Fall is the perfect time to grow and expand your tax business in preparation for the 2023 tax season.
Odds are you are not just a tax professional, but an entrepreneur as well. You are always looking for ways to increase the revenue and reputation of your business. Your tax preparation business could be earning additional revenue by offering new services to your existing client base. Not only will this enable you to earn more but these services could also attract new clients to your business.
Corporate/ Business Tax Filing:
Filing tax returns from individuals is most likely the area your tax office started in. With friends and family it was easy to get your first couple clients and start your tax business. However, that doesn’t mean you should limit yourself to only filing for individuals. Breaking into filing for large or small businesses can give you much needed additional revenue. Considering the complexity of business filing it would be beneficial to specialize in a specific type of business as trying to file for multiple different businesses can overwhelm most tax pros. Specializing in a business such as food service or retail will still allow you to expand your tax business while becoming an expert in that specific type of business filing.
Non-Profit Filing:
While this may not be the most lucrative client base, tax filing for non-profits can still grow your business’s reputation. Just like in the previous section, it’s important to become somewhat of an expert in this field considering the complexity of filing for non-profits. There are different rules for non- profit organizations and each state has their own set of rules so it’s important to learn all you can before you offer this service. You may be thinking, “this sounds like a lot of work without much reward.” Filing for nonprofits will grow your business’s reputation in the community which will inturn, draw more clients to your tax preparation business.
Accounting Services:
While larger businesses will often have their own accounting departments, smaller businesses will outsource their accounting needs if they are unable to handle it themselves. Your tax office could offer accounting services to those businesses for an additional charge. In most states it is necessary to be a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) in order to offer these services which require at least a bachelor’s degree.
Bookkeeping Services:
Tax preparation work is seasonal meaning when it isn’t tax season you really aren’t making money. However by offering bookkeeping services you can generate revenue year round. Furthermore, by helping to keep track of a client’s financial record you will have all the information you need on-hand during tax season, expediting the return process.
Representation Services:
Beyond just preparing and filing your clients tax returns you can also offer them representation services if they get into any trouble with the IRS. As a representative you would intercede between the IRS and your client. To find out more our friends at SeQwens have written an article about why you should offer tax representation services, click here.
It would also help if you educated yourself on the rights tax payers have when dealing with the IRS. Our article last week was on that very topic. Read it here.
Conclusion:
It can be easy to fall into a routine and stagnate yourself and your tax business. You might be comfortable with the clients you have and the money you make from it. But, if you’ve been thinking of turning tax preparation into your full time career then now is the time. Learn about the services you could be offering to your current and future clients, grow your business, and get what’s yours!
Don’t forget to equip your business with the best tools in the tax industry. SwiftFP can offer your business our premier tax software, SFPWorks. If you want to grow your business and offer more services then SFPWorks has the tools you will need. Find out more when you click here.
