here’s what you’re looking for: edward mendlowitz

pro member exclusive

sixteen qualities of the best tax clients

do you appreciate what you have?

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

clients are our customers who pay our salaries and present us with stimulating opportunities, allowing us to grow.

there is no such thing as a bad or nuisance client – although there are clients who sometimes do bad or nuisance things.

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following is a listing of what makes a good client.
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busy season management

four problems with ‘quick’ tax questions

they’re not always so simple.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

i keep a few of the one-volume tax guides in my office so i could look up a quick answer when i need to. recently a golf buddy emailed me a question that i thought i could answer quickly. he wanted to know that if he was in the “zero” percent capital gains tax bracket, did that apply to an unlimited amount of capital gains? sounds like a simple question.

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well i looked it up online and then in three one-volume tax guides. only one source had thorough coverage of the issue. i ended up spending an hour on this “simple” question including my emailed response. nothing is simple anymore.

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busy season management

remember these nine tax season resources

happy family of four outdoors in winter clothing on snow

don’t take them for granted.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

we have many resources and need to recognize that. and we need to treat each with its own importance. even if you did everything yourself, you’d still need to rely on your tax software company, fedex and the postal service, stationery supplier, computer consultant, the internet and email, cell phone provider and copier/scanner machine. and that’s just a few of the resources we rely on. managing your resources well creates an aura of security and consistency to your practice.

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but there more. and they are often overlooked. or taken for granted. here are some more resources that need to be managed:
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pro member exclusive

avoid the top 12 tax return preparation errors

red word "error"

the good news: they’re preventable.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

here are the top 12 tax return preparation errors:

  1. number transposition and spelling errors. this includes income and deduction amounts and client social security numbers, addresses and zip codes. spelling errors should also be avoided – they indicate a lack of attention to what you are doing.

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  1. unreported 1099 income. clients frequently leave out 1099s, but the preparer should make sure all 1099 items from last year are accounted for. missing 1099s that were not final for last year should be accounted for.

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busy season management

picking up the phone helps retain tax clients

businessman talking on phone in the office

personal touches matter.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

clients are not numbers on a list that needs to be reduced. they are all individuals and consider themselves very important people and want professionals who treat them accordingly.

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it is attitudinal and accountants must adopt that mindset and transmit that through to their culture. so you need to know when it’s essential to pick up the phone.
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pro member exclusive

check these 41 items on business tax returns

woman's hand using a pencil on notepad

a handy reviewer’s checklist.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

client ________________________ year _____

prepared by ___________________ date _____

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notes: 1) the term “owners” will be used to refer to stockholders, partners or members, as the case may be. 2) even though “trial balance” is used in this checklist, you can use the company’s financial statements if those were what were used for the preparation of the tax return, or computer-generated statements.

following is a suggested checklist of things for the reviewer to consider:
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busy season management

what if you could start over?

clean slate with three pieces of colored chalk

spend a few minutes imagining a clean slate.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

we all get caught up with what we do. sometimes so much that we lose sight of what we are doing and the purpose.

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also, work happens. many of us start out with lofty plans that go astray as the practice develops. many things cause it – clients we get, availability or lack of availability of the right staff, how we choose to learn or not learn new things, and even where we locate.
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busy season management

help tax clients help you

eleven steps to better instructions.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

providing instructions of what a client needs to do must be clear enough so that the client doesn’t call you to find out what to do.

more: is your team ready for tax season? | six methods for getting paid faster this tax season
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sometimes taking an extra minute to lay out what the client should do can eliminate that call or indecisive moment a client might feel.
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pro member exclusive

every tax reviewer should be able to answer these ten questions

man wearing glasses holds papers in right hand and looks at laptop screen against a backdrop of windows
yes, we included the answers … just in case.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

the primary people who should review tax returns are trained tax department reviewers. however, often the bunching and compression of work shifts some of the review to higher level, non-tax personnel such as audit managers and partners who might not necessarily have the comprehensive training, background and experience to handle everything that might come up during the tax preparation process.

more: taxpayer advocate sees big improvements at irs | ask tax clients the right questions | major changes to circular 230: implications for tax professionals | cornerstone report | art werner: due diligence and irs enforcement | quick tax tip | make ‘done but’ tax returns a thing of the past | six methods for getting paid faster this tax season | use humor to get tax documents in early | art werner: busy season predictions | four steps could close the tax gap | art werner: how to turn tax prep into tax advisory | art werner: navigating business structure decisions amid tax law changes | tax season memo from staff to managing partner | is the irs adequately tracking corporate tax evasion? | irs still unsure how to measure audit rate
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additionally, in many firms, almost everyone on the staff prepares some returns. that lack of dedicated preparers with the trained skills places an added burden on the tax reviewers, making it important for them to have the range of experience needed to perform the review.

following are 10 questions reviewers should be able to answer to qualify for their role.

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busy season management

is your team ready for tax season?

happy multi-ethnic business team with thumbs up in the office

three ways to prepare.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

if you have staff, have happy cheerful helpful people. don’t surround yourself with downers and naysayers.

more: six methods for getting paid faster this tax season
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also have team players. part of this is your firm’s culture. it takes work to get people to work together and to focus on doing what it takes to service the client fully, properly and timely.  everyone working together gets it done.
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