TaxWorks has shut off comments on its blog after the company was hit with a flood of negative statements. It was the second time the company halted the ability of users to post complaints about support at www.taxworks.com in a season in which commented about the new TaxWorks tax preparation software continue to stream in. However, users are still detailing their experiences with the new platform on the Facebook page of TaxWorks parent Red Gear Technologies.
Complaints on the RedGear page through February 6 maintained about the same pace they had from late December on the company blog, although those moderated significantly after that. TaxWorks has not responded to requests for comments about the issues.
The Kaysville,Utah-based company had halted blog comments early in the month because they were getting "vicious" in the words of the post from Alan Haacke, a long-time employee who has handled many of the user complaints. The blog was opened up again, but then closed down at the end of January. As opposed to the comments on the RedGear page and the TaxWorks blog, the support forum is open only to clients who are verified by the company.
The early February posts includes a stream of preparers reporting that they had switched and had asked for the money back on the new product. A post from preparer Ken Nowers thanked the company for the updates to its software but commented, "It doesn't replace the fact that your development and testing of this new release was an utter failure and your customers deserve better than paying for the privilege of being a beta tester while trying to earn a living."
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
