1949 search results for "busy season" or "tax season"

tax refunds, tax pro market share trending up

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data table

* total refunds issued represents returns received and processed in 2024 – the current year only. the number of direct deposit refunds represents returns received in the current and prior year but processed in 2024.

 

how long before more figures flip positive … or might they not?

by beth bellor

the 2024 filing season has been seven days shorter than 2023’s, but that’s making less difference as individual income tax returns keep dropping into the internal revenue service inbox, just 3 percent off last year’s pace.

more: tax pros handle 37.7% of e-filings | tax pros file 33% of early returns
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the irs had received 44.6 million such returns as of feb. 23, the last week for which data has been released. it had processed 44.1 million returns, down 3.6 percent.
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courting a client? don’t give too much away for free

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businesswoman shakes client's hand across desk, both seated

what to say instead.

by ed mendlowitz
202 questions and answers: managing an accounting practice

question: i usually give away too much info at a meeting to get a new client.

more: how to start providing family office services | higher fees to start: ten ways to make your tax season better | three ways to start an accounting practice | free consultation? not always | referral fee? forget it | how much is your tax practice worth? | merge in lower-priced work without losing out
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

we simply answer too many of their questions during the initial meeting. we don’t know how much info to give away so the possible new client will get hooked and not take the information and run to somebody else.
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make it ‘productive season’

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don’t be busy. be productive.

by seth fineberg
at large

at this time of year, most accountants are considered to be mired in an annual waterboarding-like ritual known as “busy season.” while the moniker has long stirred ire, one way to rally against its implication is to take a good look at what being “busy” means. moreover, why not make it more productive?

more fineberg: it’s time to do the uncomfortable | jeremy sulzmann: can intuit mend fences with accountants at qb connect? | meet basis, the new ai bookkeeper on the block | is this when accountants start taking freshbooks seriously? |you’re doing email wrong | careful … you may be advising! | when live events fail | getting real: accounting tech decisions you need to make today | accounting tech doesn’t have to be daunting |who’s in control? you? or your clients?

goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

perspective is everything. and while i’ve noticed more accounting professionals making concerted efforts to have more of a life/work balance, it is apparent that much of the work that contributes to being “busy” could evolve into productivity.

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brandon hall: firms try to make too much on tax prep

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try for a 10-15% margin.

subscribe to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 podcasts anywhere: apple, google, spotify, iheart, deezer, amazon music and audible, player fm, audacy, gaana (india), and boomplay (africa).


the disruptors
with liz farr

brandon hall says that the reason accountants have such long and grueling busy seasons is that “firms try to make way too much money at tax prep.” firms don’t have enough capacity to deliver on services, so everyone – including the partners – ends up working a ton of hours.

more podcasts and videos: james graham: drop the billable hour and you’ll bill more | karen reyburn: fix your marketing and fix your business | giles pearson: fix the staffing crisis by swapping experience for education | jina etienne: practice fearless inclusion | bill penczak: stop forcing smart people to do stupid work | sandra wiley: staffing problem? check your culture | scott scarano: first, grow people. then firm growth can follow | jody padar: build a practice that works for you, not vice-versa |

goprocpa.com exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

because partner pay isn’t included in payroll, the margin on tax prep is likely much worse than the 30-35% that shows up on the income statement. hall’s target for the 2024 filing season is just 10-15% margin on tax prep.

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three pillars support a successful accounting firm

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three marble ionic pillars

yes, you need all three.

by august j. aquila
price it right: how to value accounting services

some firms go from one marketing activity to another without much success. the firms that are successful do the basics very well. like any athlete in spring training, accountants and consultants need to practice the basics of building their practices.

more: four questions for choosing your marketing audit strategies | maybe what you need is a marketing audit | three types of marketing message, and which is best | why you need progress billing | five tips for cross-selling and upselling | five keys to successful marketing | twelve fundamentals of planning | one question to guide your growth plans | four ways to prepare for new business development
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

here are the basics:

  1. creating opportunities to meet people
  2. developing good listening skills
  3. learning how to sell benefits rather than services/products
  4. knowing how to overcome objections
  5. providing client service that makes the client want to say, “wow!”

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eight steps to getting started with ai: a guide for tax professionals

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overcome the chatgpt ai learning curve. 

by sandi leyva and chatgpt

in the fast-paced world of tax preparation and accounting, the adoption of artificial intelligence (ai) tools like chatgpt can be a game-changer. however, the learning curve associated with these technologies can be a bit daunting, especially for technology immigrants in the gen x, boomer, and silent generations (versus natives born after 1985).

check out our courses on chatgpt,
offered as a deep discount bundle or separately.
webinar schedule:
more chaptgpt here

if you’re hesitant or short on time, here’s how to get started:

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amber setter: coaching helps resolve the tension between safety and purpose

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safety’s knowing you can pay the bills. purpose is knowing there’s something more.

subscribe to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 podcasts anywhere: apple, google, spotify, iheart, deezer, amazon music and audible, player fm, audacy, gaana (india), and boomplay (africa).

the disruptors
with liz farr

amber setter, the chief enlightenment officer for conscious public accountants, started out as a type a overachiever cpa, but after a few busy seasons, she realized that she “didn’t want to be an accountant anymore.”

 

more podcasts and videos: blumer cpas: move leaders out of client service | james graham: drop the billable hour and you’ll bill more | karen reyburn: fix your marketing and fix your business | giles pearson: fix the staffing crisis by swapping experience for education | jina etienne: practice fearless inclusion | bill penczak: stop forcing smart people to do stupid work | sandra wiley: staffing problem? check your culture | scott scarano: first, grow people. then firm growth can follow | jody padar: build a practice that works for you, not vice-versa | ira rosenbloom: with m&a, nobody wants a fixer-upper | peter margaritis: the power skills every accountant needs | joe montgomery: find the sweet spot of the right clients, right services and right prices | marie green: your bad apples are ruining you | megan genest tarnow: hire for curiosity rather than compliance |

goprocpa.com exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

today she’s an executive leadership coach for accountants, helping them transform their lives and careers.

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try this clean slate exercise

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clean slate with three pieces of colored chalk

spend a few minutes today to check your course.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

we all get caught up with what we do. sometimes so much that we lose sight of what we are doing and the purpose.

more on tax season: offer your tax clients other services | can your tax reviewers answer these 10 questions? | the top 12 mistakes in tax return preparation | six types of person: which are you? | answer these two questions first | help your tax clients, help yourself | what’s your value to your tax clients? | are you excited about tax season?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

also, work happens. many of us start out with lofty plans that go astray as the practice develops. many things cause it – clients we get, availability or lack of availability of the right staff, how we choose to learn or not learn new things, and even where we locate.
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keep business development going during busy season

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man writing on a calendar

consistency is key.

by martin bissett
 business development on a budget

you may be asking yourself how you will know when you are successful in your selling efforts. many people have asked me that, but it’s the wrong question because firms have different goals.

more: health, wealth, stealth: challenges on the path to partnership | it’s time to prepare the next generation | who are you more committed to, your firm or your clients? | nine checkpoints before every prospect meeting | three questions about conversion | six keys to turning prospects into clients | don’t overlook internal communication | four reasons people struggle with communication | why firm culture matters for partners | competence is step one of seven | three things that rich accountants do
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

some want to simply tick over and replace the clients they lose, some want to grow exponentially, some want steady and consistent growth they can measure and monitor. so there is no one definition of success. but no matter what yours is, you will never attain it if you are inconsistent in your process of winning new business.
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tax chat: eric green reveals the tax rep guide to tax season

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.
seth fineberg
with eric green

renowned tax attorney eric l. green delivers a roadmap for seizing tax resolution opportunities this tax season in the new video from last week’s first tax chat of the year, hosted by seth fineberg.

more tax season: ftc nails turbotax for ‘free filing’ scam | | offer your tax clients other services |  higher fees to start: ten ways to make your tax season better | tax pros handle 37.7% of e-filings | if only the irs’s tax pro were useful | can your tax reviewers answer these 10 questions? | tax pros file 33% of early returns | can’t irs online accounts be more useful?

in this live webinar, attendees – and now you – get the fundamentals for catching lucrative tax rep engagements without adding to busy season workloads. with live, real-time q&a, everyone’s questions got answered.
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refunds up as tax pros tackle 41.5% of e-filings

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* total refunds issued represent returns received and processed in 2024 – the current year only. the number of direct deposit refunds represents returns received in the current and prior year but processed in 2024.

also: the irs realizes a footnote is in order and we are shocked.

by beth bellor

average tax refunds are on the rise, so the weekly filing data has one uptick besides the amount of traffic to the irs website – an increase that perhaps isn’t a positive.

more: tax pros handle 37.7% of e-filings | tax pros file 33% of early returns
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the internal revenue service had received 34.7 million returns, down 5.7 percent from the same period one year ago, as of the week ending feb. 16, the latest data available. lower numbers are no surprise, of course, because there had been only 19 days in the 2024 filing season, which opened jan. 29, compared to the 26 days there had been in the 2023 season, which opened jan. 23.
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how to start providing family office services

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couple meeting with investment advisor.

including a sample engagement letter.

by ed mendlowitz
202 questions and answers: managing an accounting practice

question: some of my clients are getting older and are becoming unable to handle their own financial affairs and i have been asked if i could assist them. what is involved and how do i charge for it?

more: higher fees to start: ten ways to make your tax season better | nine tips for a healthier tax season | fifteen strategies for first-time supervisors | measure knowledge gaps (then close them) | should you offer financial services? | ready to retire? selling your practice is no strategy | 20 things you need for a business valuation
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

response: many large firms provide “family office” services. this is a complete one-stop financial service that helps clients manage their money, pay their bills, collect their dividends and interest, and make sure insurance isn’t cancelled, mortgage, car lease or condo fee payments aren’t skipped, and tax payments paid on time.

following is a sample engagement letter that i use with clients needing such services. also, this letter provides a detailed description of what the service involves.
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why would anyone become a cpa?

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the competition between cpas and non-cpas is about to get more aggressive.

with steven sacks
the new fundamentals: thriving in disruption

the cpa profession, or just plain old accounting profession, is currently facing challenges of getting more people to become cpas or even having young people think about accounting as a career.

more steve sacks: 150 hours revisted: the profession needs a makeover | how do you value your most important asset? | which is better: a year of education or a year of experience? | sell service, not hours | private equity vs. the cpa firm partnership | cas or caas? getting clarity | fine-tuning the subscription fee model | when cyber-crime hits close to home | how to build a winning proposal | six ways to fix your firm agreement | the great resignation or a reshuffling? | listen to learn | build the framework to a solution with five answers | try for success, not a win
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

we hear about the slow drip of the professional pipeline; all sorts of remedies or suggestions have been offered. is it because the profession still suffers an identity crisis exacerbated by an additional (if questionable) fifth year?  there are those already in the profession who are bemoaning low pay, long hours, and doubts about whether gaining a partnership is achievable (or worth it).

oh, yes, there is the extra tuition load that must be taken on. so, higher debt, stagnant pay, long hours, and increased competition (think mbas, cfas) is a perfect storm.

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