H&R BLOCK 2019 BUSINESS SOFTWARE WILL NOT OPEN ANY MORE

I am the guy who posted the original question last year. Unbelievable how pathetic the H&R Block response has been, considering how many copies are in use, and that this thread has had 78 comments.

I finally was able to get the 2018 and 2019 software running, but lost every one of my atx files. I use a cloud backup server. I wasted another 3 hours while they looked for my atx files. None found due to the overwrite when correcting the programs. Had to work off of PDF and print copies of returns.

I figured that to be safe, I would buy the 2019 program again and install it on a different computer, in order to complete the 2019 tax season. Bought a new Lenovo and used an external hard drive for backup. The new downloaded 2019 program worked fine. Of course Best Buy told me to pound sand when I asked for a refund of the old program.

Just installed the 2020 Block premium and business software to produce payroll returns for clients. Worked fine until yesterday. Now the program is locked. All I get is the Block logo on the screen. No dialogue. Cannot access the program as administrator either. The logo just sits in the middle of the screen.

The personal program runs alright, just as the 2018 and 2019 personal programs did.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this, other than switching to Drake. Since it is now tax season again, I would expect that any communication with Block would be hours of wait time for a nothing-burger response anyway..

There are no .ATX files for Business Versions in the past several years. The data is now stored in a data base folder called "Database" under the H&R Block executable folder.

Nicholas

Hi DHarris,

It is nice to connect with the originator of this thread!   My thoughts are:

1. Please check WIN10, Settings, Updates. Did you get an update that you can rollback? (That has helped many folks).
2. Another approach - have you tried using the "Compatibility Mode" that worked for one person on the forum?
3. There is a value to your time.  When I thought about it - the step to Drake was a no-brainer.  And their technical support has been beyond incredible. Real humans! With real answers! EVERY TIME!! (And yes I had a few questions!).
4. I have been with H&R for over 15 years. But I need working software, I need WIN10 patched to the latest release (major security issue), and I need responsive support. (Drake even has weekend support!)
5. I realized that H&R does not have control over their software. H&R are dependent on Microsoft's .NET platform.  When do you want to be dependent on someone else?
6. If you go back through my posts - you will see where the backup files are kept. For you:

WIN10 TaxCut  BUSINESS

• Show WIN Hidden Files & Folders
• C:\ProgramData\H&R Block Business\ … " DataStore "   **** AND ALSO ****
• C:\ProgramData\TaxCut\ … 

MACOS taxcut software file locations

…/user/Library/Application Support/H&R Block  - directory per year - hidden

Good Luck! -Nick

I am the guy who posted the original question last year. Unbelievable how pathetic the H&R Block response has been, considering how many copies are in use, and that this thread has had 78 comments.

I finally was able to get the 2018 and 2019 software running, but lost every one of my atx files. I use a cloud backup server. I wasted another 3 hours while they looked for my atx files. None found due to the overwrite when correcting the programs. Had to work off of PDF and print copies of returns.

I figured that to be safe, I would buy the 2019 program again and install it on a different computer, in order to complete the 2019 tax season. Bought a new Lenovo and used an external hard drive for backup. The new downloaded 2019 program worked fine. Of course Best Buy told me to pound sand when I asked for a refund of the old program.

Just installed the 2020 Block premium and business software to produce payroll returns for clients. Worked fine until yesterday. Now the program is locked. All I get is the Block logo on the screen. No dialogue. Cannot access the program as administrator either. The logo just sits in the middle of the screen.

The personal program runs alright, just as the 2018 and 2019 personal programs did.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this, other than switching to Drake. Since it is now tax season again, I would expect that any communication with Block would be hours of wait time for a nothing-burger response anyway..

Hi NVSteve, You are welcome.  As I shared in a previous post I moved to DrakeSoftware.com this year. $330 per year - but used by 60,000+ users - mostly CPAs.  For $330 you can do up to 15 of any tax return personal or business.  The only downside is that I needed to completely retype all my 2019 data - which I did. After three years of fighting H&R Block Business I just had to move on. My time is very valuable.  And I am happy that my time spent here has helped others.  Happy New Year! -Nick

Thanks to you and all for your help. I chatted with HR Block yesterday and they assured me 2020 would work with latest Windows version. I installed it, so far everything is working, but I have not created a return yet. Thanks again.