[mustardman]

Hi there,

I have a customer who uses ProFile Premier. They currently have an Access 2000 customer database that hooks in to Profile so they can open up the customers tax return from the database. They also use the database to do things like:

Appointments
Mail outs
Queries
Filters
Notes & Lists
Invitations for meetings


They tell me that the database built in to ProFile doesn't have the features/options they want which is why they created the separate database. They need to update the database every time Profile changes such as the annual updates. Their Access guy is gone now and he is basically the only person that knows anything about it. Also the setup doesn't work so well for multiple access over a network and every time they get a new computer that computer has to have Access and a bunch of other stuff set up.

Is there a better off the shelf solution or generic software solution out there anywhere rather than every Income Tax company creating their own solution like this? I'd like to move them over to a SQL database with just browser access which would simplify things but I'm no database expert.

[David Blue]

Look at the program called Client Track.

[mustardman]

David Blue, on Aug 18 2009, 02:36 PM, said:

Look at the program called Client Track.

Thanks, I looked into it. Looks viable. They don't link directly with ProFile. Only importing and creating shortcuts to the tax files. Not sure if that is going to be good enough.

[dunner]

mustardman, on Aug 19 2009, 05:38 AM, said:

Thanks, I looked into it. Looks viable. They don't link directly with ProFile. Only importing and creating shortcuts to the tax files. Not sure if that is going to be good enough.

I found the database capabilities of the Premier version pretty good (you can specify the multiple data filters you want) and you can save the filters for future use. You would likely need some kind of VBA solution to do a mail merge, for example, to get the proper fields into a Word document. Bottom line, IMHO, I don't think the market is broad enough to warrant a third-party solution.

[mustardman]

dunner, on Aug 19 2009, 06:03 AM, said:

I found the database capabilities of the Premier version pretty good (you can specify the multiple data filters you want) and you can save the filters for future use. You would likely need some kind of VBA solution to do a mail merge, for example, to get the proper fields into a Word document. Bottom line, IMHO, I don't think the market is broad enough to warrant a third-party solution.

Your probably right which is why these small companies are doing their own I guess. They repeatedly stated that the ProFile Premier database does not meet their needs. They have branch offices that use it but the main office says it's a non-starter for them. Exact reason is vague and I am not a Tax professional but apparently has to do with their volume, many business clients, lot's of individuals linked to multiple returns etc.

Initial reaction to clienttrack is positive so will pursue that possibility further.

[Suresh@SMPC]

Did you use or purchase Client track ? Could you share your views about it ? I tried the trial package and so far have been pretty impressed especially its' designed from canadian perspective. could not find an alternate yet. please share.

mustardman, on 19 August 2009 - 11:50 AM, said:

Your probably right which is why these small companies are doing their own I guess. They repeatedly stated that the ProFile Premier database does not meet their needs. They have branch offices that use it but the main office says it's a non-starter for them. Exact reason is vague and I am not a Tax professional but apparently has to do with their volume, many business clients, lot's of individuals linked to multiple returns etc.

Initial reaction to clienttrack is positive so will pursue that possibility further.

[Michael Beamish]

David Blue, on 18 August 2009 - 05:36 PM, said:

Look at the program called Client Track.

if your on a server, dont bother, I reciently killed Client Track in this office, nothing more than a glorified MS Database, not worth the cost.

[dunner]

Does Client Track not work on a server? I've used it in my office for about a year now. I've struggled to make it fit my workflow and have found it a bit clumsy to work with in some areas. It's not perfect but it's the best in the market from what I've seen.

[Michael Beamish]

dunner, on 11 January 2011 - 02:04 PM, said:

Does Client Track not work on a server? I've used it in my office for about a year now. I've struggled to make it fit my workflow and have found it a bit clumsy to work with in some areas. It's not perfect but it's the best in the market from what I've seen.

No, it's designed as a peer to peer, according to their tech support it was written in open source and works better with Mozilla than MS which makes it tough with when your using Server 2008 software. It just didnt seem to work well with us. In a single user or small office peer to peer it may work but we have a staff of 14, it just didnt work for us.


Mike Beamish
A. Pearce and Associates