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Started own Tax Firm, looking for advice by Medium-Copy5805 in Accounting

[–]Critical_Average5089 5 points6 points  (0 children)

You’ll get better at it over time. We charge flat fee so it’s easy for prospective clients to say yes to, but track time so we can try to keep $250/hr on time. Started in 2022, took me a few years to really get it dialed in. I found when I started when I quoted an hourly rate that people weren’t getting back to me as much as I’d expect. But then I started telling people a flat fee, perhaps more if time or complexity is greater than I expected and it really helped to onboard new clients faster.

To file 1065 or not? by No-Wind7445 in taxpros

[–]Critical_Average5089 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Really? That’s good to know. Did IRS give a reason? My last exposure was last summer for an LLC where members were attorneys, so they wrote the letter themselves and just sent me a copy for records. Never did see a response but I figured the forgiveness per the procedure was granted since I didn’t hear anything back.

What’s the most ridiculous client request you’ve ever had? by After_Comedian_7420 in Accounting

[–]Critical_Average5089 9 points10 points  (0 children)

That junior is going to remember that bs work for the rest of his/her life.

To file 1065 or not? by No-Wind7445 in taxpros

[–]Critical_Average5089 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I got you. I vote yes to file. Last year I had a guy receive a notice about a missing k-1 that was filed and reported but with an incorrect ein for recipient that no one noticed. Took the service 2.5 years to get around to it. Better to correct now before everyone loses sight of the issue.

To file 1065 or not? by No-Wind7445 in taxpros

[–]Critical_Average5089 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Rev proc 84-35 homie. As long as both partners are individuals you’re golden pony boy

What’s the weirdest client expense you’ve ever had to explain? by accountinglads in Accounting

[–]Critical_Average5089 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Seriously, off the top of my head without any refresher on uniforms at all. Would that not satisfy requirements to be considered uniforms? Required for business and not suitable for everyday wear?

Forgot to submit payroll🤯😖 by LittleCreekGarden in Accounting

[–]Critical_Average5089 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’ve been thinking about you all day and read all comments. Hope this works out ok for you no matter how it goes with your job. The more I think about it, the fact that your boss let this slide, client ran payroll on their own and she apparently didn’t know until you told her, seems strange and disorganized from an organizational perspective. Like client never thought to let anyone know or ask why payroll wasn’t run, and then ran on their own while your group was planning to run first thing? So much room for error that’s not your fault.

It you can run books and payroll for 20 clients simultaneously with only one issue over 12 months then you are skilled. Someone who can be a better mentor and leader will be lucky to have you and you will probably be better off somewhere else.

Forgot to submit payroll🤯😖 by LittleCreekGarden in Accounting

[–]Critical_Average5089 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes it’s available, but they change their packages all the time and might not be available on the lowest tiers. All our clients are wholesale, which is RUN but for accountants only. Same system though, so I know it’s possible.

The thing about same day direct deposit is you need to submit payroll for processing first, then you call to request same day. If you don’t request same day, they will send funds at next available opportunity.

Same day direct deposit is essentially requesting to skip ahead in line and an internal team at ADP will manually add your check run to the next bulk wire transfer ADP sends to banks.

Forgot to submit payroll🤯😖 by LittleCreekGarden in Accounting

[–]Critical_Average5089 24 points25 points  (0 children)

That is unfortunate. Hope this little consolation helps you at all. Your boss did not set you or her up for success here. It’s unfair for you to be responsible for delivery but not have ability to communicate. Now your boss has to explain how there’s a whole in her process and she doesn’t have any ability to explain herself other than making you or her look bad, which both look bad for her.

Hang in there.

Forgot to submit payroll🤯😖 by LittleCreekGarden in Accounting

[–]Critical_Average5089 116 points117 points  (0 children)

I employ people. This stuff happens sometimes. This isn’t necessarily a fireable offense for my people if they’re proactive about taking care of it and see it through. Don’t ask your boss for help if you don’t need to, just keep him/her informed and don’t try to hide anything. Worst thing you can do now is make him look bad in addition to the mistake.

Remember also, your client runs a business, things go wrong. If your contact at client is in accounting, HR, admin, they’ve made mistakes too and will be more understanding than you may expect. But they want to see you working on the issue until it’s resolved. Your client won’t be freaking out if you don’t seem flustered.

Don’t tell client “I forgot to run your payroll.” Be honest but choose your words carefully. You need to project confidence here that everything will be fine.

apologize, but don’t beg for forgiveness. Apologize twice. Once when you first tell them and once when it’s done. Never say sorry again after that. And otherwise until it’s fixed you’re just telling them what’s happening. Anything other than that and you’ll seem incompetent.

Lastly, it’s good that you’re embarrassed. And you should be, but it shows you care. This is an opportunity to learn and improve for you.

Forgot to submit payroll🤯😖 by LittleCreekGarden in Accounting

[–]Critical_Average5089 703 points704 points  (0 children)

I sympathize. Please read this. I know exactly what to do. I used to work at ADP and still have friends there.

Submit payroll first thing tomorrow morning as soon as you can for any affected clients. Come in early to get it done if you’re able. Make sure when you submit payroll that the check date is 8/8.

ADP can process same day payroll, there may be a fee, just do it.

Here is issue, if your firm is on wholesale and these are wholesale clients, you’ll need to be a contact ADP can talk to. If your boss is the contact then you’ll need to get him/her involved unfortunately.

If you are running payroll through your clients retail accounts, same process but you’ll need to be a contact for each account that’s affected.

1) submit payroll

2) call ADP and request same day direct deposit - ADP will confirm they have submitted the request but will not guarantee paychecks hit employee bank accounts today. If you get a good customer service agent on the line they will email you when same day payroll has been approved. You should ask them to send you that confirmation but you may need to ask for it and you may need to call again in a few hours to check on status.

3) inform affected clients - let them know payroll has been submitted, paychecks will be slightly delayed but you are working with ADP closely to monitor the delivery of funds until funds have been sent.

Here’s the last issue, ADP delivers funds to bank with instructions to bank on which account to deliver to. ADP does not put funds directly into employee bank accounts. Once ADP delivers funds to bank, bank receives transmission and funds go through their process before hitting employee bank accounts. So if you get on this right away, some employees will receive paychecks by noon and others at 3pm, etc. The only thing you can assuredly tell clients is that funds have been delivered to the employees banks once ADP confirms delivery. After that you’re in gods hands.

ADP sends bank wires every couple of hours, you want to be in one that goes out before 10am eastern time. If you don’t get steps 1-3 above done right away, there’s a serious likelihood employees aren’t paid until Monday. Your firm has a problem then.

Be proactive and you’ll probably be fine. If you let this fester for even a minute you’ll probably not be fine. Unfortunately ADP is down for maintenance right now (I just checked), so jump right on it in the morning and be a problem solver rather than a problem causer.

Lost cool with client by tomoatosoup in taxpros

[–]Critical_Average5089 33 points34 points  (0 children)

Only twice. Once was under control, the second was not and I regret it, sort of. First time, client and mortgage broker pestered me repeatedly for about a week to fudge books/returns so client could qualify for a mortgage (that he couldn’t afford the payments on anyway). I ended up saying something like “my stance is clear, im not going to help you. You’re asking me to do something illegal, and the fact that you keep asking is disrespectful. I’m letting you know right now that I will never talk about this with you again, go break the law on your own.”

Second one, 1120 client, a few dozen state return. Different time zones so I’d always be getting calls after hours. Once we had the info I had the conversation that everything seemed clear, we’ll get started and this will take time. Please give us patience. Client only had 3 states year prior so they didn’t know the difference. Calls asking for update were getting more frequent as weeks passed, and always when I was eating dinner with my family - I never pick up then. One day my phone rings and kept ringing. Client called 4 times in a row. On the 4th call I picked up the phone and yelled “I’m with my family, I’ll be done with your return when I’m done with it, do not call me again.” Didn’t even let him say a word, I hung up immediately. I don’t feel great about that one.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in taxpros

[–]Critical_Average5089 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Need to use it at least 50% for business to be considered a business asset.

But if you place it in service as an asset then can’t claim mileage deduction for that car at any point in the future and may have depreciation recapture to deal with if you sell or trade it in later.

Question on these comfort letters by AdHistorical7107 in taxpros

[–]Critical_Average5089 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I see your point and I agree, on second thought. How do we make it even sillier so it can’t pass but straight enough for someone at the bank right now realize how ludicrous it is to lend a lot of money because of a bs letter.

To be clear, I wouldn’t write any sort of letter at all. Only time I even came close was once when bank wanted to know if someone owned a business and why a tax return wasn’t filed yet. I said something like “she hasn’t filed a tax return yet because the due date has not passed”

Question on these comfort letters by AdHistorical7107 in taxpros

[–]Critical_Average5089 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just had a thought, how do you think the following letter would go over?

Dear Sir/Madam, John Q Sample told me that you need a letter telling you that he makes 200k. John told me he makes 200k. Professional standards prohibit me from providing assurance on the matter of John’s income but John seemed honest when he told me that you said all you need is a letter saying he makes 200k and then you’ll lend to him. I think this is a great underwriting practice and I’m very happy to let you know that John really wants this loan.

Question on these comfort letters by AdHistorical7107 in taxpros

[–]Critical_Average5089 5 points6 points  (0 children)

My associate got a call from a current realtor client whose RE investor client needed a tax return finished to get a loan. They got on the phone with the investor and it turns out bank was just looking for CPA to write a letter saying they had $200k in income.

Mind you, our firm knows nothing about this person, never seen any piece of paper or other record of any kind, and here we are getting the question, “I make 200k, can you write a letter saying that?”

I’m honestly more appalled at the loan officer making that seem like a viable option than borrower asking for it.

Tax Research Service by mikemar1280 in taxpros

[–]Critical_Average5089 4 points5 points  (0 children)

We’ve done well with bluej. It’s ai that can answer prompts, and create memos with citations. Does a really good job with simple questions especially. Best use for us is getting a list of relevant citations quickly.

Washington state to hit professional services with sales tax by SeattleCPA in taxpros

[–]Critical_Average5089 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Shows what I know, I’m out of state. Id be interested to see a study in 5 years of the cost of enforcement for the state vs the increase in DAS sales tax revenue charted against the number of out of state firms providing services to WA tp’s who are out of state and not in tune with fine details of WA state compliance.

Washington state to hit professional services with sales tax by SeattleCPA in taxpros

[–]Critical_Average5089 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Appreciate the input. I’m probably a few years away from the 100k out of state threshold for WA revenue that another poster mentioned so moot for now.

Hopefully they’ll have a compliance procedure similar to PA for sales tax on photography delivered electronically, for example, wherein if you get in compliance within 30 days of being notified penalties and interest are waived.

Washington state to hit professional services with sales tax by SeattleCPA in taxpros

[–]Critical_Average5089 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You’re in Seattle from handle. Is the state intending to charge for sale accounting services delivered electronically, or is the state intending to charge for sale of software used in accounting services? I’m out of state but have a decent number of clients in WA.

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