I have received many questions about the changes we
have made.
Before I answer, let me give you a warning—we aren’t
done yet. We will be launching the
following coaching programs in the next three months:
- Monthly
Business Profit Planning & Implementation System - Monthly
Business Growth Webinar Series - Monthly
QuickBooks Coaching & Support Plan - Monthly
Lower Your Income Tax System
Finally,
we expect to have two digital books published in September.
So again: Why all the changes and new products?
The
answer is long, and even this CliffsNotes version is a little longer than my
normal blogs, so bear with me.
First, a couple of
years ago it dawned on me that I am really not in the tax, accounting, and
QuickBooks support business. I am really in the business of providing
information! What my clients most
find value in is the information I give them.
What is taxable? What is
deductible? How can I save taxes? How do I set up QuickBooks for my
business? How do I get this report? How do I read my financials? Should I incorporate? When should I incorporate? What should I do to increase sales and
profits? Tons of questions, but it’s all
information that a business owner needs to survive and thrive.
But
if I am in the business of providing information, then the traditional way CPAs
deliver that information is not getting the job done. We CPAs normally wait for the client to come
to us with their problems and then we help them. This is not being proactive, but reactive,
and it is often too late for us to help.
Our
blog, the iPad magazine, the Kindle books, and the coaching modules are the way
that I have decided to deliver the information that a business owner needs to
run their business, increase sales, and decrease costs and taxes in a way that
is both affordable and timely.
Second, I prepared a
traditional SWOT analysis of my business.
This is a strategic planning model where you study your business’s Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities
and Threats. I will discuss this further in a future blog,
but what this analysis showed me is that I had built a CPA firm that did not
allow me to use my strengths to their fullest.
I was not taking advantage of opportunities that had presented
themselves in the digital publishing field to better deliver the information
business owners needed. Again, we will
talk about this more in a future blog.
Third, I currently
have well over 100 tax returns on extension that need to be prepared. I called a few of my long-time clients to see
why they are on an extension and discovered that my fee was a barrier to coming
in to have their return done. They have
to pay both my bill and any taxes they might owe. Now we offer our clients the ability to pay
their fee in twelve equal monthly auto-payments on a credit or debit card. They also may choose to have it drafted out
of their bank account monthly. Since
this also helps even up my cash flow, I am giving my clients a discount and a
guaranteed price for two years.
Fourth, for fifteen
years, the IRS did very few audits and our clients received very few
letters. We didn’t charge a fee for
answering the letters because I considered it a cost of doing business and an
added service for our clients. And I
hadn’t had a client’s tax return audited in 17 years. Well, the IRS has hired 16,000 employees in
the last three years, and the local audit department has grown from two
employees to around twenty employees.
Now
our clients are receiving the same number of letters in a month that they used to
receive in a year. And 80% of these IRS letters are wrong! Almost all of the others are items our
clients forgot to tell us about.
As
always, if we made a mistake, we take care of it at no charge to you. But from now on, we are requiring a $250
retainer to answer an IRS letter and $1,500 retainer to represent you in an
audit. Our clients can avoid these
high fees and get great representation by buying one of our audit protection
plans.
Finally, I have made a
decision that I mainly want to work with clients who:
- are
proactive, - take
responsibility for their actions and the success or failure in their business,
and - are
willing to eliminate any excuses that stand in their path to success.
We
introduced three programs that are designed to proactively give the business
owner business and tax advice in a way that allows them to increase sales while
reducing income taxes and costs.
In
my next couple of blogs I will be exploring in more detail the changes and how
they will allow me to serve my clients better.
Until next time, let’s make this our most profitable
year ever.