Lacerte® Tax spotlight: Renee Daggett, EA

I first met Renee Daggett, EA, a few years ago when she was on the Intuit® Tax Council, and since then, I’ve come to admire the way she manages her 100% virtual firm, AdminBooks, as well as the way she inspires everyone around her with her spirit and commitment. I sat down with Renee to talk more about her firm, how she and her firm benefit by using Intuit Lacerte® Tax, her top tips for working remotely, and even a bit about making her own pizza.

Scott Cytron: Can you please tell me a few ways Lacerte benefits your practice?   

Renee Daggett: We’ve used Lacerte for almost 20 years and experienced several benefits. First, Lacerte is user-friendly to navigate input. Not only is it consistent year over year; it’s easy to teach to team members who have never used it. We find Lacerte robust, especially when it comes to the diagnostics. We don’t have to worry about manual adjustments, and the diagnostics work well to bring issues to our attention.

We have used Lacerte Planner for years, but this year we’ve decided to use Intuit Tax Advisor for our tax planning meetings with clients (now built in to Lacerte).

SC: What is unique about your firm compared to other firms?

RD: We are a 100% paperless, fully remote accounting firm that uses Intuit-only products for the services we provide to our clients. Rather than just focusing on compliance, we prioritize impactful results that drive business transformation, with education at the core of our approach.

SC: What is your vision for your firm going forward?

RD: To continue to educate our clients with tax and financial options that make a difference in their business and personal lives.

SC: How has your practice changed over the last 5 years?

RD: We transitioned from being a semi-remote firm with team members at our office location, to a fully remote, paperless, 100%-in-the-cloud accounting firm. We are proud to say that we can serve our clients from anywhere!

SC: You’re written several articles for the Intuit Tax Pro Center on how you’ve set up your remote work team. For other tax pros reading this, what are your top 5 tips on how firms can make the remote model work successfully?

RD: Great question. Here are my top 5 tips:

1. Invest in technology and provide employees with the proper tools to facilitate seamless collaboration and prioritize security.
2. Prioritize employee well-being, and strongly enforce and encourage work-life balance.
3. Have clear and consistent communication, ensuring regular check-ins with leaders and weekly meetings, including the entire team, department teams, and 1:1s.
4. Maintain a strong company culture by checking in on a personal level, and also facilitate company hangouts with fun, non-work-related activities.
5. Regularly ask employees for feedback on challenges or processes, and stay adaptable to new changes.

SC: Great advice! What is your firm’s tech stack, and what Intuit products are you using?

RD: You already know we use Lacerte; other Intuit products include QuickBooks Online Accountant and QuickBooks Online Payroll.  We also use Canopy for project management, and GoToMeeting for web meetings, texting, and internal chat. 

SC: What do you like to do in your spare time?

RD: I recently started painting, which I find very relaxing.  And monthly, I plan a trip to see my granddaughter to spend time with her.

SC: What was your very first job?

RD: In high school, my first job was working at a pizza restaurant; meal breaks were great because I could prepare and cook my own pizza! 

SC: If you were stranded on a desert island with access to just one kind of technology, what would it be, and why would you want it?

RD: I would choose a satellite device because it would be my primary means of communication with the outside world, and in case of an emergency, I could call for help and rescue.

SC: Thanks Renee!

Editor’s note: Check out this video about Renee’s firm.