2017 - What Worked, What Didn't

Resurrecting last year's thread, what were the things you tried for 2017 tax season, and did it work out? Here's my experience:

What worked
E-signature - WOW. I was a bit worried about clients not being able to use UltraTax's E-signature service, but not a single person in my pilot run had an issue with it. Next year, I will plan to use this for almost all of my remote clients -- if they can use e-mail, they can use this.

Pens as Promotion Items - Yeah, everyone knows this. What I learned was that people seemed uncomfortable stealing a pen when there were only a couple on hand, but when there were a bunch they went like gangbusters. I assume this is the same as the nobody-wants-to-eat-the-last-donut phenomenon.

What didn't
Post-it Notes as Promotion Items - People didn't feel as comfortable taking my branded post-it notes as they did the pens. However, if they were missing information, usually they would write it on the post-it note pad and they would be willing to keep the whole pad. They do work as a great double-use item; even if they weren't a glowing success as a promotional item, I still use them.

What Didn't
Offering coupons for clients to give to their family and friends that would give them $15 off a tax return. I did get a client's son, granddaughter, and grandson, but this was mainly due to the fact that her husband passed and her son was handling everything, so they decided to go with me. I gave her credit for three 'coupons' on her return even though she didn't use them.

What Worked
Reaching out to a former client and getting that client back. Also three clients moved out of state and I made it a point to inform them that I could still handle their returns. One moved to Arizona, where another client moved a few years ago, so I had experience, the other two moved to Florida which doesn't have income tax.

Awesome -- thanks for sharing! At least the coupons only cost you $45

What Worked
E-signature - I agree, it works great with the remote clients. I did my pilot on the 2016 taxes. It went well so I expanded it this year to almost all my remote clients. Loved it and none of my clients had any issues with it.

Pens as promotional items - agreed. I had the same experience as you. I found some real nice ones that even have a stylus on the click end once could use on their devices. Clients loved them.

Online Invoicing - I used Square to email invoice to clients that they can click-to-pay online. I got feedback that it was easy to use and on our end it was real easy to send an invoice. I used this on all my remote clients and noticed I got paid much faster this year.

What Didn't Work
Scheduling - Every year I adjust my policies regarding appointments and drop-offs to find the magic formula that works. This year I contacted clients who hadn't brought in their paperwork as of 3/15. I promised their work would be finished by 4/17 as long as they brought it in by 3/31. Bad idea - I got so overwhelmed that I couldn't finish all of them and had to file extensions.

I'm going to check out Square. I offer online payment using PayPal and only had two takers

I use PayPal "Request Money" state the $$$ amount - on the note - "Invoice Tax Preparation" $$$ - thank you, name.
It worked great - especially - when I see one overdue - I click on - "remind" - fees 3% or so. Any bank/credit card works.

I really want to have E-Signature - ATX doesn't offer it.

+1 for Square. I implemented it for 2015, and it has worked great for me. People don't need to sign up for the service (and can just enter their credit card), clients who come to my office can pay with a card in person, the fees are quite reasonable, and unlike traditional credit card processors there are no ongoing monthly costs.

+2 for Square. My new secretary has a bigger phone, almost used it like a tablet.
This is a great post, we should make it an annual post.

WHAT WORKED
Last year I started making the day before the deadline my completion date. All returns are to be finished and out the door or extended. I spend the last day running down missing 8879's, answering questions about returns delivered in February that the client is just now looking at, and monitoring the efile processing (unless the IRS computers crash).

Since my clients can't understand the letter that says to return the Form 8879 to me or comprehend when I say that I need this form back, I printed up some yellow post-it notes that say "Please return this form to me after you sign and date it." I have also started writing the name of each spouse on the "Sign & Date" flags next to their line.


WHAT DIDN'T WORK
While I don't promise that I'll finish a return if the information is brought to me by March 31. I do state in an annual letter that I don't promise that I will be able to complete it in time if received after March 31. I'm not sure how effective it is since I have usually been able to get those done also. This year, In a fit of rebellion, I did extend a couple of returns that came in the 14th and 15th that I probably could have finished. We'll see if that helps next year (doubtful)

Thanks for sharing ideas!!!!

What Worked
1. Asking for referrals verbally. I discovered that clients assume that your are at capacity. I am going from operating part-time(6 yrs) to first year running full-time and I need more clients. I got a few new clients due to simply asking.
2. Promotional pens. I upgraded and ordered some nicer pens. Clients seem to appreciate it.
3. I implemented a fee for extensions, and a deadline to get your information sent in by April 10th.

What Didn't Work
Including a referral coupon. No one came in and said, "Bob, gave me this referral coupon"
Running ads on Facebook and Google. I paid alot for alot of junk calls. I'm sticking to organic searches.

If anyone is in the growth stage as well, please share what worked.

What Worked:
A1. Adding links to the bottom of our "your tax return is complete" email for clients to leave reviews online. We link to Google, Yelp and Facebook. We gained about 5 or so reviews, which is huge, and we show up very high on search results for "(hometown) CPA".
1. Calendly for scheduling. This was the biggest win for me in tax season, and I now use Calendly for everything. It is embedded in my website and clients schedule to pick up docs, drop off docs, consultations, new client meetings, etc. Better yet, when we hit capacity in tax season, I simply removed the "new client consult" event and boom, no more new clients!
2. Adobe e-signature. Very easy and comes with my Adobe subscription.
3. Zelle as an option for non-check payment. I also use Paypal (sparingly) but I hate giving away 3%. Zelle is completely free and my more tech-savvy clients enjoyed using it and learning about it. My bank (BofA) makes it easy to use on my end, and clients only need my email to send payment.

What Didn't:
1. New hire who was a CPA but had no tax experience. I expected too much from her and it did not work out at all. I will never hire anyone without experience in a small firm again, I promise you that!
2. SmartVault. We use this for client portal purposes and I hate it. We will be switching this year.
3. Business Property Listings. We don't have a great process for these, they get lost, they get done late, client doesn't understand/care about them, etc. Not sure how to improve here.

I have noticed that promotional pens are always a hit! More so than Calendars and Key chains.

Coupons generally don't work unless you are running a "walk in retail" type of operation.

Referrals absolutely is the best way to get new clients. I gave up on advertising in local paper, internet etc. What I got turned out to be junk or a big waste of time answering tax questions via e-mail without any compensation!

At this stage of my professional life, I will only accept new clients that were referred.

BullCityCPA, I have suffered NC BPP listings (in the Bull City, as it happens) for over a decade at my old firm and I am now wading through my second season at my new firm. Here in NC, it only works if you do the bookkeeping, in my view. Unless you are going to treat everything the same for BPP as for income tax, you need to keep two sets of FA schedules and you need to be able to report by April 15th (or May 15th if you wish to endure Wake County's online filing system). One can't do that if the books don't get delivered until late on in the season.

The issue, I suppose, is that a property tax auditor will compare depreciation schedules to the BPP abstract and if the client has prepared themselves, we both know there will, inevitably, be discrepancies that cannot easily be reconciled.

2. Adobe e-signature. Very easy and comes with my Adobe subscription.

Looking for a better solution than print, sign, scan, upload. Which Adobe subscription is that?

What worked:
1. Having the EA up the street shutter his shop with no warning or explanation. I picked up a dozen of his former clients.
2. Niche marketing - focusing on a particular market segment and blogging about their particular tax issues. (That's mostly a non-tax-season activity.)
3. Letting clients know I was accepting new clients.

What didn't work:
1. Unrestricted online scheduling. Scheduling built into my website was brilliant. I realized allowing clients to book any hours I was going to be working was a mistake by mid-February. Can't scale up the volume of returns when I'm constantly stopping to take in tax documents from new clients.
2. Agreeing to file states only (and only charging for the state return). It was a nice marketing gimmick when I wasn't at full capacity. Now it's just a way to get underpaid on a PITA return.

I only have one client where I prepare the state only (AARP does her federal for free at the library). Her son and daughter in law are ling time client and hubby's friends since the womb. I also prepare their two daughters' returns.

What didn't work:
1. Unrestricted online scheduling. Scheduling built into my website was brilliant. I realized allowing clients to book any hours I was going to be working was a mistake by mid-February. Can't scale up the volume of returns when I'm constantly stopping to take in tax documents from new clients.

Thank you, thank you for posting that, because I was thinking of trying something like that. There's got to be a way for these software platforms to intelligently restrict this... right?

2. Agreeing to file states only (and only charging for the state return). It was a nice marketing gimmick when I wasn't at full capacity. Now it's just a way to get underpaid on a PITA return.

A friend of mine bought a firm which did that, too. Same amount of work, half the fee. Worst of all, he couldn't dump the clients immediately due to the earn-out clause in the contract. At least you can stop doing those returns immediately.

I only have one client where I prepare the state only (AARP does her federal for free at the library). Her son and daughter in law are ling time client and hubby's friends since the womb. I also prepare their two daughters' returns.

AARP doesn't do state returns? That seems weird to me.

What didn't work:
1. Unrestricted online scheduling. Scheduling built into my website was brilliant. I realized allowing clients to book any hours I was going to be working was a mistake by mid-February. Can't scale up the volume of returns when I'm constantly stopping to take in tax documents from new clients.

Thank you, thank you for posting that, because I was thinking of trying something like that. There's got to be a way for these software platforms to intelligently restrict this... right?

I just went into the scheduling platform and blocked off large chunks of my time. They appeared as 'unavailable' to clients looking to schedule. I would leave it wide open (no unblocked times) until about a week in advance. Those clients who planned ahead could pick whatever times they wanted. Then I could see the big open spaces on my schedule in the next week, and I would block them off. Anyone who wanted to schedule after that had to schedule close to a time that was already booked. It worked fairly well at bunching the client appointments together and leaving me big stretches where I could roll up my sleeves and work.

What didn't work:
1. Unrestricted online scheduling. Scheduling built into my website was brilliant. I realized allowing clients to book any hours I was going to be working was a mistake by mid-February. Can't scale up the volume of returns when I'm constantly stopping to take in tax documents from new clients.

Thank you, thank you for posting that, because I was thinking of trying something like that. There's got to be a way for these software platforms to intelligently restrict this... right?

2. Agreeing to file states only (and only charging for the state return). It was a nice marketing gimmick when I wasn't at full capacity. Now it's just a way to get underpaid on a PITA return.

A friend of mine bought a firm which did that, too. Same amount of work, half the fee. Worst of all, he couldn't dump the clients immediately due to the earn-out clause in the contract. At least you can stop doing those returns immediately.

I only have one client where I prepare the state only (AARP does her federal for free at the library). Her son and daughter in law are ling time client and hubby's friends since the womb. I also prepare their two daughters' returns.

AARP doesn't do state returns? That seems weird to me.

She lives in Florida and the return was for non resident Oklahoma.

2018 tax projection provided with 2017 tax return

Prosystemfx has a module for ~$240 where you just fill out one field and a 2018 projection is provided that takes the 2017 info and runs it thru the new tax law/rates etc. Many many phone calls requesting meetings/strategy sessions. For those clients that had an item (i.e. large cap gain) that would not recur, it was very easy to edit that item out before preparing the projection.

You can also get the pens labeled with "this pin was stolen from Doug M" with all the contact info on the pen.

I just went into the scheduling platform and blocked off large chunks of my time. They appeared as 'unavailable' to clients looking to schedule. I would leave it wide open (no unblocked times) until about a week in advance. Those clients who planned ahead could pick whatever times they wanted. Then I could see the big open spaces on my schedule in the next week, and I would block them off. Anyone who wanted to schedule after that had to schedule close to a time that was already booked. It worked fairly well at bunching the client appointments together and leaving me big stretches where I could roll up my sleeves and work.

Great idea; thanks for sharing!

AARP doesn't do state returns? That seems weird to me.

She lives in Florida and the return was for non resident Oklahoma.

That makes a lot of sense -- it's best that AARP not tackle that one

2018 tax projection provided with 2017 tax return

Another good one -- I've always offered a quick mock-up of the next year's taxes when a client expects a major change, but this year the tax projection was a normal part of my end appointment and a huge hit with clients. UltraTax has always had this feature in their program, but somehow they didn't find a way to get extra money out of me for it like CCH did to you!