how an out-of-work tax preparer ‘saved’ our lives

portrait of a cheerful businessman smiling at the cameraalways be ready to help others.

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

a number of years ago we purchased a practice in late february to get the business clients. however, we had to agree to service the individual tax clients, of whom there were about 180, with each paying a very low fee. the seller did not want to hang up his longtime clients.

more: getting by giving back | how to be ’the other guy’s accountant’ | why we ‘kill’ to get partnership returns out quickly | my first thought is to never turn down business | the background to saving a business
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we had just moved the files into our office and were really concerned about how we could get the returns done without totally straining our system when lenny called asking if we had any per-diem tax season work for him.
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getting by giving back

professionals don’t operate in a vacuum.

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

i had lunch recently with a colleague who was surprised when i mentioned that i helped another accountant with a problem and “did not charge him.”

more: how to be ’the other guy’s accountant’ | i always want to be ’the other guy’s accountant’ | learning from lee iacocca et al. | getting a referral from an adversary
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i know this colleague and he is a very nice person. he’s a sole practitioner and seems to like what he does, but he has always complained to me that he wasn’t growing and just kept doing the same things over and over again. he told me at the lunch that he would never help someone the way i did without charging for it.
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how to be ’the other guy’s accountant’

9 concrete tips.

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

i’ve written about wanting to always be the “other guy’s accountant.” i received a number of calls and emails asking how i do it, so here is a followup.

more: i always want to be ’the other guy’s accountant’ | some mistakes i made | growing with a client | getting a referral from an adversary | secret success formula: e=fs4uh
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no matter what client i meet with and no matter what the reason, i try to engage them to find out what’s on their mind.
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i always want to be ’the other guy’s accountant’

your reminders must be constant and relevant.

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

i once worked for someone who lost a client to “the other guy’s accountant.”

more: some mistakes i made | why we ‘kill’ to get partnership returns out quickly | my first thought is to never turn down business | the background to saving a business | secret success formula: e=fs4uh | becoming an expert in irs collections | high cpa fees should be a client’s goal
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it happened when the client went into a new business with another person – the “other guy.” so my boss lost both the client and the new opportunity to work on the new business. from then on, my boss always wanted to be “the other guy’s accountant.” me too!
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some mistakes i made

… and some lessons i learned.

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

i’ve been around a long time and did some really great things. i’ve also made some mistakes.

more: why we ‘kill’ to get partnership returns out quickly | learning from lee iacocca et al. | i lost a client to an accounting firm with cheaper fees | how i saved a business | the staffer who was too smart | how i got a mercedes as a fee
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the mistakes linger on my mind more than many of the great things, and i am sharing some of the mistakes here.
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why we ‘kill’ to get partnership returns out quickly

businessman looking at calendar on tableteveryone benefits.

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

many real estate and venture capital partnerships and llcs have investors that need their k-1 tax statements to file their individual returns.

more: learning from lee iacocca et al. | growing with a client | getting a referral from an adversary | start with the cash | why a break-even analysis matters
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depending upon the way they are managed, some never have their books up to date and ready for tax filing until late in the summer, while others are maintained monthly and are closed and ready for tax preparation the end of january or beginning of february.
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what lee iacocca’s life teaches accountants

woman on city train using tabletsummer reading: 14 proven leaders can teach us a lot.

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

lee iacocca passed away july 2 at age 94. he was a brilliant business and civic leader and a cultural icon who was even considered for president.

more: growing with a client | my first thought is to never turn down business | secret success formula: e=fs4uh | high cpa fees should be a client’s goal | how hidden bias taints results | when to keep some plans to yourself | when writeups went extinct | kennedy’s acceptance speech
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

i never met him but read his autobiography and besides enjoying it i took away a management technique i am sharing with you here.
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growing with a client

businesspeople coming together to cup hands and hold dirt and a seedlingresponsiveness benefits both of you.

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

i’ve told the story of how we were hired to prepare corporate tax returns at a much higher fee than the client said they wanted to pay. this client grew to become our largest client. here is how it happened.

more: my first thought is to never turn down business | i lost a client to an accounting firm with cheaper fees | how i saved a business | the staffer who was too smart
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we completed the initial work earlier than the deadline, raising the confidence level with us. we were then asked to bid on a system evaluation of a small retail chain they owned and were thinking of expanding. this was also a fixed fee. next came an audit of their employee benefit plan, then some pricing consulting, and a flow of continuous phone calls with tax and accounting questions and eventually an audit of their company.
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