Great post Pete! I'll throw in my .02 as a fellow preparer, but I really hope that we can get some feedback from fellow Fastlaners who are NOT in the business so they can help us help them
Now that I've got your attention. I'd like to get some feedback on what people think of income tax preparers.
What do they do right?
A good tax preparer does more than just the return, in addition to having a thorough interview, a good tax preparer/consult is available for tax planning and advice on how certain investments will affect your taxes. This IMO is what separates the pros from the wannabes
What do they do wrong?
Basically any of the "drive-through" tax offices where it's in and out in 30 minutes OR the professional CPA firm who will meet with you to get your business and then is completely unavailable for follow-up unless you pay for their time, much like an attorney. Our goal is to have knowledgeable associates at all levels so that even if our CPA(my dad) is not available, you can still get competent advice from an associate such as myself.
What makes you go to one place over another?
For the most part it'll be price. Remember Diane Kennedy's motto "Sell to the masses, live with the classes." If you aim for Sidewalkers and Slowlaners as your clientele, you can become wealthy, but you'll usually be competing on price. For Fastlaners, I'd go out on a limb that value and accessibility are more important than price, i.e. if they pay $800 for their taxes, but know that they can consult with the professional at any time to get valuable advice on saving $1000's in taxes on a certain investment.
What do you think of their pricing?
The store-front pricing models are a joke! Most charge by the form and it sickens me when someone says "I'll just go to HRB, they only charge $69 and they know what they're doing."
What a crock! First off, they charge by the form, so if you have anything more than a single W2 and have any dependents, be prepared to pay more. In addition, my dad has seen a lot of horror stories where someone went in and paid $400+ for their services only to end up paying a lot more in taxes(or getting less in refunds) than they would've if they went to my dad, who also would've only charged $200-300 for the SAME service!
In addition, the above mention of how most CPA firms act like law firms where they charge you by the hour and the name on the door isn't necessarily who you work with and even worse, you might think you're working with them only to find that they had interns do the preparations and they only signed off without even double-checking their work!
IMO, a per-form fee is fair, but should have its limits.
How does their marketing affect your decisions as to who to go to?
Storefronts- see above on the "$69 Guarantee" or my favorite the "No Audit" Guarantee, both of which are bait and switch b.s. to get unsuspecting customers
Pros- the more important you look, the more likely you'll get the client, i.e. more letters after your name or a swanky down-town office
I'd like to believe that Fastlaners are smarter than that and do as MJ points out in Ch. 41 of the book, titled "Throw Hijackers To The Curb" where you have to go off of referrals and do your homework instead of just being swayed by catchy ads, flashy offices or referrals from Slowlaners.
What makes your "guy" the best?
Value, Accessibility, Price- all in that order, with "Value" being defined as "How much your advice saves me on taxes", thankfully this can be measured by comparing past years returns or having a "second look" done, kind of like what HRB advertises, only this should be done by a professional and not some part-time preparer!
What do you dislike the most about that "guy"?
Same as above- if they're not getting you the best savings, not giving you the time of day and are charging you an arm and a leg they are terrible preparers!
What would make you switch tax places?
This is a complicated issue, since most people only see their tax guy once a year, most cases there won't be loyalty, however, you also run into those who have a family member or friend do it for free and never even know if another preparer would be able to give you a better service that costs you a little bit in preparation fees but SAVES you a ton in taxes. You also run into this with those who have a pro that they "trust", but never really hold accountable.
Long story short- offer free or low-price "second look" reviews to prove your worth until you've gotten the reputation as being the best and/or have enough of a client base built up.
What do you think is the single most important benefit to using a tax preparer over the alternatives (online, paper and pen, software, etc.)?
If you have an EA sign that return you have the lowest chance of being audited- GUARANTEED! Next would be a CPA and now that the IRS requires all paid preparers to have a PTIN, that would be your last resort.
Contrary to what many people think, the IRS views CPAs as "arrogant" and will be more sympathetic to EAs as they are directly licensed by the IRS and have to complete a thorough exam to get their status, much like a CPA, the only difference being that the EA exam is ONLY taxes, while CPA is accounting in general with a small portion on taxes. To top it off, CPAs are not required to take any tax courses for CPE, while EAs must take atleast 24hrs of CPE every 2yrs to renew their designation.
For those who think that an at-home tax software will save you money, just watch this news report: YouTube - Comparison of H&R Block, Liberty Tax, and Turbotax
In addition to not getting the best rates/refunds, doing your own taxes makes you much more likely to get audited!