practitioners learn the hard way how to operate more efficiently. what will you do differently next year?
by rick telberg
at large
tax practitioners running behind schedule this tax season probably now realize things, that if done a little differently, could have kept them on pace. here’s a sampling of some effort and time-saving ideas learned the hard way that cpas are employing this season.tim heil, who owns his own practice in pembroke pines, fla., has been encouraging his clients to file early or within a month of the extension dates. “it’s very difficult to be efficient and profitable with clients who estimate early, but file right at deadline,” he says.
indeed, the lessons learned from dealing with balky clients stick in the craws of many practitioners.
claire edwards, in colleyville, texas, has learned to eliminate the clients who “demand the most and hassle over prices,” while another small firm practitioner, who asked not be identified, has learned to collect fees before delivering returns to his slow-paying clients. also this year, he began inputting as soon as the information was in hand “so any questions and missing information are addressed as early as possible.”
in madison, conn., maggie mayer is employing this client strategy: “return phone calls and e-mails within 24 hours and i always do what i say i am going to do.” steve edwards of chestnut ridge, n.y., has learned to “commit to your client what you can accomplish.”
staffing is the front that deserves the most thought and new techniques. monique stecklein in fort walton beach, fla., says she started hiring temporary workers earlier on because waiting until january makes it too tough to train and get them ready to take on work. likewise, wayne j. parris in fletcher, n.c., has made sure to have his staff in position to service clients earlier this season.
on the management of temps and other staffers, hal a. shoemaker in cincinnati, is adjusting to ensure he has “enough administrative and support staff to do the job without over-burdening anyone and to keep the work flowing for quick turnarounds.”
technology is again proving to be a blessing and a curse. phil churelington in troy, mich., thought he could procrastinate on making hardware upgrades this season, just like he did last year, but he waited a little too long and now laments, “i’m way behind and scrambling to keep from losing clients.” todd mussard in jonesborough, tenn., allotted more software preparation time this year because, he says “something always comes up” in electronic filing.
however, e-filing is apparently the biggest tax technology blessing. matthew pastore of hoboken, n.j., and ray l. knaub jr. in wilkes-barre, pa. both advise fellow tax practitioners to be prepared to e-file, while jewell shane of cincinnati calls that irs platform “magic.”
failure to back up data can be the biggest technology curse. harry c. ballman of sherwood forest, md., thinks he cured that worry by installing a secondary hard drive that automatically backs up and maintains several layers of mirror images of his pc’s complete c drive. sandy lewis made several pre-season tests of the back-up systems at her nashville, tenn., office.
some tax season lessons are neither high-tech nor high-level management. dave ambrose of bridgewater, n.j. says he learned, “it’s never too early to prepare for tax season.” in lieu of that, kirk knight of los altos, calif., notes, “work the whole season like its april.”
[first published by the aicpa]