Monthly Archives: March 2015

Do You Have 3 Computer Monitors? Why Not?

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Panorama of Alesund, Norway, on three computer monitorsIt’s the new norm.

By Roman H. Kepczyk
Quantum of Paperless

The best place to start a conversation on computer hardware is with monitors – the easiest place to see an immediate return on your IT investment.

MORE ON TECH SPENDING: Standardize QuickBooks Support for Clients | How to Choose the Right Client Portal Solution | Streamlining Bill-Paying at CPA Firms | Automating Bank Deposits Offers Instant ROI | The 3 Reasons Firms Are Migrating to Digital Timesheets | Digital Tools Streamline Audit Production | Accounting Firms Run on More than Checklists Alone | Going Paperless Means Convincing Clients First | How to Cut Tax Prep Costs with Scanners | Making Digital Tax Process Easier Is All About the Workflow | Why Firms Need Document Retention Standards

Your computer monitors are your windows into all digitally stored information and are the foundation for improving every aspect of firm production. Transitioning tax production processes from physical to digital requires that all input screens and source documents be simultaneously viewable in a convenient format, which today means more screens per workstation. READ MORE →

Closed for Tax Season? Looks That Way

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Ed Mendlowitz CPA The Practice Doctor Q and AAutomation can send the wrong message.

By Ed Mendlowitz
The CPA Trendlines Practice Doctor

QUESTION: I have an automatic email response and some clients and contacts criticized me for it. I am overloaded during tax season and this takes some pressure off of me. Here is the automatic email response I am sending out:

THANK YOU for your e-mail. Please accept my apology for this automated response. During tax season, most of my work days are scheduled with appointments and calls. I most always reply to emails and phone calls as soon as I can, usually the same day. Replies are slower during the months of February, March and April. Thank you for your patience.

ANSWER: That’s terrible!

MORE PRACTICE DOCTOR Q&A: 12 Must-Knows for Niche Markets | When Fees Don’t Keep Up With Cost Increases  | Lowballing and Why It (Usually) Doesn’t Work | Why the Average Fee Doesn’t Matter | How to Apply Value Pricing to Bundled Services | 6 Ways to Take a Client Beyond Tax Prep | 10 Do’s and Don’ts for Making Small Business Clients Happy | Client’s Difficult Daughter Balks at Bill | 10 Ways to Get New 1040 Clients | Tax Return Reviewer Ticking and Tying | 23 Reasons Clients Really Need YOU for Taxes | 5 Time Management Tips for an Overworked Accountant | Complaining Client? No Wonder! | Pricing, Billing, Costing: Don’t Blame Clients

You are running a business and tax season is just one part of it although concentrated into a highly intensive, pressure-filled period.

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E-filing by Tax Pros Slows for Third Straight Week

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After a fast start at the beginning of the season, the pace of e-filing by tax professionals continues to brake, compared with the same time last year. But the number of do-it-yourselfers is growing briskly.

IRS statistics for week ending March 6, 2015

RELATED: Have Fun This Tax Season! | Tax Preparation Fees: The National Averages [INFOGRAPHIC] | IRS Form 3115: a Sin and a Travesty | How to Get Paid Faster This Tax Season | Accountants See Solid Business Gains in 2015 | As Market Share Slips Away, Accountants Look Beyond the 1040 | IRS Emerges as Major Tax Season Competitor | Tax Pros Losing Market Share to Self-Filers

Tax professionals e-filed over 33.4 million returns through March 6, 2015, down 4 percent from the over 34.8 million returns e-filed by the same time in 2014. READ MORE →

8 Factors in Practice Development Success

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Martin Bissett
Bissett

Hint: Be successful in life first.

By Martin Bissett
Winning Your First Client

You know the identity of your first client, and if you buy into you, then there’s a good chance of potential clients being prepared to do so, too.

This is what we must remember about the purchasing of professional services such as accounting. If your prospective client is a Grade A or B style opportunity for your firm, then they are not buying the services you provide per se. The services are the vehicles of delivery;
the means to the end.

https://cpatrendlines.com/shop/mb-usp-wyfc/
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MORE ON SELLING: Selling vs. Attracting to Build Relationships | When Selling, Don’t Chase New Fees, Attract Them | Selling Accounting Services Doesn’t Have to Be Hard! | ‘Selling’ Isn’t a Dirty Word | 8 Factors in Practice Development Success | In Sales, Perception Is Reality | Success Begins With Accountability | Do You Realize You’re Failing? | Winning Your First Client

The client is buying the relationship, and they are asking themselves:

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Why Should CPAs Be Radical?

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Businesswoman lassoing light bulbThe alternative is complacency. We all know where that leads.

By Jody Padar
The Radical CPA

CPAs must be “radicalized” so they cannot be lulled into com­placency and driven by reaction to their current firm or live­lihood. The changes that are happening in today’s fast-paced world need to be addressed.

MORE ON GETTING RADICAL: The Roots of ‘Radical’ CPAs | The First 3 Questions I Should Have Asked Before Starting My Own Practice

You and your team have already felt the changes. The silent majority of many employees are hurt, suspicious and feeling unheard. They see and experience the changes happening around them and don’t understand the complacency or the resistance to change from firm management. You may even be feeling this yourself within your firm of one.

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3 Ways to Plug Your Firm’s Money Leaks

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Money coming out of sink faucet and going down drainIt’s all about the daily processes.

By Sandi Smith Leyva
The Accountant’s Accelerator

Everyone is looking on the income statement to find places to cut their business expenses. But the best place to look is not on a report.

MORE ON SMALL-FIRM GROWTH STRATEGIES: 7 Ways to Get New Revenue from Old Clients | Draw New Clients In Like a Magnet | 11 Ways to Add Value for Clients | 9 Ways to Increase Sales through ‘Power Networking’ | 5 Things You Know That Clients Don’t | 3 Ways to Test Your Revenue Forecast | How to Work the Same Hours and Make More Money | If You’re a ‘Best-Kept Secret’ Cut It Out! | BUSY SEASON SURVIVAL TIPS: 5 Ways to Turn a Tough Day Into a Great One | Take Advantage of 4 Key Marketing Strategies  | Four Ways to Stop Leaving Money on the Table

It’s in the habits, processes and procedures that you and your team do through your workday. It’s also in the mindsets, the inner game you bring to your work.

Here are my top three money leak sources for you to look at and see what you can find:

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5 Personal Touches for Tax Season

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Businessman talking on phone in the officeOne is a can’t-skip.

By Ed Mendlowitz
Tax Season Opportunity Guide

Occasionally accountants lose touch with their clients, especially during tax season. Part of this is because of the crush of work, which is compressed into a pretty short period. We sometimes lose sight that we are working on something the clients consider one of the most important things in their lives at that moment.

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