when is it required?
question:
a long time business client that owed me a large balance for unpaid fees sent a letter dropping me. he then wrote me a letter requesting me to send “his” papers to his new accountant. can i insist on being paid first or do i have to send the papers? i made some notes on a worksheet adjusting his numbers that went on the tax return. do i have to send this also and if so, do i have to write these up in proper journal entry form?
more from ed mendlowitz, the practice doctor: 11 business-getting tips for the young staffer | how to get started in family office services | three and a half ways to get your own cpa practice | novice manager needs to know: how to do it all? | why no one listens to you | when not to offer a free initial consultation | measuring growth in yourself, staff and partners | what do you think you’re doing? | can you teach judgment? | clients’ calls at home | what you need to know before expanding into business valuation | seven ways to increase fees | 10 best practices for tax season | nine healthy things to do during tax season | 12 reasons to love tax season | free instant download: sample fee schedule for 1040s | also: “implementing fee increases” and “the tax season opportunity guide.”
answer:
how to invest your mentoring time where it matters most.
question: we were looking for an additional experienced person since september and hired someone with five years experience in mid-november, but she said she couldn’t start until january. she said she had work she had to finish up. two days before christmas she called to tell me her firm made her a “better” offer and she decided to stay there. it meant we had to enter busy season short a person. this seems to happen a lot. what do you suggest? read more →
ed mendlowitz, cpa, abv, pfs
author of “implementing fee increases”
question: as a young staff accountant, how can i bring in new business and clients?
response: you shouldn’t be as concerned about bringing in business as you should be about planting seeds to be able to bring in business in the future.
eleven points worth considering: read more →
a seven-step process to confront the questions raised by lease renewals.
question: i signed up with a broker who introduces buyers and sellers of cpa practices, to find someone who would buy my practice when i want to retire. i don’t want to retire yet, but am starting to think about it. the broker suggested a merger now combined with a buyout deal when i am ready to retire. am i going about this in the right way? read more →
question: i have a close friend who is also a client. he went through a rough time with his wife threatening a divorce and we spent a lot of time talking about it (out of office settings). i sent him a bill and he returned it with a notation that “we spoke as friends and not as a professional consultation, and the bill should be cancelled.” what should i do? read more →
15-item checklist on effective staff management.
ed mendlowitz, cpa, abv, pfs
author of “implementing fee increases”
question: my staff doesn’t listen to me. to be able to manage and control my business i need them to prepare a monthly schedule of what they plan on doing that month. i further need to know each morning if they did what they were supposed to do the previous day, and whether there was anything not done, or anything extra that wasn’t planned on. my problem is that they don’t give me the schedule and then don’t call or email me to tell me what they did. i really need to know this stuff and can’t figure out how to get them to do it. what can you suggest? read more →
the end of every busy season means a new beginning for practitioners, which is why we thought this q-and-a was particularly timely.
by ed mendlowitz
question: do you have any suggestions for the new year?
answer: checklist of things to do in the new year:
by ed mendlowitz
author of “implementing fee increases“
i received two related questions, which i’ll answer together.
first question: i am nearing retirement and want to sell my practice to two longtime staff people, but they don’t get along, and i’m afraid to sell to them. what should i do?
second question: i have a large individual tax practice, but also have an audit practice that is handled by different staff in my firm. how do i sell this practice? none of the larger buyers want the tax clients and none of the smaller buyers want the audit clients. read more →
plus: key considerations in evaluating a practice continuation agreement
by ed mendlowitz
question: what i should do about merging? i need a specific answer.
answer: i can’t give you an easy answer. i can give you a process to follow that should provide an answer. actually, this works pretty well and i’ve gotten good feedback from many colleagues. i’ve also rethought it many times, and still think this is the way to go about it.
this time, i have a question for you. but i’ll start with a story.
last sunday evening my wife and i went into a reasonably upscale restaurant and we had terrible service from everyone we interacted with.
when we were seated, the table wobbled and we asked if they could do something or move us to another table. ten minutes later someone showed up with a wad of napkins that made it worse. five minutes later they asked if we were okay, and put us at another table. ten minutes after that they took our order, but we asked for some drinks right away, which we only got after we complained to the manager. read more →
step by step.
note: in this dialog, ed creates a checklist of the steps necessary to writing an article and getting it published.
question: i would like to write an article and have it published. can you assist me writing an article for an industry trade journal?
response: before we start, a few questions and comments.
question: thank you for taking the time to assist me, i have not written any articles yet. here are three ideas i thought of: read more →