Are you still considering enrolling in bank products? Melanie Milton, one of our Bank Product Experts, will be hosting Bank Product Webinars each Wednesday in February.
From Refund Transfers to Cash Advances to Software Purchase Assistance, TaxAct® Professional Bank Product fees are among the lowest in the marketplace.
In this webinar you will learn:
How Refund Transfers can grow your customer base.
About incentives you can earn as a tax professional by using bank products.
How you can help those clients counting down the days until their refund comes in with a cash advance.
...
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Benefits of Automatic Mileage and Expense Tracking
We all know self-employed clients are immensely valuable to a tax prep office. Their returns tend to be longer and more complex than the average client’s and, therefore, more profitable.
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BluePay: Do You Want to Take Your Tax Preparation Business to the Next Level?
BluePay offers fast, easy, and secure payment processing solutions to fit every tax professional’s needs, while providing the highest level of data security in the industry. Through online, mobile, and software integration, BluePay’s leading single-source payment technology helps tax professionals maximize revenue, reduce PCI scope, and improve client retention.
Take a look at why BluePay is trusted by more than 53,000 businesses nationwide.
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Protection Plus: Cyber Liability Information
Cyber criminals are targeting tax professional systems to access taxpayer data. There is much talk addressing consumer concerns, but little is said about protecting the tax professional from the impact of a data breach. A study sponsored by IBM and conducted by the Ponemon Institute released in June 2016 found the average cost of a data breach is $221 per lost or stolen record. At this rate, a tax preparation business with 350 client records can expect to incur a cost of $77,350.
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Biz2Credit: Financial Tips Webinar for Accountants
This webinar features tips and advice specifically for tax professionals from Biz2Credit, small business funding experts in accounting and small business finance. Topics include best sources of capital, and growth strategies for tax preparers, CPAs, and their clients. The webinar features Tracy Kelleher, Vice President of Business Development at Biz2Credit.
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Protection Plus: General Audit Information
Who does the IRS audit?
1. Taxpayers with Suspicious Activity
This can include taxpayers who have made mathematical errors on their returns, who claim an unusually high amount of charitable donations, who are self-employed and report too many losses or business expenses, who fail to include part of their income, or who round up a little too much and too cleanly. When filing a return, be exact with the numbers you have for your clients’ income, expenses, and losses to avoid suspicion.
2. Random Audits
These audits are not based on any suspicious activity or specific part of a tax retu...
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SurePayroll: Five Ways to Evaluate Your Tax Business after Filing Season
For many accountants and professional tax preparers, the end of filing season can bring a sigh of relief and a welcome slowdown in client work. Although the tax deadline can bring back some sense of work-life balance, successful tax preparers use the month of May and beyond to evaluate the filing season, their business and to start preparing for next year.
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HD Vest: Discover 1040 Analyst – Your Unique Advantage This Tax Season
The 1040 Analyst® can provide that comfort – meticulously designed with our Advisors in mind. It is a unique data mining tool with automation that allows you to seamlessly integrate your clients’ tax data from the Form 1040 and provide a customized client report highlighting financial services opportunities that may help them chart a new course.
Watch the 1040 Analyst Webinar:
Explore 1040 Analyst® and try 1040 Analyst Lite
HD Vest Financial Services® is the holding company for the group of companies providing financial services under the HD Vest name.
Securities offered throug...
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Track1099: 1099-MISC Deadlines for 2016
2016 Federal forms – recipient and IRS e-file deadlines
The following table includes key dates you’ll want to remember for transmitting important tax forms to clients and for e-filing them with the IRS. Note: 1095-C dates have been revised as per IRS Notice 2016-4.
Form(s)
Due to Recipient
E-file to IRS
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Track1099: New State Filing Requirements for 1099-MISC
The following table includes state filing requirements. CSF refers to Combined State/Federal program where the IRS forwards 1099-MISC info on to the state. Some states require filing by paper (if applicable, click on the link to learn more). For Massachusetts, Oregon and soon, Pennsylvania, state files may be downloaded from Track1099.
State
CSF
Not Required
...
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HD Vest: Learning from Experience — Benefits Trump Concerns When Tax Professionals Offer Financial Services
In an August 2014 survey conducted by the research unit of SourceMedia, publisher of Accounting Today, accountants and tax professionals who have added a financial services offering to their business said that they not only increased profitability, but that a large majority of their tax service clients were also financial services clients. By offering these extended services, they’ve improved customer loyalty and satisfaction and increased the value of their business.
Tax professionals offering financial services have gained notable benefits that outweigh any potential concerns, according t...
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BluePay: Top Four Reasons to Accept Credit Cards in Your Practice
Accepting credit cards makes doing business easier for both you and your clients. While implementing a solution to accept credit card payments at your practice may seem overwhelming, consider these benefits:
Easier, faster collections. Sending invoices and waiting for paper checks can take several weeks. Accepting credit cards eliminates that delay.
Improved cash flow. When your clients can pay with their credit cards, you receive payment immediately and your business has improved cash flow.
Valuable documentation. Keeping track of credit card activity is easy because electronic reco...
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HD Vest: Tax Alpha Video Playlist and Why HD Vest?
Our 30-year history of working with CPAs and tax professionals who decided to reinvent their practices by adding financial services to their client offering has resulted in a one-of-kind business model built around the services, training and support needed to be successful in your new endeavor. In support of HD Vest Advisors in 2014, we evolved a big idea into a firm strategy called “Reinventing Growth Strategies.” This plan and approach has been transformational in providing all our Advisors with the concept and proven value of bringing a repeatable client experience to life and allowing them...
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Webiquity: Why You Need a Mobile Website Now
Google recently updated their ranking criteria algorithm in strong support of mobile-friendly websites, making it more difficult for non-optimized sites to be found and clicked on mobile devices. Changes like these prove that mobile isn’t just a trend.
If search result placements, website traffic and user satisfaction are concerns for your digital presence, it might be time for your site to go mobile, too.
Here are just five reasons you need a mobile site sooner rather than later.
More than 50 percent of all searches are made on a mobile device
Google recently announced that more s...
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Surgent: Six Reasons to Become an Enrolled Agent
Looking for opportunities to increase client engagement and billable hours? Consider becoming an enrolled agent (EA). EA certification is the highest tax credential awarded by the IRS. In fact, EAs are the only professionals that the U.S. government directly grants the right to practice.
While having a PTIN (preparer tax identification number) allows you to represent your clients before IRS agents and customer service representatives, a PTIN does not allow you to perform services such as signing documents and executing closing agreements, waivers and claims for refund.
EA certification o...
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