by Joey Dixon - April 30, 2008
Another tax season has come and gone. Many traders are either waiting for their refund or have filed for an extension. Although the market was down, we are proud to say that TradeLog support was not. We were able to assist many users in preparing their schedule d from trading. So we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your patience and cooperation.
Among the many sales questions we received, one stands out: "Can I really prepare my tax forms in 15 minutes or less?" The simple answer is "it depends on your situation." Users who take the time to learn the program and who ask for help immediately when they encounter a problem usually finish in the least amount of time.
Many of our new users were able to prepare multiple tax years, with thousands of trades, in under 15 minutes! They were amazed at how fast and efficient TradeLog calculated their profit or loss for the year, and how everything tied out perfectly to their broker provided 1099.
In a perfect world, this would be the case for every user of TradeLog and we wouldn't need this blog or a support team. But as you know, we do not live in a perfect world.
Our 15 minute challenge explained
First of all, the 15 minute challenge is not a guarantee. The whole point of this challenge is for new users to recognize
that if, after 15 minutes of using the software, they encounter any issues then they should call or email our support team.
Spending more than 15 minutes, sometimes many hours, will usually leave them distraught and angry.
The TradeLog® Quick Start guide – 8 steps to success
The most common reason why some users struggle past the 15 minute mark is that they do not follow closely the eight steps
as outlined in our Quick Start guide. They often skip important steps such as: manually entering their open positions before
importing their current tax year trade data from their broker (step 2), or verifying their open positions after importing
from their broker (step 4). Some users completely ignore the entire eight
step process reasoning that they should be able to use our software without
having to read any sort of manual or users guide instructions!
The key to getting started in the minimum amount of time is read the instructions. This is true of any software that you purchase, and is especially true for software that handles the complex process of filing your taxes from trading.
Did we forget to mention that the IRS Schedule D is by far the most complex form of any of the tax forms you will have to file? We didn’t make it this way, the IRS did. And your online brokerage doesn’t make it any easier. In many cases they further add to the complexity with their inadequate and inconsistent reporting - Which is why you bought our TradeLog software in the first place.
The TradeLog® Tutorial – visually see each of these steps performed
If you cannot visualize any of the eight steps outlined in the Quick Start guide, then you can, at your leisure, see each step
demonstrated with our online Tutorial lessons. These lessons can be played, paused, and rewound just like a VCR so you don’t have to
miss a thing. They can also be viewed alongside TradeLog as you perform the steps yourself.
We are not sure why so many users do not avail themselves of this invaluable tool.
The TradeLog® User Guide
In addition to the Quick Start guide and online Tutorial lessons, we have an extensive
User Guide which outlines every feature and
function within the TradeLog program. A table of contents lists these functions by menu, and a Search dialog box is
available at the top of every page on our web site, so you can quickly find what you are looking for.
But even after reading and studying such material, there are issues you may face at one time or another that you aren’t sure of what to do. In our next article we'll consider some of the more common problems you may encounter when using our trade and tax lot accounting software.