330 search results for mendlowitz

when large (or any) clients need backup assurances

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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.

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how to get paid faster this tax season

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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.

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lowballing and why it (usually) doesn’t work

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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 →

when is it time to merge?

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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 →

what goes in a client’s permanent file?

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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 →

why the average fee doesn’t matter

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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 →

top 21 reasons clients switch tax accountants

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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 →

great tax prep reviewers aren’t just born

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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 →

why i became a consultant

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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,…

should you buy a practice from an estate?

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ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and aby ed mendlowitz
author of “implementing fee increases”

question: a widow called me to ask if i wanted to buy her husband’s practice. he died suddenly a month ago. what should i offer and how should i handle this?

response: it is always hard to buy a practice from a widow or estate when the accountant did not make arrangements.

more practice doctor q&a: 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

the expectations of the seller are usually greater than reality, and the buyer is getting something that already has declined in value, with clients leaving as they hear of the death, and the information about client servicing is likely not too organized, if it exists at all. this also applies to a sudden complete disability. this should be a “lesson” to get your own affairs in order.

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no more printouts at cpe programs?

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ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and atech advice for everyday use.

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

question: i always like to take notes on the handouts when i attend cpe programs. now all the handouts are provided digitally and it forces me to sometimes print out as much as 400 or 500 pages before i go to the program. how can i get the sponsors to provide printed copies?

response: things change. what worked yesterday doesn’t always work today. read more →

how to apply value pricing to bundled services

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ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and adon’t confuse it with value billing.

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

question: i tried value billing and it didn’t work. i would rather bill my business clients on a fixed fee for my services.

response: actually, you are value pricing when you do the fixed fees. you confused value pricing with value billing. value pricing is where you sit down with the client and you jointly determine the price before any work is done.

more practice doctor q&a: 18 ways to blow a partnership opportunity | 8 times when hourly billing trumps value pricing | 10 do’s and don’ts for making small business clients happy | 10 (nearly) painless ways to keep up to date with technology | 23 reasons clients really need you for taxes | running an accounting business | 14 ways to switch to value pricing | pricing, billing, costing: don’t blame clients

value billing is where you try to get an extra payment after the work is done. i believe the best way to determine a fee for recurring services is to set the fee with the client in advance of performing any work. i’ll explain. read more →