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Do not use tradelog for your taxes
- Thread starter RiceRocket
- Start date
My competitor alternately encourages users to find a service that will back up your data, then states that customers do not want their data held by a third party.
The ability to download reports and manage data off of our servers was as quick and efficient on April 13th as it is today. I challenge anyone top find an example of a customer who saw a reduction in the speed of data retrieval at or near the end of tax season. I can tell you right now with complete confidence that THIS DID NOT HAPPEN.
We actually have the capacity to handle exponentially more data and users requests than could ever be made by users of the retail product. This criticism is invented, GainsKeeper has not had any issues because of increased activity during the end of tax season.
It is laughable for our competitor to say that you are better off manually entering in Corporate Actions when GainsKeeper owns CCH (the corporate action information database that the IRS uses to verify that you have processed Corporate actions correctly) and uses CCH to post these events to your account. The reason why our competitor exists is to provide a service that seeks to automate and avoid human error, then encourages you to manually input the most complex transactions of all?
I am going to have to step away now as many of the Elitetrader users participating in this thread would like to discuss the options available to them to move to GainsKeeper and recoup any expense paid out to a competitor product. Please feel free to reach out to me so we can discuss signing you up for GainsKeeper.
Thanks,
Steve
The ability to download reports and manage data off of our servers was as quick and efficient on April 13th as it is today. I challenge anyone top find an example of a customer who saw a reduction in the speed of data retrieval at or near the end of tax season. I can tell you right now with complete confidence that THIS DID NOT HAPPEN.
We actually have the capacity to handle exponentially more data and users requests than could ever be made by users of the retail product. This criticism is invented, GainsKeeper has not had any issues because of increased activity during the end of tax season.
It is laughable for our competitor to say that you are better off manually entering in Corporate Actions when GainsKeeper owns CCH (the corporate action information database that the IRS uses to verify that you have processed Corporate actions correctly) and uses CCH to post these events to your account. The reason why our competitor exists is to provide a service that seeks to automate and avoid human error, then encourages you to manually input the most complex transactions of all?
I am going to have to step away now as many of the Elitetrader users participating in this thread would like to discuss the options available to them to move to GainsKeeper and recoup any expense paid out to a competitor product. Please feel free to reach out to me so we can discuss signing you up for GainsKeeper.
Thanks,
Steve
That's not quite what I said. What I said was EVERYONE should back up the data on their PC! Doing so using a local removable device such as as CD, DVD, hard drive, or memory stick is preferred by users who do not want to have their data stored by a 3rd party. But the web option exists if you don't care about who has access to your data.My competitor alternately encourages users to find a service that will back up your data, then states that customers do not want their data held by a third party.
That's funny, because a few years back I was approached at Traders Expo by one of the GK founders about potentially providing TradeLog to their client base for exactly that reason. All I can say is calculating thousands, or even millions of wash sale calculations can tax the most robust back office systems. It is simply a matter of CPU power versus demand. But if it has been fixed by throwing tons of CPU power at it, then good for them.This criticism is invented, GainsKeeper has not had any issues because of increased activity during the end of tax season.
Since this happens so infrequently it has not been a problem. TradeLog has a one click adjust for stock split function, and a change ticker function when a stock changes name. Mergers require a few more adjustments, but are accomplished quite easily. But if you carried positions for many years and have a boat load of mergers and name changes, then such a service might be for you. But do you know for sure it was done right? The beauty of TradeLog is it forces you to check and verify such edits to your data.The reason why our competitor exists is to provide a service that seeks to automate and avoid human error, then encourages you to manually input the most complex transactions of all?
We have never pushed TradeLog as a corporate actions or cost basis tracking solution, as a perfect solution to this does not currently exist. This is a major flaw in the brokerage reporting industry and you can find lots of comments about this on reputable financial web sites.
The whole point of TradeLog is to automate the most important things like importing your trades, matching them properly, and accurately accounting for wash sales. Oops, our competitor forgot to address their deficiency in this critical area.
PS: Many of our users who have switched to us did not do so because of some Pepsi challenge rebate, but because we represent the best value for the buck and provide exceptional support. I am not quite sure why our competitor has waited so long to address the phone support issue, but all I can say is it has been good for us.
Quote from steveboyle:
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
This is a cut and paste from my broker's website regarding gainskeeper:
Scottrade welcomes you to the portfolio accounting suite of services powered by
GainsKeeper. By clicking "I Agree" below, you agree to be bound by the following terms
and conditions of use.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE
1. The Service
Scottrade provides portfolio accounting powered by Gainskeeper® as a courtesy service
(the service). The service is intended to cover the activity in your Scottrade accounts. The
service may not be used to cover positions and activity away from Scottrade. Scottrade
reserves the right in its sole and absolute discretion to discontinue the service at any time.
2. Accuracy of Information
Scottrade has made every effort to display accurate and complete information for those
securities positions displayed by the service. However, Scottrade makes no guarantee that
the information displayed by the service is completely accurate. The official records of
your Scottrade account are account statements and trade confirmations. You should
compare the information provided by the service, especially during, but not limited to, the
baselining process, against your account statements and trade confirmations to verify that
the information displayed by the service is accurate.
3. Securities and Activity Excluded
The service does not display fixed income securities and products although you may
maintain fixed income positions in your Scottrade account. The service may provide
inaccurate realized and unrealized gain information if no cost basis information exists for
securities positions transferred to Scottrade; securities positions acquired in your
Scottrade account prior to January 1, 2004; and certain other transactions, particularly but
not limited to voluntary or unordinary corporate actions, that may have occurred in your
Scottrade account during and after 2004.
4. Account Performance
Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance. Your personal performance is
based not only on the performance of your investments, but also on the timing and amount
of your transactions. Scottrade does not provide any recommendations or investment
advice. Scottrade does not monitor your account. You are a self-directed investor and you
are solely responsible for your transactions and investments.
5. Not for Tax Reporting
The Realized Gain or Loss Report provided by the service is not a complete report for tax
purposes. Compare it with the official records of your account to verify its accuracy.
Consult your tax advisor for further information. Neither Scottrade nor any of its
representatives may give legal, tax or investment advice. Scottrade does not review the
information that you provided in the baselining or any other information updating process.
You are solely responsible for the accuracy of cost basis and change information reported
to federal, state, and other taxing authorities. Scottrade makes no warranties with respect
to and specifically disclaims any liability arising out of your use of, or any tax position
taken in reliance upon, the information provided by the service. The service uses the first-
in, first-out (FIFO) method for realized gain or loss for equity securities, open-end mutual
funds and options. Consult your tax advisor for further information. The service is not a
substitute for official confirmations and account statement you receive from Scottrade.
Scottrade, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Scottrade, Inc. and GainsKeeper® are separate
unaffiliated companies.
Why in the world would my broker tell me to NOT use gainskeeper for tax purposes???
Tradelog, you currently don't cover Genesis. Is there any possibility that you may do so? I like your product but if it doesn't cover a prominent broker like Genesis, then it's not worth paying the yearly fees that you charge and then have to manually match and reconcile trades for some of the more noteworthy brokers that you don't cover.
.Quote from tradelog:
I believe Genesis clears thru Penson Financial and you may be able to use our Penson import filter. Please get the free trial to test for yourself.
Actually, they are self-clearing and also clear through PFS. Unfortunately, my account is with their self-clearing program. So, it would be a waste of money to use tradelog for my needs unless you happen to acquire an import filter for Genesis's self-clearing segment. Thanks anyway.
Quote from hughb:
This is a cut and paste from my broker's website regarding gainskeeper:
Why in the world would my broker tell me to NOT use gainskeeper for tax purposes???
You must be new to the financial markets.
Ever read a Corporate 10-Q Filing and all of the super conservative and "negative" language? The last paragraph that you cite ( from Scottrade ) is simply a legal way of not being held legally liable for any accounting/tax inaccuracies.
Signed up for gainskeeper. It treaded expired options, assigned options (call or put) as it should after following steps required to clean up extra trades from my broker.
Also took care of one corporate action (NCC becomng PNC).
It woked fine for a broker with Penson as clearing firm since no exporting is required.
The only issue is it can not connect with Interactive Brokers and IB also does not have file format to export which would let you import it in gains keeper.
Overall happy with the product. Hoping to get IB issue resolved.
Also took care of one corporate action (NCC becomng PNC).
It woked fine for a broker with Penson as clearing firm since no exporting is required.
The only issue is it can not connect with Interactive Brokers and IB also does not have file format to export which would let you import it in gains keeper.
Overall happy with the product. Hoping to get IB issue resolved.