Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
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4 May 2014 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com May Checklist for Accounting and Tax Firms 4 May 2014 t www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com 800-547-7377 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com The opinions given by contributing authors are their own and are not the opinions of our staff. All trademarks used are the property of their respective owner. ———————————————————————————————————————————— Practice Advisor, (ISSN #2160-8725 (print), ISSN #2160-8733 (digital); USPS #017-576) is published eight times a year (April/May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December) by Cygnus Business Media, Inc., incorporating two editions known as CPA Practice Advisor and NSA Practice Advisor, 1233 Janesville Avenue, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin 53538. Periodicals postage paid at Fort Atkinson, WI 53538 and at additional mailing offces. Printed in the U.S.A. Send all subscription inquiries or change of address to: Practice Advisor, PO Box 3258, Northbrook, IL 60065-3258. Phone: (877) 382-9187 (toll free); (847) 559-7598 (local) Fax: (847) 564-9453 Email: Circ.CPA@omeda.com Subscription Rates: The basic annual rate is $3, based on qualifying associations of 10,000 or more public accountants that may also subscribe for all their public accountant members (certain restrictive covenants apply) for a basic subscription rate of $9 per member for a three-year subscription. One year subscription for all others: USA - $48; CAN $70 GST; INT'L $99 GST #131910168. POSTMASTER, please send address changes to: Practice Advisor, P.O. Box 3258, Northbrook, IL 60065-3258. Canadian address changes to: Canada Post PM40612608. Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: Practice Advisor, PO Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2. Publisher: Jim Baker Editor-in-Chief: Gail Perry, CPA Managing Editor: Isaac M. O'Bannon Technology Editor: Brian Tankersley, CPA.CITP Associate Editor: Taija Jenkins Columnists: David McClure Doug Sleeter Jim Boomer, CPA.CITP Kristy Short Randy Johnston Roman H. Kepczyk, CPA.CITP Art Director: Rhonda Cousin National Sales Manager: Barry Strobel Site Manager: Brittney Klaas Media Production Representative: Barb Evenson Audience Development Manager: Angela Kelty Editorial Advisory Board: Bob Cedergren, CPA.CITP, CISA, CISM, CISSP, CGEIT Chris Fraser, CPA.CITP, CISA, MCP Jason Lawhorn, CPA.CITP Gary A. Masino, CPA Ryan McCowan, CPA.CITP Linda O'Neal Troy Patton, CPA David Primes, CPA.CITP Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP Doug Sleeter Sandra L. Wiley CYGNUS BUSINESS MEDIA CEO: John French CFO: Paul Bonaiuto VP, Human Resources: Ed Wood VP, Audience Development: Julie Nachtigal VP, Technology: Eric Kammerzelt CYGNUS PUBLISHING Executive Vice President: Gloria Cosby Vice President of Production Operations: Curt Pordes Director of Digital Business Development: Lester Craft VOLUME 24, NUMBER 4 Frequently, I remind myself of that post-college new beginning, especially each May when, once again, it feels like anything is possible. No mater when your ofcial fscal year begins, doesn't it seem like the actual year ended in April and now it's time to look forward? I love checklists, so I've created a May checklist for you that incorporates some of the commentary you'll fnd in this issue along with a healthy dose of fresh starts and new beginnings. May Checklist for a CPA Practice ✔ If you haven't done so already, schedule a busy-season debrief meeting with your complete staf. Talk about what worked, what went wrong, and what you'd like to change or improve. Get some pointers from Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Roman Kepczyk on page 18, "LEAN Up your Firm's Tax Season Debriefng". ✔ Extend your debrief to clients. Prepare a client satisfaction survey to send to your busy season clients, requesting their feedback on how they enjoyed their experiences with your firm and asking for suggestions for improvement. ✔ Plan your extension schedule. Te October You will be so appreciative if you set up appointments now for col- lecting data from all clients who are on extension. ✔ Consider a sof t ware update. Technology guru Dave McClure has the lowdown on Windows 8.1 in "Te Ultimate Windows Update" on page 14. And if you serve nonprofts, be sure to read this month's reviews starting on page 6. ✔ Spring cleaning! Clear the desks, get the carpets cleaned, freshen wall art and paint scratched walls. Spruce up the grounds with lawn fertilizer, flowers in the beds, pots of plants outside and throughout the office. Wash the w indows. Dedicate an afernoon to cleaning and then have an ofce pizza party to celebrate! ✔ Freshen your website. Spring cleaning can go virtual if you take the concept to the web. Take new pictures of your ofce and staf, rewrite bios, update descriptions of your services and add new oferings. Work on site content to increase your YOUtility (see Kristy Shor t's ar ticle, "Are You a YOUtility " on page 12). Use your knowledge of your clients to provide content that will connect with them, as described in Taija Jenkins' article, " Ho w Co n te n t m a r k e t i n g Ca n Strengthen Client Relationships" on page 13. ✔ Post sign-up sheets for community activities coming up in the months ahead. ✔ S u m m e r i s p r i m e t i m e f o r maintaining your continuing education requirements. Read Randy Johnston's insights on creating a learning program on page 16 before you start booking your summer classes. We'll be creating summer checklists in the months ahead, so if you have regularly-scheduled summer activities that you would like to share with our readers, please send them to editor@ cpapraticeadvisor.com - I'd love to hear from you! — Gail Perry, Editor-in-Chief Follow me on Twiter at @gaperry For reprints and licensing please contact Nick Iademarco at Wright's Media 877-652-5295 ext. 102 or niademarco@wrightsmedia.com. Gail is the Editor-in-Chief of CPA Practice Advisor and a CPA. She is the author of over 30 books (including "Mint.com for Dummies" and "QuickBooks 2014 on Demand") and she maintains a small tax practice. She earned a bachelor's degree in journalism fom Indiana University and studied accounting at Illinois State University before starting her professional career at Deloite. Gail is the former publisher and editor-in-chief at AccountingWEB and is a former columnist for the Indianapolis Star newspaper. By Gail Perry, CPA, Editor-In-Chief M any years ago, in a warm sunny May of my youth, I fnished college (or so I thought), packed ever y thing I owned in a U-Haul truck, and drove to Washington D.C. I was so bold and happy. I had no job, no place to live, just a passion for whatever life had in store for me. I had no trouble fnding a job. Tere were, in fact, several to pick from. And fnding an apartment was just as easy. Every morning I started my day with enthusiasm and awe – how could I possibly be so lucky? FROM THE EDITOR cpa_4-5_Gail.indd 4 5/7/14 8:50 AM