User friendly product with very great functionality!

At my firm, we use a variety of CS professional Suite products. All of the software is very intuitive, we can easily see how the input will look like when printed. Especially UltraTax makes it so easier for the preparers and reviwers as it lists its diagnostic functions and "FYI"s. Also, it has very detailed instructions. For example, you can just google "Ultratax multistate filings", then you will see a list of instructions provided by rep.

It can run slow because very often we need to run many other programs such as Excel and Outlook. Also, sometimes UltraTax does not allow hard input. Instead, we need to find a certain way to input information to be correctly presented.

We are managing all of our tax projects within the CS Suite. From preparing the return, to tracking clients and where their projects stand, to sending and receiving client documents within the integrated "Drop Box" portal system.

The entire suite serves the purpose of getting the job done. We have several of the Suite programs and that has made doing things like sending tax organizer out a much simpler job within their interface.

Learning how to properly use the software within our unique environment has been a huge challenge. Google provides no help and their own "help and how-to center" only provides so much information. I wish their products integrated better between themselves.

Good integration between the different products, but unfortunately to the exclusion of integrating with anything else.

Good integration between the various products. Good user interface design for some products like Practice CS but not for others. The tax product is generally very accurate once you figure out how to use it well. I like the multiple screen ability. The Practice product will allow you to open and sign in multiple times which can make up for the slow changing of screens. We tend to open a copy with the employee dashboard and then open another copy of the program to keep the client dashboard open so we can update projects and the like. This is the only way to deal efficiently with the slow screen changes. Good reporting, good support when calling in, but slow with email. Great diagnostics for Ultra Tax. The ability in Ultra Tax to open both input and forms screens at the same time is nice.

First it is 32 bit and so does not interface well with other programs. Runs slow because it can only take advantage of limited memory. Runs even slower if you have very many other programs open (outlook, excel, word, etc). Many features only work if you have an older 32 bit operating system. For example you cannot click the email address of a client and generate an email that also stays attached to their client detail unless you are using 32 bit email software on a 32 bit machine. The Ultra Tax user and data entry is one of the worst I have seen, very outdated. At times you have to switch multiple screens to input basic stuff. Trying to locate where to make an entry can be an exercise in frustration. Ultratax is very accurate when the return is completed but a mess when trying to figure out how to do data entry. Does not integrate with other calendar apps to get your appointments onto a preferred product for you calendar. You can only use the online version and access it or push everything up to the cloud for their mobile version. So the bottom line is slow, their tech support said they have no plans to write a 64 bit version, awkward data input for the UT product. Tax return data entry is about 35% longer than on our prior product.

The customer service is good however even if it is their software that is the problem they will charge you to fix their issues. We have had two sales teams and both teams have been horrific. After initial sales they are no help at all. Spending 20K a year with them did not get their attention.

Fully integrated suite of products that for the most part interact.

Many of the integrated suite is long in the tooth like FileCabinet and Practice Management. There are much better products out there that are easier to use and more robust.

I like the CS professional suite. I think it produces good reports and good client packages. The software offers many features. If you spend a lot of money you can have all your accounting and reporting packages fully integrate.

I like that all their programs integrate. The integration saves time and reduces errors. This integration helps our clients retrieve all the data that we produce for them.

I do not like that they raise their fees every year but do not seem to add new functionality. The fees increase by around 5% year after year.