here’s what you’re looking for: edward mendlowitz

management

when fees don’t keep up with cost increases

ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and ait’s not too late in the year to make changes.

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

question: my expenses have crept up greater than my fees. what should i do?

more practice doctor q&a: lowballing and why it (usually) doesn’t work | when is it time to merge? | what goes in a client’s permanent file? | why the average fee doesn’t matter | no more printouts at cpe programs? | how to apply value pricing to bundled services | 6 ways to take a client beyond tax prep | 18 ways to blow a partnership opportunity | when experience doesn’t add up | 8 times when hourly billing trumps value pricing | 6 ways to know what you don’t know | 10 do’s and don’ts for making small business clients happy | client’s difficult daughter balks at bill | 6 simple steps to impress a prospect

answer: very important to increase fees at least enough to keep up with your increasing costs. here is a story i have told dozens of times at speeches. this is one of the things i wrote that i really like. in case you wonder, i have given a copy to freddie.

read more →

management

have fun this tax season!

four young happy office employeesno kidding! here are 12 ways.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

tax season presents exciting opportunities for accounting firms and their staffs. every moment should be enjoyed and appreciated.

following are 12 reasons:

1. tax season is profitable and accounting is a business where we try to maximize our earnings. sure, there is a great concentration of work in a short period with occasional pressure, but if handled properly, the work can be managed sensibly with tensions at reasonable levels. i also believe much of the pressure is self-induced by poor scheduling, inadequate quality control and the lack of uniform systems that are followed by everyone in the firm, particularly the partners.

read more →

outlook & analysis

readers sound off: lowballing isn’t worth it

bullhornwhat do you value most?

in  “lowballing and why it (usually) doesn’t work,” ed mendlowitz ignited a conversation about getting paid what you’re worth.

it started when two cpas with successful firms told ed about clients balking at paying their bills.

frank stitely took issue with one of the questioners, who had set a $30,000 price, done what he called $44,000 of work and then tried to send an additional bill for half the difference.

“lowballing a proposal and then asking for a higher amount after the work is done screams out to a client that you aren’t a very good business person. if you missed an estimate by a significant amount, it’s on you, not the client,” he said. this can be avoided, he noted: “wildly missing estimates is what happens to people with no time records upon which to base an estimate.”

read more →

management

when large (or any) clients need backup assurances

ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and ahere are 8 concrete suggestions.

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

question: my largest client does over $100 million in annual sales and accounts for 40 percent of my total revenue. its bank has expressed their concern to me and the client about the existence of a contingency plan for accounting and tax backup in the event of my untimely death or long-term medical issues. this is a very important issue for me and i would appreciate any advice you can provide.

read more →

management

how to get paid faster this tax season

stamp paid - 3dit’s good for business and considerate to clients.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

tax season is a business and businesses need to be paid. it is 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.

many accountants price 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.

read more →

management

lowballing and why it (usually) doesn’t work

ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and aplus some exceptions and how to pull them off.

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

i actually received the same question from two people in one day. these calls were from two cpas i speak to a lot, have a lot of respect for and who have successful firms with other partners and a good number of staff. 

question:  (1) i lowballed a fee to get a client ($2,000 a month), got the client and the time was running twice what i charged them ($4,000 a month). i asked for an upward adjustment four months later of halfway between the time and the fee (an additional $1,000 per month). they dropped me and went back to their prior accountant, who was charging less than i was ($1,800 a month), but who didn’t do anything close to what i was doing. i feel the client knew it was a lowball and took advantage of it. what did i do wrong? read more →

management

when is it time to merge?

ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and athe answer is personal, but certain questions can help you decide.

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

question: i have a 20-person, five-partner firm, and am frequently approached by larger firms that want me to merge into them. i own 60 percent of the practice, and am 20 years older than the next oldest partner. should i merge? i am happy with my situation and am inclined to let my younger partners decide what they want to do. read more →

client service opportunities

what goes in a client’s permanent file?

ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and awe’ve found at least 50 items. what would you add?

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

question: what type of information should be kept in, or as, permanent files?

response: a permanent file should be maintained for each of your clients. this would include the following:

  1. engagement letters
  2. representation letters – i would keep these in the permanent file. an example is that a claim could be made after you no longer have the work paper file associated with the matter. this is especially so with estate planning consultations where a claim could arise many years after a gift tax return was filed. i would keep copies of crummey letters in the file for the gift tax returns, if it is your practice to obtain copies of such letters read more →
management

why the average fee doesn’t matter

ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and anot all data is relevant.

by ed mendlowitz
the practice doctor

question: what is the average fee that your firm charges for a review? assume the company is approximately $10 million in sales and $3 million in assets.

answer: what is the average size suit men wear? this might be nice to know but it is not relevant to any specific situation. read more →

busy season management

top 21 reasons clients switch tax accountants

dissatisfied disapproval angerdissatisfied disapproval angerdissatisfied disapproval anger????????????????angry man at pc dollarphotoclub_68204440 72dpihow many of these do you need to fix in your firm?

by ed mendlowitz
how to review tax returns

clients have many choices, including the choice of a tax preparer. every new client an accountant gets is because that client left – fired! – their previous accountant.

here is a listing of 21 major reasons why clients switch accountants. ask yourself how many of these mistakes you could correct immediately and think about what that might be worth. read more →

busy season management

great tax prep reviewers aren’t just born

htrtr cvr clipfive traits of the best tax season managers.

by ed mendlowitz
how to review tax returns

reviewing tax returns is a key part of tax preparation. it also is an area vulnerable to major bottlenecks and backlogs. inevitably, firms have more preparers than reviewers. the latter are highly skilled professionals who are more difficult to train or find. therefore, you must consider ways to reduce review time, even at the expense of adding preparer time.

the best tax season managers know how to: read more →

management

why i became a consultant

by ed mendlowitz the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 practice doctor while i was working full-time early in my accounting career, i was also picking up clients that i did on the side, also known as moonlighting. one of the clients was a … continued