Big Blue Disk 27/bbd27.zip/DESK.TXT

Text File | 1988-11-03 | 5KB | 83 lines

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^Cby
^CDaniel Tobias

   Here's where I fill you in about what's up in the computer field.

   The 1988 tax return season is now upon us.  Last month (BIG BLUE DISK #26),
we included as our special bonus feature a set of Lotus templates to help you in
completing your taxes.  The version in that issue (still available from us for
$9.95 as a back issue) contains a 1988 tax planner version of the templates,
along with a special offer for the final preparation version incorporating all
the latest IRS changes.

   If you're looking for more choices in the arena of computerized tax
preparation, however, here are a couple of reviews of other packages.  The
copies reviewed are 1987 editions, since the 1988 versions weren't yet available
at press time, but the new versions should be out by the time you read this.

   ^1Tax Shop^0, from MyQuest, Inc. (7668 Municipal Dr., Orlando, FL 32819) is a
well-done, self-contained package to prepare your own tax returns.  It has very
attractive, friendly menus, and lets you fill in your data in the lines of
replicas of the various common forms and schedules for personal income tax.
Numbers that depend on other numbers are automatically calculated, and figures
from one schedule are inserted in the others where needed.  When you're done,
you can print it out onto the spaces of form-feed tax forms which are included
for your tractor-feed printer, or print the whole form out in IRS-acceptable
manner on an HP Laserjet laser printer.

   The one minor problem I had was that, once I had installed the program on my
hard disk, it still defaulted to getting data on drive B.  You're expected to
enter the configuration section before preparing a return; perhaps some warning
of this should be given to avoid getting prompted to insert a disk in a drive
you're not using.  Maybe the INSTALL procedure could be made to change the
default to C instead of B automatically.

   On the other hand, ^1Tax Advantage^0, from Monogram (531 Van Ness Avenue,
Torrance, CA 90501) wasn't as much to my liking.  It had all the usual features
(the various forms and schedules, etc.), but I found its user interface to be
clumsy and perilous.  For instance, after installing the software on my hard
disk, when I tried to enter the return preparation part, it kept prompting me to
"Insert the data disk in drive C."  There was no way out of this prompt other
than to reboot.  Apparently, what I had failed to do was first use the
"Initialize" command to set up a data directory.  The instruction manual, which
included information for Apple, Commodore, and Atari users as well as the IBM
version, included dire warnings of how on some systems, "Initialize" will
reformat a disk completely, wiping out all data on it.  This made me
understandably hesitant about doing it on my hard disk, but it turns out that on
the IBM PC it just has the innocuous function of getting a directory ready for
your tax return.  This could have been better stated, and if you fail to
initialize a directory, the program should tell you to do this, rather than
putting you in an inescapeable loop.

   When I tried calling Monogram to ask for help on this program, I got put in a
runaround: the number in the front of the book got a receptionist who told me
that a different number was the right one to call.  That second number got
somebody representing "Technical Support," who promptly disconnected my call.
Subsequent calls got no answer, until I finally got answered and placed on hold,
where I gave up after several minutes and hung up.

   Once I figured it out, Tax Advantage turned out to work reasonably well for
what it is; you can enter data in the different lines, then print out the
finished form in IRS-acceptable style (which didn't work on my printer, a
Mannesmann Tally 87, not one of the ones they support).

   Despite its weaknesses, Tax Advantage does have one strong advantage.  It's
by the makers of Dollars & Sense, a comprehensive personal finance program, and
can import data from it.

   ^1Dollars & Sense^0, which we also received a review copy of, looks like it
has lots of useful features for charting finances.  It charts budgets, tracks
accounts, manages your stock and bond portfolio, and even includes a free
telecommunications program and desk accessory set.  Seems like a pretty good
deal.  All these features, however, make it a rather complex program, and a
novice user is likely to face a long learning period.  I didn't have the time to
put it fully through its paces, but it seems like once you get used to it, it is
a very good package.  The same is probably true of Tax Advantage, and since the
two programs are made to work together, it would be a good idea to get one if
you wish to use the other; that way you can integrate your whole personal
finances.  Perhaps a rank novice would be better off with a different, more
user-friendly (though perhaps less-powerful) package, however.