RedGear Software, which markets the TaxWorks tax preparation software line, has promised users an enhanced beta testing program for the 2011 version of the software. The plan is in response to stability issues in the 2010 rendition that arose from what the company said was a migration of technology in 2009 and 2010 that was designed to improve performance.
A statement on the company's website says that the changes showed dramatic improvement and consistent operation of the software in testing. However, problems arose in the "tens of thousands of unique hardware and networking configurations," among the company users. "There was no way of testing in all of these environments to ensure stability," the statement continued.
"The other reported “stability” issue relates to aspects of the program that worked last year and are broken this year, including duplex printing and some state tax calculations," the company said. It reported it had found the cause and noted calculation issues were resolved and patched immediately.
The company plans a beta release of the 2011 software on June 17, which it said was months ahead of the usual schedule.
RedGear is owned by H&R Block and there had already been indications of weakness in the performance of the Utah-based software unit. For fiscal 2011, ended January 31, the company wrote down $22.7 million in impaired goodwill for RedGear, which left it with about $14 million in goodwill.
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Bob Scott has provided information to the tax and accounting community since 1991, first as technology editor of Accounting Today, and from 1997 through 2009 as editor of its sister publication, Accounting Technology. He is known throughout the industry for his depth of knowledge and for his high journalistic standards. Scott has made frequent appearances as a speaker, moderator and panelist and events serving tax and accounting professionals. He has a strong background in computer journalism as an editor with two former trade publications, Computer+Software News and MIS Week and spent several years with weekly and daily newspapers in Morris County New Jersey prior to that. A graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, Bob is a native of Madison, Ind
