about $1.00 per signature vs $4.00 per signature that other companies are charging.
Payment plans are available.
Watch your email inbox in about two weeks to sign up for the introductory offer.
