How to Start a Tax Accounting and CPA Firm

After building up five of my own accounting firms and spending the next 20 years helping over 2,000 other accountants do the same, I’ve learned that there are a few basic rules that accountants can follow to give themselves the best chance of success.

Accountants who want to start their own Accounting and Tax CPA business have the best chance of being successful if they give themselves the most chances to do so. To do this, keep in mind that good clients and the basic tools to help them are the most important parts of a successful business. Many accountants who want to start their own business spend a lot of money on things that aren’t necessary, which hurts their chances of being successful. Costs that aren’t necessary can be put off until they are. Get only the things you need to serve your first customers. It’s important to keep the beginning costs as low as possible so that you can start making money quickly and pay for the practice’s growth.

It is suggested that accountants start their own Accounting and Tax CPA Firm from their homes. In the tech-savvy world of today, clients are fine with accountants working from home. In some ways, it gives the clients the impression that they are getting more for their money. They think that if the accountant has less expenses, some of the savings might be going to the clients. By not spending as much on rent and other office costs, accountants will have more money coming in, which they can use to grow their business without getting into debt. Once there is enough money coming in to support an office, the accountant can decide if it makes sense to open one. Accountants who work from home may also decide that they like it so much that they don’t want to move to an office.

Accountants can also keep their costs low by not buying expensive tools they don’t need. Many accountants buy very expensive tools they don’t need to help clients they haven’t even met yet. There are companies that make apps that are very good and sell it for a low to medium price. Drake Tax Software is a program that has a great name and is very affordable. The results of a software poll were published in the September 2011 issue of The Journal of Accountancy. Drake Tax Software got a great score. Accountants who want to start their own Accounting & Tax CPA Firm should look for good software at prices they can afford. This will give them the basic tools they need to help clients.

There are a lot of easy ways for accountants who want to start their own Tax and Accounting Firm to cut costs. Just choosing a name for their business will save accountants money on their start-up costs. If accountants used their first name, middle initial, and last name, followed by CPA or Certified Public Accountant, they might not have to pay to register their business as a DBA, pay bank fees, or pay file fees. Certified Public Accountants with current licenses are also allowed by law to do public accounting under their own names, which saves them the cost of using a fake name. Certified Public Accountants often use names that don’t belong to them. This can make potential clients think less of them, which can hurt a new business. For example, a qualified Certified Public Accountant who does business as “Bay City Tax Service” or “Accounting & Tax Service” loses credibility. Prospective clients might think that this business is not certified or approved.

Accountants who want to start their own Accounting & Tax CPA Firm but are already working should not quit their jobs. Instead, they should work and improve their skills at the same time. When compared to quitting their job and giving all of their time to their practice, this can be a time-consuming choice. However, the sacrifice is well worth the reward. As the business grows, accountants can grow with it and move into their own business full-time without putting themselves or their families under too much financial stress.

With less stress about money and the ability to run the new business while still working, there will be a big increase in income without a lot of extra costs. As long as job income is kept up, cash reserves will grow a lot, and new income will start coming in from the new practice as well. This rise in cash reserves will help a lot with paying for a full-time move, which will make the move easier when the time comes.

In January, accountants will find it easiest to move to a full-time business. In January, tax season starts, and with it, the first money from helping people with their taxes. The extra money will come in right when the accountants need it the most. It’s important for accountants to get ready to start marketing at the beginning of tax season so they can quickly get new individual tax clients and make the most of their first tax season. Also, many businesses have work to do at the end of the year in January, such as salary and financial reporting. This will also bring in more money for the accountants’ businesses during the month they move.

January is also the best month of the year to make the practice your full-time job because it may be the best month of the year to get new clients. Most business owners don’t like the idea of switching lawyers. For a client to leave an accountant, they need a very good reason. Once a client decides to switch, they usually won’t do so until the end of the business year. This is because they don’t want to have two accountants split a fiscal year. So, the end of the year is the best time to talk to business owners, which will make the change to a full-time practice easy.

Lastly, when beginning an Accounting and Tax CPA Firm, it’s important to avoid marketing services as a commodity or product. This usually leads to very few responses and clients who are not very good. It can also be very expensive. There are a lot of accountants who sign up for very expensive marketing plans from different companies and are drawn in by guarantees that are hard to keep. A lot of these schemes are based on goods. The accounting business is not based on selling things. Instead, it is based on trust and loyalty. A marketing strategy for an accountant should be based on truth, honesty, and professionalism. This will help a client feel more at ease knowing that he or she is hiring a trustworthy accountant.

Accountants or CPAs who are already working and want to start their own Accounting and Tax CPA business will find it helpful to do so by taking a few simple steps:

1) Don’t spend money on things that aren’t important.

2) Think about starting your CPA accounting business from home.

3) Work on the practice in addition to your present job.

4) Don’t promote the company as a good or commodity.

Remember that you have to do something to get a chance. No effort means no chance. When accountants take action, they give themselves a chance to succeed. They should start their own CPA and accounting firms from home while they are still working. Their experience will give them the trust and cash flow they need to enjoy the freedom that comes with owning an Accounting and Tax CPA Firm without putting their future at risk.

Four Things to Think About Before Hiring a Tax Accountant

Every year around tax time, a lot of people all over the world start to worry about their finances. Is there something they forgot to do during the year that could hurt their tax situation? 

Will they be subject to a check? 

Were the bottom lines of their businesses good or bad? 

How will they do better next year than they did last year? 

There are two ways to answer all of these questions: 

1) You can worry about taking care of them yourself, make mistakes, and cause yourself a lot more trouble in the long run. 

2) You can give them to a personal tax planner who has the knowledge and skills to help you get through the beast that is tax season. If you like option two, here are four more things you should think about before getting serious with someone:

How much tax do you have to pay? 

Do you have discounts, credits, and liabilities that are hard to understand?

 Do you have any stocks or tax shelters that you use? 

Do you run a business, or do you just have to worry about yourself and your family? 

Some things are so easy that it’s a good idea to buy tools that can help you get through them quickly and easily. But if you have worries, questions, or problems, you will probably still need help from a professional. Before moving on to the next question, think about what you need.

Will what you spend be worth what you get back? 

A personal tax preparer is very helpful, but they are not free. That doesn’t mean he wants to steal from you all the time. In no way! But if your taxes are close to or at break even and are easy to figure out on your own, this is something you should think about before hiring a professional.

How well-known is the person you are thinking about hiring to do your taxes?

 Most of the time, the job of a personal tax planner is to help you get the most out of tax season. He wants you to do well and doesn’t want you to worry about what might happen. But it’s impossible to be too careful. That’s why it’s important to find out what the tax accountant’s image is like. Ask the people you know for recommendations. If someone you trust tells you something good, you can count on it.

Does your tax preparer help you figure out what the law says? 

You’re an adult. It is up to you to figure out how your world works. Still, you didn’t go to school to learn this. Make sure that your personal tax accountant can explain your position and the law to you in a way that you can understand.

A personal tax accountant doesn’t cost anything, but the advice and knowledge he gives are very important. Seek it out. Ask questions. And maybe tax time won’t be such a bother in the future.

How Do I Find the Right Tax Advisor?

This is the time of year when everyone in the United States thinks about their taxes and what they could do differently to make their taxes less expensive. There is evidence that a group of people in the past had to give their captors half of what they made. They thought of themselves as slaves. Still, many Americans who make more than $100,000 a year pay much more than that in federal and state income taxes, sales taxes, social security taxes, property taxes, and excise taxes.

I don’t mind paying taxes for government services that are important. the opposite is true. I don’t want to spend a penny more than I have to. But MOST of you are paying a lot more than you have to. Why? Most of the time, it’s just because you got bad tax advice.

The truth is that there are many ways to lower your taxes in the Internal Revenue Code. I’ve spent almost 30 years reading the Code and learning about all of these options. And I’m always finding new ways to cut my taxes. All you have to do is know the law and follow it the way Congress wanted. Yes, Congress wanted to give tax breaks to people and businesses that do things in a certain way. Why? Because Congress has long used the Internal Revenue Code to promote social, energy, and economic policies.

But how do you know if the advice your tax expert gives you is the best? Unless the law says you don’t have to pay taxes, you don’t. The honest answer is that you should have a different, experienced tax advisor look over your past tax returns and your current tax situation. When you were a simple wage earner, you might not have had many options for lowering your taxes. But now you have a business or are buying property as an investment. The problem is that YOU HAVE GROWN TOO BIG FOR YOUR TAX ADVISOR!

Before you agree to work with another advisor, you should have them look at your situation. Don’t expect them to help you out for free. But ask them what they think they could do differently. When I was looking over a tax return the other day, I found that a possible client was paying $60,000 in taxes that we could easily get rid of. What would you do if I could save you $60,000 in taxes EVERY YEAR? I hope that you will take advantage of this chance right away.

“If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always gotten,” no matter what you do.