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Competing Tax Proposals in GOP Race

The US tax code is so complex even those who write the law don’t understand all of it.  In fact, few members of Congress prepare their annual tax returns according to a survey by the congressional newspaper, “The Hill.”  Politicians cite the complexity of the tax code as the primary reason leading them to turn to professionals for help.  Even the Commissioner of the IRS can’t prepare his own tax returns!

Ask most taxpayers and they agree our current system is too complicated and unfair. So there’s no easier way for a politician to gain approval than to say the current system should be eliminated.

It’s no surprise the Republican presidential candidates have come out with some wide-ranging tax proposals.  Even deciphering the content of these plans can be a challenge, so we took it upon ourselves to identify how the GOP hopefuls’ differ and just what is in them.

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Don’t Miss These Important Tax Law Changes

Updated Tax Items Announced for 2012

Last Thursday the IRS released its annual revenue procedure including adjustments to income tax tables, tax credits, bonuses and loopholes for items affecting the 2012 tax year.

In addition, the 2012 contribution limits and other figures for pension plans and retirement-related items were announced by the IRS.

Aside from the adjustments made for inflation on the income tax tables, the new revenue procedure updated amounts for things such as the personal exemption (up to $3,800 from $3,700) and the standard deduction. Other items including the child tax credit, American opportunity and Lifetime Learning Credits, earned income credit and gift tax exclusions were announced as well.

Lastly, the Social Security Administration announced the Social Security wage base in 2012 will be $110,100 (from $106,800 previously).

Changes for tax year 2012 include:

The maximum earned income tax credit will increase to $5,891 from $5,751

The IRS also announced an increase in the contribution limit for certain retirement accounts. In 2012, the new limit will be $17,000 per year, up from $16,500 in 2011. This new limit applies to 401(k)s, 403(b)s, the government’s Thrift Savings Plan and some 457 plans.

The new standard deduction is $11,900 for married couples filing a joint return, up $300, $5,950 for singles and married individuals filing separately, up $150, and $8,700 for heads of household, up $200. Nearly two out of three taxpayers take the standard deduction, rather than itemizing deductions, such as mortgage interest, charitable contributions and state and local taxes.

Personal and dependent exemptions will increase by $100 to $3,800

A complete list of all of the changes can be found by visiting the IRS.gov website: In 2012, Many Tax Benefits Increase Due to Inflation Adjustments

2011 Federal Tax Update

With historic tax law changes already enacted, there are a TON of new strategies to discuss with your clients. THIS is the time of year to use the leverage of the New Year’s deadline to work RIGHT NOW on creating a tax plan to take advantage of the breaks.

Space is limited so register today for this can’t miss event!

Get a CTC Website Badge- We’ll Create it For You

As part of our efforts to help Certified Tax Coach members better market themselves online, we’re releasing a CTC “badge” that can help you showcase your Certified Tax Coach designation on your website for clients and prospects to see.

Below is an example of the badge- this small image can be added to the bottom of your website.

Certified Tax Coach Badge

Since we realize it may be a bit difficult for some CTC members to publish the badge themselves, our web marketing agency, Compete Marketing Group, has offered to add it when possible to CTC members’ sites at no cost! All they will need is a few pieces of information, which you can provide at the link below. From there, the badges will be configured on your website and available in just a few days.

In order to have the badge added to your site, please fill out the form here so that we can access your site. If there are any questions, please let us know in the comments section of the web form at the link above.

We look forward to helping you add the badge to your site!

By the way, if you or your own web team want to get technical, you can use the below code to add the badge to the website yourself:

<a href="http://www.certifiedtaxcoach.org"><img src="http://www.certifiedtaxcoach.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/certified-tax-coach-badge.png" alt="certified tax coach badge" /></a>

Why Task Tracking is Important To an Accountant’s Workflow

Any successful accounting firm is built on the effectiveness of it’s time and billing process. Tracking tasks is the most pertinent step in this process.

There are times when it’s difficult to see the importance of tracking everything that goes on in the office. It may even seem like micro-managing but there is a purpose to tracking what owners and staff spend their time on. We often marginalize what we spend our time on and tout, “I value bill everything, I only flat rate invoice!” Why would we want to include another process and use one more software application that will add to the many we must keep updated?

We operate in a workplace that demands the need to multitask. To survive and get ahead you must be able to accomplish multiple tasks at once. Thus making it harder and harder to track our time, resulting in huge discrepancies in our utilization reports, (if we can even get our hands on them), as well as not observing the staff members who are really affecting our business positively and even worse avoiding the task altogether. This should stimulate the idea: “How many billing opportunities have I missed?”

Office Tools Professional’s Practice Management Software provides a time and billing solution that empowers you to capture billable opportunities to help your business grow. Within the customization features of Practice Management, we will determine the work codes we will use to track our billable and non-billable time. Our software has a standard billable rate per staff member as well work code, including three alternate tiers of billable rates. As we complete activities off of our work list whether it is a client telephone call, accounting, or bookkeeping we are prompted to track our time. When completing tasks throughout the day we capture more accurate records quickly  resulting in a streamlined method that takes seconds to complete.

The bottom-line is so many firms are using sometimes up to five different software applications to complete the administration chore within their firm. This is frustrating, inaccurate and wasting up to one hour a day per staff member. You do not get paid for administration work but you must do it! Our Practice Management software cuts down how long you spend in administration work by managing the time, billing, paperless document storage, call tracking and CRM functions to name a few. Our system is completely integrated; by completing a call or assignment you automatically fill out a time card, which fill’s in the work in progress for the client and then that time can be invoiced…all in one step.

That is why we consider Office Tools Pro the accountants workflow solution!

Finding the Right Accountant: Check CPA Websites

Guest Post By: By Brian O’Connell

As summer draws to a close and we start to feel the cooler weather, some of us will notice a bothersome little itch that says: time to find an accountant I really like.

Your connection to an accountant has a lot to do with chemistry, which will only be clear once you’ve met. But there are ways to tell whether an accounting firm is going to be professional and client-centered. The best of these is with CPA websites for accountants.

Looking at your potential new accountant’s website will tell you a lot about whether you want to use them. Here are the 6 features that all CPA websites should possess:

Client Portal

This is by far the most important piece of your accountant’s website. A client portal is like a safe-deposit box that’s right on your CPA’s website. Most of them are just as secure as online banking, and they greatly increase efficiency.

Instead of having to drop off papers for your accountant or pick up your completed return, you just upload to and download from the client portal. It saves time – and it creates an online backup that cuts down on your need for hard copy recordkeeping.

Blog

It’s true, there are lots of blogs out there, and no one has time to read them all. But if your accountant has one, it shows that he or she is committed to keeping you up-to-date on the latest tax news, as well as important information about their office hours, staffing changes, and so forth.

Pictures

You may not think this matters much. After all, is it really so important to see how the office was decorated for the holidays?

Yet, again – as with a blog – when your accountant posts pictures of themselves, their staff, and their office gatherings, it points to an understanding that you, the client, need to feel connected to them emotionally. If they don’t understand this, they may not be the right accountant for you.

Online Appointment Scheduling

There’s no need, with technology being what it is, to wait around for your accountant to call back and make an appointment. Savvy and client-focused accountants include online appointment scheduling on their website, which allows their clients to see their (public) calendar and block in a time that works for both of you. When a CPA includes this on their site, you know they’re thinking about how best to serve you.

Online Credit Card Payment

Do you really still need to pay an old-fashioned invoice with an old-fashioned check? No. Find an accountant who’s made it easier for you by incorporating the ability to pay by credit card right on his or her site.

Articles, Guides, and Frequently Asked Questions

The best accountants know that the quality of CPA websites is built on content, content, content. You should be able to find answers to all your tax questions on your accountant’s website. Wondering if you can deduct that online class you took this year? Your accountant’s website should tell you. Having a baby? The website should explain all you need to know about how this affects your taxes.

In other words, your CPA’s website should act as a backup source of support and information for those times when you just don’t want to send an email or pick up the phone.

Good luck finding the right accountant this year. Check out their website, meet them in person – and then embark on a long and prosperous relationship!

UPDATED: Help us select a fun product!

Updated:  Thank you for your votes!  Our contest is now closed!

 

We thought it would be fun to try something a little different on our blog!  Searching on Etsy.com we saw a lot of cute products … of course we loved the tax related and numbered items!  After looking at everything we decided that we should try a contest to showcase some of these products and to see which product we’d like to sell on our site!

So, we’re putting it to a vote!  Actually, we’re going to let YOU vote … which product do you think is the best?

How to vote?

  • Twitter mention your favorite with the HashTag #CTCVote = 2 points (must have hashtag to count!)
  • Blog comment below with product number = 1 point
  • Write your OWN blog post on your blog and give us the link in the comments below = 10 points!   (whoa!)

 

Product #1 a USB necklace.  That’s right … hold all your data close to your heart! by Boardaments

USB necklace, USB silver necklace

Vote for #1 by Boardaments

 

Product #2 is a great T-shirt from Brand of the Free!  She’s shielding us from the storms!

statue of liberty t-shirt

Vote #2 for Brand of the Free

 

Product #3 is from cute and funny (that’s their name!) and it’s a cute baby onesie!

baby onesie, baby accountant onesie
Vote #3 cute and funny!

 

Product #4 is brought to you by KristaBDesigns, it’s keeping with a baby theme!

tax deduction baby bib

Vote #4 by KristaBDesigns

Product #5 are vintage numbered bottles by oldetymemarketplace!

Vote #5 by Oldetymemarketplace!

Product #6 a cute nerd pillow!  This will be a topic of conversation! Made by Shopdirtsa

nerd pillow

Vote #6 by Shopdirtsa

Product #7 are these cute 2012 notecards!  You’ll be thinking of a beach around tax time 2012!  Made by MyBeachWishes

Vote #7 MyBeachWishes!

Product #8 is another baby item, it’s a baby quilt with numbers!  By corinnereuterdesigns

numbered baby quilt

Vote #8 by Corinnereuterdesigns

 

Product #9 … cuff links, but not ordinary cuff links … ones with CASH on them!  By qacreate

cuff links, cuff links that say cash

Vote #9 by qacreate

 

There they are …. our fun products!  What’s your favorite???  Comment below, tweet it out our blog about it!

 

 

Take Your Blog Into the Future With Video

Last month, I had the opportunity to interview John Pollock Certified Tax Coach in Dallas, Texas.  John has built a phenomenal video blogging system at his website www.dallastaxcoach.com.  We discussed why VLOGGING is the wave of the future and what you can do to catch it!

DM:  You’ve invested over $50,000 and hundreds of hours creating over 500 posts in the last 3 years.  Why?

JP:   Simple.  Because it IS the future.  Wayne Gretzky says, “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”  The future of connecting with your market, internet searches, and best marketing practices lies in video blogs.  To stand out in my field, I wanted to be where the market was moving toward, rather than stay in the past.

DM:  How long do you spend each week creating your video blog?

JP: That is one of the keys to my success.  I have studio set up and ready to go in my office.  I can stop in the studio and record anytime I get an idea.  I am disciplined and record 5 VLOGS each week no matter what. 

DM: Wow, 5 VLOGS?!  That must take a lot of time.  How long does it take you?

JP: Not really that long.  Once you get used to it.  If you surf YouTube, you’ll notice the most popular videos are all under 3 minutes.  I use this as a guideline and target my VLOGS to no more than 3 minutes in length.  So let’s see, if I record 5 a week, and they are 3 minutes long, that is about 15 minutes total each week.

DM: Where do you find inspiration for your topics?

JP:   Anywhere and everywhere.  Surf the internet, watch TV, there are plenty of things to talk about for 3 minutes.

DM: Any success tips you can offer our readers?

JP: Not many CPA’s are VLOGGING.  This makes it easy to stand out.  Do something every day, and BE REAL.  Be yourself.  People want to do business with people.  Don’t script it and don’t worry about it being perfect.  Find an hour each week to seek out content. 

 DM: Any tips to leverage your time?

JP: Use easy resources available.  I recently video blogged about the Charlie Sheen email.  It was great.  You don’t even have to write anything.  You can merely be a clipping service for your clients.  Aggregate content and include links to content on other blogs.  Have your equipment set up and ready to record at any moment.

DM: So let’s talk results.  What has this done for your business?

JP: This is the tough part to measure.  I am making improvements to measure exactly what traffic is coming in through my VLOG.  I can tell you that people pay attention.  People are commenting on my videos.  They say things like, “I like the one when. . . “ My web traffic is increased.  It is frustrating that I cannot tell you I’ve made “x amount of dollars,” from this.  But it is much easier for my clients to refer by forwarding my VLOG posts.  Videos give my clients and prospects a chance to see me.  But by the time you post this interview, I’ll have more than 700 posts to my site which is more than ANY other tax professional out there.  And you don’t need to have over 700 posts to stand out in the crowd. 

That’s right John, you don’t need 700 posts to stand out.  But boy, do you stand out!  if you haven’t tried VLOGGING, give it a try!  What are you waiting for?  Skate to where the puck is going to be and get started today!

DOUBLE YOUR REFERRALS, PART TWO

Last week, I wrote about a magic three-step system for doubling your referrals. Why?

Most tax business owners tell us that referrals are your single most important source of new clients. But few of you make a point of asking for those referrals — effectively — and fewer still have systems in place for generating those all-important referred prospects. And since they still don’t teach this stuff in accountants continuing education, we’ll cover it here.

Last week’s article struck a chord, and several of you wrote back with more strategies you’ve used in your own practices. One member from Kentucky suggested asking your clients what value you bring them, letting them sing your praises, then asking them who they care about who’s in a similar situation. (“Works like a charm,” he said.) Another member from just outside Sacramento suggests that, after you get a referral’s name, you ask “how can I make that connection happen?” Then offer possible solutions like a phone conference, coffee, or lunch. Clearly you’re hungry for more referrals!

Here’s a 3-step formula for presenting a “typical” success story in a way that leaves your audience begging for more. Try this at your next networking function and let us know how it works: 

  1. Identify your client and their problem in a way that builds affinity with your audience. If you’re speaking to an audience of business owners, your story ought to involve a business owner. If you’re speaking to an audience of chiropractors, your story ought to involve a chiropractor. You want your audience to immediately relate to your client and think “that could be me.” If you’re speaking to a group of chiropractors, and you don’t have any chiropractor clients, find someone with the same sort of tax challenges chiropractors face. But don’t tell them about some retired investor collecting Social Security, because your audience just won’t care.)
  2. Outline, in general terms only, what you did for your client. Remember, don’t give it away! You can “show a little leg,’ so to speak — but be sure to leave enough mystery to convince your audience that they need your specialized expertise and experience. (They actually do, but that’s another story.)
  3. Identify, as specifically as possible, exactly how much you saved your client in dollars and cents. This is the key. It’s great to find a client just like your audience, but quoting them actual savings is what will have them salivating to talk with you.

 Look at an example of this in action. One example is a married couple, both doctors. Let’s say you showed them how to take a home office and claim mileage deductions for the husband’s side income. Let’s also assume you discovered that filing separately worked to their advantage. Here’s how you would present this to an audience of physicians:

  1. “I just finished a plan for a pair of doctors — he works for a hospital and has a side income doing drug studies, and she works for a group practice in the suburbs.” We want the audience to listen, nod their heads, and say “hey, that could be me!”
  2. “I found some business deductions their old accountant wasn’t claiming for his side income, and discovered that changing their filing status saved them even more.” Yes, you could say “we claimed a home office deduction, switched his car deduction from the mileage allowance to actual expenses, and filed separately instead of jointly.” But that would be giving it away — and that would let your listeners think “I can take those ideas to my old accountant, Fully-Depreciated Frank.”
  3. “Those three strategies saved them $4,087 last year.” You could say “I saved them several thousand dollars.” But “several thousand dollars” doesn’t have nearly the same effect as specifically citing “three strategies” and “$4,087.”

I’ve talked the last couple of weeks about “magic” 3-step formulas for generating referrals. But there’s really no magic to it. If you want more referrals, just ask for them. And give people a reason to give them. Then sit back and figure out how the heck you’re going to handle all the new work!

Next Week: How to turn midyear reviews into referral magnets

Top 10 Reasons to Use QuickBooks Hosting

by Kacee Johnson of Cloud 9 Real Time Bookkeeping

There is a myriad of reasons to move to the Cloud and utilize QuickBooks hosting solutions. Here are our Top 10 reasons and we think David Letterman would be proud…

10.  Work Anytime, Anywhere

9.      No more sending Accountant’s Copies back and forth

8.      Automatic offsite backups

7.      Full Desktop version in a multi-user environment (not like limited QuickBooks Online)

6.      Disaster Recovery Plan

5.    You don’t want to go through the hassle of becoming a “self-host” with Intuit

4.    Save time and money

3.    Client, employees and Accountant can all work in the same files at the same time

2.    Instant access to real-time data

And the #1 reason to use QuickBooks Hosting….

You can LEASE QuickBooks to save money and always be on the latest edition of QuickBooks!

To lease QuickBooks, the user must be a client of the hosting provider, and elect to lease the product for the intended user. Cloud9 leases QuickBooks Premier and Premier Accountant’s Edition for just $12 per month per user. This allows the user to spend only $144 each year to always be on the latest edition of QuickBooks Premier or AE in the Cloud.



 

HOW TO DOUBLE YOUR REFERRALS

I’ve done hundreds of new member consultations. One question I always ask is “what’s your best source of new clients?” The answer is almost always “referrals.”

But . . . lately I’ve been pulling a bit of a Columbo and asking “just one more thing.” Specifically, I’ll ask “what systems do you have in place to generate those all-important referrals?” And then there’s an uncomfortable silence on the other end of the phone. Afterall, they don’t teach this kind of stuff in accountant continuing education. 

There’s another question I like to ask, and it actually goes hand in hand with the first two: “Have you ever sat down with a client and told him exactly what you’re worth to him, in specific dollars and cents?”

And once again, that question usually produces . . . silence.

Think for a minute about your own clients. If you’re like most tax business owners, you’ve grown mainly through referrals. And you’ve done that with very little thought or reason.

Now, imagine how you could grow if you had a system for generating referrals — a system based on communicating your value to clients who may already be referring you without a clue how much you’re worth?

Want the secret formula? Here it is:

1.  Make asking for referrals a priority. If you want more referrals, you have to ask for them. Just get in the habit of asking and you’ll see your own referrals skyrocket, even if you have no idea how best to ask.

2.  Tell your client who you want to do business with. One problem with just asking for “referrals” is that it forces your client to open their mental Rolodex and flip through it until they find someone appropriate.  Asking them to do that kind of work makes it easier for them to just shake their head and say “Nope, sorry, can’t think of anyone right now.” So, identify the sort of “A” clients you really want to do business with, and make it easier for your clients to help you with the right referrals.

This is the most important part. Always tie your referral request into some immediate and measurable benefit you’ve already delivered to your client.

3.  It’s one thing to take your friend and client Fred The Realtor to lunch at the club and ask him “Do you know anyone I should be talking to?” It’s another thing entirely to take him to lunch at the club, remind him how you saved him $15,000 over the last three years by helping him establish an S-corp, and say “Who else in your office does a pretty good business and would be interested in that same savings?”

Tying your request to an immediate and measurable benefit accomplishes two goals. First, it gives your client a better reason to refer you than just general goodwill. And second, it means you can ask for the referral without really asking for the client to do you a favor. You’re positioning it as a chance for Fred to do a favor for the guy he ultimately ends up referring! (One member told us he got 18 names from a single client with this technique!)

4.  Extra Credit: When Fred gives you a name, you say “Thanks, and who else?” Then shut your mouth! If your client can think of one person who wants whatever immediate and measurable benefit you’re citing, he can probably think of three more. Asking him to think of more — and keeping your mouth shut while he does it — turns ordinary referrals into power referrals and turbocharges your growth.

Asking for referrals is the single most powerful business development tool in your arsenal, and it deserves far more attention than most of us give it.

Stay Tuned. . . Next week we’ll look at a 3-step formula for presenting a success story that leaves your audience begging for more!

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