bissett bullet: how are we doing?
today’s bissett bullet: “how often do you ask your current clients for feedback?”
by martin bissett
see more bissett bullets here
special
accountants’ advice: be careful, quick, creative … and lean
survey respondents look beyond tax season.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
just about every small business has an accountant, and smart business owners tap their accountant not just for tax prep but for general business advice.
and smart accountants offer smart advice. because what’s good for the client is good for the accountant.
more: seven steps to a stronger future | accountants bullish locally, bearish nationally | firms culling clients as staffing woes persist | are accountants charging too little? | revenue growth is top priority for small firms | is the cpa business model the clog in the pipeline? | accountants cozy up to clients with cas
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 2024 busy season barometer has harvested quite a bit of smart advice with an open-ended question about the best advice for small businesses.
responses bounced all over the business ballpark, but a lot of them warned of change and economic turbulence.
read more →
five questions about facing challenges
we all have to do it.
by martin bissett
passport to partnership
when challenges come our way, regardless of what shape or form they arrive in, our world seems to lose a bit of brightness, there’s a little knot in the gut and a sense of peace broken.
more: the real math behind the sales pipeline | five questions for grading prospects | be clear about your roi proposition | keep business development going during busy season | health, wealth, stealth: challenges on the path to partnership | don’t let recurring fees kill your practice | rate your personal purpose | five ways to make selling easier | six keys to getting a proposal accepted | tell the world your worth
the question is, if we were watching our own responses to these trials, would we appoint ourselves as the next partner of the firm?
let’s examine five checkpoints to test your own, or your staffers’, abilities to overcome challenges.
read more →
ai generates revolutionary new battery design
will lithium-ion batteries soon be relics of the past?
by rick richardson
technology this week
researchers have now utilized artificial intelligence’s capacity to expedite the discovery and testing of novel materials to create a battery that is less reliant on the pricey and growingly scarce mineral lithium.
more: chatgpt is getting humanlike memory | lenovo readies new thinkbook laptop with a transparent display | microsoft moves further into nuclear development with new director | tack one launches new location tracker for children and seniors | windows is now an app for pcs, apple products | bill gates says america has a math problem | what is an heic file? | congress: tax prep companies shared private data with google, meta for years | what an a.i.-powered workforce means for accountants
lithium-ion batteries power numerous everyday items, as well as electric cars. additionally, batteries are needed to store renewable energy from solar panels and wind turbines. therefore, they would be an essential component of a green electric grid.
read more →
four ways to handle federal tax liens
there’s more than one route to satisfying the irs collection division.
by eric l. green
irs tax liens can have a profound impact on an individual’s situation, affecting their ability to get loans, sell property or engage in business activities. as such, it is crucial for individuals to understand how irs tax liens work and the options available for getting rid of them.
more: the irs is coming! get your clients into compliance | tax chat: eric green reveals the tax rep guide to tax season
in this article we discuss approaches and factors to consider when dealing with irs tax liens, offering insights and advice to help taxpayers navigate this process.
understanding irs tax liens
before discussing ways to remove tax liens, it is important to get a basic understanding of what they entail. a tax lien represents a right against a taxpayer’s assets, and is used by the irs to secure its interest in the taxpayer’s assets – both those owned at the time and those later acquired.
read more →
when selling a firm to staffers is tricky
two writers have similar problems.
by ed mendlowitz
202 questions and answers: managing an accounting practice
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?
more: want to merge? six steps to take | how to raise your rates | higher fees to start: ten ways to make your tax season better | three ways to start an accounting practice | free consultation? not always | referral fee? forget it | how much is your tax practice worth? | merge in lower-priced work without losing out
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.
tax pros own 53% of e-filings
most stats are on the plus side now.
by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
with just over two weeks before the nation’s major tax deadline, most statistics are landing on the positive side … finally.
more: tax stats still playing catchup | tax pros take the edge in e-filings | tax pros gain ground, and diyers maintain lead | tax pros handle 46.4% of e-filing | tax refunds, tax pro market share trending up | refunds up as tax pros tackle 41.5% of e-filings | tax pros handle 37.7% of e-filings | tax pros file 33% of early returns
the irs has received 90.3 million individual income tax returns as of march 29, the latest data available, up 0.2 percent from the same period in 2023. it has processed 88.8 million returns, down 1 percent.
read more →
seven steps to a stronger future
fees and business lines of course, but what about an operations person?
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
the aicpa’s national management of an accounting practice (map) survey took a good look at a lot of data – revenues and profits, staff turnover and professional salaries, services and fees.
more: accountants bullish locally, bearish nationally | top performers lead in leverage, culling, outsourcing | revenue up at 59% of accounting firms … and more good news | chatgpt for the reluctant accountant | survey shows challenges, priorities shifting | accountants torn over 2024 economy, offer advice | survey: are you offering the right services?
and then, toward the end, it says, “but all the data in the universe won’t do you any good if you don’t do something with it.”
it then calls on cpa firms to evolve if they want to survive and thrive through seismic shifts in technology and marketing.
read more →
nine ways to choose your pr person
the rules of the game have changed.
by bruce marcus
professional services marketing 3.0
editor’s note: 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 was privileged to have a long relationship with bruce w. marcus, who was ahead of his time in his thinking and practice in marketing for accounting. we are publishing some of the late expert’s evergreen work, which retains wisdom for the present.
there was a time when all you needed was a roll of nickels and a phone booth, and you were in the pr game. of course, all clients expected then was that you get their names in the paper. for most of the publicity clients in those days, that was sufficient.
more: when bad news happens to good firms | why accountants should be nice to journalists | ten keys to crafting ads | four things to know about social media | internal communications are underrated | four things better than a company song | let’s lose the word ‘image’ | the risk in not understanding risk | what your marketing program can and can’t do
“those days” were the late 1920s and 1930s, before pr became public relations, and before we were beset with such glorious concepts as “image,” and “positioning,” and “niche marketing.” today, public relations is infinitely more sophisticated than that, as is the public relations client. the public relations program for any modern corporation is to its publicity ancestor as desktop publishing is to hieroglyphics. and of course, the public relations program for the professional firm is different, too.
but to have a sophisticated public relations program requires not just a sophisticated practitioner, but a sophisticated client. a firm, if it knows how, will always find a good public relations practitioner or consultant, but a consultant is only as capable as the firm he or she serves.
read more →
six ways to expand your client services checklist
it’s key to client retention.
by august j. aquila
price it right: how to value accounting services
let’s explore ways to provide additional services to existing clients. here is a short checklist that will help you obtain additional services for your clients.
more: client acquisition never stops | make sure you know what you will get from your marketing | three pillars support a successful accounting firm | clients have six reasons for needing you | six ways to market your technology consulting practice | sixteen marketing activities to try | the four steps of your personal marketing process | how does your firm measure up? | six questions before asking for all the referrals you deserve
- other than accounting and tax services, what additional services do you provide to this client? create a spreadsheet listing the type of service, the fees, the year of service, the engagement leader and the client’s satisfaction on a scale of 1 to 5. if your list of additional services is lengthy, you are providing good service to the client. if it is short, continue to the following questions.
tax stats still playing catchup
refund numbers are down but amounts are up.
by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
the end is in sight. documents are signed, buttons are pushed and tax returns are filed. the pile is growing smaller.
if you want optimism, don’t look at the latest internal revenue statistics. with the 2023 filing season opening jan. 23 and the 2024 season kicking off jan. 29, every week of 2024 reporting has seven fewer days of data than the corresponding period the previous year.
more: tax pros take the edge in e-filings | tax pros handle 46.4% of e-filing | tax refunds, tax pro market share trending up | refunds up as tax pros tackle 41.5% of e-filings | tax pros handle 37.7% of e-filings | tax pros file 33% of early returns
as of the latest report, for march 22, the irs had received 80.5 million individual income tax returns and processed 79.2 million returns, down 0.3 percent and 1.4 percent respectively from last year. the impact on your firm? dare we say, none?
perhaps you’ve been the beneficiary of another stat, though … the one showing tax professionals gaining ever more ground on the self-preparers.
read more →
bissett bullet: keep your distance
today’s bissett bullet: “first impressions last. when you meet with a prospective client for the first time, how do you want them to remember you?”
by martin bissett
see more bissett bullets here
letting staff go after tax season? bad idea
eight reasons they might be more valuable than you think.
by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide
question: i am planning on letting go of some staff after april 15 and will hire replacements at a higher level. any suggestions?
more on tax season: ten tax prep questions that people forget to ask | try this clean slate exercise | offer your tax clients other services | can your tax reviewers answer these 10 questions? | the top 12 mistakes in tax return preparation | six types of person: which are you? | answer these two questions first | help your tax clients, help yourself | what’s your value to your tax clients? | are you excited about tax season?
response: 1) your implication is that you will hire replacements at a higher level.
i do not like that. i like hiring out of school and training internally. i’ve written about this many times and shared my ideas ad infinitum and will not repeat that here because you can search back to previous q&as (or read my 30:30 training method book).
read more →