Category: Accounting
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Meet the client where they are: Cloud avoidance syndrome
“I will NOT put my clients information in the cloud!” wrote a bookkeeper, on the cloud, in a forum where we all have our information stored. I still occasionally hear comments like that. But it was surprising coming from a bookkeeper. The bookkeeper went on to say that she had to run her accounting business…
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Five steps of pricing
1) First, look at the customer- the ability and willingness to pay. 2) Next, look at the offer – what is available and what you are willing to provide. 3) Then consider value – assign a number to economic value to the offer. 4) Do a marketplace check – look at price alignment with others…
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Criminal tax representation
I’ve come to accept that representation of tax criminals – despite knowing the obvious stereotyping that even the use of this term evokes – is a challenging industry specialization that takes evolved personal skills and thick skin. It should, IMO, be the combination of tax/financial planning, legal/law enforcement and psychological/behavioral training. The focus of work…
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Start your own nonprofit business
I start more than a dozen new nonprofits of various types at the request of clients each year. It has become a specialization niche. Last week I received a referral from as far as rural Kentucky. A few of these startups have wound up as multimillion transformative organizations. One was cited by the president on…
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Six transformative changes I’ve made to control costs in my accounting practice this year
Saving time and money are no longer goals, but necessities for small business survival. Accounting industry experts note that small independent CPA firms are a dying breed. This is a long term trend that accelerated over the past two years. Recent rapid increases in costs raised the threat to crisis level. These business pressures that…
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Four personal reflections at the end of tax season
One week past the most demanding tax deadline of the year and I’ve caught up with the most urgent post-season demands, and I feel that this allows my mind to return to a more normal and healthy reflective state. Three reflections come into focus: 1) I see myself as an organized, logical, likable, responsive and…
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The snarky CPA’s Guide to High Income Tax Planning
How do you reduce your income taxes after you’ve exhausted all the usual middle income tax planning possibilities? Ignore anything published online because it is crap. Take a large tax deduction for donating something that is worthless because you already stripped its value. Donate your labor to a charity that gives you something worth little…
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Top 8 tax myths
1. Paying taxes is voluntary. 2. Students don’t need to pay taxes. 3. If I can’t pay my taxes I could go to prison. 4. An LLC helps convert personal expenses to business expenses. 5. Estate tax isn’t a big deal and doesn’t affect many people. 6. I don’t have to report income if I…
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Explanation: When there is no agreement on fees for this tax season
My professional practice is based on the principle of providing high value low cost services to working class clients. Most all of my clients have household incomes under $1 million and consider themselves “working class”. As a result, most of my fees tend to fall range of 1% to 2% of a client’s gross annual…