Would you like to generate more revenue in your tax business? Who wouldn’t? Just like many other businesses, the tax business is a numbers game. You gather leads and eventually, some go from cold to HOT and new clients walk through your front door. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Well, there’s a little more to it than that. But if you’re willing to do what it takes to heighten your visibility, you can garner a fair amount of leads—not only to sustain your business but also to thrive. Here … [Read more...]
Top 6 Tax Business Mistakes
Running a tax business is like running any other business: one misstep and you can find yourself closing your doors for good. It’s not enough to be smart, to understand your trade, and to work hard; you’ve also got to make good business decisions, as well. One of the best ways to stay in business is to understand what pitfalls you might face and prepare for them. Here are some of the most common mistakes tax professionals make in business, and a little bit about what you can do to avoid … [Read more...]
How To Answer The Not-So-Quick Entity Question
When it comes to entity selection, there really isn’t a general “rule of thumb”. Most business owners consult their attorney to determine which entity is appropriate, but in many cases, they’re making a big mistake if they don’t seek counsel from their tax team before choosing their entity. But you know that. Let’s talk about something you may not know. And that’s how to answer the entity question when it’s posed by small business owners. Often laden with misconceptions and advice they’ve … [Read more...]
How To Turn Tax Preparation Into Year-Round Profit
Your expenses don’t just go away during the off season. But in most cases, the reality of life as a tax professional is that the vast majority of your income is probably derived from the work you do over the course of just 100 days of the year. How can you make it year round profit? This puts many tax professionals in the same situation that every seasonal business encounters, experiencing problems such as: cash shortages during the off season difficulty finding and keeping qualified … [Read more...]
Pros and Cons of Continuing Education In Accounting Options
Accounting, finance, and law are among the most challenging disciplines. From Enron to Madoff, the climate is getting increasingly more scandalous requiring professionals in these fields to face increasing ongoing education. Even the tax preparer’s license will be required to meet continuing education in accounting requirements. Whether or not you believe the continuing education requirements for accountants will protect employees and investors from losses remains to be seen. Nonetheless, … [Read more...]
Taking Control of Accounts Receivable Management
Looking to get rid of your Accounts Receivable? Most small business accountants I meet with think this is impossible. Think again! Effective accounts receivable management can get you paid for your hard work in a timely fashion. Unfortunately, tax firms tend to run in SALY (same as last year) fashion. This leads to the old way of doing things, with little change in the industry. If you’re like most accounting professionals, perhaps you bill a 50% retainer or some sort of deposit when a client … [Read more...]
Creating a Truly Paperless Office
If you're like me, you may have thought in the past that creating a paperless office means: 1. Using a traditional paper tax file to complete the tax prep process 2. At the end of the process, scan the tax file to make it "paperless" WRONG. While you may cut down on the document storage by "end scanning" your tax files, you are completely missing the benefits of becoming a truly paperless office. First, you aren't benefiting from the efficiency paperless document management brings. … [Read more...]
Top Tips For Effective Time Management for Accountants
Time is money, and this is especially true for accounting professionals. The more efficiently you operate your schedule, the more money you’ll make and the less work you’ll have to do. Yet, time management is something that most accountants struggle with at one point or another, and something that almost all of us could stand to improve. Effective time management for accountants means more money and more time to spend on the things that truly help to grow your business. Time management for … [Read more...]
Ignorance of Tax Laws Won’t Always Grant You a Pass
“I’m sorry, officer. I didn’t know the speed limit was only 25 in a school zone.” When is the last time that one worked for you? Right. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. It usually doesn’t fly with the IRS either. Despite this, the tax court issued an opinion suggesting that in some cases ignorance can indeed be bliss. Well, maybe not bliss, but it can be a valid excuse—at least to escape certain accuracy-related penalties. For example, a California couple that botched the tax … [Read more...]
Are Your Clients Taking Advantage of Sellable Tax Credits?
State governments realize the economic benefit of spending billions of dollars on tax credits. Are your clients taking advantage of this? Many are not due to low tax liability. Nonprofit organizations or start up businesses that generate very little income are among them. Some states have found a solution. They have created a secondary market by enticing these types of businesses with transferable or sellable tax credits. The secondary market incentives are sophisticated and growing at a … [Read more...]
