Welcome! If we did not prepare the last return you filed, then you are a new client!!!
What We Do
We are a tax and accounting firm. We do individual taxes (1040’s), payroll, corporate, partnership, estate and trust taxes. We also help our clients with tax planning, projections, estate tax planning and a variety of other consultation services as needed.
Our New Client Process
First things first, contact us and let us know that you want to be a new client. We’ll create a secure Client Portal space just for you and you’ll find our New Client Information form there for you to complete. We’ll also need you to upload copies of your most recent tax returns and clear copies of your driver’s license or state issued IDs.
After we receive your recent tax return we’ll send you a link to schedule an introductory call with one of our preparers. This is a chance for us to find out some more information about you, for you to ask questions of us, and overall make sure we’re going to be a good fit together. During the call we’ll provide you with an estimate for the cost of your tax preparation, talk about whether or not we’ll want to file an extension for you, and also schedule your tax appointment or let you know when we’d like you to send us your tax documents for us to start working on them.
Sending Us Your Tax Documents
If we’re booking an appointment with you during tax season, we’ll send you our welcome packet for the tax year to help you get your documents in order. A few of the documents in the packet must be signed/completed and returned with your documents in order for us to get started.
We’d like clients to send us their tax documents – whatever you have available to you – two weeks before your appointment. We’ll send out reminders just in case you forget, however, if you wait too long we’ll have to reschedule your appointment to another date and time.
Uploading documents to the portal is the fastest way for us to receive documents. As soon as a document is uploaded our office is automatically notified and we can view and download them. Other delivery options are mailing them to our office (but make good clear copies of your documents first – just in case the mail is lost or delayed) or drop them off at our office if you’re local. We have a secure drop box in our buildings lobby that’s just for us and we check it twice a day during the tax season. Of course you can always come upstairs to our office and drop them off and say hi too!
As we’re working on your return, our staff may reach out to you with additional questions or seeking additional documentation. Just like being in school we call this extra information, “Homework,” and yes, we’ll give you a homework due date to help us make your appointment time.
Tax Appointments
Tax appointments are 30 minutes for us to discuss your finalized, or nearly finalized, tax return. We may have a few questions that we need resolved but for the most part your return should be complete. When you book your tax appointment you’ll have the opportunity of having your tax appointment either by Google Meet video call, a phone call, or, depending on availability, an in office appointment.
If you chose a phone call, your preparer will call you on the date and time of your appointment. If you choose the Google Meet video appointment, you’ll receive a meeting link in your appointment confirmation email. Simply click that link and join the meeting at your scheduled time. Video appointments seem to be our client’s overall favorite option as it allows us to share our screens so you can see your return in real time while doing it from wherever on Earth you might be.
Signing and Filing Your Return
There are two ways for you to sign your tax returns.
- Electronic Signature (e-sign). This is the easiest and fastest way for you to sign the returns and it can be done from anywhere on the planet (provided you have internet access of course) at any time. We’ll upload a copy of the return for you to review in your portal. You’ll receive a link to the pages that you need to sign and all you have to do is click the link, answer some personal identity questions to verify you are the person to receive the documents, type in your name where it asks you too, and poof – you’ve signed your returns.
- Sign them in our office. This requires you to come into the office during our business hours. Call ahead before you come in so we can have your return ready for you when you arrive. You can review a hardcopy of the return in the office and sign the necessary pages there.
All returns are electronically filed with the IRS and your state unless there is some circumstance on the return that disallows it to be electronically filed. If the return has to be paper filed we’ll provide you with a copy to mail to the government and specific instructions on how to sign it and where to mail it to.
