Lacerte Tutorials
Overview
The goal of these tutorials is to familiarize you with the Lacerte Tax and Tax Planner programs and provide ongoing training for all areas of the software. You will learn how to enter data, view and print tax returns, and use the data and practice management features built into the program. You will also learn some tips and shortcuts to help you become more efficient.
This HTML version applies to the 2005 Lacerte Tax and Lacerte Tax Planner programs. It's best if you view it on a screen resolution of at least 1024x768, and the Section Reviews use "pop ups" for grading, so you may want to disable any popup blockers you might be running.
There are four tutorials listed to the left, tutorial contains sections and exercises.
- The Program Operations tutorial contains information about the basic screen layout of the Lacerte programs, and has exercises designed to familiarize you with the functions and features of the program.
- The Tax Returns tutorial provides exercises for accomplishing various tasks and provides examples for entering tax-related items.
- The e-file tutorial provides an overview of the e-file process, and provides exercises for each step in the process.
- The Tax Planner tutorial contains exercises to familiarize you with this product.
We suggest that you begin with the Program Operations section and complete at least three modules before continuing with the Tax Returns section. If you plan to file your returns electronically, complete the e-filing section.
When you begin a section within a tutorial, read the general information, then click "Next" to begin. Each exercise is divided into the following sub-sections:
| Use This Section: | To: |
| Prerequisite | Make sure you are prepared to complete the current exercise (appears when applicable) |
| Objective | Determine the particular function and/or tax situation the exercise illustrates |
| Facts | Enter specific items in a sample exercise |
| Program Considerations | Get guidelines regarding mandatory input, as well as program function and defaults |
| How? | Get step-by-step instructions for completing the objective |
| Tips and Shortcuts | Get tips on how to complete the task more efficiently |
| Review | Compare your results with the correct results (appears when applicable) |
| Troubleshooting | Get answers to questions if you do not get the correct results |
As you go through the exercises, you will create sample clients and data, or restore sample clients from the \Lacerte\05Tax\Demodata directory that you can delete after you complete the exercises. However, we recommend that you keep the sample clients to use as a reference.
The Notes screen in the detail input can be used in conjunction with many areas of the tutorial. We recommend that you enter notes describing the function or situation illustrated by the sample clients created in the exercises.
If you need additional assistance regarding Lacerte program issues when completing the exercises, please refer to the Support section in the Program Operations tutorial. The various ways to get help are discussed there.