CPA Practice Advisor Publishes the 2019 Readers' Choice Awards Results
Drake Software Again Wins 7 Categories
Each year, major tax industry publications conduct surveys and product reviews to help paid tax return preparers make informed decisions about the kind of software they choose for their office. One of the marquis surveys is the CPA Practice Advisor Readers’ Choice Awards, which asks respondents to rate the software they used throughout the year.
A wide-ranging survey, the CPA Practice Advisor 2019 Readers’ Choice Awards covered income tax preparation packages, tax planning software, accounting write-up products, and more. This year, Drake Software won the same seven categories as last year, highlighting a consistence in quality and customer satisfaction: Federal/State Income Tax Compliance, Tax Planning Systems, Client Portals, Document Management, Website Builders & Services, ASP/Hosted Solution Providers, and 1099/W-2 Compliance.
Drake Tax once again won the Federal/State Income Tax Preparation category. Since tax preparation software is an essential part of a CPA’s toolkit, it only makes sense that CPA Practice Advisor would say it’s their “most popular category.”
Drake Tax Planner was rated the best by respondents for the Tax Planning Systems category. In a year when the majority of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act changes were implemented, a good tax planner is especially helpful for clients who are uncertain about their tax situation by letting them compare sample scenarios.
SecureFilePro (SFP) was chosen the best service in the Client Portals category by respondents, earning votes from 47.2 percent of respondents. For those unfamiliar with client-portal services, they are a secure website designed specifically for the exchange of sensitive documents, and SFP also offers cloud backup services.
Drake Documents, Drake Software’s document manager software, beat out the runner up by 34.7 percentage points to win the Document Management category. Aside from providing easy access to important tax documents and client records, Drake Documents lets users import and export files, track file activity, back up files, and more.
Drake Software’s SiteDart Hosting service had 34.9 percent more votes than the closest competition, handily winning the Website Builders & Services category. SiteDart develops websites for small businesses, and they offer a specific package for tax professionals that includes financial calculators, tax rate information, tax return checklists, and more.
Drake Hosted once again won the ASP/Hosted Solution Providers. ASPs (application service providers) provide familiar software applications in a cloud-based environment. For Drake Hosted, that means having access to Drake Tax and Drake Documents from anywhere with an Internet connection.
Drake Software also won the 1099/W-2 Compliance category, which CPA Practice Advisor describes as “specialty W-2 and 1099 preparation systems [that] help relieve much of the burden of processing hundreds or more forms each year.”
