UltraTax CS vs. AbakusUltraTax CS on its own, or built around your firm.
UltraTax CS is Thomson Reuters' professional tax software, part of the CS Professional Suite used by many mid-size and larger CPA firms.
UltraTax CS
Abakus
The short answer
UltraTax CS stays your system of record for preparing and e-filing returns. What we replace is the stack of separate tools around it (client portals, organizers, document-request apps, and tracking spreadsheets) with one platform built for your firm that handles intake, document collection, data extraction, and review prep, so returns reach UltraTax CS cleaner and faster and you pay for fewer subscriptions.
What UltraTax CS does well
- Wide form coverage across entity types and states
- Tight links with the rest of the CS Professional Suite
- Mature review and diagnostic tools for high-volume firms
Where firms hit its limits
- Built to prepare and file returns, not to run the work around them: intake, document chasing, and client follow-up happen somewhere else.
- Keying W-2s, 1099s, and K-1s into input screens is still a large share of prep time.
- Firm-specific review checks live in people's heads, sticky notes, or spreadsheets instead of the software.
UltraTax CS on its own vs. with Abakus
UltraTax CS on its own
Off the shelf, built for every firm
UltraTax CS + Abakus
Rules designed around your firm
Getting source data in
Keyed by hand, or through the vendor's own import options.
AI extracts W-2, 1099, and K-1 data into reviewable workpapers organized by input screen.
Document collection
Outside the tax software: email, portals, and phone calls.
Per-client checklists and reminders that stop the moment the file arrives.
Firm-specific review checks
Whatever the product ships with.
Your own pre-review checks, added in hours.
Changing the process
Wait for the vendor's next release cycle.
Change the automation around it the same day.
What we build around UltraTax CS
Typical automations for firms that use UltraTax CS. Each one follows your firm's rules, keeps a human review step where professional judgment matters, and changes in hours when you need something different.
Data extraction from client documents into workpapers your preparers can verify in seconds
Document requests and chasing that run ahead of each return
Firm-specific review checklists that track themselves
Client communication and deadline tracking around your existing CS workflow
UltraTax CS: common questions
Do we have to switch away from UltraTax CS?
Can Abakus get data into UltraTax CS?
Will automation change how we review returns?
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Practice management CompareUltraTax CS is a trademark of Thomson Reuters. Abakus Automations is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Thomson Reuters. Product details are summarized from public information and may change.
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