CLIENT SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

Get Your Fees Faster This Tax Season

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Be sure to provide details.

By Ed Mendlowitz
Tax Season Opportunity Guide

Accounting is a business and businesses need to be paid.

It’s 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.

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Many accountants price tax 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.

It shows that you run a business and also provides a courtesy to the client in that they can immediately evaluate the cost and value of what was done.

But just as importantly: READ MORE →

Be Open to Unexpected Opportunities

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gift box wrapped in dollar bills and red ribbon

Good things can happen in surprising ways.

By Ed Mendlowitz
Call Me Before You Do Anything: The Art of Accounting

My friend Al is a sole practitioner with seven staff members and a thriving audit practice, besides the typical tax and small business tax clients.

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He is getting older, and while he has no plans to retire and is actively trying to grow his practice, he periodically meets with larger firms to see if there is an interest in acquiring his practice when that day comes. By doing this he stumbled on a fantastic business development formula.
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Four Ways to Deal with Clients Who Say ‘No’

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Young businesswoman putting hand out in "stop" gesture while sipping coffee

Plus two possible exceptions.

By Ed Mendlowitz
Call Me Before You Do Anything: The Art of Accounting

I found out many years ago that I cannot spend my clients’ money.

I used to feel that if they did not want to “buy” a service I felt they must have, it meant I did not clearly convey the value to them. I do not feel this way anymore because the value is relative and draws on many issues the client might have and that I am not privy to.

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In my earlier days I used to do the work anyway, feeling a responsibility to the client. It took me quite a while to realize that the responsibility is the clients’ and if they did not want to spend their money for it, I should not spend part of my life doing it on a pro bono basis. There were also times I felt the work was so essential to the client that I did it expecting their recognition of the importance and willingness to pay me afterward. Stupid! My bad!
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Six Times to Pick Up the Phone This Tax Season

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Businessman talking on phone in the office

The personal touch goes a long way toward client retention.

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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Top Tech Trends for Tax Season 2026

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Holding Steady, Tuning Workflow, and Testing AI.

Tech plans: 43% of accountants say they’ll be working with new or upgraded versions of practice management & workflow apps, followed by 25% with tax prep packages.

By CPA Trendlines Research

With the 2026 filing season approaching, most accounting firms are not racing to rip and replace their technology stacks. Instead, they are making selective adjustments, tightening workflows, and cautiously experimenting with artificial intelligence — all while keeping a close eye on staffing limits, client behavior, and return on investment.

JOIN the Busy Season Barometer survey here.

MORE TAX, PRICING,  PAY, HIRING, and THE 2026 OUTLOOK

That restrained approach comes through clearly in CPA Trendlines’ Busy Season Barometer, which shows a profession that is less focused on transformation than on execution. The dominant theme across survey waves is not disruption, but discipline.

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