by ed mendlowitz
adapted from the 2013 tax season opportunity guide
one way to guarantee extra work is to have everything always done differently each time it is done.
not establishing uniform procedures is bad business and unnecessarily consumes part of your life.
consistency in performance reduces work and review time and creates a greater reliance on the staff people.
checklist: read more →
help them to do what you want.
by ed mendlowitz
adapted from the 2013 tax season opportunity guide
providing instructions of what a client needs to do must be clear enough so that the client doesn’t call you to find out what to do.
sometimes taking an extra minute to lay out what the client should do can eliminate that call or indecisive moment a client might feel.
the object of the instructions is to have the client do what you want them to do. read more →
the top ten tax questions that too often go unasked. ed mendlowitz, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 contributor and tax practice veteran, says he sees many professionals fail to systematically ask clients some basic and important questions. here’s his top ten list of key questions to ask this year. what would you add?
1. foreign bank accounts: make you ask every client if they have a foreign account and if they do report the income and file the proper forms. the penalties are too great if it is wrong. read more →
including a sample engagement letter.
question: some of my clients are getting older and are becoming unable to handle their own financial affairs and i have been asked if i could assist them. what is involved and how do i charge for it?
ed mendlowitz, vpa, pfs, abv, responds: many large firms provide “family office” services. this is a complete one stop financial service that helps clients manage their money, pay their bills, collect their dividends and interest, and make sure insurance isn’t cancelled, mortgage, car lease or condo fee payments aren’t skipped, and tax payments paid on time.
more from ed: seven ways to increase fees in 2013 | 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 | ask the geek: a couple great gadgets for saving money on all your other gadgets | three and a half ways to get your own cpa practice | also: “implementing fee increases” and “the tax season opportunity guide.”
following is a sample engagement letter that i use with clients needing such services. also, this letter provides a detailed description of what the service involves. read more →
first: are your fees high enough?
by ed mendlowitz, cpa
author of “implementing fee increases” and “the tax season opportunity guide.”
how to be at your best through april 15th.
tax season can be a marathon. everyone has their own tips and tricks, habits and techniques for staying sane and healthy. here are 10 from 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 contributor ed mendlowitz:
not when, but how?
question: i want to improve my firm’s review and quality control. do you have any suggestions?
ed mendlowitz responds: this is a recurring issue for most firms. every cpa practice needs quality control. the issue is whether a dedicated quality control (“qc”) person is needed and, if not, how the qc can be done without one.
a practice is a business and every business must be run efficiently and profitably. qc is an area that i have found many firms getting tied up in and either spending nothing or much more than they should.
more ed mendlowitz: free instant download: sample fee schedule for 1040s | tax season opportunity guide 2013 | 12 reasons to love tax season | implementing fee increases for 2013
a firm needs a dedicated qc person when the work load volume warrants it, especially where there are bottlenecks and backlogs because the supervisor or partner who would review the work is not readily or easily available; the scheduling becomes exceedingly difficult; and the expertise and training becomes more specialized and wider in scope. read more →
see the fee schedule ed mendlowitz has used for tax season.
“i have found this very helpful in getting new clients that ask me what i charge,” he says. “it weeds out bargain seekers, and when i get a client that has seen the chart, there is no contention about the fee.”
(over 5,000 downloads and counting)
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“tax season opportunity guide 2013”
with checklists, illustrative examples, sample forms, and step-by-step instructions.
by edward mendlowitz, cpa, abv, pfs
cpa trendines pro members: click here for 25% off coupon. [not a pro yet? go pro here]
based on more than 30 years of hard-won experience and the input of hundreds of tax professionals, the tax season opportunity guide is a condensation of the most practical, most impactful procedures and methods to better serve your clients, grow your practice and, yes, have more fun.
click here to download a free sample:
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 tax season opportunity guide preview (pdf, 19 pages) .
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two inexpensive gadgets that could save you big money.
more from ed mendlowitz, author of “implementing fee increases,” plus: 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 | fun reads for busy season | 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 |
question: i’m having a long-standing ‘disagreement’ with my husband about whether we should turn off our home computer when we leave for the day. i like to be as green as we can, but he’s read somewhere that it causes more ‘wear and tear’ and energy use to be constantly turning things on and off. i think he just doesn’t like to wait for it to start up! what’s your take?
answer: i’d rather not take sides in a domestic (ahem) power struggle, but as your husband may have found when googling around on the topic, pc power saving can be a complicated business. still, i have some tips that may result in a household compromise. i went to a geek colleague, scott dare, for his suggestions. read more →
and 11 good tips for once you do.
here at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间, ed mendlowitz answers some of the toughest questions practitioners can throw at him. he’s the right one to ask. after more than 40 years in the business – building his own practice, running the firm, and eventually selling it to a major regional firm, withumsmith+brown, where he remains a senior partner and consultant to professional services clients – he has the answers. we’re happy to have him at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间. send your questions for ed here, or chime in with comments below.
more from ed mendlowitz, the practice doctor q&a: novice manager needs to know: how to do it all? | why no one listens to you | fun reads for busy season | 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 |
question: i am working for a cpa firm, but would like to start my own practice. can you give me some suggestions?
response: essentially, you have three options (four if you count my pet project, but i won’t belabor it).
15 strategies for a first-time supervisor’s success.
here at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间, ed mendlowitz answers some of the toughest questions practitioners can throw at him. he’s the right one to ask. after more than 40 years in the business – building his own practice, running the firm, and eventually selling it to a major regional firm, withumsmith+brown, where he remains a senior partner and consultant to professional services clients – he has the answers. we’re happy to have him at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间. send your questions for ed here, or chime in with comments below.
more from ed mendlowitz, the practice doctor q&a: why no one listens to you | fun reads for busy season | 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 |
question: my boss asked me to call you. i am a staff accountant with five years experience. i am having a lot of stress trying to manage everything i have to do. i am juggling supervising people that i don’t know how to supervise, being managed less by those above me and having to figure out more for myself – including things i never did before or in industries i never worked on previously, keeping current with changes in accounting rules and taxes (since i am more like a generalist and clients ask me everything) never seem to have any free time, juggling my schedule because most of my clients are never ready when they say they will be and being accountable to my boss for everything i do plus what the staff working under me does. so how do i do it all? how can i prioritize all my responsibilities? read more →
the new “listening deficiency epidemic.”
question: i notice that most of the time my staff doesn’t listen when i talk. how can i make them listen?
more from ed mendlowitz, the practice doctor q&a: fun reads for busy season | 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 |
response: i find this issue very widespread. i believe there is an epidemic of people not listening, not just staff.