Josh Gardner

Your accountant may not like this post. …but I gotta say it. Too many bookkeepers, accountants and tax pros are phoning it in when it comes to customer service. They’re working insane hours but not performing high value work. They churn out tax returns and P&Ls and stop there. As a result, they need to take on hundreds of clients and everyone turns into a number on a spreadsheet. If we as accountants really are going to help small business owners, we gotta be willing to meet them where they are and get dirty as we sift through the muck and solve real problems not just regurgitate compliance rules and assume everyone needs the same support. If you’re a small business owner and your accountant just helps you stay out of trouble, then you’re driving in neutral toward your goals. Time to hit the gas and get a solid gps to help you reach your destination faster.

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Dear fellow CPAs that work with individuals and business owners... Maybe this isn't the time to mention this. You're probably busy. You've got a lot going on. But did you know that we have #PFP standards? And even if you don't hold a PFS credential, we're all subject to them? Just like we're subject to audit standards, even if we're tax-flavored CPAs. Oh, sorry, what is a PFP standard? Or what even is PFP? It means "personal financial planning". So, any services we provide around personal financial planning. And before you say, "I don't give advice about investments, I know better than that!", personal financial planning covers A LOT of topics. I grabbed this from the standards compliance manual: • Cash flow planning • Risk management and insurance planning • Retirement planning • Investment planning • Estate, gift and wealth transfer planning • Elder planning • Charitable planning • Education planning • Tax planning If you're an AICPA member, you can peek it here at who it applies to. https://lnkd.in/gmW-ZMeh Now, this isn't a bad thing. Actually, it's a GOOD thing. These are all high-value services for our clients. We just have to be cognizant that we ARE providing a service that falls under the PFP Standards and follow the guidance. Which usually just means that we do the work with the client's best interest in mind. BUT the other awesome thing about this is that we're sometimes horrible at calling out when we're providing these high-value services. Folks often assume that it just comes part-and-parcel with hiring a CPA. By highlighting these services as additional benefits that we can provide, we're clarifying our relationship with our clients (this is included, this is not included) and highlight the additional value that we can bring. So, as you're working through to 10/15 and thinking about all of the planning opportunities, keep an eye on the standards but also think about how to showcase these services as something special.

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If you are having challenges getting accounting clients, one of the best pieces of advice I heard recently was from Sharran Srivatsaa, which was “Proof over Promise”. This is just my opinion, but you can work for free in order to prove what you can do. For example you can offer to do accounting/bookkeeping for a month for free and if they are impressed and want to continue your services then your price will be $XXX after the first month. For taxes you can review their previous tax return and assuming there were mistakes or missed tax saving opportunities you can point them out to demonstrate what your capabilities are. Clients want some kind of “certainty” that you are capable of doing the thing you promise you can do. What better way than to prove it to them?

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What does the first 5-years in public accounting look like currently? I don't know for sure, but this is my assumption based on conversations with accountants in Las Vegas: 1st year: $72k working 55-80 hours a week during busy season and about 40-45 the rest of the season 2nd year: $75.6k-$79.2k working 55-80 hours a week during busy season and about 40-45 the rest of the season 3rd year: $79.4k-$91k (depending on promotion to Senior) working 55-80 hours a week during busy season and about 40-45 the rest of the season 4th year: $91.3k-$100.1k (assumes you're at least a Senior by now) working 55-80 hours a week during busy season and about 40-45 the rest of the season 5th year: $95.9k-$115.1k (depending on promotion to Manager) working 60-80 hours a week during busy season and about 40-45 the rest of the season As someone that grew up in a small town with immigrant parents, this timeline and salary is pretty good. However, compared to other opportunities available I think one could see why the accounting career path isn't as desirable. One potential solution is that hours get reduced as you progress and you are measured on your production or value provided vs billable hours, but usually the opposite happens and your hours increase as you progress even though you become for effective and efficient.

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Accountants are writers. We write: Notes for financial statements LinkedIn posts Emails to clients and staff Intranet articles for our team members Letters to clients Letters to the IRS Presentation slide decks Engagement letters Wording for opinions or reports Work paper documents And some write: Magazine articles Books Whitepapers We are not just debits and credits. We are primarily communicators. So, learn to write well. But what if you don’t write well? Ask someone to review your writing and provide feedback. Or use software such as Grammarly (as I just did for this post). #CPAHallTalk

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"I love being surprised by an unexpected bill or notice from the IRS!" said no one ever. Even though these unpleasant surprises can frequently be avoided, you might not be surprised to learn that being surprised is one of the Big Four reasons CPAs get fired. We're not perfect, and we've had times when we've dropped the ball. However, our clients don't get surprised when we follow our established processes. (If we fail to meet expectations, we'll own it and won't leave you to deal with the IRS alone.) While I'd put our strategic tax advice up against anyone (I've seen the impact we've made and the lackluster results of our clients' former firms), executing on the basics (like minimizing surprises) is something we must continuously focus on delivering. While life is full of surprises, unpleasant surprises on your bill or from the IRS shouldn't be part of your CPA experience. Agree? (If you own a business and you're repeatedly getting negatively surprised by your CPA firm, give me a shout. Even if we aren't the right fit, I'll help you find the right firm—no strings.) #entrepreneur #business #ripplemakerz #anythingbuttypical BGW CPA, PLLC

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The Accounting Profession is witnessing a Changing of the Guard 💂‍♂️ ♻ 💂‍♀️ Barry Melancon, the CEO of the AICPA, is retiring after ~30 years of leading the governing body of the accounting profession. 3 decades of servitude is a long time and should be applauded. Barry was 37 when he became CEO, maybe it's time for another 30 something to take the reigns? ------------------- Facts: 👉 Millennials make up the majority of the workforce 👉 Senior citizens make up the majority of CPA’s ------------------- Torches are being passed in all corners of the accounting profession. We're in the midst of a modern makeover. 💂‍♂️ I welcome the Changing of the Guard. 🤔 Anyone else excited for the new era of leadership? #Accounting #Finance #AccountingandAccountants  —------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 🚀Check the No Flux Given playbook and Sketchy Business Practices course at MikeFromAccounting🚀

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I love Quickbooks Online BUT... There's one thing about it I would never recommend to my clients... And that's the inventory module. It's not robust enough yet. Luckily, there are some great third party options that integrate with QBO for a small monthly fee. Quickbooks can recognize very basic inventory transactions but once you add any level complexity it becomes completely worthless. Here are a few apps that I found work best: SOS Inventory Software LLC -One of the most robust QBO inventory options. They can track with different costing methods, by batch or bin, barcodes, has WIP and has Job costing among other things. It's not the most aesthetic or modern looking platform but it's very robust and does it's job. You can even set up automations within the system such as notifying vendors when items are received or automatically creating invoices once an order has shipped. Fishbowl - The slightly more modern looking and slightly more expensive option than SOS. But, they have fantastic support. In my experience, fishbowl is easier to integrate with Shopify/Amazon/etc so if you're managing sales on those platforms that might justify the cost difference. There are a few more like Activate and Wherefour, but I wouldn't recommend those in comparison to these two based on my experiences. You don't need to upgrade to a massive system like Netsuite or SAP to handle your inventory. Consider using Quickbooks Online + one of these third party apps and save an incredible amount of time and headaches. If you're moving off of Quickbooks Desktop, this is something to consider.

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Can we discuss this issue real quick? I see it far too often where the real professional are fighting against half truths or complete false information just bc the person posting has alot of followers Can we make this a thing of the past? #taxes #cpa #bookkeeping #accounting

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🎯The Secret To Tax Strategy 🎯 Everyone in the world wants these 2 things: 1. To Keep More Money 2. To Pay Less Taxes It doesn't matter what your cultural background is, where you grew up or how you accumulate your money, these 2 topics are in everyone's story. 🧠Sometimes I think there's so much written on the subject but, do people really know how to achieve these 2 goals? 📌The truth is there's no secret, it simply boils down to this. 👀There's "Really" only 2 incomes in the whole USA, which are: 1. Ordinary Income 2. Investment Income One is taxed at a very high rate and the other is taxed at a very low rate. If you have more of the lower taxed income you pay lower taxes. If you have more of the higher taxed income you pay the higher rate. Once you understand this you can make your adjustments and act accordingly. Don't be confused by all of the language people use to try and sound financially smart, it's really only 2 incomes. Any Questions or Comments...let's talk about it in the comments.... I truly enjoy working with you, Omelia

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Tired of earning useless CE that doesn’t move the needle? 🙄 Take your practice from standard to stand out with Mark J. Kohler’s 5 LIVE Tax Pro Talks sessions and earn 5 CE credits that will actually make you money. 💯 ✅ 5 weeks of live, actionable training ✅ Proven strategies that you can immediately implement for clients ✅ CE credits to boost your earnings, expertise, and client experience Bundle all 5 courses before 10/22 and save $100!👍 ENROLL NOW - https://bit.ly/4gX0RwZ #cpa #taxes #CE #taxprotalks #sessions #courses #credit #business #strategies

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🍁 Many of our nonprofit clients had frustrations regarding the efficiency and effectiveness of their spend-management processes before they started working with the Consultance Accounting nonprofit accounting team. Some of our clients had no processes or systems at all! But we’re here to help. 🍁 Turn a new leaf this fall with our FREE “Simplify Spend Management for Your Nonprofit Organization” downloadable guide: https://lnkd.in/eZ5qQUXK #nonprofit #NPO #SpendManagement

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Tax Pros & Bookkeepers Both struggle to be good partners to the other due to varying expectations. Let's build a resource to make this easier: I'd like to round up feedback from folks on both sides and put out a tool made up of four things: 1. Bookkeepers: Here's what tax pros want you to know 2. Tax Pros: Here's what bookkeepers want you to know 3. A one page form bookkeepers provide to tax pros to gather their preferences 4. A one page explainer tax pros provide to bookkeepers to communicate their preferences You may not agree on the right approach, but step 1 is to communicate what we'd each like to see I'd love to hear from you in the comments: TAX PROS What do you want bookkeepers to know? Expectations posting adjustments, maintaining books on tax basis, how to tie to the Schedule L, or if they even should What's the perfect workflow for you? I'd love to hear from you in the comments: BOOKKEEPERS What do you want tax pros to know? Do you want them posting adjustments directly to the ledger? Are you being given conflicting instructions from the client & tax pro? What's the perfect workflow for you?

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Wondering when you need to hire a CPA, CFO, or bookkeeper? Let's break it down! ⤵️ TAX ACCOUNTANT 💰 New business owners should consider hiring a tax accountant BEFORE starting their business if they need help deciding on the most advantageous entity type. If you don’t need help registering your business, you should look into hiring a tax accountant several months prior to the due date of your first tax filing. BOOKKEEPER 📚 You should hire a bookkeeper as soon as your business starts generating income if you aren’t 100% confident that you can accurately do your own books. Starting with a clean foundation will save you time and money down the road! CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER 📊 When you need more hands-on financial analysis, it’s time to hire a CFO (or fractional CFO). If your business has grown and you need financial forecasting, budgeting, complex modeling, or other strategic financial planning, it may be time to hire a CFO. CONTROLLER 🔢 If your day-to-day operations include a significant volume of transactions or are complex enough to warrant a full-time employee(s), it may be time to move your accounting in-house! Consider an experienced controller to lead this team. Need help finding the right financial pro for you? Let's chat and I'll help you get connected with who you need! 📲 #directprimarycare #conciergemedicine #doctors

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Does a client want some assurance regarding their financial statements (maybe their bank is asking for this), but doesn’t want to pay for an audit? A review engagement can often be done in much less time (and cost to the client) than an audit. In most cases, a review can be done is less than half the time it takes for an audit. A review provides limited assurance (audits provide a high level of assurance). So, your client (or their bank or another party) can get some assurance at a lower price—and you, the CPA, can provide this service with less effort. Here’s an article that explains what is required in a review engagement. https://lnkd.in/gz-Z4TRJ #CPAHallTalk, #reviewengagement

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Business Tip: Don't just track your finances—analyze them! Compare current financial reports with previous periods. Look for trends and changes in: 💰 Revenues 💰 Expenses 💰 Profit Margins 💰 Cash Flow 💰 Growth Metrics Identify areas of improvement or concern. Are you on track to meet your goals? Is there room for efficiency gains? This regular checkup helps you steer your business in the right direction and make informed decisions for success! Contact us today to learn how we can help you stay on track: visit accountingtaxespayroll.com or call us at 818-436-2775. Related Topics: tax professional accounting services tax planning business planning business finances #bookkeeper #accounting #accountingservices #accountingprofessional #smallbusinessowners #businessstrategy #businesstip #businessconsultant #businessplanning #businessfinance

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Here is the hard truth 👇 No one really knows what they are doing as well as they portray themselves to be Here is my own tale: You may follow me and you may think to yourself “wow Yuri has figured it out he knows exactly how to run an accounting firm”. Welp I’m here to tell you I don’t How did I learn that? By doing a process review of my own firm. A review of how I do things internally and what needs to change and boyyyyy do things needs to change. My intake, onboarding and lead is all manual and involves ALL my time. I am currently overhauling my website, making a type form to clean it up and putting some automation and tracking (Hubspot) in place to be more methodical and alleviate my time. Please understand that no one online or IRL actually knows what they are doing and if that is preventing you from pursuing your own dreams, get after them. If you see my posts and think “well I can’t do it like him so I won’t try” than I promise you, you deffff can. #processoverhaul #wealllearning #thefuncpa

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