Do not use tradelog for your taxes

Hello,

My name is Stephen Boyle and I am the account manager for GainsKeeper retail. I hope I can clarify a few misconceptions about GainsKeeper and the product we offer with this post and more to follow. TradeLog has stated repeatedly throughout this thread that we do not offer phone support. This is incorrect. GainsKeeper provides a Call Back service for all of our Trader level customers. GainsKeeper provides corporate actions processing while Trade Log users need to enter this information manually. Our product is tax-accurate, backed by Capital Changes (the corporate action information system used by the IRS), includes Basis Pro calculations (the powerhouse of historical cost basis data), and offers tax-smart trading tools that allow you to harvest loss and save more money on your taxes than you would ever spend on GainsKeeper.

Currently, our brokerage product is used and trusted by TDAmeritrade, OptionsXpress, Scottrade, Sharebuilder, Zecco, TurboTax, and many other established names in the industry.

We have had a huge weakness in our past - customer support. I am instituting Inbound Customer phone support this summer to address this need and provide a more consumer friendly product.

Yes, GainsKeeper is more expensive than TradeLog for many users. Why is it more expensive? The same reason why a Porsche is more expensive than a Miata. It is a better product. I offer each TradeLog user who has posted to this thread to take the Pepsi challenge. E-mail me at steve.boyle@wolterskluwer.com so I can explain to you personally why GainsKeeper is a superior product for your tax needs.

After you make the decision to switch to GainsKeeper, I will reduce your GainsKeeper subscription price by the amount you paid to our competitor this year. I look forward to speaking with all of you and I look forward to earning your business.

Stephen Boyle

GainsKeeper
 
As a former user of tradelog I have a good fun to read such clarifications.

I havent seen the more dilettante piece of sw for the price. If the "developer" of sw is not able to implement correctly date arithmetics the taxes can be very expensive.

My reference for tradelog: stay away, there are much better solutions.
 
I would like the opportunity to speak with you regarding the data issues you were having with our competitor. Perhaps this is a problem GainsKeeper can handle more effectively. As a web based solution we have the ability to implement new functionalities, improve data imports, and make adjustments to accounts as changes are made to the type of data provided by brokerages.

The problem you are facing is a good example of how a web based solution is a more effective approach to the constantly changing financial services marketplace. I do not think you can fault our competitors for many of the criticisms levied in this e-mail thread but we feel that GainsKeeper can provide a more dynamic solution for today's active traders.

Thanks again,

Steve
 
Whether you use software that resides on your PC, or a web based service, it still requires an update if your brokerage changes their trade history format. For example, if you import from a broker provided csv file, and your broker adds or changes a column, then the import process may not work properly, and an update is necessary. The same is true when using a broker API interface. If the broker changes the API, then the software company must update their software.

I acknowledge that a web based service is able to implement changes on their side so all users have the update immediately, but the web based provider still has to update their software. Downloadable software must be re-downloaded just like thousands of other software titles that one may use. I really don't see this as an issue. The question is how quickly this is done, and we pride ourselves on our fast response to such issues and do not hide our update history.

We also have an 800 number for sales and support that is manned by live technicians who can assist our users when they get stuck or have questions.

In addition, TradeLog properly calculates wash sales between long and short trades, between stocks and options, and between options with dissimilar expirations and strike prices where most of our competitors do not. - See: http://fairmark.com/capgain/wash/wsshort.htm and
http://fairmark.com/capgain/wash/wsoption.htm

PS: There is a downside to web based services that many traders shy away from, and that is privacy and security, as your trade information (and possibly your account login) no longer resides safely on your PC.

If any of you would like to discuss why TradeLog is a superior product at half the price, you may call us at 800-372-6078, and we would be happy to provide the details.
 
Quote from piggie2000:

Tradelog you say you have live support but you never answer the freakin phone. Its always a damm answering machine
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1. Call during normal support hours 9am-5pm est, Mon-Fri

2. If you get voice mail it means we are on the phone. Leave a message and we ususally call back within the hour.

3. Please do not use profanity as piggie2000 is accustomed to doing in his few posts on this site.

Piggie2000, if you are a registered user and have a problem, then call and follow the above steps rather than slandering me.
 
I've used tradelog for 2yrs now and have had no complaints. They've tried very hard to keep up with IBs constant changes to their reports presentation.

I also like the reports you can generate with the software.

Considering that Tradelog and Gainskeeper cater to a small pool of active traders, I can understand their premium pricing. It's not like they're selling millions of copies like turbotax or MS Money, so they need to charge a higher price to cover their overhead. As far as customer service is concerned, I've had phone conversations with David before, and I think it's a plus that you can talk directly to the company owner / software author.

Not a paid shill, but I can say I'm satisfied with the product.
 
Let me start by saying that I love this forum. I appreciate that these competing products are on the minds of active traders.

I have always had a hard time understanding why our competitors mistakenly believe there is an advantage to having all of this data bogging down your personal PC. The security issue of a web based system is invented. Most users trade actively on web based platforms. If they don't trade online they receive their data via e-mail files or internet downloads. In addition, I would prefer to maintain my trading and tax data behind the protective walls of GainsKeeper's secure environment. Is this not better than having your tax accounting history stored on your PC, maybe (and maybe not) backed up a zip drive you hide in your desk drawer? In my opinion the more secure option is having GainsKeeper worrying about backing up and protecting this data. If something happens to your home it does not mean the IRS will take your word for it when it comes time to cough up records for an audit.

We have Live Support technicians accessible currently via the Live Chat icon on the front page of your GainsKeeper account. If you prefer to get on the phone, simply ask your Live Chat tech or e-mail a Call Back Request to our Support center. This process will be replaced with inbound support in July.

It is not my intention to join in on the criticism of our competitor product. I simply believe GainsKeeper is better. I feel for any trader who holds positions overnight at any time and has to manually enter corporate actions on their account. We have a team of corporate actions specialist that process these complex taxable events into our web based environment. We have a pricing team that allows users to track all of their brokerage accounts in one place with daily pricing and tax smart trading tools. The reality is that these tools can only be delivered in a web based product.

Thank you,

Steve

GainsKeeper
 
I have always had a hard time understanding why our competitors mistakenly believe there is an advantage to having all of this data bogging down your personal PC. The security issue of a web based system is invented.
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TradeLog data files are plain text and extremely small and in no way "bog down" your PC. And since most PC users have some sort of backup procedure for their PC, this is not a problem.

PS: Anyone who uses a PC and does not backup their data is asking for trouble. This is not just our opinion but is a necessity for anyone using a PC. So when you backup your PC, you can backup your TradeLog data files as well. If you want to do this over the Internet, there are many sites that offer this service.

I would prefer to maintain my trading and tax data behind the protective walls of GainsKeeper's secure environment.
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Many active traders would disagree - they comment to us frequently that they do not like the idea of having their confidential trade history maintained on a 3rd party web site. They also do not like the fact that 1000's of users are all trying to run reports on April 13 from the same web site rather than from their own PC.

I simply believe GainsKeeper is better. I feel for any trader who holds positions overnight at any time and has to manually enter corporate actions on their account.
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This may be of concern for long term investors, but for most traders manually adjusting for events that may only happen once or twice per year is not a big deal. Plus when you do this yourself, you KNOW that it is done right!

The reality is that these tools can only be delivered in a web based product.
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Not quite true because we do this with a downloadable product quite nicely. Oh, and what about when you want to do something like analyze your trades when not connected to the Internet?
 
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