busy season management

checklist: 46 avoidable tax-filing errors – if clients only knew

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tax season checklists: learn more

here’s a handy checklist to share with clients.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season checklists

taxes are hard enough without making avoidable errors. before clients file, they should double check to make sure they don’t make these errors. we often hand out this checklist to clients to avoid mistakes in advance.

  1. not signing the return (if you file paper copies)
  2. number transposition and spelling errors
  3. unchecked or unanswered questions
  4. entering incorrect or unpaid estimated tax payments
  5. missing pages in a paper filed return read more →

survey results: bullish on busy season 2017

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busy season bulls outnumber bears three to one. via 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

profession plows ahead with high hopes.

how’s your busy season so far?
join the survey; get the results.

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

if expectations pan out, busy season 2017 might be a banner year, according to the first soundings from the 18th annual 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer. there’s optimism in the air.

a full fifth of respondents tell us they foresee a busy season “much better” than last year’s. and more than a third—36 percent—believe their season will be at least “somewhat better.” together these optimists make up 56 percent of respondents, more than three times the number who are dreading a tougher slog than last year.

more busy season: tax prep gets off to strong start  |  sample fee schedule for 1040s  |   tax filings down, but irs blames the calendar  |   survey results: busy season 2017 gets off to strong start   |   2017 fee survey: price for non-itemized 1040s advances 6% to $176   |   the annual tax meeting is dead. clients killed it.   |   reader sound-off: mandatory saturdays stir controversy    |   tax season opportunity kit free instant download   |   world envies low u.s. tax rates on luxury real estate transfers   |   the new small-business loophole you can drive a truck through

goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

granted, that number isn’t as high as 2016’s, when 61% reported improvements over 2015, but 2015 was the infamous annus horribilis, the year of tax prep hell. it wasn’t hard to imagine the next year being better. so 2016 wasn’t so bad, making it surprising that so many see 2017 turning out even better. three upbeat respondents typify the three main causes of optimism.

read more →

survey results: busy season 2017 gets off to strong start

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join the survey. get the results.

i.d. theft and security issues emerge as top concern.

how’s busy season so far?
join the survey and get the latest updates

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

tax and accounting professionals are kicking off busy season 2017 with the highest confidence levels in years, but their optimism seems guarded and unsure, according to the latest results from the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer.

see the charts below for additional detail. and stay tuned as the busy season unfolds. join the survey to get the latest updates.

goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

so far, the survey shows that more than 58% of tax and accounting professionals expect a better season this year than in 2016, which, by comparison, was 61% cheerier than 2015.

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high performing firms: stronger busy seasons, better outlooks

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z_ busy 2016 hi perf firms overallidentifying the factors that create great firms and better busy seasons.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

in 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间’ perpetual search for clues to professionalism and success in the tax and accounting industry, we are probing into a possible connection between the efficiency of cpa firms and the ease with which they get through the busy season of tax preparation.

more busy season management: busy season 2016: topline survey results  |   accountants see economy improving… but mainly for themselves  |  tax season 2016: turning id theft from a problem into an opportunity  |  lessons learned from a bad busy season  |  busy season 2016: more clients, fewer problems  |  busy season 2016: problem clients are causing big trouble  |  12 ways to stress less this tax season  |  the dreaded ‘quick question’  |  40 other services your tax clients should know about  |  where workflow management runs off the rails  |  ready for tax season? not so fast  |  8 ways to delight tax season clients  |  tax season management: multi-tasking is a myth  |  digital workflow systems make tax season easier  |  tax professionals find it increasingly difficult to keep up with late-changing tax regs  |  the new normal: a busy season that never ends  |  pro member exclusives: sign in or 2022世界杯足球排名 here

judging by results from our 2016 busy season survey, there seems to be a connection. we filtered the results to isolate respondents who say their organizations are “effective at achieving their goals and objectives with consistency over time.” this cohort comprises a total of 364 who gave their firms a score of at least an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10. read more →

busy season 2016: why some have it worse

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picture1the factors that undermine an otherwise better busy season.

how was your busy season?
join the survey; get the benchmarks

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

according to the final results of the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 2016 busy season survey, this has been a relatively good year…better than last year, anyway. a good 60 percent of respondents said 2016 was much better or somewhat better than 2015.

more busy season management:  better gets better. and worse gets worser | busy season 2016: topline survey results | accountants see economy improving… but mainly for themselves | tax season 2016: turning id theft from a problem into an opportunity  | lessons learned from a bad busy season | busy season 2016: more clients, fewer problems | busy season 2016: problem clients are causing big trouble | 12 ways to stress less this tax season | the dreaded ‘quick question’ | 40 other services your tax clients should know about | where workflow management runs off the rails | ready for tax season? not so fast | 8 ways to delight tax season clients | tax season management: multi-tasking is a myth | digital workflow systems make tax season easier | tax professionals find it increasingly difficult to keep up with late-changing tax regs | the new normal: a busy season that never ends | pro member exclusives: sign in or 2022世界杯足球排名 here

which, admittedly, isn’t saying much. last year was a bad year, a perfect storm of problems. it left 19 percent grousing about a “somewhat worse” busy season, another 3 percent saying it was “much worse.”

could 2016 really be worse than 2015, especially given that it was so much better for so many tax preparers? yep.

read more →

busy season 2016: better gets better. and worse gets worser.

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z_ busy season before during after much betterwith apologies to lewis carroll, 2016 wonderland compared to 2015.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

when 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 sent out its 2016 busy season questionnaire, the early results looked good. comparing the early stages of 2016 against the same period in 2015, 18 percent told us their year was looking much better. another 32 percent somewhat optimistically told us of a “somewhat better” year. that added up rather neatly to half, which was better than in 2015, when only 44 percent said their year was better than the year before.

more busy season management: busy season 2016 topline survey results  |   accountants see economy improving… but mainly for themselves  |  turning id theft from a problem into an opportunity  |  lessons learned from a bad busy season  |  more clients, fewer problems  |  problem clients are causing big trouble  |  12 ways to stress less this tax season  |  the dreaded ‘quick question’  |  40 other services your tax clients should know about  |  where workflow management runs off the rails  |  ready for tax season? not so fast  |  8 ways to delight tax season clients  |  tax season management: multi-tasking is a myth  |  digital workflow systems make tax season easier  |  tax professionals find it increasingly difficult to keep up with late-changing tax regs  |  the new normal: a busy season that never ends  |  pro member exclusives: sign in or 2022世界杯足球排名 here

and then, as the season closed on april 18, something beautiful happened. this year turns out to be even better than expected. almost a quarter—23.6 percent—report a much better year, and more than a third—36.5 percent—report a somewhat better year.

all in all, 2016 exceeded expectations. in both directions.

read more →

accountants see economy improving… but mainly for themselves

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accountants bullish on their firms. not so much on clients. and outright negative on the u.s. source: 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间
accountants bullish on their firms. not so much on clients. and outright negative on the u.s. source: 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

not so much for their clients. and they’re negative on the u.s.

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

if anyone has their finger on the pulse of the american economy, it’s america’s cpas. they’re out there in the trenches of economic activity. they know what’s happening in their nook of the nation. they feel the optimism or pessimism of their clients, the people who make the economy work.

more on tax season for pro members:  tax season 2016: turning i.d. theft from a problem into an opportunity  |   accountants speak out on politics and the economy  | lessons learned from a bad busy season  |  3 ways to save time during busy season  |  most tax professionals call 2016 busy season much improved over last year | stress less this tax season  |  is tax season the new fraud season?  |  5 tax season motivation tips  |  recognize your tax season resources  |  tax season 2016: irs in crisis  |  eliminate tax season excuses  |  record pre-season hiring surge: ready for biggest tax season ever?  |  16 qualities of a good tax season client

and tax season is when cpas and tax preparers receive an influx of information on how their clients are doing. some of that information pops up in the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 2016 busy season survey. and the news is good… well, pretty good. well, mostly. read more →

tax season 2016: turning id theft from a problem into an opportunity

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identity theft on the web with credit cards and social security

31% report problems, making it one of the top three issues of the 2016 season. but can accountants turn the problem into a new opportunity?

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

with identity theft emerging as one of the biggest problems for tax preparers, their clients, and their friends at the internal revenue service, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 is asking how to turn that problem into an opportunity.

more on tax season for pro members:  accountants speak out on politics and the economy  |  lessons learned from a bad busy season  |  3 ways to save time during busy season  |  most tax professionals call 2016 busy season much improved over last year | stress less this tax season  |  is tax season the new fraud season?  |  5 tax season motivation tips  |  recognize your tax season resources  |  tax season 2016: irs in crisis  |  eliminate tax season excuses  |  record pre-season hiring surge: ready for biggest tax season ever?  |  16 qualities of a good tax season client

after all, security costs money. if clients are made aware that the danger is real, maybe they could be willing to pay a little more if they know their tax preparer is spending resources on security. it might also be an opportunity for practitioners to offer their it expertise or it partners to help clients secure their systems. it would be a win-win-lose situation for practitioners, clients, and hackers, respectively. and even if better security doesn’t translate to better revenues, it’s always a good selling point. clients need to know of the danger and preparers’ efforts to counter it.

still, it’s a problem for the practitioners we’re canvassing even when it doesn’t happen, mostly because of the cost and inconvenience of prevention efforts.

read more →

lessons learned from a bad busy season

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卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer
join the survey; get the results

6 ways to fix the biggest problems.

the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season survey
next question: accountants’ economic outlook
join the survey; get the results

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

we must have struck a chord in our article on the large number of firms suffering through a busy season worse than last year’s, a dreadful depth of bad. several cpas and tax preparers chimed in with comments, most of them constructive.

more on tax season for pro members:   3 ways to save time during busy season  |  most tax professionals call 2016 busy season much improved over last year | stress less this tax season  |  is tax season the new fraud season?  |  5 tax season motivation tips  |  recognize your tax season resources  |  tax season 2016: irs in crisis  |  eliminate tax season excuses  |  record pre-season hiring surge: ready for biggest tax season ever?  |  16 qualities of a good tax season client

from the discussion, we’ve gleaned six client management techniques that should be in practice at almost any firm.

read more →

busy season 2016: more clients, fewer problems

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mostly better than last year. here’s why…

next question: key issues and concerns
join the survey; get the updates

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

last year’s busy season may go down in the annals of accountancy as one of the worst ever. and let’s hope that’s as bad as it ever gets. remember? the rollout of the affordable care act, the revamped irs forms coming out in february, a widespread need for new software, people getting sick, and then it snowed, and then it snowed some more.

join the survey. get the results.
join the survey. get the results.

more on tax season for pro members:  problem clients causing big trouble  |  most tax professionals call 2016 busy season much improved over last year | stress less this tax season  |  is tax season the new fraud season?  |  5 tax season motivation tips  |  recognize your tax season resources  |  tax season 2016: irs in crisis  |  eliminate tax season excuses  |  record pre-season hiring surge: ready for biggest tax season ever?  |  16 qualities of a good tax season client  |  8 ways to delight tax season clients  |  small tax season leaks can cause great damage  |  5 ways thorough beats sloppy in tax season  |  tax season management: multi-tasking is a myth  |  digital workflow systems make tax season easier  |  why cpas need to worry about cyber crime (especially in tax season)

this year is looking a lot better, according to early responses to the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season survey.

read more →

busy season 2016: problem clients are causing big trouble

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1 in 5 tax professionals report ‘worse’ year. here’s why…

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

it’s painful to think that the 2016 busy season is actually worse than the 2015 season for a large number of tax preparers. last year was bad. how can this year be worse?

join the survey; get the updates
join the survey; get the updates

more on tax season for pro members:  most tax professionals call 2016 busy season much improved over last year | stress less this tax season  |  is tax season the new fraud season?  |  5 tax season motivation tips  |  recognize your tax season resources  |  tax season 2016: irs in crisis  |  eliminate tax season excuses  |  record pre-season hiring surge: ready for biggest tax season ever?  |  16 qualities of a good tax season client

over a fifth of all respondents to the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season 2016 survey are having a bad start to the year.

read more →

12 ways to stress less this tax season

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happy businesswoman with laptop lying on the grassquick, low-cost stress management tips.

by sandi leyva
the accountant’s accelerator

i don’t want to stress you out, but we really do need to do something about our stress levels.

more on small-firm growth strategies for pro members: 5 tax season motivation tips | keep more of your busy season earnings | make your services an investment, not an expense | do you want to do compliance your whole career? | 5 ways to get more referrals | 3 ways to get to ‘yes’ with prospects

the american psychological association says our kids are getting headaches, having difficulty sleeping, and eating too little or too much due to pressure from school and household finances. the worst part is that  most parents were not aware of the severity of their children’s stress.
read more →