The following post was written by Keith Schroeder
I published this over on the FB page for my blog. It should prove of interest to folks here.
Some observations from this tax season.
When I started this experiment (the blog and hence any social media presence I have) it wasn't to fill in all that free time I wanted to fill. Instead, the goal was to show the world the view from my side of the desk.
Every tax season is different in its own way.
Last week a guy walks into the office and demands we take him on as a client. He was informed we are not taking new clients. He blows up saying, "You were taking new clients last week!"
Well. no. No we were not.
He persisted so I told him a short story before kicking him out. The story: You are filling the tank on your car. When it is full do you keep pumping more fuel, allowing it to spill on the ground, while saying, 'I was filling my tank 10 minutes ago so my tank is obligated to take more fuel now?' He got more angry so out the door he went.
Moral of the story? Even if I were starving I would not have taken him on as a new client. Not everyone is a potential client.
Of course that is the normal part of tax season every year. Some "no's" are easier than others.
Here is the new twist for this tax season. (Well, not exactly new, but from a new source.)
Several local tax firms have closed their doors the past few years without new ones opening to replace them. That adds stress to the remaining crowd.
I closed my door to new clients for some time now, but did allow a few to sneak through if they were local. Two or three came from a larger accounting firm. The story was their fee was doubling, or nearly so. The firm sent them a letter informing them of this.
My first thought was they were cutting the size of the firm over staffing problems. But then the initial requests dried up. Hmmm?
Two or three of these returns snuck into my book. Then I realized what really happened. The firm sent the letter informing of the fee increase to PITA clients only. This became obvious when completing the return was followed by 8-10 calls over the remainder of tax season.
(I am well aware several clients are in this group/on this page. I am doing my best to be polite about the situation.)
There is a massive shortage of tax professionals/accountants and the shortage is getting worse by the day. It no longer takes a lot to become a PITA client. Time is at such a constraint that anything that wastes that precious commodity needs to be eliminated or billed accordingly.
Mind you, the PITA client (only one sticks out) from the other firm did nothing egregious. It's just that the onslaught of follow-up questions were very basic. (Where do I send my balance due? It on the coupon we gave you. When is it due? It says on the coupon. Should I send it certified? Your call. Each question, and more, were from separate phone calls. They should have allowed electronic funds withdrawal.)
Lesson: Every tax pro I know works hard to be very nice. But every tax pro I know is sleep deprived this time of year. And they all have the same complaints. For example: missing documents are a scourge that saps precious personal time, time that could be used to sleep or pay attention to a significant other and the kids.
Don't accidently become a pain in the. . .
And it is easy to do. It isn't your fault. It isn't the tax pros fault either. And yes, respect needs to work both ways.
Rules:
1.) It will take work finding a competent tax pro. Be polite and accept a decline from a tax firm. They want to say yes, but you don't want a firm that says yes too much.
2.) Think before calling the tax office. Some questions answer themselves. Tax pros no longer have the luxury of keeping slots of time open to hand hold during tax season.
3.) But, most tax pros are open to hand holding outside tax season. Consulting, too (for a fee (guy has to eat)).
4.) But! That doesn't mean the day after regular tax season closes. The sleep deprived are going to take a nap! For three days! And then check to see if they still have a family or if they left for fertile grounds elsewhere!
5.) More and more firms will downsize as the staffing shortage grows worse. Technology will not cover all the lost ground.
6.) The best time to look for a tax pro is outside tax season with the promise (and one you keep) to bring ALL your tax docs in early. Then expect a long wait for completion, even an extension. (From my side of the desk: This allows for triage, where we can finish the maximum amount of work in a day, but not necessarily in the order received.)
7.) Enough bullet points. You get the picture. Be nice to your tax pro. They only sleep 8 months of the year and that has a serious health cost for them. Show appreciation. Always understand, we care. There just is no way to deliver on all the demands made of us.
Thank you.
