March 6, 2012, 2:00 – 3:30pm EDT

Using Tax Planning to Get Paid for Your Expertise

Most small business accountants find themselves on an endless hamster wheel of servicing many clients at low “industry rates” all in an effort to earn the kind of income that owning an accounting firm is supposed to bring. In this fast paced and entertaining seminar, you’ll learn how to price your services highlighting your expertise. You’ll learn how to use tax planning as a lead for attracting new clients paying premium fees, breathe new life into your existing book of business, and create client loyalty by reinforcing your value.

Learning Objectives
• How to increase your net worth with clients
• Spotlight your expertise with tax planning
• Learn the secret formula for selling planning engagements at premium fees
• Identify opportunities for tax planning and use this information to sell your engagement
• Learn how to value price your planning services
• Recognize pitfalls when converting hourly billing to value pricing
• Eliminate the primary cause for low profits and long hours

Get Paid What You’re Worth!

Earn from 1—2 hours of CPE Credit!
Program Level: Basic
Delivery Method: Group Internet Based, Group Live
No Prerequisites, No Advanced Preparation Needed!

The American Institute of Certified Tax Coaches is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE sponsors. Click for more details about Continuing Education Credits

Register

Date: Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Instructor: Dominique Molina, CPA CTC

Did April 15th leave your clients owing the IRS Money? The IRS is not a pleasant creditor and most taxpayers tend to ignore their problems leaving them exposed to liens, levies, and seizures. Of course all of this means emergencies that you are left to fix, often at night and on weekends when you receive that call of panic!

During this fast paced and entertaining class, we’ll explore proactive ways
you can work with your clients to relieve their anxiety and provide clear
manageable options to alleviate their stress (and yours!).

Topics Covered

• The Collection Process
• The 3 dreaded letters from the IRS
• Phone Calls
• In-person visits from agents
• Liens, Levies and Seizures
• Early Options: Accepted forms of payment, Installment Agreements, and Case Assignments to Revenue Officers
• Appropriate Forms: 433-A and 433-B
• All about Installment Agreements
• What will be approved?
• Allowable expenditures
• Form 911
• Your rescue in cases of hardship
• Offers in Compromise
• Do’s and Don’ts
• Calculating Net Cash Flow
• Current Practices
• Circumstances where it will work to discharge IRS debts

Learning Objectives

• Identify ways to assist clients if they are unable to pay the IRS.
• Recognize the IRS practices and procedures in collecting your client’s debt.

Level
Intermediate

Format
Live webcast

Instructional Method
Group: Internet-based

NASBA Field of Study
Taxes (2 hours)

Program Prerequisites
A basic understanding of tax preparation.

Advance Preparation
None

The American Institute of Certified Tax Coaches is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE sponsors. Click for more details about Continuing Education Credits

Register

June 5, 2012 – 12:00-2:00pm PST

Using Routine Preventative Maintenance to Build Your Dream Tax Business

Is your tax business performing at its peak potential? Are you 100% completely satisfied with the way your tax business is going? Do you know the value of a client? In this 2 hour webinar, we’ll take a look at the 10 key factors to consider when evaluating the health of your tax business, from revenues and profits, to your own satisfaction level. They say, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” this class is the apple you need for your tax business!

• Learn how to perform a health checkup on your own tax business.
• Give your 10 key performance indicators a tune-up for optimal success!
• Creating your own dashboard to stay in touch with your business from anywhere
• How to rely on key staff to help improve your operations
• How to stop copying everyone else’s business model and create your own!
• Learn valuable concepts you can use to help your business clients!
• Using systems to put your tax business on auto-pilot!

Earn 2 hours of CPE Credit!
Program Level: Basic
Delivery Method: Group Internet Based, Group Live
No Prerequisites, No Advanced Preparation Needed!

The American Institute of Certified Tax Coaches is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE sponsors. Click for more details about Continuing Education Credits

Register

Get away from it all while becoming a Certified Tax Coach!

Mark your calendar and book your flight for Chicago! Our next Certified Tax Coach Academy will take place on June 27th – 29th.

You’ll learn tax planning techniques and strategies through live case studies, group work, and individual work. You’ll learn how to harness cutting edge proactive tax strategies to slash client taxes by $15,000-$100,000 per year!

You’ll learn a little-known but effective step-by-step approach Certified Tax Coaches use to create an average of $15,000 per year in fees per client.

You’ll learn the 6 Specific Strategies that Improve Your Bottom Line over 100%!

And you’ll get the actual forms, templates, contracts, and engagement letters to convert inquiries into lucrative engagements.

Read testimonials from prior participants or view the full list of benefits here.

We use modern styles of instruction that allow you to instantly understand, retain and put to use all the available information in high level tax planning. Our unique approach builds confidence, so that when you return to your own office you know you have the skills to leave your clients amazed and begging to pay you premium fees. View the CTC Academy Itinerary

Enroll Now

Can’t make these dates? Click for information about taking the CTC Academy courses online.

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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<a href="http://www.certifiedtaxcoach.org/blog/gop-tax-proposals/"><img src="http://www.certifiedtaxcoach.org/wp-content/2011/tax-proposals-2012.jpg" alt="Tax Proposals by CertifiedTaxCoach.org" width="600" height="4892"></a><br />Tax Proposals Infographic by: <a href="http://www.certifiedtaxcoach.org">Certified Tax Coach</a>

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Copy and paste the below HTML code onto your blog:

<a href="http://www.certifiedtaxcoach.org/blog/gop-tax-proposals/"><img src="http://www.certifiedtaxcoach.org/wp-content/2011/tax-proposals-2012.jpg" alt="Tax Proposals by CertifiedTaxCoach.org" width="600" height="4892"></a><br />Tax Proposals Infographic by: <a href="http://www.certifiedtaxcoach.org">Certified Tax Coach</a>

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!

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.

In this fast, paced and entertaining webinar, tax experts Dominique Molina, CPA CTC and Edward Lyon, JD CTC will highlight the issues that must be resolved before the end of the year to lock in the most tax advantages.

Learning Objectives:
- Discuss how the reduced capital gains and income tax rates create tax planning opportunities
- Explain the differences between Section 179 and bonus depreciation
- Distinguish between the “Payroll Tax Holiday” tax breaks and the HIRE Act incentives
- Explain why 2011 is still the “Year of the ROTH”
- Identify opportunities to beat the impending Medicare “surcharge” for high income earners
- Discuss how to take advantage of “phased out” limitations on itemized deductions
- Determine what to do RIGHT NOW to create powerful tax savings strategies with your clients before year-end

Date: Tuesday, November 15, 2011, at 3:30pm EST

Location:
From the comfort of your own computer. You can attend this Group Internet Based class from anywhere you have an internet connection.

Register

CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS – The American Institute of Certified Tax Coaches is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE sponsors.
State Boards of Accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit.

Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be addressed to the National Registry of CPE sponsors, 150 Fourth Avenue North, Suite 700, Nashville, TN 37219-2417. Website: www.nasba.org. Instructional methods used: Group-Live and Online. Unless otherwise stated, there are no other prerequisites or advanced preparation required to take courses.

Please note: CPE credit amounts are based on a 50-minute hour.

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.

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>

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!

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!