tax season

how to implement the laziness equation

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time is money : clock hands on $100 billscalculate and cut turnaround time.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

one of the funniest parts of launching clarity practice management has been watching my business partner, peter daniel, learn about the business acumen of cpas and accountants. peter and i founded clarity as a collaboration between a cpa firm client (peter) and a cpa firm (me.). he knew what he wanted from a client perspective, and i knew what we wanted as a cpa firm.

more: the happier, saner, richer tax firm | ‘quick questions’ and other client sins | when clients create errors | how we killed the tax season client meeting | why small firms can win the talent wars | there are no easy answers | how to thrive as a 21st-century firm
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

peter owns a software development company and believes in the rational decision-making model for businesses. the rational decision-making model is totally irrelevant to the way most cpas and accountants run their practices. for instance, consider this interchange between peter and a practitioner at our clarity booth during a trade show.
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20 good ways to boost tax season production

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people in office releasing balloonspeople like fun … but that’s not all they value.

by ed mendlowitz
call me before you do anything: the art of accounting

i have always loved accounting and tax season, but i have worked with many people who did not.

more: how to recoup staff training costs | granting unconventional request pays off | 20 best practices for staff training and retention | what does the client want to see? | 6 ways to increase your fees … if you dare | the clients who got away
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

they resented many of the working conditions and had a closed-in feeling that heightened their dislike of my great profession. i resolved that when i had my own practice i would not create that type of atmosphere.
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the happier, saner, richer tax firm

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scrambled thoughts enter man's head, straightened ones come outit’s not easy, but it is possible.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

i’m back. since writing the “relentless cpa – the new 21st century system for driving success at tax and accounting firms,” i have spoken to dozens of cpas and accountants, been called a dozen names (some of them deserved), and received a few death threats.

more: ‘quick questions’ and other client sins | how to train clients | how to reduce tax return errors | why your firm needs to attract more millenials | the fool in the room | the 3 biggest tech failures of accounting firms | 7 steps to effective project management
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

actually, the death threats came from my wife, who said she’d kill me if i said “yes” to any new projects. she watches lots of crime shows, so the fbi regarded her threats as serious. i am writing this to buy a bulletproof vest for when she gets out of jail. thank you for your contribution to saving my life.
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deadlines? ha! don’t make me laugh

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blindfolded at computerwhen they’re missed, figure out why.

by steven e. sacks
the new fundamentals

distractions, distractions and more distractions, coupled with deadlines. ah, deadlines! those are the bête noire of executives, journalists, record producers, book authors and anyone else in the workforce whose deliverables are expected by a certain date.

more: 5 steps to better time management | a rapidly changing business environment requires flexibility | another meeting?!?! … sigh | organizational trust: top-down and bottom-up | building teamwork under covid pressure | listening: how a conversation works | political correctness or just common courtesy? | effective communications in the age of covid | syncing up for the covid era
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

and what about those dates? are they arbitrary or do they have the real urgency of, say, a court order?
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five time management tips to survive busy season

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ask why you’re putting things off.

by ty hendrickson

tax season is already here and in full swing in our house. i know what you are thinking, “she doesn’t have tax season anymore!” but that is not true. some of you know that not only am i a cpa, but i’m also married to a cpa so i couldn’t manage to get away from tax season even with a career change. that means that this time of year is always a little stressful as everyone adjusts to new schedules and routines, but with a little planning and the correct mindset it does not have to be bad.

more: sales shouldn’t be scary | sell your services on value, not price | 3 steps to getting the most out of every meeting | why choose you? | the one big reason your hiring sucks | are you botching your first impression?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

each year we look for new ways to better manage our time and become efficient so that we can make these three and a half months as stress-free and easy as possible on everyone involved. today, i’m rounding up our top five time management tips to help make these crazy few months operate just slightly more smoothly for you as well.
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‘quick questions’ and other client sins

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young businessman with forehead resting on handshow to quietly convince them to pay for tax planning.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

a well-known practice management expert, whom i greatly respect, advises cpas to never tell clients that you don’t have time for them. i disagree with the never part. you know how it starts. on march 25th, the call comes in.

“i know you’re busy but …”

more: how to train clients | avoiding projects hung up in process | teaching the meaning of ‘done’ | why millennials are the answer | calculating and cutting turnaround time | debunking the demise of the cpa firm
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

a request follows that could most certainly wait until after tax season. you are hip deep reviewing all the personal tax returns that got stuck in process while you climbed out of the march 15th corporate tax ditch.
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how to train clients

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skip this, and both service and satisfaction decline.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

you’ll hate me after this post. i’m about to reveal that many of the behaviors that you rationalize as good client service are really just desperate measures to avoid losing bad clients. we’ll talk about getting out of that mess later.

more: avoiding projects hung up in process | when clients create errors | how we killed the tax season client meeting | why small firms can win the talent wars | there are no easy answers | how to thrive as a 21st-century firm | farm-aid for accountants? | whittle down wip
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

clients are trainable – at least as trainable as jack russell terriers. that is to say, they’re somewhat trainable. however, like jack russell terriers, you train clients or they’ll train you. somebody’s getting trained. here’s an example of how that works.
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peer-to-peer: your best advice for 2021

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clockwise-from-top-left-raizen-wehr-paulson-swigert-anderson-stitely.png
pivoting to 2021 (clockwise from top left): raizen, wehr, paulson, swigert, anderson, stitely

‘clients still need us.’

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

keep calm and carry on.

that may be the best overall advice for the situation we’re in.

more in surveys & research: survey: a glint of optimism for 2021| accountants say: brace for a dismal 2021 | ppp client fraud: how much risk is too much? | ppp traps: 1 in 5 accountants report shady dealings | cloudy forecasts call for rainmaking

goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

and by “we,” we mean “everybody in the world.” because everybody’s got it tough. whether covid has touched close to home or not, its presence is impacting everyone.

but… how should accountants carry on? we asked. and you – the readers of 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 – delivered. adapt, pivot, focus on the client, watch your expenses – just a few of the themes gleaned from the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 business barometer.

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avoiding projects hung up in process

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businessman with fingers crossed behind backhow to climb out of “done but” hell.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

a project hung up in process is one when there is a disagreement as to the status between people involved in a project. for example, a client thinks he has answered your tax return questions, while you believe he has not. another example is when a tax return preparer believes a return is ready for review while the reviewer does not believe it’s ready.

more: when clients create errors | how to reduce tax return errors | why your firm needs to attract more millenials | the fool in the room | the 3 biggest tech failures of accounting firms | wip-ing clients into shape | maximize your role as visionary
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the result of a hung-up project is a dead project – one that’s not moving to completion. if a tax return gets hung up, eventually your client calls you, and you get to waste time determining why the project stopped moving. by now, you know this increases wip and thus decreases turnaround time.
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when clients create errors

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one cause? taking us out of our familiar workflow.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

who makes the errors in your firm? staff obviously, but that’s half of the answer. clients are a major source of tax return errors. clients cause errors in three ways:

  1. errors of omission
  2. errors of commission
  3. errors in attitude

more: how to reduce tax return errors | teaching the meaning of ‘done’ | why millennials are the answer | calculating and cutting turnaround time | debunking the demise of the cpa firm | how many tax preparers do you need? | how the annual tax meeting died | how to teach reviewing and time management | 4 steps to take before next tax season | 3 tips for handling rookie tax preparers
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

every tax season, we finalize and deliver returns only to hear from the client, “i think i might have forgotten to tell you that we had a baby last year.” does this happen to you? this is a client error of omission. unintentionally, clients withhold important information.
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19 ways to make reviewers happier

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bonus: they improve the firm for everyone else, too.

by ed mendlowitz
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 practice doctor

question: how much time should a reviewer spend on a return in relation to the preparer time? our reviewers spend .75 hour for each hour of preparer time.

more: before you sell your practice | price your practice by gross | advising estate executors: the newbie guide to getting started | how’s your overhead? | envision your future, then plan for it
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answer: you are high and most firms i speak with are also high with an average time of about 24 minutes, or .4, hour.
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