Realistic tech organizational goals for the upcoming tax season

Who hasn´t had the unfortunate task of having to dig through a mess of papers to find past year’s tax returns?

 

If you’ve been lucky enough to avoid that hassle, then ask an accountant how many times they have clients calling in a panic needing to get copies of their tax returns.

 

This is common request with a very easy solution.  Stop praying for an unrealistic solution like expecting all your clients to become more organized, color code all their important documents, and store them in labeled files.  Probably every one of your clients will make a New Year´s resolution of becoming more organized and thorough when managing their business affairs.  I would also venture that most will let this goal slide by February!  Life just always gets in the way, and that’s why it seems more appropriate to leave the responsibility of this task up to the professionals: Accountants.

 

The resources that a modern day accountant can utilize exist to make their lives easier and, in turn, make their customers happier. This seems like a win-win situation for all, and the best part is that the technology needed to accomplish this is inexpensive and easy to use. Free solutions exist in unbranded form, and certain Web site providers include the online storage capabilities to allow accountants, bookkeepers, tax preparers, and CPAs alike to archive their clients past years' tax returns indefinitely. In the case of the latter, you are able to store your clients' previous tax returns on your Web site, which they can access quickly and efficiently without ever having to again dig through old files, or better yet, without calling you to do the digging for them! This technology proves very useful when people are applying for home loans, business loans, or buying a home and the bank requires copies of the tax returns for the last two years. All your clients need to do is log in to their account with their password on your Web site and any files you want them to access will be available immediately. This information is then very easily obtained by printing directly from the computer and delivering to the specified location.

 

In other words, why not make a New Year’s resolution on behalf of your clients.  Provide an easy way for your clients to organize their tax information and reap the rewards by saving your time.