UltraTax vs. Lacerte: Which One You Should Pick For Filing Returns
Professionals often face the dilemma of choosing between UltraTax CS and Lacerte when preparing taxes. Both are powerful tax preparation tools with dedicated user bases, but they have unique differences. Deciding which will work best for your tax filing requirements is challenging.
The Journal of Accountancy 2023 report published the percentage of users for each software; UltraTax is ranked after Lacerte on the list.
Also Check: What Is The Difference Between Lacerte and ProSeries?
What is UltraTax CS Tax Software
UltraTax CS, developed by Thomson Reuters, is famous for its robust features and extensive tax preparation capabilities.
It’s tailored for tax professionals who handle intricate tax returns for individuals, businesses, estates, and trusts. It can be integrated with Thomson Reuters products, such as Checkpoint for tax research and NetClient CS for client portals.
UltraTax CS is perfect for various tasks, such as evaluating allocation worksheets, spotting mistakes, and preparing multi-state returns through a unified interface.
However, this comprehensive and efficient solution does not offer a free version or trial options. Its paid version starts at $2,500.00/year.
Key Features of UltraTax
1. Comprehensive Froms Coverage
UltraTax supports various federal, state, and local tax forms, such as 1040, 1041, 1120, 1120C, 1120S, 706, 709, 990, and 5500. Furthermore, it supports over 200 individual and business state and local tax returns, making it ideal for handling various tax scenarios.
2. Integration with Accounting Software
UltraTax CS, part of the CS Professional Suite, seamlessly integrates with all CS products, such as accounting CS, Payroll CS, and SafeSend, streamlining data import and reconciliation.
3. Efficient Data Entry
The software provides efficient data entry tools, including importing data from previous-year returns and electronic documents. It is time-saving and ensures accuracy by reducing transcription errors.
4. Tax preparation checklist
The software allows you to pick up where you made entries last year and flag the missing information for this year via email. It also helps in avoiding duplicate data and
5. Eliminates duplication
Tax preparers can streamline the return process by sharing data between returns with Tax ID numbers. This approach eliminates duplicate data entry and manual linking of the 1120S, 1065, or 1041 returns to the 1040 return.
6. Multi-state tax return + Multiscreen facility
You can easily and quickly complete your business returns or Schedule C/K-1 income allocations across states using an apportionment grid and a relative multi-state allocation grid.
Furthermore, the multiscreen facility makes the task much more accessible. Four monitors provide a synchronized view of the data submission, forms, inputs from the previous year, and diagnostics.
A Closer Look at Lacerte Tax Software
The Lacerte by Intuit is among the most popular professional tax preparation software.
While UltraTax is mostly popular for its broad set of features, which help handle complex returns, Lacerte is considered for its rich features, which can handle even the most complex tax returns.
Tax/accounting firms, CPAs, and small and mid-sized businesses find Lacerte perfect. It is even suitable for individual tax practitioners, thanks to its in-built tools, utilities, and functions and over 5,700 tax forms that can handle various return types.
The latest Lacerte version can be integrated with other Intuit products, like Quickbooks and ProConnect Tax Online.
Certified by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), unlike UltraTax CS, it offers free trial options. The $400 annual entry-level pricing makes it a lucrative option if you want to subscribe.
Key features of Laceret Tax Software
1. Reports and Tools
It combines tax preparation and advisory tools while offering quickly built custom tax plans and an instant savings view, with data automatically extracted from your Lacerte software.
Personalized tax strategies save you time and flexibility, making customized client-friendly reports with your firm’s logo and colors all the more lucrative.
2. Audit checkmarks
The software auto-detects errors and fixes them to minimize rejections and maximize refund returns. The errors are identified with green and green checkmarks to confirm correct information.
3. Workflow optimization
You can enhance your client list using its 500-plus fields and create special filters to create combinations. The client list sorting option makes it easy to sort the data. Just like Excel, a one-click facility helps you maintain your preferred view.
It also allows you to fast-track the processing of partner inquiries and dissemination of messages for K-1 packages. Additionally, it will enable you to send your clients hints to complete the missing client information in a simple point-and-click form.
The Like-kind Transaction Wizard streamlines 1031 exchange records nearly twice as fast as other processors.
4. Client communication
The Intuit Link client portal helps manage client data and exchange information with them. The E-organizer tool helps gather information about a new client using a customizable password-protected e-file. Built-in time tracking automatically logs the hours you spend working on a return. The automated timer starts when you open the file and stops when you close it.
5. Data collection
Data is crucial for taxes. Lacerte lets you import your data from Excel and any comma-delimited text file. With the K-1 transfer utility, partnership, S-corporation, and fiduciary tax data are automatically transferred into individual returns or between business returns, making the process easy.
6. E-filing
The software makes it easier to e-file individual and business forms with built-in, integrated e-filing. It also speeds up the filing process with the streamlined e-file wizard and batch e-file extensions for multiple clients, helping file faster. Furthermore, its real-time alerts about returns impacted by tax law updates or other changes make filing convenient and hassle-free.
You can enjoy the benefits of the Lacerte Fast Path license, which offers year-round e-filing for all open years at no additional cost. The flexible software integrates new tax forms and supports more e-filing options.
The goal is to serve the client as best as possible, and the client wants accuracy and speed.
Conclusion
What UltraTax CS and Lacerte may have in common is that they are well-known and have many loyal users. However, the final decision should be based on price, ease of use, efficiency of support services, integration with other software, scalability, accuracy, simplicity in importing data, installation process, number of forms, etc.
Tax firms, CPAs, and accountants should consider all their needs and weigh the pros and cons of both software to evaluate their performance independently or through another party.
Also Read:
