Top Best Lacerte Add-ons for Accountants and Tax Preparers

Lacerte is a renowned professional tax preparation software offered by Intuit. It provides features and tools for error-diagnosis, automated calculations, tracking missing data, tax law alerts, and more. It has significantly helped CPAs, accountants, and tax preparers save a significant number of hours by increasing their overall productivity and efficiency.

However, it lacks in certain functionalities required for specific tasks. For example, tax preparers find the need to import accounting reports into the Lacerte software for a better tax filing process. Hence, in order to fulfill growing business demands, there is a need to integrate different add-ons.

Here’s a list of top add-ons for Lacerte tax software that will help your prepare and file returns faster and easier.

Let’s have a look at the detailed use of each add-on:

1. QuickBooks

QuickBooks is a popular accounting software solution used for carrying out a variety of financial tasks. It simplifies the work of accountants like managing bills, facilitating payments, tracking payrolls, generation of reports, and more by automating these tasks.

Lacerte tax software seamlessly integrates with QuickBooks to save the average time spent on filing returns. One can easily import the accounting reports prepared in QuickBooks directly into the tax software. It further increases accuracy by eliminating manual data entry tasks.

2. SmartVault

SmartVault helps in digitizing the workflow and provide solutions for secure storage and sharing of crucial documents. It also provides a reliable way to collaborate with the team as well as clients on the required file through the built-in client portal.

Intuit Lacerte integrates with SmartVault to automate the document management and file-sharing process. It automatically imports client data created in Lacerte tax software into the SmartVault. This add-on also provides built-in templates for new tax season, engagements, or clients. SmartVault provides bank-level encrypted security for file sharing. It also offers an audit trail of employees and client activities for better management.

3. Intuit Link

Intuit Link is an online portal for data collection in an organized and efficient way. It provides a secure platform, which uses 256-bit encryption to send and receive confidential information from clients. It lets clients be informed of the paperwork that is required by notifying them through custom document requests.

Lacerte software is integrated with Intuit Link for fast and accurate tax filing of returns. It provides automated scheduling of reminders as per the business needs. It makes the tax filing process easier for tax professionals by sending questionnaires to gather the required information from clients.

4. OfficeTools Workspace

OfficeTools Workspace creates a centralized platform for CRM, time and billing, project tracking, and more. It enables employees to use the same database to access any kind of information for their work. Additionally, it also allows businesses to manage all the digital documents.

Lacerte tax software integration with OfficeTools Workspace helps to organize the tax returns, automating workflow, audit trailing, etc. This integration also eliminates data redundancy from accounting and tax software to improve productivity.

5. Pay-By-Refund

Pay-By-Refund provides a simple and easy method to collect payments from clients. The tax preparation fee is collected directly through the refund. It offers strong identity-theft protection through the following services:

• Identity restoration
• Identity theft insurance
• Certified fraud resolution specialists

Lacerte integration with Pay-By-Refund ensures worry-free and convenient payment without any out of the pocket cost for clients. The ID-protection feature brings peace of mind to taxpayers.

6. BigTime IQ

BigTime IQ is a professional software which provides time and billing services to firms. It helps to manage clients and track engagements using a real-time dashboard. Furthermore, reports can be created using built-in tools for better insights.

Lacerte tax software integrates with BigTime IQ in order to sync tax files and control engagements. The real-time dashboard helps to manage the tax practices and track progress on a single platform.

7. E-Signature by DocuSign

E-signature is a service by DocuSign that helps to complete approvals and agreements conveniently. It offers a digital signature service to improve the customer experience. This process provides the required signatures within a short duration instead of days and hence saves time.

Lacerte is integrated with DocuSign (e-Signature) to collect signatures from clients globally and serve them better. It cuts down the printing and mailing cost, which, in turn, contributes its bit to the environment.

8. eFileCabinet

eFileCabinet is a powerful document management software with built-in automated tools. It provides solutions to track documents, automate simple manual processes, and securely store important data.

eFileCabinet uses Zonal OCR technology for text search and automated data entry. It also safeguards data with two-factor authentication, encryption-based file sharing, location-based authentication, etc.

Lacerte tax software integration with eFileCabinet improves efficiency by automating data entry, which further reduces the chances of errors. It uses smart automation to recognize data from any document and intelligently organize it according to the information provided. Businesses can get an in-depth look at their tax filing processes using real-time dashboards.

9. SurePrep

SurePrep provides services to streamline the 1040 tax automation process. It uses a combination of three tools:

• TaxCaddy
• 1040SCAN
• SPbinder

TaxCaddy is used for conveniently assembling essential documents either by directly uploading them or taking a snap of the required file using the mobile camera. 1040SCAN further automates the tax filing process by extracting data from these documents. SPbinder is used to reduce the review time by providing tick-marking tools, calculator tapes, and hyperlinks for cross-reference across all files.

Lacerte software, when integrated with SurePrep, simplifies the tax filing process by exporting the extracted data from documents directly into the tax software.

10. EasyACCT

EasyACCT is a one-stop solution to simplify the accounting firm’s work, including:

• Write-ups
• Accounts Payable
• Accounts Receivable
• Asset Depreciation

It also helps to e-file tax forms: 940, 941, and 944, easing the tax filing process. EasyACCT also provides access to more than 30 tax forms and is updated regularly for the seamless filing process.

Lacerte tax software integrates with EasyACCT to prepare tax returns quickly and seamlessly. This integration allows tax preparers to transfer year-end balances into the tax software and save time spent on manual entry of the required data.

11. Lacerte 1040 Tax Planner and Analyzer

Lacerte 1040 Tax Planner and Analyzer is a bundled tool aimed to improve productivity and efficiency for accounting tax-related tasks. It consists of two parts- Tax Planner and Tax Analyzer.

Tax Planner offers four types of tax plans: Year analysis, Difference analysis, Married Filing Jointly/Married Filing Separately comparison, and Adjustment analysis. On the other hand, Tax Analyzer offers tax minimizing strategies depending upon the type of business and its insights.

Integrating Tax Planner and Analyzer with Lacerte tax software provides custom planning services. It analysis taxpayer’s scenario based on information provided to give a detailed report.

Wrapping Up

Opting for the right business add-ons increases the functionality of Lacerte tax software. It further adds value to the services provided by a business and helps to get more done in less time.

Do you know any other add-ons for Lacerte tax software? Let us know in the comments section.