7 Marketing Tips To Promote Your Tax Preparation Services

Posted on April 26, 2023 by James Paul

As April gets closer, more and more people will begin their search for a tax preparer to help them file their state and federal taxes. Approximately 51% of all taxpayers use a preparation service to file their annual taxes. If you want to get in on some of that business and set your company apart from the competition, it’s time to start marketing! Here are seven highly effective marketing strategies to promote your tax preparation services.

Hang tax flyers around town

Even in the digital age, some old-school marketing methods still prove effective. Since your tax prep service typically wants to attract local clientele, hanging flyers around town is still a great way to promote your services.

By hanging informational flyers in local businesses and public areas, people can learn about your tax preparation services and how to get in contact with you. In many cases, people may even forget it’s almost tax time, and your flyers will act as a reminder that they should get in touch with you to get the process started.

Since you’re likely busy getting ready for tax season, you might not have time to design a professional eye-catching flyer. To simplify the process, go online to find free tax flyer templates. Then, all you have to do is choose the template that works best for your business, input information about your services, and you’re ready to print. Just make sure you have permission before hanging any flyers.

Build up your website

Google processes around 40,000 search queries every second. Around the start of the New Year, many of those searches are looking for local tax services. If you want to get some of that business for yourself, you need to show up at the top of the search results, and the first step is building a great website.

You can’t rank in the search results if you don’t have anywhere to send customers to! Work on building your website so that it’s user friendly, showcases all the essential information potential customers might need, and provides specific details about your various tax preparation services. The more information you have, the more likely you’ll rank in the search engines.

Once you have your website up and running, it should be the home base for all your other marketing efforts. Whether you make a post on social media, hang a flyer around town, or hand out a business card, they should all have your website URL. That way, potential customers can simply visit your website to learn more about your business and reach out when they’re ready for tax prep services.

Start a PPC campaign

Optimizing your website for search engines takes time. Since tax season is almost here, you need quick results. That’s where PPC comes in.

PPC stands for pay-per-click marketing. It’s where you pay search engines to promote your website in the search results. They’ll put your ad at the very top of the search results, and in return, you pay a small amount every time someone clicks on your ad.

The best PPC ads link to a dedicated landing page. For example, if you want to promote your federal tax filing services, create a specific landing page for your federal tax filing services and link it to your PPC ad. That way, when someone clicks your ad, they’re taken to a webpage with the exact information they want, not just a generic homepage.

It’s relatively easy to start a PPC campaign. Simply create a business profile on the search engine of your choice, set up your ad, and enter your PPC bid. The highest bid gets the top spot in the search results, so you want to bid higher than the competition but not more than you have to — which can be tricky.

Once your ad goes live, your tax prep service will be sitting at the top of the search results for specific queries, just waiting to attract all that online attention!

Generate positive online reviews

Tax preparation is a serious endeavor. You can’t trust just anyone with your sensitive information, and if something goes wrong, it could mean liens on income or even jail time! Because it’s so serious, customers aren’t going to just trust you to provide high-quality services. They’ll want to see what others have to say in online reviews.

Over 90% of users say that online reviews had a major impact on their buying decisions. This is especially true for something as sensitive as tax preparation. Not many people will want to hand over their social security number and tax information to a preparer with a two-star review!

Because online reviews are so important, part of your marketing strategy should be to generate as many positive reviews as possible. Encourage your customers to leave reviews on the major review websites, including:

Google
Facebook
Yelp
Better Business Bureau
Yellowpages online
Manta

Many businesses offer incentives for customers to post reviews. For example, offering a free gift like a pen or office set to anyone who leaves a review can be enough to entice people to leave a review online. It might come at a slight cost to your business, but having hundreds or thousands of positive reviews promoting your tax prep services online will more than make up for the expense.

Encourage referrals

Some of the most powerful marketing tools are sitting right in your office: your clients! Your clients have friends and family, all of whom need to file taxes by April. Why not encourage your existing clients to promote your services with a referral program.

Referral marketing is one of the most effective marketing strategies. People put more trust in the word of those they know, which is why referral marketing generates three-to-five times higher conversion rates compared to almost any other channel!

Typically, referral programs consist of a discount for customers who bring you more business. For example, a percentage off their next tax filing if they bring in two more clients. You could also offer a “friends and family” discount on your services for anyone who brings in their friends and family.

Of course, the best way to get referrals is to simply provide outstanding service. People always love to sing the praises of companies they love. Create raving fans, and you’ll have more clients than you know what to do with!

Send marketing emails

Much of a tax preparer’s business comes from repeat clients. And since they really only need your services once per year, some of your regular customers might not even realize it’s tax season. A well-timed email reminder is a great way to drum up some extra business.

Email marketing is one of the most effective types of marketing. The average email marketing campaign generates an incredible 3,600% return on investment (ROI). All you need to do to make a powerful email marketing campaign is to keep past clients’ email addresses and send a reminder about tax season just before the new year.

Putting tax season on your clients’ radar is a great way to remind them that they should contact you to start the process — or at least put it on their calendars. Don’t forget to include a tax prep checklist and your contact information to make the process go smoothly for everyone.

Of course, one email likely won’t be enough. Send regular email updates up until the end of tax season to keep your company top-of-mind for potential clients. Most marketing professionals suggest sending about one email per week, but you can send more during prime tax season to really build the urgency.

Two marketing campaigns are better than one

The best marketing campaigns send the right message, to the right people, at the right time. In many cases, this means there need to be several marketing campaigns to achieve one goal. In the case of tax preparers, you may need one marketing campaign to target people who like to do their taxes early and another to target people who wait until closer to the deadline.

The messaging for these two customer groups is very different. For example, saying “tax deadline is two months away” won’t have any impact on people who like to wait to file taxes, but it could get interest from early filers.

Think about your marketing campaigns from the perspective of your ideal audience, and you may find that it’s best to run two (or perhaps even more) marketing campaigns over the course of the entire tax season.

Get more clients this tax season

Just like with filing your taxes, it’s never a good idea to wait until the last minute to start your marketing campaigns. If you really want to get more clients this tax season, start working on professional flyers, build your website, start some PPC ads, generate more online reviews, encourage referrals, send plenty of emails, and design campaigns for all types of taxpayers.

By implementing these marketing tips to promote your tax services, you’ll be filing more returns than ever before this season!

How To Find Boston’s Best Tax Preparation Services

Posted on May 18, 2020 by James Paul

The tax season tends to be very stressful for some individuals. Those individuals are the ones who decide to do the taxes themselves and then get tangled up in all the forms, laws, rules and regulations. We must admit that the tax system in Massachusetts is not actually a piece of cake and that you need the help of an expert to do this the right way.

This season won’t be that much stressful when you decide to find and use tax preparation services in Boston. There’s nothing better you could do than get assistance from a professional and have them prepare your taxes for you. By hiring experts, you avoid the chances of making mistakes, and it is clear that there is no room for mistakes in this process.

When you decide to hire these professionals, however, you need to be smart and careful. There are a lot of offices in Boston offering these services and the truth is that not all experts are cut out from the same cloth. Whether we want to admit it or not, there are people who do a good job and there are those who do a poor job.

Naturally, you want someone who can do a good job for you and you are the person responsible for finding that someone. That means that you shouldn’t make rushed decisions and end up hiring the wrong people and paying for services that you won’t be satisfied with in the end. Let me offer you a few tips on how to find and hire the right person for this job.

Do Your Duly Research

The most important thing to remember is that this is a process that requires research. In other words, you shouldn’t hire the first person that comes along, because that’s a sure path towards making a mistake. If you don’t do a bit of searching, you will never know if there is someone better than the first person you have come across.

Nobody expects you to be an expert on tax returns yourself. If you were, there would be no point in hiring anyone. You should, however, be knowledgeable enough to figure out when a specific tax returns specialist is good and when he or she is not that good. Do some research in order to separate experts from charlatans and then choose one person among the experts.

Read a few more tips on how to find the right person for this job.

Ask For Credentials

Once you have your eyes set on a certain individual or two, it’s time to interview them. Remember, you are the one hiring and paying for services, which means that you are the one in charge. Think of this as of a normal job interview and don’t get carried away by your necessity to do the taxes as soon as possible. Rushing into anything is a path towards mistakes, remember?

During the interview, you should know which questions to ask, and the most important ones should be related to the person’s credentials. You want to know whether a specific professional is qualified and skilled enough to do your tax returns correctly. Usually, it’s best if you go with a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), but most licensed attorneys will be good enough to do the work for you.

Having these kinds of credentials means that the person has spent a serious amount of time studying and perfecting their skills in this area, and that shows you that they are devoted to what they are doing. You definitely want a serious and devoted person to do your tax returns. Ask the right questions and pick the right people, for your own good.

Compare Prices

You need to understand that these services do come at a cost and you need to be ready to pay. When the job is well done, then it is worth every penny and you won’t regret paying for it. Make sure to compare the quotes you get from a few different places and feel free to stay clear of the offers that are too high, but don’t go for the ones that are too low either. When people offer these services at extremely low prices, it is a sign that they don’t really know what they are doing. The trick is to find a good balance.

Reasons for Having a Tax Accounting Service and an Accountant

Posted on May 7, 2020 by James Paul

What Is Tax Accounting?

Let’s start at the beginning, not everyone knows what a tax accounting service does, let alone an accountant, and so let us explain this first. According to reputable sources, it is defined as a ‘sub-sector’ of accounting. The main job of this industry is to deal with individuals and companies duty payments and returns, amongst other things. However, the processes that are involved in dealing with corporates as opposed to individuals, is different. Further information about this can be found here.

Unless you are a tax-exempt organisation, or a more technical term would be a 501(c)(3) organization(in the US for example) you would have to enroll in these services and get an auditor. These would be institutions that are primarily religious, charitable or educational institutions including the literary and science organizations.

Why Does Your Business Need Tax Accounting Services?

So, why do we say you need this? The short answer is to run your business efficiently and to save you money. It’s not only about counting money, but more about the bigger picture. Unless you are one yourself or have one of those complicated bookkeeping software, and you are capable of handling everything for your company such as bookkeeping or auditing and VAT returns for example, getting an accounting service is the best thing you can do, not to mention the stress-free option.

Professional Accounting services are few and far between, but looking for a good one is not as hard as you think. There are a number of well-established online sources that have been around for years and have reputable clients themselves that you can get in touch with and engage in their services.

#1 To Reduce Your Tax Liability

A good bookkeeper is one who can find the best ways to save you money and also from getting more money out of your services. They are consultants in their own right and have the knowledge to find out what would be the best way to operate your business.

They also know what are the best tax efficient methods to use your company’s resources such as paying yourself a salary or dividends, and even how much VAT to charge ethically for your business services that will avoid it from any future losses.

Most importantly, they can save you from substantial fines and/or penalties. Especially in cases where you work for yourself, it is very easy to forget the deadlines and submitting your claims on time, which could result in a fine of hundreds of dollars. And this is just the fine for late submissions.

#2 To Add More Time to Your Day

Let’s face it – no one wants to be faced with doing VAT and TAX paperwork on a Monday morning, let alone any other day of the week. In hiring professional accounting services, not only will you add more time to your day to focus on your business and your customers, who are the most important aspect of any business, but you will also be a lot more organised as an entity, for when its time to submit your VAT returns.

#3 To Help Make You Rich

Because accountants know the best practices to implement into any business, they can help you save a lot of unnecessary expenses or identify and fix issues that are holding your business back from growing and attaining more clients. They are there to advise you and help you with your paper work, so you don’t need to.

Okay, so they don’t directly help make you rich, that’s not their main job, but they sure do know ways in which you can and point you in the right direction. Who wouldn’t want a professional in the field who knows all the ropes, to advise them on bettering your company?

Other advantages that you can gain by hiring an expert to work with you can be found here https://www.entrepreneurshipinabox.com/17654/reasons-why-each-business-needs-accounting-services/

Now that you’ve read just a few of the many advantages of hiring a qualified expert, you should consider doing this today, before it’s too late. Start by asking around for some recommendations from friends and family, you can also do a search online and read reviews of clients on their websites to see which ones have the best vote or are highly rated, give them a call and ask them how they can help you.

A lot of businesses have closed their door just because of the strain of expenses, don’t be one of them!

5 Golden Tax Saving Tips That Industry Pundits Recommend For 2020

Posted on February 14, 2020 by James Paul

Tax saving schemes are easily accessible in the financial market. However, opting for the best options can be a tricky task. It is essential to keep in mind that even though various options are easily available online, investors can be prone to pitfalls if they decide to invest in poor-performing funds. An inefficient tax saving investment plan can severely affect the time period taken devoted to achieving one’s financial goals. Investing in a fund that leads to high-income tax deduction generally showcases poor money management with respect to financial planning. It depletes the share of income to be taken back home.

Investing in the right mutual funds not only enhances financial wealth but also helps the individual to save tax. Tax saving schemes are investor-friendly and help manage as well as multiply the money invested over a certain period of time. It is advisable to have a clear idea of all available tax saving plans before falling prey to any fraudulent schemes.

Tax saving tips for 2020

Investors can take the help of the following pragmatic tips before investing in tax saving schemes.

#1 Congregate the tax saving options

Before delving into the tax saving measures, it is important to understand the options available. If you want to play safe with tax saving options through investment, you may consider adding qualified assets that will help to earn deductions under Section 80C assets up to Rs 1.5 lakh. Some of the schemes which fall under this section are Equity Linked Saving Schemes (ELSS), Public Provident Fund (PPF), five-year fixed deposits, voluntary provident fund, etc.

An alternative to save tax is by buying insurance. Investment in a term policy, health insurance to avail tax-deduction is considered beneficial. Under section 80C and section 24, the home loans provide tax benefits. The tax experts suggest laying hands on all the regular options to reduce tax liability. It also suggests investors to avoid going down the line, which would result in counterproductive financial decisions.

#2 Avail tax benefits by taking a home loan

The individuals planning to avail a home loan should proceed with the plan to fulfil their dream. Financial advisors suggest that taking up an affordable home loan will help to get a tax deduction benefit. The benefit may extend up to Rs 1.5 lakhs under 80EEA. The 80EEA deduction is applicable for the self-occupied property for loan interest repayment.

The 80EEA tax benefit is available to the borrowers of the home loans if it is be sanctioned between 1st April 2019 and 31st March 2020. However, the borrowers can avail the home loan tax benefit if they own another residential property. They are required to meet the eligibility criteria, which includes the size and value of the property.

So, individuals may hurry and get hold of the limited period offer of availing a home loan before 31st March 2020 and carry back additional long-term tax benefits available under section 80EEA.

#3 Book long-term capital gains

The long-term capital gains (LTCG) on equity investment exceeding Rs.1 lakh fall under the tax application category. A 10% income tax will be applied to the amount if it exceeds the threshold of Rs.1 lakh.

Experts suggest that the individual can book LTGC every year to avoid paying the applicable tax on the amount. Indulging in equity investment plan will make a big difference to the overall tax liability that helps to save a 10% LTCG tax.

#4 Claiming medical expenses as a tax deduction

Availing health insurance for senior citizens is quite difficult. If your parents do not hold a health insurance policy and you are also unable to get tax deductions under section 80D, you may turn up to claim tax deduction benefit up to Rs.50,000 against the medical expenses of parents. Availing the tax deduction benefit using this strategy should be done with great care because it is essential to keep all the medical bills to claim the tax deduction benefit.

#5 Avert long-term payment commitments

The tax advisors warn investors on investing in long-term repayment plans. Such products should be avoided unless you have kept them in sync with your financial plans.

People often fall for fraudulent offers by investing in last-minute-tax saving measures. However, after a few months, they do realize the mistake and don’t want to continue the plan. Opting out from a plan just after investing in it could lead to significant financial loss. So, make sure to research well before zeroing in on a plan.

If a person makes a decision to invest in tax saving instruments, he should thoroughly analyze the market and choose the right instruments wisely. Taking the help of a financial advisor can help one to invest in the best financial plan to meet his financial goals along with savings on tax.

Highlighting the Truth: 5 Tax Myths No One Should be Fooled by

Posted on November 20, 2018 by James Paul

A lot of us have heard the old saying about nothing being permanent: except death and taxes. This quote is used a lot to show just how persistent and serious the government takes taxes. Yet even with taxes being such a serious issue, some people are fooled by ridiculous myths concerning taxes. This can get you into some real hot water if you aren’t careful! Taxes are a serious topic and you NEED to be switched on when dealing with them. The use of good accountants and experts in tax preparation can help a lot with this. These professionals are a lot more versed in the tax code than you are and can save you some money without the risk associated with the following myths.

1. All Taxes Can be Paid at Once

Self-employed workers and businesses will often make estimated tax payments. Some people seem to believe these payments can be made at any time. Then there are those who think it’s okay to wait until the end of the fiscal year and file all taxes at the same time, based on total income.

The problem here is that the government doesn’t see things in this way. No, the IRS wants its payments as soon as possible, which is usually every three months at most. These quarterly payments are important for staying on top of your taxes. You can also be hit with fines and charges for missing quarterly payments, so this myth could wind up costing you big time in the future.

2. Cash Payments Can’t be Traced for Tax Purposes

Cash doesn’t leave as much of a trail as other types of payments, but there are still ways that the IRS can catch you out on cash payments – especially if they’re a regular part of your income. In cash-heavy industries, the IRS is a lot more likely to investigate, especially if your listed income doesn’t match their expectations OR your lifestyle. There have been plenty of situations when people are asked to produce proof of income for the things they have bought/paid for. Remember, tax evasion is a serious crime!

3. I Only Have to Report What’s Been Asked For

This refers mainly to 1099 forms, which sometimes aren’t sent out or get lost in the mail. It can cover other situations too though – basically, you need to consider ALL income when filing a tax return. Leaving anything off can be considered tax evasion and could lead to you being fined or imprisoned.

4. I Can Claim Anything as a Business Expense

Another common mistake is freelancers & self-employed people attempting to put as much as possible on to their business expenses. You just can’t expect to get away with listing every meal and use of fuel as a business expense, and you also can’t try listing gifts and social events as business deals. Eventually, somebody will get suspicious, you’ll get found out, and you’ll end up paying the price for it.

5. Instead of Payment, I Can File an Extension

A tax extension is a very misunderstood process. This usually means you get an extension for filling in your paperwork, not for the payment itself. Tax payments are very rarely given an extension, so be prepared to pay in full on the due date, every time tax is due.

Evading Tax Can Only Result In Facing Penalties

Posted on October 19, 2014 by James Paul

Many of us don’t know much about tax evasion, yet knowingly or unknowingly we evade tax and then end up paying a big price later. Tax evasion is avoiding paying your taxes and then failing to report it, the most common one being the failing to report the financial gain. The government authority imposes strict and heavy penalties for evasion.

What is tax evasion?

Tax evasion is totally different from minimizing tax, which is the process of using legal strategies to reduce tax due. There are several deductions that you can use to scale back your liabilities, if you have got medical expenses or if you are thinking to pay for your retirement plans. Taking advantage of them and keeping your bill to a minimum is legal. However, once corporations, people, or the other legal entities avoid their tax, that’s evasion and therefore the penalties are severe with jail terms and hefty fines.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

The IRS defines the regulation of taxes. It prosecutes anyone or any entity that avoids payment of taxes due, and might assess penalties on them. The IRS has many special agents that are trained to collect the knowledge needed to observe evasion. They need access to tax returns and the ability to issue summons for access to additional financial data. They have therefore the right to seize financial asset including money if they find anything illegal.

Don’t be in the dark

The IRS audits some taxpayers indiscriminately every year, however most audits are results of uncommon activity. If someone claims plenty of deductions in proportion to their financial gain, or if someone with plenty of assets declares a little financial gain, the process of audit follows. If it’s established that taxes are knowingly evaded, the IRS will levy tax liens, freeze any money in the guilty person’s accounts, seize assets. Every property owned by the guilty payer will be confiscated and sold-out at auction if nothing is formed to repay the liability.

Everyone that’s involved in an evasion of liabilities are examined and detected by the IRS. You can go for professional help if you don’t understand anything but don’t avoid your tax dues. You must know that you can be charged with serous crimes in matter of your taxes.

There are three types of most serious charges:

Tax evasion: This is indeed a law-breaking crime and a conviction can carry a jail sentence with hefty fines.
Filing a false return: If the payer files a return, it is often a law-breaking situation and might end in a jail sentence of up to a few years with fine amounts to pay.
Failing to file a tax return: This is often an infringement and might end in most likely a jail sentence of one year with fines for every year that no tax return was filed.

Finally,

Many individual taxpayers place their confidence in accountants and business managers to handle their monetary affairs and don’t bother about the standing of their finances. However, the individual payer is liable for the knowledge provided to the IRS. Do yourself a favor and examine your tax returns and don’t leave it to others.

3 Tips To Identify Tax Relief Fraud Practices

Posted on May 14, 2014 by James Paul

You may have come across many ads and commercials for tax relief firms. Many tax relief firms boast of their services and make big promises but in reality they are nothing but frauds waiting to pay on desperate and innocent customers. They justify and proclaim themselves to be the best in business but it is on you to identify the right firm that will benefit you. There are many publically listed popular companies but are not trustworthy. But people generally realize this when they are duped out of their money.

Unfortunately, this business has attracted many frauds that just wait to kill those that are weakened by the threat of tax penalties and problems. Even if you can’t stop these unscrupulous firms from succumbing to their greed, you can arm yourself with the tools necessary to defend against their cheating. It is crucial that you understand the different types of frauds that are trademarks of a fake.

Avoid non-refundable direct payments

The most common fraud that is seen among these firms is to charge direct payments that have absolutely no guarantees and are non-refundable in nature. While they promise to yield result, they are very unpredictable and very difficult to achieve. That means there is high chance of loss of money. Committing a huge amount without any research and guarantees can be risky. These frauds are not concerned about your money or about your tax problems; they are just bent on making money by preying on you.

Never mis-judge the potential outcomes

There are some aggressive companies that reel in the customers on their tax troubles and take advantage of their compromise settlements. The truth is that only a few taxpayers qualify for a compromise. Most of us don’t know this so the frauds just string us along and make us assume that our problem is being taken care of, when in reality, we didn’t even qualify for the compromise.

There are many factors that are considered by IRS in compromise application like the taxpayer’s ability to pay, income, expenses and plus equity. Choose a relief firm that answers your queries and tells you from the start that a compromise is very difficult to obtain. The company should have your best interests in mind.

Identify the real service providers

There are some fraud companies that boast of their tax relief services, but are nothing but fakes. Such companies just make bi promises and then turn to other companies that provide the actual service. It is very important to stay away from such outright frauds. Often we are led to believe that the company we have hired is doing the entire job but the truth is they have hired other service providers for the job or outsourced freelance contractors.

Some unscrupulous firms register many customers into their program and collect their money without providing adequate services. When there are several complaints or upset customers, they just merely change their name and begin preying on customers in a different place.