According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are an estimated 82,370 tax preparers in the United States today. And I’ll wager a bet that if you ask each one of these tax professionals what their busiest time of year is, they’ll likely tell you it’s between January and May—the time of year known infamously as ‘tax season’.
Whether you own your own tax preparation business or work for a tax service, it’s important to stay organized and ahead of the game to prepare for the madness. New regulations, rules, and restrictions aside, there are a few things tax professionals can do to get ready for the upcoming tax filing season.
Hit the ground running.
…While you’re here, don’t forget to register for my FREE online Masterclass training, ‘Teach Me The Tax Game’ and learn how to increase your income as a professional tax preparer, and potentially make $100K in just 90 days!
1: Review Your Processes
Before you do anything, go over the past year and reevaluate what did and did not work, and adjust things where it makes sense. For example, getting additional tax preparer training or deciding to move to an all-virtual tax preparation business.
You can also start by reassessing your digital solutions for receiving and sending client tax documents. Approximately 140 million tax returns were filed in 2023, and of those over 133 million we e-filed. Even more interesting, more than half of the electronically filed tax returns were prepared by tax professionals.
If you haven’t looked at how you’re using electronic signatures, sending documents, and secure portal solutions to help customers access those files, doing so before tax season is a smart move.
Next, make sure to review the overall customer experience and ask yourself a few questions:
- How do you communicate with clients and send documents?
- How do you schedule appointments?
- How can you exceed customer needs and expectations?
- What were your biggest challenges with clients last tax season?
Revealing the main areas of improvement for your tax prep business allows you to bring everything into focus and ensure that you and your customers are on the same page.
2: Update Your Securities & Compliance
It makes sense.
Tax professionals are handling people’s detailed financial and personal data so you’d better make sure you’re doing everything you can to keep it safe. Not only that, staying compliant helps prevent data breaches and fraudulent activity, which is something you want no part of—you or your clients.
To ensure that you’re doing everything you can to operate securely without any discrepancies, act in accordance with the IRS “Security Six”.
- Install antivirus software and set it to ‘automatic update’.
- Activate firewalls that secure your network and computer from malicious activity.
- Utilize two-factor authentication for added security.
- Always have a backup of all files and software.
- Turn on encryption that turns computer data into secure, unreadable files for unauthorized parties.
- Complete a written data security plan as required by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s Standards for Safeguarding Customer Information.
3: Reexamine Your Client List
In the same way you review your procedures, it’s also important that you make time to look over your client list and proactively address any issues. In a perfect world, every client would be perfect and a dream to work with, but the reality is that you’re always going to have “problem” customers.
For example, did they contact you on April 13th and insist on immediate service? Were they so unorganized that it cost you time and money?
Before tax filing season begins tax professionals need to weigh the pros and cons of problem clients and choose to either sever the working relationship or inform them of any policies you have designed to nip problems in the bud.
Sure, it’s not the easiest conversation to have, but removing the more chaotic customers from your roster enables you to stress less and spend more time with valuable clients—an idea every tax professional can appreciate.
4: Determine A Good Workload Balance
Even though most tax professionals understand that working long, stressful hours is the name of the game during tax season, that doesn’t mean it’s healthy. A crazy schedule with little time for personal development is sure to lead to burnout. Each year we try to take on more and more clients when it’s not doing us any favors—just adding more lines and gray hairs.
Rather than booking your schedule to full capacity, take a moment to consider how you could help yourself. Whether that means hiring someone to help or delegating tasks to other people, figuring out a healthy workload is essential.
Become A Successful Tax Preparer
Folks, the math just adds up. There are so many benefits to a career in tax preparation and if you’re ready to learn more about this lucrative industry, the next best move you can make is to contact my team.
To date, I’ve helped thousands of people across the country find the career of their dreams in tax preparation and if you let me, I know I can help you too.
…And while you’re here, don’t forget to register for a FREE spot in my EXCLUSIVE online training course, ‘Teach Me The Tax Game’ and learn how YOU can make $100K in just 90 days!
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