Thomson Reuters has acquired the assets of TaxSimple, one of the last independent tax software companies in the tax preparation market. But instead of folding the product line, Thomson is going to use the acquired business to address the small firm market and won't kill TaxSimple products. Terms of the acquisition and the number of TaxSimple customers were not disclosed.
"We are keeping it [TaxSimple] up and operating," says
Teresa Mackintosh, SVP and general manager of the company's professional market, whose products include the CS Professional Suite and Enterprise Suite. "It's business as usual for those customers. Every product they have we'll be enhancing and investing in that product."
Owners John and Vicki Vora will also stay with Randolph, N.J.-based TaxSimple and the whole acquisition is a departure for Thomson Reuters which has historically folded acquired tax preparation products and marketed UltraTax to the user bases.
TaxSimple is being labeled a value product. Mackintosh says it's a similar concept to rival CCH's Small Firm Services which markets ATX and TaxWise tax preparation products, along with other products for the smaller tax and accounting office.
"I would say it will not be as separate or as big as what CCH has," says Mackintosh. However, Thomson executives believe there is a customer base served by TaxSimple that is different than the ones it already addresses.
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
