Is one of your clients about to get audited by the IRS? Have you ever wondered why some tax returns are audited, while others aren’t? The IRS doesn't have enough personnel and resources to examine every tax return, so they rely on a variety of systems to target the returns that will generate the most revenue per hour for an auditor’s time. Here are several common miscues that may get one of your clients audited: Miscue #1: Your Client's Tax Return Doesn’t Match Reports Sent to the … [Read more...]
Using Newsletters for Email Marketing to Build Relationships
Finding a way to stay in touch with clients and prospects is not only a great way for marketing financial planning, but a great way to create loyalty and softly stay in front of potential clients or prospects in your pipeline with email marketing. Providing your clients with an attractive personalized newsletter is one way to accomplish this. The newsletter can serve as a means of communication – 12 touch points throughout the year. The last thing you want is for your clients to hear about … [Read more...]
Designing a Workflow System
Designing a Workflow System A Deep-Fried Workflow Model One of my summertime favorites is an annual trip to the fair. Although the summer fairs generally feature the same attractions and exhibits year after year, the board of directors find new and innovative ways to market a unique experience each July. The introduction of unique, one-of-a-kind new taste sensations such as deep fried girl scout cookies, Baby Ruth filled jalapenos, deep fried jerky, and even deep fried kool-aid satisfy the … [Read more...]
Must-Have Marketing Resources
If you’re like a lot of others that we talk with, you hate marketing. Often seen as time-consuming, confusing, expensive and often, difficult to quantify—it really struggles to rank a spot on your top ten list of “favorite things to do.” The problem is, marketing is an essential component of your business success story. You really cannot build a thriving business without it. After all, if you don’t control the way your business shows up in the marketplace, someone else will. And considering … [Read more...]
How To Turn Email Subscribers Into Paying Clients
The million dollar question is, if a conversion for you is getting people to sign up for your email list, what do you do once you acquire all of those email addresses? We’re going to share some tips that will help you stay softly in front of your prospects without a lot of pressure and eventually, turn some into paying clients. If you think email marketing is all about pitching what you sell, think again. Email marketing helps people get to know, like and trust you. This happens because, over … [Read more...]
5 Things To Consider Before You Offer Financial Services
As a tax professional, you may have thought about how you can expand your business to include additional revenue streams such as payroll and bookkeeping. And if you’re like a lot of my clients, the opportunity to provide financial services has seemed like an idea worth considering as well. The good news? You have lots of potential revenue-generating opportunities on the table. The not so good news? Some of them can do more harm than good to the practice you’ve worked so hard to build. … [Read more...]
Top 7 Value Added Tax Business Services
One of the basic truths about running a tax business is that you’re going to be busiest during tax season. The rest of the year, things can be slow, and if you’re planning on having a steady income you need to find other ways to bring in money. While some tax professionals can live off what they make during tax season, most of us like the comfort of a regular revenue stream. Creating that revenue stream means adding service offerings to your tax business. Here are some ideas for … [Read more...]
Should We Tax The Robots?
In 1900, at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, life for everyday Americans was not much different than it was in 1700. Then, gasoline-powered automobiles replaced horse-drawn carriages, and everything changed. Fast forward a little over a century. In 2030, when driverless cars arrive, the revolution may be even bigger. The same technology that replaces automobile drivers may also replace truck drivers, waitresses, fast food cooks, and a host of other workers, at least according to … [Read more...]
How to Get Back to Work After Vacation
With summer quickly approaching, you may be planning for a much-needed vacation. Anywhere other than your office sounds good, right? We’re big fans of taking vacation time around here because we’ve learned the hard way that all work and no play leads to burnout, fast. Well-rested CPA’s are the best CPA’s because their stress level is lower and their energy is higher. This leads to enhanced productivity, better decisions and a keen eye for detail—all important things if you’re running your own … [Read more...]
Leveraging Current Clients For Business Referral
I've done hundreds of new member consultations. One question I always ask is "what's your best source of new clients?" The answer is almost always, "business referral." But lately, I've been pulling a bit of a Columbo and asking "just one more thing." Specifically, I'll ask "what systems do you have in place to generate those all-important referrals?" And then there's an uncomfortable silence on the other end of the phone. After all, they don’t teach this kind of stuff in accountant … [Read more...]
