client service opportunities

8 ways to delight them.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

clients are our customers. they pay our salary and enable us to make good livings. do what you can to accommodate them and make them feel important – as important as they believe they are.

more: 5 small leaks to beware during tax season | 5 tax review keys | 4 reasons to push ahead with tax question research | one can’t-skip touch for tax season | 5 steps for tax season success | help tax clients help you | 3 steps to tax season happiness | 12 ways to have more fun this tax season
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

also be user-friendly – do not make it difficult to work with you. clients don’t know how smart we are. they think we are great, but they measure us by the small things – the good and bad.
read more →

withdraw funds from elsewhere.

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

if you have ever worked in the united states or were married to someone who did, the chances are you will eventually receive social security benefits.

more: when clients don’t know | when the kids don’t want to take over | staff may surprise you with leadership | problem clients | when pushing the pencil pays off | when to say no to pro bono work | i used to hate quickbooks | things change
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

there are different ages when regular benefits can start beginning at age 62. the longer the benefits are delayed, the greater they will be … until reaching age 70.
read more →

investigate motive before diving in.

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

we all have clients who wonder what their business is worth and sometimes imagine getting away from it all.

more: when the kids don’t want to take over | how to waste lunch hour | what’s your negotiating style? | how to make your own opportunities | how i became a published author | large clients we landed from quickbooks consulting | 26 value-added benefits clients need to know | how an out-of-work tax preparer ‘saved’ our lives
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

some even sell, but many more talk about starting the process but are not really committed to selling.
read more →

if you didn’t have time pressure, how might your planning change?

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

i had a client who had five sons and three daughters who worked in his business. their ages ranged from 28 to 48. i was helping him with exit planning and suggested that i could possibly structure a transaction where either some or all of his children could buy his business.

more: how to waste lunch hour | why you’re only as good as your staff | why tax time is the best time to get new business | becoming a ‘media star’ | don’t pass up opportunities
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

he liked the idea and i told him to meet with them and suggest it.
read more →

this was time that could have been spent working on the business.

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

i was recently in manhattan during lunchtime and thought i would drop in at a cpa firm i did some consulting for to see if anyone was available to have a quick lunch with me.

more: why you’re only as good as your staff | staff may surprise you with leadership | problem clients | when pushing the pencil pays off | when to say no to pro bono work | i used to hate quickbooks | things change | how to be ’the other guy’s accountant’
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

it was around 12:45. if no one available, no harm done. i showed up (that counts as a “client contact”), would see a few people and then would only be there 10 or so minutes.
read more →

everyone is busy, but work still has to flow smoothly.

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

this is a response to a reader who sent me the following email:

more: staff may surprise you with leadership | what’s your negotiating style? | how to make your own opportunities | how i became a published author | large clients we landed from quickbooks consulting | 26 value-added benefits clients need to know
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

all your articles are good, and so was this one about a surprise staff leader.

question: why was it important in your firm, for you personally, to “know” about elliot and the tax manager?

read more →

3 lessons learned.

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

one time i was reviewing a time run and noticed a certain staff tax person, elliot, kept appearing on clients he wasn’t assigned to and i wondered why.

more: what’s your negotiating style? | why tax time is the best time to get new business | becoming a ‘media star’ | don’t pass up opportunities | why we train on excel, word and adobe | stop pricing by the hour | getting by giving back
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

when i asked the people in charge of those clients what elliot did, i was told that they either needed a tax question answered or some research done and asked him to do it. elliot was one of the younger people in the tax department. i wondered why they asked him and not the tax manager.
read more →

what they ask for and what they need may differ.

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

i once had a client who felt he was getting ripped off by his salespeople padding their expenses.

more: what’s your negotiating style? | why tax time is the best time to get new business | becoming a ‘media star’ | don’t pass up opportunities | why we train on excel, word and adobe | stop pricing by the hour | getting by giving back | some mistakes i made
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

i found this out by walking into his office and finding his desk and credenza overloaded with files halfway up to the ceiling.

read more →