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six methods for getting paid faster this tax season

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sure it’s good for business, but it’s also considerate to clients.

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.

more: four steps could close the tax gap | art werner: how to turn tax prep into tax advisory | quick tax tip | art werner: navigating business structure decisions amid tax law changes | quick tax tip | tax season memo from staff to managing partner | is the irs adequately tracking corporate tax evasion? | irs still unsure how to measure audit rate | irs vs. fraudsters | is the irs mismeasuring phone service?
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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.
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how to create price packages

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hand moving triangle along beam to indicate balance between price and value

three steps to setting your monthly fee.

by jody padar
radical pricing – by the radical cpa

packages are the first step toward productizing your services. your packages define your services as discrete offerings with defined parameters around what they include and what’s excluded.

more: seven steps to determining your price | using change orders with scope | when to increase scope and when to let it go | which clients should you scope? | getting aligned on scope helps your team and your clients | five areas to ground new metrics other than time | digitize clients for standardization | are you the key signal caller for your clients? | six steps to start value pricing | the radical pricing model: start with $25k | the convergence of trends makes pricing changes imperative
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the secret sauce to creating a fixed price package with a value add consists of combining several variables:

deliverables + client persona = well-priced packages

client-specific price point + market price point = well-priced packages

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use humor to get tax documents in early

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my secret? humor, sarcasm and a bit of shame.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

there are easy ways to get clients to do what we need them to do. in our office, we call the process “training” clients. one of our biggest headaches is the late delivery of tax materials. so, we train our clients to bring their tax documents in early.

more: end tax season meetings with clients … seriously | get clients to understand firm processes … or say goodbye | train now before it costs you down the road | keep clients from “balance due” shock | stop clients from performing “favors” | who needs fall tax planning? clients … and you | it’s ok to say no to clients (even the large ones) | control your time: avoid ambush meetings and calls | you train your clients, whether you mean to or not | don’t let clients dictate tax workflow | make fewer mistakes, increase revenue and capacity | easy ways to avoid ‘done but’ tax returns
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we accomplish this through a series of e-blasts explaining our deadlines. the e-blasts start in december, and we call them “countdown to tax season.” they cover much more than our deadlines for clients to provide business and personal income tax returns documents.

we use the blasts to train clients in other areas – such as minimizing the use of staples when they give us their documents. we also discourage people from putting their documents in three-ring binders. as i’m certain you already know, staples and binders drive your admin staff crazy when they’re trying to scan documents.
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salim omar: identify the $100k problem | the disruptors

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if you try to help everyone, you don’t help anyone.

this is a preview. the complete 1-hour video episode, with commentary and transcript, is first available exclusively to pro members | go pro here

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the disruptors
with liz farr

salim omar, cpa, opened his firm in 1996 after working as a cfo in a small investment boutique firm because he wanted to be his own boss. but the experience was terrible: “i found myself working long hours. i was not enjoying the work i was doing. having the team was a revolving door.”

“there’s got to be a better way,” omar said then. “if this is what entrepreneurship is, i’m not sure if i want it anymore.”

more podcasts and videos: jackie meyer: earn more with fewer clients | jack flaherty: don’t be a ‘yes’ person | greg adams: from finance to storytelling | the disruptors | jody padar: make radical changes now if you want to be relevant in 2030 | rebecca driscoll: amplify reach by helping other firm owners | rory henry: create the return on relationships | mike maksymiw: be the leader you wish you had | terrell turner: build a solid business showing up as yourself | kelly mann: be the bull in the china shop | alicia katz pollock: create a human-centric business |  nancy mcclelland: be the one your clients ask first |alan whitman: stop accepting the status quo | sean duncan: discover your own genius | ingrid edstrom: true wealth is not financial | caleb jenkins: firm growth requires owners to shift roles |

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omar started reading and studying books by other entrepreneurs, many outside the accounting industry. “and i just took what they were saying and what they were doing in their business, and they were getting success, and i brought it back to my own practice.”  after adding a few minor tweaks here and there, omar, the ceo of straighttalkcpas, says, “my practice was very different to what it had been when i started it a few years back.”

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tsunami of m&a, pe is disrupting the accounting profession

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cresting ocean wave made of $20 bills

return on relationship still just as important as roi.

by rory henry
the holistic guide to wealth management.

there’s no question the pandemic accelerated the accounting profession’s transformation and the entry of private equity (pe) into the marketplace. in many ways the pandemic years were an inflection point. the old way of doing things – meeting clients face to face and providing tax and accounting services – is essentially over. the pandemic and private equity are propelling the profession forward as firms adopt new service offerings, change how they operate, and find innovative ways to recruit, retain and compensate talent.

more: why cpas are best positioned to become financial advisors | how wealth management has evolved | introducing you to a fulfilling return on relationships | rory henry upends the traditional accounting firm | why now is the time for cpas to embrace wealth management
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pe is considered “smart money” because it has a track record of building better business models, increasing efficiencies and then selling the companies and firms they invest in for a profit. smart money sees enormous potential by investing in accounting firms thanks to technology that makes it easier than ever to integrate professional services on a much larger scale.
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how to advance from audit to advisory

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four people on lower stairs, one on upper stairs, gap between

moving from quality control to quality assurance lets you advance from auditing and accounting to assurance and advisory.

by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future

for decades, a&a has stood for audit and accounting. it’s been focused on compliance. but sooner than we may want to believe, business owners and stakeholders will be using technology to provide the assurance they need.

this is already happening. to remain viable, we need to move a&a from audit and accounting to assurance and advisory.

more: create a culture of audit quality assurance | what quality in audit leadership means | meet your client all year, not just during audit | give advice while remaining independent | the new formula for an accounting business | don’t risk losing good employees for bad clients | four questions to make your firm more successful as a business | say adios to audit fee pressure | deliver more audit value by getting out of the conference room | six essential elements in audit planning | before the audit: more than just planning | five crucial attributes for successful audit leadership
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now all auditors take the quality control standards of our profession seriously. but quality control that only happens at the end is more about satisfying the minimum requirements for compliance. it won’t let you move out of providing the commodity service that clients need to keep their stakeholders happy. quality at the end doesn’t provide an opportunity to really look under the hood and think about what the client really wants.
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why most cas practices stall—and what the successful ones do differently | it’s not just the numbers

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transparency, empowered administration, and intentional tech design separate advisory leaders from firms stuck in task work.

this is a preview. the complete 1-hour video episode, with commentary and transcript, is first available exclusively to pro members | go pro here
sponsored by the balanced millionaire: the advisor edition by dr. jackie meyer | see today’s special offer
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build a 7-figure firm in just 4 hours a week!

it’s not just the numbers
with penny breslin and damien greathead
for 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

client accounting services (cas) has moved well beyond bookkeeping. for firms serious about advisory, cas is now a fundamentally different operating model, one that demands new roles, new systems, and a far higher level of internal transparency than traditional tax or audit practices ever required. 

in this episode of it’s not just the numbers, damien greathead and penny breslin draw on more than two decades of shared experience to unpack what actually makes a modern cas practice work in the real world. their discussion goes beyond theory and into the structural, cultural, and operational decisions firms must confront if they want cas to be scalable, profitable, and sustainable . 

more penny breslin and damien greathead | more advisory & consulting | buy “it’s not just the numbers”

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traditional accounting firms are built around specialization and hierarchy: junior and senior accountants, bookkeepers, managers, and partners, each working essentially in isolation on their own client list. that structure works for compliance, but it breaks down in a cas environment. 

“cas requires the team to approach the client holistically,” breslin explains. “you can’t have people operating in silos. everyone needs to understand the client’s goals, not just their individual task.” 

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you, a virtual cfo? why not?

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accountants are perfect for the role and cas helps drive up the demand.

by hitendra patil
client accounting services: the definitive success guide

tom, a cpa, has always been a curious person. for over 15 years, his tax “practice” was doing well. during the tax season, he had no time to think. but, oblivious to himself, with each tax return, he was depositing new questions in his subconscious.

he is now a shared cfo of 12 companies. but he took up the cfo work accidentally.

how?

more: who is ready for client accounting services? | wants? needs? cas helps fill both | automation can be exciting in client accounting services | eight steps for better client accounting services | do you have the client accounting services mindset? | four ingredients to your cas ‘why’ | cas clients are ‘stickier’
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tom believed that it was his thinking power – armed with the cpa education, years of experience, and knowing which tools to use effectively to produce the impeccable tax returns – that could help him make a meaningful positive difference to clients’ businesses, and hence lives.
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better starting pay calls for a new revenue model

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young woman holding giant dollar sign in modern office

considering pe? beware focus on the next five years.

by michelle golden river
the rosenberg national survey of cpa firm statistics

pricing and talent are related. we’ll see another wave of fee increases as well as more firms feeling compelled to establish higher “minimum” fee thresholds. but these increases still won’t be enough. until firms earn a lot more revenue per person, they simply cannot pay enough to overcome starting salary gaps.

editor’s note: every year, the 2024 rosenberg national survey of cpa firm statistics asks the profession’s top consultants two sets of questions:

    • how do you think the next 12 months will unfold? trends? predictions? other thoughts?
    • how would you assess the last 12 months? trends? observations? struggles?

more: business models continue to evolve | accounting firms must consider capital resources | artificial intelligence plays role in analytics, optimization | people development still a concern | tech anxiety paralyzing some accounting firms | solving staffing requires intention | as private equity closes in, firms seek new answers to staffing problems | next five years are critical for accounting firms | the new pipeline: outsourcing and offshoring
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our would-be hires choose higher-paying professions like finance and tech, and who can blame them? to offer commensurate starting pay (and raise legacy salaries, accordingly), we must change our revenue model. our current 5-10 percent annual increases cannot get us there. we fell behind more than a decade ago and, at this pace, we’ll never catch up.
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generational differences can’t be ignored

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don’t stereotype, but don’t pretend all ages are the same, either.

by marc rosenberg
cpa firm staff: managing your #1 asset

“each generation imagines itself more intelligent than the one before it and wiser than the one that comes after it.” – george orwell

the following was written by scott steadman, who heads up jacksonville, fl-based steadman valuations and forensic accounting llc. read with caution: statements about the traits of an entire generation are, of course, generalizations that do not necessarily apply to every individual in the grouping.

more: surveying your staff: why and how | better communication = better retention | a better way to provide performance feedback | staff crave advancement and challenge | give the recognition your staff needs | make work flexibility work for everyone | what relevance means for staffing in accounting
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baby boomers (born 1946-1964)

early on, a strong economy and stable lifestyle made baby boomers generally optimistic about their future and the future of the united states. once known as idealistic dreamers, boomers were forced to focus on their economic future and real-world concerns over money and stability. in the movie “wall street,” when gordon gekko said “greed is good,” he was speaking to (and for) baby boomers.
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