On the reader board for a local beauty salon it reads, “We refuse to participate in a recession.”  Such an attitude inspires interest and confidence in such a business.

Too many small business owners had allowed the stable economy to lure them into complacency.  Were you one of them?  The recession, however, is delivering many a much-needed wakeup call.  If looked at positively, you can see the recession as an important lesson in attending to your business’s growth and strategic position in order to experience success.  This is the most effective way to disengage from the recession.

No Laurels Allowed

In order to be a successful entrepreneur, you cannot afford to rest on your laurels, in or out of a recession.  What does this mean?  You must always be on the lookout for ways to improve your practice by advancing your service offerings and enhancing customer service.  As a tax preparer, one key way to do this is in adding accounting and QuickBooks services to your menu.

Geometric Growth

Truly successful entrepreneurs are continually fostering geometric growth within their businesses.  And what’s geometric growth?  Linear growth requires you to do even more work for your current clients, and while that’s great, linear growth slows down over time. You can only get so far preparing taxes for the same clients. Geometric growth comes from many different angles: from existing clients, from new clients, from existing services and from new services.

By adding accounting and QuickBook services to your offerings, you attract new and existing clients to these new services, increasing your profitability and turning a seasonal business into a full-time venture.

The Professional Bookkeeper Course

Not only will this course train you in small business accounting, but it will enable you to use the accounting information you generate to act as a Profit Expert for your clients.  You will become confident watching key indicators that diagnose a business’s health.  You will understand how accounting, marketing, and production all work together in order to create a thriving business.  And you will become well versed in key marketing strategies designed to attract the clients who would most benefit from your valuable services.

There are countless reasons why this program exceeds all others, and we’ll simplify things by listing them here:

• A self-paced program you can complete in as little as 60 hours
• A modestly-priced course compared to other training programs, including those found on university campuses
• Practical, hands-on training that will prepare you for typical day-to-day small business accounting functions
• The ability to earn the Professional Bookkeeper (PB) designation
• 6 months of follow-up support with our trained professionals
• Training in proven marketing techniques that will enable you to find and retain clients
• 12 valuable instructional DVD’s and manuals designed to help you continually review and master concepts
• The confidence to become the premier full-service financial provider in your area
• An iron-clad guarantee that makes the PB Program a risk-free professional investment

The Professional Bookkeeper’s Guide to QuickBooks

But why stop with just small business accounting?  Why not add another valuable complementary service to your practice, putting you way ahead of the pack?  Our Professional Bookkeeper’s Guide to QuickBooks will help you master QuickBooks, by far the most popular accounting software used by small businesses.  Upon doing so you will not only be able to add QuickBooks services to your menu, but you will begin attracting a new demographic that will bring more business your way.

Our newly updated QuickBooks training includes the following:

• Training targeted for all user types
• The ability to work more efficiently
• 6 months of follow-up support
• The opportunity to earn a QuickBooks Specialist (QS) designation
• 16 CDs with 15 hours of training
• 4 books with over 800 pages of instruction
• Full color

Will you participate in the recession?  In adding accounting and QuickBooks services to your offerings you will grow your business geometrically by increasing your methods of generating income.  If you’re a freelance tax preparer this just might give you the opportunity to quit your day job and work as a professional accountant and tax preparer year-round.  Or this might mean that you increase the income you generate on the side.  For those of you who currently have your own tax practice, this helps you to expand your business and outlast, and maybe even enjoy, the recession.  Take steps now to grow your business.  Order these two profit-building programs today.

You know the feeling.  You’re sitting at home on Christmas Eve, ready to enjoy the holiday, when you remember that you’ve forgotten a very important present for a very important person.  It’s too late to order over the internet, and you can’t procrastinate any longer, so you brave the winter weather and join the throngs of other shoppers who have also been a tad forgetful.

Our intention here isn’t to guilt you into driving to the mall today.  In fact, we hope you’ll stay right where you are, comfortably reading this article.  We also hope that you’ll think of that one person for which you haven’t yet purchased a present.  That one person who deserves a gift so grand it will make 2009 more enjoyable, more exciting, and more lucrative than ever!  Who are we talking about?  You, of course!

The Gift of Profitability

It would be silly of us to ask if you would like your business to become more profitable.  Of course you would!  What business owners wouldn’t want to grow their practices using proven marketing techniques designed to help them secure high-quality clients?  Crazy ones!  You, on the other hand, are only crazy about your business, intent on seeing it become as successful as possible.  That’s why you need to give yourself the gift of profitability this year.

UAC’s Universal Practice Builder program is targeted for those business owners who want to hone their marketing practices and see genuine profitability as a result.  You realize that you only have so much time, and any time you spend marketing must be effective.  The strategies and techniques you use must bring new clients through your door.  Otherwise you’re wasting valuable time you could instead use to bill clients for performing your valuable services.

The Universal Practice Builder course will train you in 12 promotional techniques that will appeal to your target market!  Not only that, but this training will enable you to produce 15 to 25 qualified leads per month.  In no time at all, you’ll either need to hire employees to help with the work load, or you’ll have to turn potential clients away!  With such an incredible demand for your services, you can charge even more money and maintain a client roster full of high-end clients.

You’ll also learn valuable presentation skills you can use in client-generating seminars that will demonstrate your expertise while creating even more interest in your practice.  Imagine becoming the premier tax preparer in your area!  It can be done if you purchase this one present for yourself today.

Enroll now and you could also attend a live Universal Practice Builder workshop in Salt Lake City this January.  There you can learn from the masters who will provide individual direction in how you can cater this program to your personal situation and personality.

One Astounding Guarantee and Our Free Gift for Enrolling

We guarantee that when you correctly apply the principles learned through the Universal Practice Builder program, you will earn an additional $30,000 in annualized billings in just 12 months!  That’s 17 times the cost for this course.  Talk about a healthy ROI!  This isn’t just a present-it’s a serious increase in your salary.

Also, when you enroll today, we’ll add QuickBooks Made Profitable, a program designed to show you how to use your QuickBooks expertise to bring in even more clients.  Not only will you learn how to better market your skills, but you’ll increase your service offerings in order to attract more clients that can keep you busy year-round and not just during tax season.

Testimonials of Others Who Treated Themselves to a More Profitable Practice

The following individuals are enjoying all the benefits this program offers.  But don’t just take our word for it; read what they have to say:

Excellent company. The people really care about their students. I really feel they want to see their students succeed. It is a pleasure to do business with UAC. This was an excellent workshop. There was a lot of quality material presented by some excellent and sometimes even funny instructors. I walked in with no plans and walked out with a special plan of action to help market and grow my practice to the next level. -  Pete M.

I was very impressed and thankful I decided to attend. Lots of great information to take and implement in my practice. Watching the DVD’s was wonderful but attending the seminar was phenomenal. – Diane H.

Universal Accounting is dedicated to my success and is evident by their dedication to teaching me the tools I must have to develop my business. The staff made sure when I left the seminar that I was prepared and comfortable with moving ahead with business development. – Gary R.F.

UAC is the premier trainer of the accountants of the future. They truly understand how to differentiate their clients from the average accountants. To be honest, I don’t want anyone in my area to know about UAC. I think the information provided will truly separate my services from 95% of my competition. – Magnus E.

2009 is around the corner.  Don’t you want it to be your most profitable year yet?  When you enroll in the Universal Practice Builder program, you are taking all the steps necessary to grow your practice to become the premier tax firm in your area.  Get yourself the gift that will keep on giving you and your family a more profitable future.

Happy Holidays, from Universal!

Cheers to a New Year and another chance for us to get it right. – Oprah Winfrey

With the New Year just a couple weeks away, many are preparing to jump-start their businesses with new approaches and strategies.  Last week we introduced the following five tips to help you prepare for a more productive and profitable New Year:

1.    Revamp workplace

2.    Clean up computer files

3.    Revisit damaged relationships

4.    Create a financial forecast

5.    Implement new techniques and services

This week we’ll complete this series by covering the final five tips on preparing your tax practice for a New Year of business:

6. Consider final tax benefits

You’re a tax professional; this one should be a no-brainer.  In fact, you’ve probably already given your clients this tip.  Take advantage of holiday sales to purchase items your business will need next year. They’re deductible and you should easily be able to stock up on furniture, supplies, and other equipment you use in your business.

7. Contact clients

Some businesses send holiday cards or even give gifts.  Whatever you do, it’s important that you remind clients of your services before the New Year begins.  You may also want to take the opportunity to share with them your valuable, year-round tax planning services which can help them lower their tax liability and ultimately save them money.

8. Go green

More and more professionals are looking for ways to lessen the impact of their businesses on the environment.  Consider incorporating a few environmentally conscious techniques that will ultimately save you money in the long run: recycle, look at alternative energy sources, cut back on energy consumption and waste, and consider purchasing a hybrid vehicle.  Some of these practices are accompanied with valuable tax breaks.  That, and it will just make you feel good.

9. Eliminate clutter

No one likes to start the New Year with a messy office.  Give your office a good cleaning before 2009 so that you’re not dreading the paperwork stacked on your desk.  Along with revamping your office, creating a clean and functional workspace will make you more productive.  Not to mention, you may enjoy your work more.

10. Create your New Year business strategy

Every business should evaluate their standing and, based on scrutiny of past performance, create a strategy that will enable their practices to be more productive in the New Year.  As you assess your business’s performance, consider ways you might improve your marketing strategies, networking approaches, and work processes.  From there you can develop a list of resolutions that will make your business more profitable.

Choose the Programs that Will Best Suit Your New Year Needs

Universal Accounting Center has a host of programs designed to help professionals like you enhance their service offerings and grow their practices.  Learn more about these programs by purchasing our special DVD set which includes the following:

Introduction to the Professional Bookkeeper Program

Learn how becoming a Professional Bookkeeper will enable you to enhance your service offerings and remain busy year-round and not just during tax season.

Yes Sample Marketing CD

Learn how to introduce your services to a potential client. Use this to role playing, watch with a prospective client or pass it out.

Start Today and Have Your Own Bookkeeping Service

Learn how to make over $80,000 per year working from home while getting more clients than you can handle. Know how to charge your client so you can afford to take that next vacation while they get such a great deal they will be telling all their friends about you.

The Art and Science of Getting Clients

Learn how to get more clients by using our proven methods.

After watching these videos you’ll have the information you need to select the programs that will benefit your practice and enable you to experience the profitability and growth you desire.  2009 is your year!  Realize your New Year resolutions this time around.  Order this special video library today!

All the tools at my fingertips to make $100 per hour… and I don’t need a college degree?

That’s right. An exciting and rewarding career as a Professional Tax Preparer could be the perfect way to create the kind of lifestyle that you are looking for. There are several advantages of owning your own Tax Preparation Service and not the least of these is an ability to earn an incredible income.

Let’s take a look at some of the reasons you should consider this lucrative occupation.

Earn a Better Income

If you’re like most people, you’ve spent a good deal of your life working for someone else and putting money into their pocket. Wouldn’t it be nice to earn the same type of income your boss does? Would you like to do better than that? With a career in Professional Tax Preparation, you can. With the right training, you’ll be able to bill $100 per hour or more for your services.

Be Your Own Boss

Working for yourself can be one of the most rewarding things you can do. You’re in a position to provide for yourself the type of lifestyle you and your family deserve.

Stable Income

Owning your own business can provide a stable income? I thought it was just the opposite.

It sure can. If you plan and use a proven strategy for success, you will be able to create a very stable income and lifestyle.

In years past, you could work in a big corporation and find all the security of lifelong employment, but those days are over. Because of corporate restructuring, layoffs, downsizing, and countless other reasons, many people have found that the career choice they thought would lead them to a secure future didn’t. But don’t despair; you can experience that security by being in business for yourself. You just need to make the right choices.

Lewis Schiff, the “Armchair Millionaire” featured each week on CNN Money says, “There’s financial security to be found in nearly any employment situation–if you know how to build it. You’ll have to work … for that security when you’re self-employed, but the personal and financial rewards can make it well worth while.” We can all agree that the last person fired when a company fails is the owner.

Tax Benefits

When you own your own business there are a few perks that employees don’t get to enjoy. There are many things that you can either partially or completely write off as tax deductions. Your car, your home office, your computer and your office supplies to name just a few.

A Tax Preparation business is the perfect addition to a Bookkeeping service!

Adding a Tax Preparation business to a Bookkeeping service is just like adding Hot Fudge to Vanilla ice cream. It’s a perfect combination. By adding Tax services to your Bookkeeping services you are in a position to offer an even greater level of service to your clients. There isn’t any other person who has the day-to-day experience with your client’s financial situation that you do.

Nobody is better qualified to offer your clients the year-round tax planning advice and guidance that you will be able to offer them. And you will be able to positively affect their bottom-line profits as you help them make well-informed decisions and how they impact their tax particular tax situation. And that’s not all, your clients will see more and more value in your services and advice; and be willing to pay for that value.

Why should I learn Tax Preparation for Universal Accounting?

That’s easy. We’ve been teaching Tax Preparation and Bookkeeping since 1979. With thousands of our graduates in successful careers as Accountants and Tax Preparers we will provide you with all the “nuts-and-bolts” of Tax Preparation. You will be prepared to offer your clients the finest tax advice that they will be able to find anywhere.

Not only that, but you’ll learn tax preparation by hands-on learning. Unlike many courses out there, you won’t just learn tax theory… you’ll prepare over 30 different types of tax returns. I haven’t found a more complete program anywhere.

You’ll learn how to prepare personal as well as business returns. Most courses offer instruction on either one or the other.

Our distance learning course includes DVD instruction, work-books, coaching and support, as well as on-line evaluation to ensure that once you’ve completed the course you’re ready. Universal Accounting is the only organization authorized to award the Professional Tax Preparer certification. This is an exclusive designation that demonstrates that you are proficient in personal and small-business Tax Preparation.

Now is the time. Universal is the Place.

Now really is the time to reward yourself for your efforts and begin. Your career in Professional Tax Preparation is just a few mouse clicks away and if you act now, I’d like to offer you the Professional Tax Preparer course.

I’d like to start my career in Professional Tax Preparation. Show me how.

If It’s Accounting, It’s Universal:

Get to Know More About the Company That Will Change Your Career!

Universal Accounting is a company that is making a difference in the lives of their students! For those who are pursuing or looking into the possibilities of pursuing a career path into the Accounting, Bookkeeping and Tax Preparation services, you need to get to know more about what all Universal offers in their comprehensive training programs.

If you prefer onsite classroom study or looking for the benefits received on independent study, we have developed the programs that you will be able to get the one-on-one experience in your own home. The skills we have used over the course of the last 28 years, with the trial and error, the fine-tuning of accounting methods and strategies, and what we and thousands more have experienced running their own practices – we have provided to you the advantage to stay on top of your profession. Our coursework is designed to be exactly what you will be doing when you are servicing the biggest customer base available, the small business owner.

If you are looking for the knowledge, the skills, and the know-how to start or build your accounting or tax practice, or just looking to gain the essential skills to further your career in your place of business, Universal’s Programs are what you are going to need.

Click here to take the Video Tour of Universal and all that we offer to you, the accounting and tax professional to be the best in your field and to have the success in business and in your professional life that you are seeking.Our exclusive short term courses do just that!

Imagine staying on top of the latest in the industry and having access to the experts who can assist you through training? Imagine what you are learning can be applied the very next day at work? Imagine being able to keep the materials, and the reading for continued referencing as you take that path in Accounting, Bookkeeping and Tax Preparation? You don’t have to imagine too hard, because that is one of the many things you receive when you enroll in these specialized programs! Click here to get to know Universal Accounting.

Are You Ready For The Next Step?
Be in business for yourself, but not by yourself getting paid what you’re worth! Are you tired of thinking, “Why not me?” You have gotten this far in your search to do what you want to in your chosen career, take the next step. The time is now to be able to get the training and the change you desire in your professional life. Click here to find out if Professional Tax Preparation Certification is a fit for you.

Be the Profit Expert Professional for Small Business! Don’t hesitate another day in getting the Accounting and Marketing Training that makes the difference. Click here to get more information on what you need to know about getting the Accounting and Marketing Training that makes the difference. Click here to get more information on what you need to know about becoming the Profit Center Expert for small business accounting and tax!

A Phenomenal Equation: Your Business 2x²

Have you ever wanted to clone yourself so you could accomplish more with your business? The idea of getting more work done without hiring a large support staff is appealing. And we know you don’t want to work twice as hard (and long) as you currently do in attempts to become more profitable. Working smart is the best option for your business.

While we may not be able to clone you, we can help multiply your efforts in such a way that you’d be amazed at how profitable your business can become. Many of you are probably working part-time as tax preparers, hoping that some day you’ll be able to take advantage of the flexibility and freedom of full-time self-employment. And if you’ve been waiting for a mind-boggling opportunity to do so, this would be it.

Let’s do some math.

Wouldn’t it be nice to increase your productivity, your business appeal, and your clientele? Of course it would! But the math we’re suggesting here isn’t mere addition. We’re encouraging a more powerful mathematical action: multiplication.

Multiplication has the power to increase your profitability exponentially. So ask yourself, wouldn’t you like to see your business in the middle of the following equation?

2x²

The Profession Bookkeeper Program – 2x

Let’s say your business is x. Universal Accounting Center enables you to multiply your business efforts by two. When you enroll in the Professional Bookkeeper Program we unite efforts in order to double the value of your business. How do we do that? By adding small business accounting services to your menu.

It’s amazing how small businesses continue to populate the nation. Every year more individuals take that leap and start their own business. We know you’ve thought about it! Unfortunately a large number of start-ups fail within the first five years due to poor financial management. These small business owners need accountants who understand their needs and can help them put their numbers to good use.

At Universal Accounting Center, we understand the needs of the small business like nobody else. We’ve helped people like you advance their careers in small business accounting for over 25 years. Unlike many university programs and other training curriculum, The Professional Bookkeeper Program is designed specifically to address the needs of small businesses, and Universal Accounting Center’s small business accounting course is the most complete of anything else offered today. And depending on your schedule and situation, it could take you less than 60 hours complete. Imagine earning a professional designation in less than one month!

If you’re working part-time preparing taxes, you can take your business venture full-time by becoming a full-service financial provider. Not only will clients come to you for their tax needs, but you’ll find yourself doing business year-round for all those clients who value your accounting services as well.

The Universal Practice Builder Workshop — x²

Now comes the exciting part of this equation. Square your business’s profitability!

In order for any business to thrive, it needs customers–the more the better. Unfortunately, most accountants and tax preparers don’t feel comfortable marketing their services. In fact, many are unsure where to start.

Again, in partnering with Universal Accounting Center you increase your business’s profitability, only in this instance you take the value gained from the Professional Bookkeeper Program and combine it with the Universal Practice Builder Workshop, squaring this new sum.

UAC has developed a turn-key marketing solution which will enable you to grow your business with our proven system. You could work for years on a marketing plan, hitting and missing, only to find your business growing at a snail’s pace. Imagine learning which marketing strategies work in just 48 hours! The Universal Practice Builder is a 2-day workshop designed to teach you the art and science of getting clients. At the end of the workshop you will have gained the following (and much, much more):

• A guarantee of $30,000 in new annualized billings in only 12 months
• 12 marketing strategies that you can implement immediately
• A process which can produce 15 to 25 qualified leads a month
• 3 months of coaching via telephone and Internet
• Training on a computerized database tracking program
• A presentation DVD to show potential clients

By enrolling in both the Professional Bookkeeper Program and the Universal Practice Builder Workshop, you double the value of your business (2x) and then square that new sum (2x²). You of all people can appreciate a good mathematical equation, especially one that works in your favor. Universal’s value package and drop your business into that profitable equation today!

At last, all the tools, at your fingertips, to make $100 per hour… and you don’t need a college degree.

Believe it or not, with the proper education, you can bill $100 per hour or more for Tax Preparation services. I say this because there are thousands of people, just like you and me, who are doing it right now. Highly respected professionals, without a college or university education, are providing a specialized and technical service to their clients. And you can do it too.

As the graph on the right illustrates, since the year 2000 the number of people who had a professional prepare their taxes has increased from 25.2 million people in 2000 to 43.9 million in 2004; while the overall tax filings have remained fairly constant during that same period.

In a recent study conducted by the Tax Foundation Annual Survey of Attitudes on Tax and Wealth, 81% of people surveyed said that the tax code was too complicated and 70% said that they HATED to do their own taxes! I think you’ll agree; the opportunity to begin a successful Tax Preparation practice has never been better.

Over the next six of weeks I’d like to give you an overview of the exciting and rewarding business of Professional Tax Preparation. If you are in search of a recession-proof business that will help you create the lifestyle that you and your family deserve, this is the business and now is the time.

Okay… what can I expect over the next six weeks?

Week #1. The Proper Tax Preparation Education. We’ll discuss what you should be looking for in a Tax Preparation education. We’ll outline some of the different types of education that is available and the pros & cons of each.

With an overview of what’s available and the kind of education that you’ll need to succeed in the Tax Preparation business, you’ll be prepared to make the next move and arm yourself with the education that best suits your goals.

Week #2 How to Set-Up A Tax Preparation Practice. There are a number of things that anyone setting-up a business will need to do. We’ll discuss what those requirements are and provide a prioritized list that will make the process simple and easy to implement.

There are several things that are unique to the Tax Preparation business that you’ll want to be aware of. My goal is to arm you with all the information you’ll need to begin your successful practice.

Week #3 How to Market Your Tax Preparation Business. (Part 1) Allen Bostrom, President of Universal Accounting and author, in his book, In the Black, says, “Nothing happens until you make a sale.” We’ll talk about what it takes to make everything happen!

If you’re like most of us, the idea of being a salesman might not be your favorite thing. Don’t be concerned, there are a number of easy-to-implement methods that will make the entire sales and marketing process something easy and systematic. Anyone can do this!

In Week #3 we’ll talk about creating what I call the “Automatic Referral System”. In other words, referrals without begging.

Week #4 How to Market Your Tax Preparation Business. (Part 2)
We’ll continue our discussion of easy and “doable” marketing methods that extend beyond referrals. We’ll talk about Tag-Team marketing and networking just to mention a couple.

Week #5 Universal Accounting: The Perfect Tax Preparation Education. We’ll discuss why Universal Accounting Center is the perfect place to obtain the most complete and comprehensive Tax Preparation Education found anywhere.

Week #6 A Tax Preparation Business & Bookkeeping practice are the perfect match for maximum profits. The advantages of combining a Tax Preparation Business with a Bookkeeping service are many. Our final discussion in this series will demonstrate how they might be the perfect combination for you and your future Tax Preparation business.

What can I expect from here?

Welcome aboard. I’m looking forward to showing you why I think a Tax Preparation business is such a wonderful opportunity and for the chance to give you the information that you’ll need to determine if it’s a “right fit” for you.

Information on starting your own Tax Preparation business is only a click or two away. Follow the link below and find out for yourself what an incredible business opportunity this really is.

I want to know more about starting a Professional Tax Preparation business.

What’s the Right Education for Me?

I have an artist friend. He is very talented. He’s also very old-school. He paints architectural renderings. Despite his wonderful talent, because of the computer and very capable rendering software, his skills are less and less in demand than they once were.

Architects are able to produce a computer generated preview of what a building will look like without having an artist paint it. Of course it’s not exactly the same as a skilled and talented artist creating a painting, but most of the time it’s good enough, and my artist friend is slowly watching his market diminish.

If he were to begin his career today… his training would need to be different.

70% of Americans Hate to Prepare Their Own Taxes

When we first met, we talked about what a wonderful opportunity exists in the business of professional tax preparation and how 70% of people surveyed actually hated to prepare their own taxes. Wow! What a great opportunity to earn a very profitable income and create a wonderful lifestyle for you and your family.

When you first heard this, you were probably a little skeptical. I think that’s a fairly understandable reaction. But as you’ve looked closer at what’s involved in starting your own business, the type of education you might need, the marketing methods you might employ to grow your business and read or maybe even listened to a testimonial or two; you might be thinking to yourself, “I can do this.”

There is No Doubt in My Mind

If there’s nothing else you gain from our conversations together, know this: I know you can do this. In fact you don’t even have to take my word for it. As we talk to graduates of the Professional Tax Preparer program, and ask them about the success of their practices, they tell us that they are charging $100 per hour for their services. (And that’s the average, some charge even more.)

Unlike many programs available, of 100 graduates of our program that we interviewed this year, 12 months after their graduation, 74% were working in the accounting field, had been promoted to a management position, or owned their own accounting or tax preparation practice. The best news is… this can be you… and you can create a wonderful lifestyle for yourself.

“Great success is commoner than great abilities.”
-Luc de Clapiers de Vauvenargues

You might be asking, “What does this have to do with me?” Most people will agree that hard work, determination and integrity are what it takes to find success in America. It’s not great ability that makes successful people; it’s doing just what you’re doing right now; making a goal, finding out what it will take to reach that goal and then taking action.

Only Invest in the “Right” Education

With the need for qualified professional tax preparers increasing every year, the opportunity is greater today than it has ever been. And as the opportunity increases, the need to obtain the best possible education available has become more important than ever before.

A couple weeks ago, I shared with you what I felt the “right” education must include. Lets take a minute and review the list.

5 Things You Should Look For in a Tax Preparation Education

1. Does instruction come via the classroom or distance learning?
2. Is the instruction complete?
3. Does the instruction include “hands-on” learning?
4. Is there support? Someone to answer my questions?
5. Is the education guaranteed?

Click Here to Refer Back to Our Previous Discussion on What Must Be in the “Right” Education

Universal Accounting Center Offers the Most Complete Tax Preparation Curriculum That Can Be Found Anywhere… Including the Universities or the Franchises. Period.

There are many courses that provide you with the training to get a data entry type position making $8 or $9 per hour, but won’t provide the education that will create financial security and the type of lifestyle that you and your family deserve.

DVD-based technology has made it possible to not only duplicate the classroom experience, but improve upon it. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to “rewind” and “review” particularly difficult to understand topics until you were confident that you had a thorough understanding?

A distance learning program that includes a combination of DVD-based instruction and written material is the most effective combination to create the perfect learning experience. The distance learning programs I’ve looked at provide you with nothing but a textbook.

Not the training solutions from Universal Accounting. In fact, their program not only includes DVD-based instruction and a textbook; it also includes online information and a live voice at the other end of the phone from a qualified tax professional to answer all your questions. That’s a Universal exclusive… I don’t know of another program that offers that.

At Universal, unlike other training programs available, you’ll get hands-on experience doing the taxes for different businesses. Experience that will allow you to demonstrate to potential clients and employers that you can save them money. Experience that will build confidence in yourself and your ability to handle any type of tax questions that you might face. Universal is “hands-on” learning. It’s been that way since 1979.

Be Prepared with the Tools You’ll Need

There are no filler classes here. You’ll learn tax preparation… not 10 key or data entry. You shouldn’t be satisfied with learning only enough to be somebody’s clerk. Don’t limit yourself. When you’re finished with our course, you’ll be a qualified tax professional; and if you complete the course material and evaluation with a 90% or better, you’ll earn the exclusive designation of Professional Tax Preparer (PTP). Universal will show you the best way to be successful in the least amount of time possible.

We’ll Help You Start the “Perfect” Business Once You’ve Had the “Right” Education

Just look at the tools that ensure your success.

• If you have questions, you can speak with a live voice on the other end of the phone for 1 year after you’ve completed your course. You can have confidence in your ability to help your clients because of your “support team” that is always ready to help you.
• By learning proper client interview techniques, you’ll learn how to ask the questions that will allow you to properly evaluate what you can offer your clients and what to charge for your services. You’ll be able to address all of your client’s needs, because you’ll know not only what to ask, but how to ask it.
• The exclusive PTP (Professional Tax Preparer) designation demonstrates to your clients and peers that you are a trained and qualified tax professional. Earning the PTP designation allows you to enjoy a level of professionalism and status that demonstrates your commitment to both your clients and your profession.

Any tax preparation course that doesn’t offer you the tools to either find a great job or start your own business, is not complete.

The Good News? This is Good for You!

The education you receive from Universal Accounting will make you a valuable asset to your clients. You’ll know everything you’ll need to know to provide the type of service to your clients that will help them save money.

Affordable Student Financing is Also Available

You can get started for as little as $145 down. There’s no credit check and you’re pre-approved if you have a major credit card. Once your financing is complete, you’ll get your entire set of course materials delivered to your door. No waiting.

Universal’s Ironclad Money-Back Guarantee Removes All Risk:

If, after completing the course materials, you feel the course didn’t live up to your expectation, simply return the materials to Universal, for a 100% refund of any monies paid.

Do colleges and universities offer that type of guarantee? What about the franchises? (And unlike franchises, it won’t cost you up to $80,000 to get started.)

If It’s About Accounting… It’s Universal

For the finest education in tax preparation anywhere, with no hidden costs for books, tests, etc. I think you’ll agree that now is the time and Universal is the place.

Find out for yourself how exciting and rewarding a career in professional tax preparation can be for you… you’re only a couple mouse clicks away. Follow the link below and create the lifestyle you deserve.

I’m Ready for the “Right” Education… I Want to Start the “Perfect” Profession…

(Part One of a Two-Part Series on The Right Professional Investment)

“60% of college graduates are moving back in with mom and dad.”

I heard this interesting statistic the other day as I drove into the office. The news story went on to say that 60% or more of college graduates say they can’t find a job in their field.

A college degree doesn’t guarantee financial security like it once did.

Whether or not you have a college or university education, what I heard on the radio is very consistent with a survey taken by the folks at Universal Accounting Center earlier this year. This survey includes people who have a formal education as well as those who don’t.

We found that of 100 graduates of the Professional Bookkeepers Program surveyed 12 months after graduation: 74% were working in the accounting field, had been promoted to a management position, or owned their own accounting or tax preparation practice.

The “right” investment in you will create the income and lifestyle that you and your family deserve.

Bookkeeping and accounting have really evolved over the years. Today, a professional bookkeeper is armed with more than just a scratch-pad and a pencil. As the business regulations that effect small businesses increase in complexity, the need for specially trained and qualified bookkeepers and accountants becomes more and more apparent.

As a result, your education should take advantage of and reflect the impact that new technology has had on the industry and the profession.

5 Things Every Good Bookkeeping Education Must Have

1. Flexibility
2. Complete education
3. Hands-on training
4. A qualified professional to answer questions
5. A guarantee

1. Distance Learning
At first glance, many consider a classroom setting the most effective environment to learn in. For most of us, demands on our time require that school work around our lives, not the other way around.

Have you ever tried to “rewind” a classroom lecture when you didn’t understand a concept? Of course, you can sometimes ask questions, but with so many students in one class, often there just isn’t time to get to every question. Besides, we are often nervous to ask what others might think are “dumb” questions.

Wouldn’t it be nice to “rewind” and “review” topics to improve your confidence that you had a thorough understanding? DVD-based training makes that possible at a level that can’t be duplicated in a classroom.

If you miss a class because it doesn’t work with your schedule, can you make it up? Or do you fall behind? Unfortunately, most classroom courses don’t offer make-up classes for students who have scheduling conflicts. You’re either there, or you’re not.

When considering a distance learning program, a combination of video (DVD) and written material provides the most effective combination which not only replicates, but improves upon the classroom experience. Believe it or not, most distance learning programs out there teaching bookkeeping and accounting provide you with a written textbook. And that’s it.

When you pick a doctor, do you want someone that just learned out of a book? Or do you want someone with hands-on experience? A small business owner wants their bookkeeper to have the same kind of experience you only get by doing. That’s the kind of training you get with the Professional Bookkeeper program.

2. Complete education
To succeed it your education must be comprehensive. Most accounting programs don’t teach you small business bookkeeping and accounting. That’s ridiculous when you consider 85% of accounting opportunities are with small businesses. A bookkeeping and accounting education that doesn’t teach you the ins-and-outs of small business cheats you out of a complete education. In looking for the “right” education you need to get it from someone who can help you master small business accounting and understand small businesses inside-and-out. Why? Because, that’s what you’ll need to start your own profitable bookkeeping and accounting business.

3. Hands-on training
Most bookkeeping training materials focus on accounting theory. Often, the difference between having a basic understanding and really mastering the materials is found in the” doing.” There is no better way to understand accounting than by actually performing accounting functions yourself.

In learning with a hands-on approach, accounting is much like learning to ride a bike. It will not only become easier, but it will become automatic. The “right” education includes more than just “bookkeeping theory.”

4. A qualified professional to answer questions
Even with the best video or textbook training, you’ll still have questions. Will your distance learning course provide a way for those questions to be answered quickly and completely?

Demand an answer from the training program before you enroll.

• Is there telephone support.
• Is there e-mail support.

After you complete your coursework and you’re working with clients on the job, will they still be there to support you? When you have questions, will they leave you to find the answers for yourself? That’s just not fair! We won’t!

The “right” education not only answers your questions via phone or e-mail while you’re taking the course, but provides the advice of qualified accounting professionals to advise you through your first year as a professional Bookkeeper. Even after you finish the course, your school should be there to support you so that you’re never left alone.

Nobody would attempt to climb Everest alone. You need a support system each and every step of your climb to success.

5. A guarantee
When you attend a college, university or trade school, what guarantee do they provide that the training you will receive will increase your income or create the lifestyle that you want? None.

The “perfect” education will provide a guarantee that the information and instruction that you receive will create the kind of income and lifestyle that you are looking for. Something that says, “We stand behind what we do, what we teach, and what your education will mean.”

Does anyone make that kind of bold guarantee? Only Universal Accounting dares to bet on your success.

Are there people that might take advantage of us with a guarantee like this? Sure, but in all the years offering this guarantee, few take us up on it. Why? Because if you follow the steps to success we outline, you’ll succeed.

Education is learning what you didn’t know you didn’t even know. -Daniel J. Boorstin

With the “right” information you can choose the “right” education. Enrolling in the Professional Bookkeeper Program is the “right” choice for you. And when you order today, you will receive an additional 6 months of free coaching following your completion of the course. That means you can call us with a question at anytime for an entire year after you complete the program materials! Don’t wait another day to take advantage of the best investment you can make-in yourself! It’s the perfect start to the New Year. Enroll now.

“A lot of fellows nowadays have a B.A., M.D., or Ph.D. Unfortunately, they don’t have a J.O.B.” -Fats Dominoe

Fats is right. The degree isn’t the goal. The income to create the lifestyle that you want is the goal. Unfortunately, a college or university education doesn’t necessarily guarantee that you’ll get a job, much less a job that will provide a great income and lifestyle. The same is true of the “wrong” education in Tax Preparation.

Speaking to university graduates, Michael Mandel in BusinessWeek:Online wrote on September 8th, “I’m sorry for obsessing about this, but I can’t help it. I really do wonder whether we’ve passed over a critical threshold where a college degree alone is no longer enough.”

With the “right” education you “make your own luck.”

Most tax training programs only teach you enough about Tax Preparation to get a data-input position making $8 bucks an hour, but I don’t think that’s the lifestyle that most of us are looking for. I believe that the “right” education will give you the tools and training to help you “make your own luck.”

Introducing what makes the “right education in Tax Preparation the “perfect” education.

Maybe we should be a little more specific about what you should find in a curriculum on Tax Preparation. These are the basics. If they aren’t in the course, don’t take it!

1. The nuts-and-bolts of the standard tax returns. You should expect to learn about and have experience preparing the tax returns that the majority of individuals will use. This is where it starts.

2. How to shelter your income. You should expect to learn concepts and strategies that will ensure that your clients will pay lower taxes. You should expect to learn about legitimate deductions that can save your clients thousands of dollars on a return. You should learn about tax credits, which could reduce your client’s tax burden even more.

3. Income adjustments strategies. Expect to learn how to itemize on a tax return, how to deal with business expenses, capital gains and losses, and depreciation in ways that let you and your clients pay the bare minimum tax allowed by law.

4. You should become a 1040 expert! You should expect to learn about self-employment and rental property income, Alternative Maximum Tax, extensions, amended returns, etc… If this isn’t a part of your Tax Preparation education, it’s not the “right” education.

5. You should be comfortable with the basics of business tax issues. You should expect to learn all about the various types of business types and the tax forms that service them. You should learn about the different types of businesses that exist; partnerships or corporations, to name only a couple, and what makes all the different business structures unique and the tax advantages or disadvantages of each.

You must know what business structure to use with your own business so you pay less taxes and keep more of the money you earn.

6. You should become a master of the Business Return. Once you know about all the types of business entities there are, you should expect to learn the lucrative and much sought after field of business returns.

As you search for the “right” education in Tax Preparation, if these 6 areas of instruction are not a part of the curriculum, it isn’t a complete education and is not the “right” education for a successful Tax Preparation business. Knowing that, I should tell you, I think these 6 areas of instruction are only a part of what you’ll need to have a successful and very profitable Tax Preparation business. There’s still more you’ll need to know to create a truly profitable and rewarding tax preparation business.

Okay… show me what the “perfect” education must include!

Now let me introduce you to the 1/2 dozen things profitable tax services know that will turn the “right” Tax Preparation Education into the “perfect” education. Realize that this is not offered everywhere. (But don’t worry; at the end of this e-mail, I’ll give you some information on where you will find it.)

• In depth marketing strategies. Time proven techniques that will save you years of experimentation and frustration and teach you how to attract and keep clientele. Since the best knowledge only turns into a great income when you have paying clients, learning how to quickly find and keep clients must be a part of the “perfect” curriculum. A library of prospecting letters and fliers to help you begin your Professional Tax Preparation Business with clients should be in your course material.

• Coaching from marketing experts. If there’s not someone on the other end of the phone to help you with your efforts to attract and keep clients, it’s not the “perfect” education.

• How should I charge for my services? How can any school that would make you guess what your fee schedule should be consider itself to be the “perfect” education?

• How should I interview clients to get the information I’ll need? Without the right information, it will be difficult to really service your clients. Any school that doesn’t offer instruction on how to interview your clients to serve them effectively and efficiently is not the “perfect” education.

• Tax Support. Your first year as a Professional Tax Preparer may be full of a lot of tax questions that you are not sure of. If your education doesn’t include access to experienced professionals for that critical first year, I don’t think there’s anyway it could be the “perfect” education.

• Access to all the current tax forms. What kind of instruction on preparing taxes wouldn’t include access to all the forms you’ll need. If the forms aren’t there, it can’t be “perfect”.

• Proven management techniques. Running your business like a pro will make it possible to live the lifestyle that you and your family deserve. If your education doesn’t teach you the proven management techniques that will allow that, you guessed it, it isn’t the “perfect” education.

Now you know what I consider the “perfect” education in Professional Tax Preparation. If you are able to find the right education, you’re on the right track. But if you want to “Make Your Own Luck”, you better be looking for the “perfect” education.

Did We Set Our Sites Too High?

Does anyone really provide this kind of real-world tax preparation training? Yes, but most of them are called a “franchise” and can cost up to $80,000 to start. There is one exception. Universal Accounting’s Professional Tax Preparation Certification is that exception.

Click Here to Learn More About The Costs of Buying a Franchise and Why You Don’t Need to

Most people don’t have the money to buy a franchise, but they can still create a profitable tax preparation business. Universal Accounting has been teaching the ins-and-outs of small business accounting and tax preparation for over 25 years. We’re the small business accounting experts. Click on the link below and learn more about how to start your tax preparation business with something even better than a franchise.

Show Me How to Start a Lucrative and Exciting Tax Preparation Business Today