tax season

bill with the tax return, get paid faster

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stamp paid - 3dit’s good business and your clients prefer it.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

tax season is a business and businesses need to be paid. it is harder to justify prices when providing services rather than products. products are usually priced before delivery while many times services are priced after delivery, i.e. performance.

more: 5 ways to build teamwork | creating a cross-selling culture | 5 ways to build teamwork | when time-based pricing works | start marketing now for next season | the clients that got away  | 4 reasons not to let staff go after tax season | cross-selling beyond your comfort zone
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many accountants price returns before they are worked on, usually basing the fee on last year, or a rate schedule. sending a bill with the return establishes the relationship that you should be paid promptly for the work done.

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tax season savvy: five ways to stay sane

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why good boundaries make good workplaces.

by kristen rampe

after spending nearly 20 years with accountants (including myself!), i’ve come to recognize a common trait among our tribe. we’re a group of people who love saying “yes.”

more:  why host a partner retreat? |  survey results: effective stay interviews for cpa firms |  the 16 biggest #fails in delegation |  survey: work-life balance: according to whom? |  survey results: two ways your strategic plan can reduce turnover

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we say “yes” to clients, firm partners, our team members, family, friends, volunteer engagements and so on. people love us for it. i mean, when you think of qualities you look for in people you work with, willingness and reliability are right up at the top of the list.

but as you’re working tirelessly to meet the needs of everyone you encounter, how are your own needs being met?

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why tax time is the best time to get new business

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businesswoman talking on phonesometimes it’s as easy as being available.

by ed mendlowitz
call me before you do anything: the art of accounting

tax season has always been the best time of the year for me to get new business.

more: problem clients | how to make your own opportunities | large clients we landed from quickbooks consulting | 26 value-added benefits clients need to know | some mistakes i made | growing with a client
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the reason is that there is much less competition.

i never turn down an opportunity to get new business, whether it is tax work, audits, consultations or special assignments. tax season notwithstanding, i am always available to meet with someone who needs an accountant.
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debunking the demise of the cpa firm

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ai and blockchain aren’t replacing us.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

industry pundits subject us to a nonstop barrage of predictions that cpa firms will cease to exist very shortly. you know how much i love our industry pundits, who have never worked a day in a cpa firm. i dislike the ones who have not worked in cpa firms in the last 20 years only slightly less. their predictions are total and utter nonsense.

more: how to thrive as a 21st-century firm | 7 steps to effective project management | wip-ing clients into shape | managing people: the heart of effective project management | beware the leeches and consultants
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i see two main types of doomsday predictions from our pundit buddies. first, they tell us that artificial intelligence will replace us. next, if ai doesn’t get us, blockchain will.
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how to thrive as a 21st-century firm

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computer monitors morph into chain links“professional staff without higher-level skills will be out of the business.”

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

if you believe accounting industry pundits, artificial intelligence and blockchain will decimate accounting firms the way an asteroid killed off the dinosaurs. but paleontologists don’t think dinosaurs really went extinct. they survived as today’s birds. in the next 10 years, or sooner, accounting and tax firms will evolve from offices full of employees dutifully typing data into workstations to organizers of terabytes of accounting data for our clients.

more: 7 steps to effective project management | how many tax preparers do you need? | how the annual tax meeting died | how to be the chief communicator | 4 steps to take before next tax season
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the pundits are wrong about our extinction. effective project management will prepare your firm to thrive in the 21st century. i’ll take you there in a bit of a roundabout way via the coming of blockchain to the irs.
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7 steps to effective project management

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three happy businesspeople looking at laptoptwo bad things will happen immediately. but they can be fixed.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

if you’re older than 50, you’ll remember this old skit from the tv variety series called “hee haw.”

more: how many tax preparers do you need? | farm-aid for accountants? | whittle down wip | the tax practice traffic cop | how to coach your staff
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patient: “doc, it hurts when i do this.”

doc: “then stop doing that.”
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seven changes in the new taxpayer first act clients need to know

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young man under rain-covered umbrellaone congressman says it “levels the playing field.”

by barry j. friedman, cpa
industrynewsletters

the taxpayer first act of 2019 is redesigning how the irs works with taxpayers, even though it may take a while for many of the provisions to take effect.

more: how manufacturers can use the r&d tax credit | padding your tax deductions? the consequences are serious | beware the taxes of self-employment | charitable giving under tcja
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some experts have highlighted the following aspects of the bill as especially important:
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how many tax preparers do you need?

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stacks of papers on the corner of a deskalso: why error tracking is vital.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

we’ve discussed planning for tax season in terms of how many full- and part-time preparers you need. now, let’s discuss this in terms of capacity and turnaround time. let’s ask why we should ever hire additional tax preparers at all, because hiring additional people only costs more money.

more: farm-aid for accountants? | wip-ing clients into shape | maximize your role as visionary | the land mines in tax returns | give your people the resources they need
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we’ll start with a really ridiculous example and then get realistic.
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how manufacturers can use the r&d tax credit

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bottles of sunflower oil on an assembly linethere’s a 4-part test.

by barry j. friedman, cpa
industrynewsletters

many manufacturing companies fail to take advantage of the generous research and development (r&d) tax credit simply because they don’t have staff working in a lab. the internal revenue service’s (irs) definition of r&d is codified at internal revenue code section 41 and its related regulations – and it may not be exactly what you think it is.

more: padding your tax deductions? the consequences are serious | alternative minimum tax: what’s it like today? | 6 key facts about excise taxes | gifts to charity: 6 facts about written acknowledgments | yes, home equity loans may still be deductible
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from 2018 to 2027, the estimated value of r&d tax credits to be claimed by u.s. companies is estimated at $163 billion, with $148 billion of that going to corporations.
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wip-ing clients into shape

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//m.g005e.com/2019/09/18/wip-ing-clients-into-shapepresent draft tax returns for their approval.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

poor scheduling isn’t the only way wip gets out of control. clients cause wip to grow by not answering questions or approving drafts on a timely basis.

more: how the annual tax meeting died | whittle down wip | the tax practice traffic cop | how to coach your staff | how to create good managers
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do you think you can’t control client behavior? think again.
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how the annual tax meeting died

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businessman shaking hands with grim reaperthink clients really want those meetings? move them out of season and charge for them.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

better scheduling reduces wip. a while back m.g005e.com published an article by a brilliant writer (me) called “the annual tax season meeting is dead.” i based this article on years of scheduling mistakes in our firm that drove up wip and killed turnaround. here’s the gist of that article.

more: whittle down wip | maximize your role as visionary | the land mines in tax returns | give your people the resources they need | 4 tips for managing advanced preparers | the right way to assign staff projects | workflow for dummies | how effective project management makes your life easier
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beginning in the early 1990s, we began prescheduling personal tax meetings. we had the best intentions. our practice was growing, and we could no longer afford to have clients call us when they got around to it. we needed to bring sanity to the scheduling of meetings. we couldn’t have all of our clients call to schedule in mid-march. thus, we sent out postcards with prescheduled meeting times.
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whittle down wip

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piles of paper, decreasing in sizeit’s cheaper than adding capacity.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

want to increase profitability and client retention? manage projects effectively.

more: maximize your role as visionary | how to be the chief communicator | how to teach reviewing and time management | 4 steps to take before next tax season | 3 tips for handling rookie tax preparers | what goes into a client project?
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if you don’t have these measures, get them, or turn in your ceo title. if, as a value pricer, you’ve sworn off practice metrics based on productivity, you’ll learn nothing from this article. you just don’t have the numbers. mark cuban is on hold waiting to yell at you.
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maximize your role as visionary

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woman ladder binoculars city view outlook vision success climb adobestock_57204649.jpegdo the things that only you can do.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

your final role as ceo is visionary. this differs from your role as strategist, as the visionary role deals with the long-term future of your firm.

more: how to be the chief communicator | the tax practice traffic cop | the land mines in tax returns | how to teach reviewing and time management | how to coach your staff | give your people the resources they need | 4 steps to take before next tax season
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

this is the fun part, if you really relish your role as ceo. consider your firm a blank canvas on which you can experiment endlessly.
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