- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
Best Answer Click here
This discussion has been locked. No new contributions can be made. You may start a new discussion here
Accepted Solutions
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
Review last year's letter to client and update to get ready for tax season.
Review notes I have made during the year for clients that might need special attention - errors on prior returns to amend, possible pension planning, possible year end planning (especially with tax law changes), ...
Make new contact with clients to review their pay stubs and see how deficient their withholding is in light of this years changes.
Get ready for release of the organizer.
Review and update the Lacerte (1) Client Letter (2) Table Editor (3) Client Invoice. If you are charging my form now is the time to make increases as necessary and prepare a list of new forms for 2018 and (4) Prepare and review the Database reports (a) Client Summary and (b) Tax Practice Summary.
Clean up the piles created during the hectic tax season.
Review a listing of clients that did not return. Possibly contact them to see why they left.
Beef up continuing Education hours. I have found https://www.cpaacademy.org/ to be very affordable (free) and offering some very good topics. Lacerte also offers some training https://proconnect.intuit.com/training/lacerte/ Not the greatest, but it doesn't hurt to see if they off a new trick to make the practice more efficient.
Answers are easy. Questions are hard!
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
Review last year's letter to client and update to get ready for tax season.
Review notes I have made during the year for clients that might need special attention - errors on prior returns to amend, possible pension planning, possible year end planning (especially with tax law changes), ...
Make new contact with clients to review their pay stubs and see how deficient their withholding is in light of this years changes.
Get ready for release of the organizer.
Review and update the Lacerte (1) Client Letter (2) Table Editor (3) Client Invoice. If you are charging my form now is the time to make increases as necessary and prepare a list of new forms for 2018 and (4) Prepare and review the Database reports (a) Client Summary and (b) Tax Practice Summary.
Clean up the piles created during the hectic tax season.
Review a listing of clients that did not return. Possibly contact them to see why they left.
Beef up continuing Education hours. I have found https://www.cpaacademy.org/ to be very affordable (free) and offering some very good topics. Lacerte also offers some training https://proconnect.intuit.com/training/lacerte/ Not the greatest, but it doesn't hurt to see if they off a new trick to make the practice more efficient.
Answers are easy. Questions are hard!
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
One of my CPE instructors last year had a good idea. Keep an eye out as IRS releases new/draft forms/pubs. Read the "What's New" sections.
Vacation starts on Sunday. Anyone near LAX?
Today was mostly filing/clean up. I filed my (one) 6/30/18 FYE 1120 today (yes, I got the extension filed by 9/15 instead of 10/15). I met with a late 1040 client, got signatures and efiled.
I "soft" fired a client today and I think I'm going to use that as a template for others:
"Effective immediately, I'm firing all of my last-minute clients. Boom, there it is, YOU just got fired. <Mic drop>
<Pick mic back up> The good news though, is that you still have an opportunity to be a brand new not-last-minute client for next year. I'm putting a 3/15 deadline down for everyone to have their tax data in to me or they can go somewhere else."
And then I proceeded to tell him the things he could do NOW that don't have to wait until next October 13th to be done. I've decided I'm tired of extensions. Every year it gets worse. Life's too short.
For some of my small Sch C clients we meet in Dec to get 11 months of bookkeeping done. I make this win-win by giving them a discounted "off-season" rate and then I'm not slammed in March doing 12 months of bank recs.
I'm going to try to get organizers out in December this year instead of the usual late-January / early-February.
So yeah, I have a pretty busy Fall this year.
Rick
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
I have about a half a file cabinet drawer of "shred in 2018" in accordance with my document retention policy. And I pull out files of former clients (fired, left, moved, died), date them for shredding in the future, and move them to the shred section of the file cabinet. Then I only have to flip through current clients next year when I need to pull a file. I don't have DMS software, just use Windows Explorer, so I do the same thing with electronic client files. Former clients get moved into an Archive folder which saves a good bit of time during tax season not having to scroll so much to find the right client folder.
Other electronic files get scattered all over different computers so I make sure everything ends up in the right place. I try once or twice a year to "clean the desktop". It's a little more involved, in a perfect world I'd file everything in the right place as soon as I get it, but this isn't a perfect world and I'm far from a perfect person! Random stuff ends up on the desktop or in Downloads and really should be filed somewhere else. 5 or so years ago (which probably means it's been more like 10) I borrowed a big whiteboard from a friend of mine and wrote a massive list of computer file types and then came up with a logical way to organize all of them. Music, photos, personal finance, CPE, business records, client files, vacation info, just to name a few. So now everything has a "place" and every "place" gets backed up.
Rick
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
Vacation?
Slava Ukraini!
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
Slava Ukraini!
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
Slava Ukraini!
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
Juno, who didn't even swim three months ago, now clears 10-12' when jumping off the pier. It's so much fun to watch; we are thinking of entering her in those jumping dog contests!
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
Slava Ukraini!
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
Slava Ukraini!
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
I'm thinking spending the money for a DNA test will be worth it just to satisfy our curiosity
What's odd is she doesn't *chase* anything she sees.....squirrels (aka tree rats, Hi Archie), chipmunks, rabbits, bears.
You'd think a lab/pointer mix would chase just based on instinct.
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
Slava Ukraini!
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
Slava Ukraini!
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
Become a procrastinator because procrastinators find other procrastinators and they will keep you busy all year long. Stragglers are still appearing and I have 10 years to do for one entity. Learn to save any 1040-X, 1065-X, etc for after the deadline. Do all your CPE after the final deadline since it will be fresh in your mind in time for 2018 returns. Live in Texas because all C Corps, S Corps, limited partnerships, LLC's have Franchise Tax Reports due on November 15th. Payroll taxes go on all year long. Since I have known most of my clients for over 30 years, I have a number of dinner and luncheon invitations in the next few weeks. The list is endless.
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
<<What do CPA's who only prepare/review tax returns do after 10/15(aside from projections which are later on)? >>
Answer posts about what they're doing after 10/15.
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
Rest/Vacation (I'm off to San Diego next week.... yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee)
CPE
Rest
Work on fine tuning in house accounting so entity returns can be done in January
Rest
Fine tune what I want my organizers to ask/say
Rest
Fiscal year end Non-profit returns (most I do probono)
Rest
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
I'll be sure to wave as I pass by on my cruise from L.A. to Cabo. 🙂
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
Are you stopping in San Diego by any chance?
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
Still an AllStar
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
We always do...and since *we* have the house at the beach, all our friends come there to party with us. That eliminates the drinking & driving issue (for us at least...).
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
Still an AllStar
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
2007-2009 was one of our worst drought cycles ever recorded.
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
Going to movies is good.
I only have seasonal employees.
Turn off alarm clock.
Walk in the woods.
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
If you're with a firm that has different practices, I'd also find out if there're any secondment opportunities to work in other areas to learn new skills and broaden my experience.
Still an AllStar
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
I trying to finish off my CPE
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
"....That if you have own a big practice, you will inevitably have employees with a few months of heavy downtime."
THAT is a bit of an issue, and always has been in this profession. If the firm is strictly tax prep, then there are some months with very little for the minions to work on. Keeping employees busy can be tough. I've heard of firms that 'force' all vacations are during that down time.
I'm lucky, MY employees are willing to work really, really hard during tax season and then take it easy during the off times.
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
hile all the other CPAs in town did quarterly financial statements we only did monthly. While the other CPAs would slip behind a few quarters and have to catch up in the busy season, we were nedver more than 2 months behind. We dealth with issues each month is the slow season and had good tight books for the tax returns. But now the books are posted on QuickBooks by ex Taco Bell employees and tax season is a nightmare trying to figure out what they did and what thye were thinking. We have turned into detectives.