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TurboTax DESKTOP is small percentage

From the NY Times article.... about the changes...

Consumers have been complaining and posting negative reviews on Amazon.com and in other online forums. Colleen Gatlin, an Intuit spokeswoman, said TurboTax customers who used the deluxe desktop version to report investment or rental property income generally must use either the ?premier? or ?home & business? versions, while those who are self-employed must use ?home & business.? (However, some simple investment and business situations, like dividends from investments in mutual funds, are still supported in deluxe, she said.)

TurboTax, which has 29 million customers, made the changes last year to its online service, which allowed users to prepare and file returns without downloading programs onto their computer, she said. Customers are migrating away from the desktop offerings, she said, and 80 percent of them now use the online product. ?Bottom line,? she said, ?only a small percentage of desktop customers, who make up about 20 percent of all TurboTax customers, will be impacted by these changes.?

Reply to
ps56k
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All the features TurboTax removed from their Deluxe version are still offered in H&R Block Deluxe and at a lower price.

Reply to
nobody

True, but you can see Intuit's thinking. The desktop users are a PITA and represent a small part of their business. Make them switch to the web interface or kiss them off.

Reply to
Arthur Conan Doyle

Aren't there are lot of features in the desktop product that aren't in the online one? Maybe I've just been so used to getting the Desktop version that I never even considered the online one. For instance, can it do k-1s?

Reply to
jo

And all the features now in Premier desktop are available at highly discounted prices at Amazon!

Reply to
jo

Well here's good news for Intuit: I am no longer going to be a PITA for them, as I have already switched to HRBlock. I guess that after 15 years Intuit does not want or need my money. I wish there was a viable alternative to Quicken as well.

Reply to
Zack Sten

Well, they didn't treat me like a PITA. I don't know exactly where they pi cked up my posts but someone from Intuit emailed me and offered me a free c opy of Premier or Home and Business. Since I had already ordered Premier f rom Costco, they are reimbursing me. Good thing because I see it's now ev en cheaper on Amazon.

So why are we desktop users so annoying to Intuit?

Reply to
jo

For desktop users, Intuit has to create a whole bunch of unique SKUs, one for each level of product, times 2 (Mac & PC). Then, they have to package each one of the different products and deal with shipping. Distributors want a cut and retailers want a cut.

The web product is a single product that serves all platforms, there's no production or distribution costs and Intuit keeps all of the revenue. Patches are done once with no charge for hosting or bandwidth.

Reply to
Arthur Conan Doyle

Oh - and with the web product, Intuit has much finer control on discounts. With the box product, if they offer a discount to Costco, they can't control the number of people who purchase from Costco. With the web product, they can target certain types of users and quickly shut down the deal if if isn't reaching the people they are targeting.

Reply to
Arthur Conan Doyle

in a word - THE CLOUD - more and more content, and software creating it is migrating to the cloud.... for all the reasons mentioned above - PLUS... you can sell it each year as a subscription vs one time purchase... Think of ALL the software you use, and purchased one time, vs having to subscribe and use it via the Internet for access.

Software As A Service ---> SAAS -

Reply to
ps56k

One has to modify that for things like tax software. I want to be able to go back and look at (or if audited) modify my old taxes even if I switched vendors inbetween--without having to pay more money.

That is a very different issue than if I download someting (that I will own ) vs. getting a box with a disk in it.

P.S. SAAS has a theoretically useful construct in it, but it is realy just a profit center in practice at the moment. Most americans prefer to own a home than rent; buy a car than Ubering; own a washing machine than send their laundry out; etc. All of these things are services, but many people find that owning capital goods is more cost e ffective for things they do repeatedly. Even satellite radio offers lifeti me subscriptions...which is pretty equivalent to buying it

Reply to
vodil

I believe this to be an outright lie in an attempt to justify their actions, I suspect it's probably reversed, 20% online and 80% buy the product.

I suspect the percentages show Intuit's direct sales and do not include sales from Costco, Amazon, etc..

Reply to
XS11E

I've been in IT for years and I am NOT putting my tax data in the cloud. When I use tax software on my PC, I have total control over my data and can keep it secure. If I do my taxes online, I'm trusting to Intuit to keep my data safe. No thank you.

Reply to
Deb B

On Sun, 18 Jan 2015 10:39:01 -0500, "Deb B" wrote in :

I have the same visceral reaction (been involved with computers since

1985). Back up to the cloud, sure, or back up what's in the cloud on WD Passport Drive in my Safe Deposit Box.

Also Income Tax preparation is a little different. If you're a late filer (by choice or by surprise) and you have the Desktop software and you Internet connection comes to grief or there is some Intuit sponsored calamity, you can print out your return and put it in the mail, even filing for an extension if it comes to that.

If your Web based and it goes south, you're hosed.

Reply to
Jim Nugent

Do you electronically file your return either via Turbotax, direct, or via an accountant? If so, it already IS in the cloud.

Reply to
Andrew

No need to do so, the IRS does it for you after you file.

Reply to
XS11E

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