Mismanagement of my clients --- I need help

[Strongsilence-CPA]

Please bookmark this thread so we can discuss this in depth after the 17th

I know that I am mismanaging client information retrieval because I spend too much time getting information.  I need to improve this part of my practice.  I know that clients are, in part, paying me to help but information management is not part of my value proposition.

Is there a software or online tool you use that can assist clients in managing and tracking tax information?  (I use Citrix ShareFile primarily for secure transmission and I'm experimenting with a few clients to see how it works for information management. Results thus far are mixed. The Lacerte organizer seems decent so I should spend more time with it.)

Do you fire clients who provide information in bits and pieces and constantly delay getting in you information?

Do you have a tip to share to make this process more efficient?

A CPA nearby me fired 25 clients last November who were constant laggards and didn't get going until October. And guess what?  He was able to take a vacation from October 4 to October 13.  When he returned to the office, he had 1 - ONE! - tax return left to prepare. That is a wonderful achievement, isn't it?

[PhoebeRoberts]

"Do you have a tip to share to make this process more efficient?

A CPA nearby me fired 25 clients last November who were constant laggards and didn't get going until October."

This is the method we use, as well. I'm only working today because one of my guys got a K-1 from an entity he doesn't control yesterday morning!

Bits and pieces doesn't bother me, but it's a really inefficient (by which I mean expensive) method. Most of my clients give me everything (or everything but the brokerage statements I have online access to) at once.