HUMOR

Stop Clients from Performing “Favors”

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“Oh, you shouldn’t have.” (You really, REALLY shouldn’t have.)

By Frank Stitely
The Relentless CPA

We all have clients who bring in tax documents in laminated three-ring binders. They smile big toothy grins and tell us how they’re our most organized client. There’s no reason for us to organize the documents, as they’ve already done us this huge favor. Of course, there will be no reason for us to remove anything from the binder and everything should be left in the binder just as it is.

MORE: Who Needs Fall Tax Planning? Clients … and You | It’s OK to Say No to Clients (Even the Large Ones) | You Train Your Clients, Whether You Mean To or Not | Business Owners Face One of Three Exits | How Small Firms Can Win the Talent Wars | Do You Know Your Turnaround Time?
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We call these people binder boys. They have no clue that organized for them is not organized for tax return preparation. Preparing a return from documents in a binder takes twice as long, at least, as preparing returns from a well-organized PDF file.

We also have the people who use five pounds of staples to organize 20 pages. They don’t want any loose documents falling out of the file.
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Who Needs Fall Tax Planning? Clients … and You

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Avoid balance-due whining sessions AND earn additional revenue.

By Frank Stitely
The Relentless CPA

You’ve surely had this conversation a million times during multiple tax seasons, most often in April. You give a client a tax return with a $20,000 balance due.

Client: I didn’t expect to owe that much.
You: How much did you expect to owe?
Client: About $5,000.

MORE: It’s OK to Say No to Clients (Even the Large Ones) | Control Your Time: Avoid Ambush Meetings and Calls | Train Your Clients Before They Train You | Don’t Let Clients Dictate Tax Workflow | How Small Firms Can Win the Talent Wars | Do You Know Your Turnaround Time?
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

Here’s where my conversations may differ from yours a bit.

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It’s Okay to Say No to Clients (Even the Large Ones)

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Working with “smaller” clients can often be more rewarding – and profitable – than “big” clients.

By Frank Stitely
The Relentless CPA

There’s a reason you aren’t actively training clients to allow you to work efficiently. You’re afraid that you’ll lose clients.

I guarantee that you will.

MORE: Control Your Time: Avoid Ambush Meetings and Calls | Get Clients to Bring Tax Docs Early … Yes, EARLY | Why Time Tracking Still Matters | Make Fewer Mistakes, Increase Revenue and Capacity | Six Ways to Create a Millennial-Friendly Firm | Do You Know Your Turnaround Time?
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

Clients have trained you to be inefficient. They’ll resist retraining. Some of them will leave and infect someone else’s practice.

The reason you fear losing clients is that you fear you can’t replace them.

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Why Business Email is Doomed

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Malware, ransomware, phishing and other hacker tools will make email obsolete.

By Frank Stitely
The Relentless CPA

Last year, the CEO of Slack predicted the demise of business email in five years. I think he’s wrong. I think business email maybe has another two years. There are two obvious reasons why email has a foot in the technological grave.

MORE: Control Your Time: Avoid Ambush Meetings and Phone Calls | Get Clients to Bring Tax Docs Early…Yes, EARLY | You Train Your Clients, Whether You Mean To or Not | Train Your Clients Before They Train You | Why Time Tracking Still Matters | Business Owners Face One of Three Exits | Don’t Let Clients Dictate Tax Workflow | Make Fewer Mistakes, Increase Revenue and Capacity | How Small Firms Can Win the Talent Wars | Easy Ways to Avoid ‘Done But’ Tax Returns | Six Ways to Create a Millennial-Friendly Firm | Do You Know Your Turnaround Time?
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

First, spam killed the efficiency of email. How much time do you spend each day deleting spam? You can train your spam blocker, but professional spammers get through using variable email addresses and agreements with internet routing companies.
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