UltraTax CS Pros and Cons

The support team is very helpful. They are always very patient. And they do webinars for new updates each year. They listen to customers' suggestions and make updates. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Can't open multiple windows at the same time. Can't open same client for different year. During the business season, the wait time for customer is very long. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The software is pretty accurate, in general. It is easy to see the effects of your entry on the tax return. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Support this year (TY2016) is HORRIBLE! We left LaCerte because of expense and poor support. Ultratax is now just as expensive and the support is worse. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I enjoy the capabilities of UltraTax. Having an import function to automatically transfer over client's trial balance saves a lot of time. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I do not like how when exporting to other Thomson Reuters products (i.e. planner cs) the tax return does not always tie out. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The software is updated frequently with the ever changing tax laws. These updates consider the users inputs and seem to work well. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

You have to use the software almost on a daily basis to keep up with all the changes made during tax season. If you only do one or two tax returns a week it would be tough to keep up with all the different used of Ultra Tax. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The program can be fast and not too extremely difficult to use. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Everything else. The pricing is horrible for what you are getting. They nickle and dime you for everything. Some of the pricing information that was given to me when I signed up was misleading I feel. Apparently Ultra Tax is older technology and every time you call with a question, there is a charge. This month, I got a bill of over $700 just because of calling and asking questions to learn how to use their software. Worse, I am still confused what charges are extra or not. Their invoice is not clear so I do not even know what my bill will be next month. I do not recommend this product and will look elsewhere next year. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

On demand updates on Forms based on input view Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

not enough keyboard shortcuts and the input screens looked outdated, editing the custom letters was a bit cumbersome Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

So far, I like how fast the software opens, but I think that's due to our upgraded server. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I never thought I would hate a software company so much. Thomson Reuters has made my job very difficult. There have been problems with every aspect of UltraTax, including simply logging in! The following is a list of everything with which we've had problems:

1) Logging in

2) Training (they need more trainers to accommodate their clients' schedules)

3) Getting different answers from different people on many things

4) Had to buy a $10k server, or else pay $1,500 a month in web fees for cloud-based software.

5) Thomson Reuters had issues communicating with our IT firm, which resulted in a two-month delay. We've been using our contracted IT firm for years. They're experts. They've admitted this has been a challenge for them--Thomson Reuters, apparently doesn't design its software to conform to industry standards, which made for a difficult transition to our new server.

6) Support response times unacceptable. I am currently on a chat. The display says I started at 12:15 at number 7 in the queue. It's 12:27 and I'm still number

7) Also, I've emailed support--all they do is direct me to the stupid help section (which I've already searched!) 7) Sales person who initially suckered us knows NOTHING technical or even things he/she should know about the product he/she sells.

8) Software is not user-friendly. It took my looking through the 60-page manual and having to speak with a support rep to know how to add an event to a client's page. (This was discussed during a previous training, but the trainer was busy and referred us to support.)

9) Trainings are not recorded. I think for the level of money we're spending, Thomson Reuters should be providing us with recordings of our trainings. I'd like to point out I specifically asked about free training videos. Our salesperson had no idea where to direct me. I spent a lot of time searching the CS Professional site and found some--the salesperson should've known how to direct a client.

10) CS Professional (back office) is a nightmare to navigate. I've wasted countless hours trying to do things on my own to avoid having to involve a support rep.

11) Updates- Even these are a nightmare. You have to "retrieve licenses" and "renew subscriptions" before you can even apply simple updates! Also, with every update, there's a screen with dozens of buttons that need to be addressed--if you're a tech maven, you might be fine, but even the experts at our contracted IT firm have been challenged by Thomson Reuters' excessive requirements.

12) Transitioning from ProSeries. Limited info transfers from ProSeries.

13) Migrating ProSeries data into UltraTax. Again, our IT firm even had issues trying to migrate our data from ProSeries to UltraTax. Even the Thomson Reuters support had problems with this on our behalf. This took a long time and money to complete.

14) There are more issues, but I can't think of them right now.

15) File Cabinet, while I know is not UltraTax, is a program that almost all UltraTax users will need to use to store docs. File Cabinet is not user-friendly. It's difficult to even rename a folder without having to search a manual or speak with a rep. Enough already! We just want a system we can use.

We haven't really put the software into use yet. We're still trying to overcome all these obstacles. We're all very scared of the upcoming tax season, needless to say.

It's now 12:51 and I am still in the queue... Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

UltraTax CS is great for doing almost every type of tax return. I prepare all types of returns (1040, 1065, 1120, 1120S, 990, 1041, etc.) and it definitely does the job. It works especially well on simple returns especially 1040's. UltraTax CS has a very easy to use navigation system to input all the data needed to prepare a tax return. I was able to pick it up and use it coming from a different software almost immediately. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The only thing that I dislike about UltraTax CS is how it handles multi-state passthrough returns. On partnership returns, 1065's, if you have a K-1 passthrough, it does not handle the state apportionment very well. I have brought this up to UltraTax CS and hopefully a better allocation input method will become available shortly but it pales in comparison to Prosystems FX in this instance. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Thomson Reuters consistently delivers high quality in their products, tax in particular. The intuitive design and simple interphase makes preparing return an enjoyable experience. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The system can be slow at times and even slower when updates are in process. However, that could be because of system limitations Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

WHEN YOU FINNALY GET A SUPPORT REP ON THE PHONE THEY ARE KNOLDEABLE. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Unbelievable long wait times for support. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.