Tax Strategies & Preparation Articles

A guest post by William Brough, MBA
Universal Accounting Tax Curriculum Specialist

As many of you may already be aware, the Internal Revenue Service has recently announced major changes in the way they treat professional tax preparers. For years it was possible to “fly under the radar” with regard to the IRS if you were not an enrolled tax preparer (CPAs, attorneys, and EAs or enrolled agents, were considered “enrolled” by the IRS under the old system). As long as you could find willing customers, you could get paid for preparing returns, develop a tax practice, grow your clientele and make a good living without having to register with the IRS. You could even receive a PTIN (preparer tax identification number) and EFIN (electronic filing identification number).  As long as you filed honest, accurate returns, the IRS basically ignored you.

Of course, if you weren’t enrolled, there were limits to what you could do for your clients. Primarily, you couldn’t represent your clients before the IRS in the event of an audit or other IRS inquiry unless you were the preparer of the return in question. If you were like me, you were fine with that division of duties. But occasionally, someone who knew what you did but preferred to prepare his own returns would suddenly come to you with an IRS problem he wanted help solving, and although you might be able to offer some quick advice, there was nothing substantial you could do for him.

Now, however, after several years of talk, rumors, discussion and debate, the IRS has clarified that it plans to regulate even unenrolled tax preparers, requiring them to officially register and comply with the same basic ethical regulations that already apply to enrolled preparers. This sweeping change will be implemented in three phases, beginning later this year.

Phase One

This phase is simply registration. Even if you already have a PTIN number and are an enrolled preparer, you must register with the IRS beginning September 1, 2010, and declare your intention to continue working as a professional tax preparer. Anyone who does not do so by December 31, 2010, will not be allowed to prepare paid tax returns in the 2011 calendar year. For new preparers, a PTIN will be issued at the time you register. Preparers who already have a PTIN must still register, but will be re-issued the PTIN they already have.

Believe it or not, the reason for this is that the IRS does not even know how many professional tax preparers it will have to regulate. So registration is the first step, without which none of the other steps can follow. Do not ignore this important requirement. There will be no grandfathering of prior tax preparers for 2011, even if you have prepared taxes for years, and even if you are already an enrolled tax preparer.

Phase Two

Phase Two of the new regulation requires all paid tax preparers to pass a test demonstrating their qualifications within three years, although whether that three years begins when registration does, in 2010, or when the test becomes available, in 2011, is still undetermined. Since all enrolled preparers have already passed a proficiency exam, this requirement is directed only at unenrolled preparers.

The test will consist of two parts: one on wage and non-business 1040 returns and one on small business (Schedule C or F) 1040 returns. Only preparers who have passed the appropriate test will be allowed to prepare paid returns of that type, but it will not be required of any preparer to pass both tests. Thus, if you only plan to prepare individual returns, you needn’t take the small business test and vice versa. It is expected that a third test for business returns (such as Forms 1065, 1120 and 1120S) will also be available soon for those who wish to include them in their practices.

Testing will be administered at testing centers nationwide through Prometric, the same company that administers the EA exam. No online testing from home will be offered. Note that if you do not register with the IRS in 2010, you will have to pass the test before you will be given a PTIN. The three-year testing window only applies to those who have been issued (or re-issued) a PTIN prior to 2011.

Phase Three

During this phase, new IRS regulations require that all unenrolled preparers, who have been given a PTIN and have passed the new IRS exam, must take 15 hours of continuing professional education (CPE) credits during the three-year cycle, of which at least three hours must involve federal tax law updates and two hours must involve professional ethics. At the same time, it has been announced that even unenrolled preparers will be obliged to comply with the requirements of IRS Publication 230, which currently governs the legal and ethical obligations of enrolled preparers.

Also note that here will be a one-time registration fee, although the amount of the fee has yet to be announced. It is expected to fall somewhere between $75 and $300 for the entire three year registration cycle. After that, an ongoing annual fee, similar to what enrolled preparers now pay ($125) is expected to apply.

This is a fantastic opportunity for tax preparers who are serious about their practices, or who wish to finally begin a tax preparation career, to take a big step forward as professionals. With increased requirements will come increased respect for the tax profession and the corresponding withdrawal of sleazy and dishonest tax preparers, the kind who promise a refund no matter what and/or are under-qualified, if they have any qualifications at all. Just meeting the new IRS requirements will provide a huge marketing opportunity as you grow your practice. Rest assured, Universal Accounting will be there to help you with all the great training and marketing resources we have to offer.

Universal Accounting’s Tax Training

If you would like to become eligible to prepare taxes under the new regulations established by the IRS, consider training with Universal Accounting.  Not only could you earn the Professional Tax Preparer Designation, but you could also receive up to 60 CPE credits, depending on the number of modules you complete.

Take time this summer to acquire the expertise necessary to become a Professional Tax Preparer before next tax season.  UAC’s Professional Tax Preparer (PTP) program will not only give you hands-on training in completing full individual (1040) and business returns (1065, 1120, 1120S), but it will also provide you with the following:

• 20 hours of valuable video instruction
• 2 instructional manuals
• Step-by-step instruction in becoming a sole practitioner
• One year of follow-up support from expert tax preparers
• The opportunity to earn valuable professional certification
• Our iron-clad, risk-free guarantee

Be prepared for the changes that will impact all future tax preparers.  Enroll in the Professional Tax Preparer Program today, and improve your competitive advantage while securing your professional standing in the tax industry.

It can be difficult to plan during a recession when uncertainty is often the only predictable factor.  So what do you do?  Bnet, a professional website offering business advice, suggests a framework for Discovery-Driven Planning, developed by Wharton professor Ian MacMillan and Columbia Business School professor Rita Gunther McGrath.  Their six-step process is intended to gather the information necessary to best navigate through uncertain situations.

1. Framing

This first step requires you to ask a lot of questions regarding your business and its purpose.  For example, in order to be profitable, what type of bottom-line must you achieve?  How many clients do you need in order to realize that bottom-line?  And is your current (or anticipated) business model able to facilitate profitability.  The purpose of framing is to articulate your goals and then work backwards to see what steps are required to achieve them.

2. Competitive market reality specification

In order to make the best business decisions you must attain a realistic view of your competition.  Benchmarking compares your business with competitors of equal size in order to identify areas of improvement for short and long-term action.  Without this data you’re flying blind through an economic storm.

3. Specifying deliverables

This is where you articulate what you want your business to achieve.  Your deliverables should not only be realistic but specific.  How many clients will you add?  How much income will that generate?  Once you have a list of specific deliverables you can determine what’s necessary to achieve your desired results.

4. Assumption testing

Whether or not you acknowledge it, your deliverables come with certain assumptions or expectations that must be managed.  As you move forward on your action plan, you must take note of these assumptions, and then prepare to test them.

5. Managing milestones

Once you determine what your assumptions or expectations are, you can plan to test them in the form of milestones.  In the description of their Discover-Driving Planning process, MacMillan and McGrath explain, “A milestone is a critical, identifiable point in time at which key assumptions are tested. In discovery-driven planning, you plan in detail as far as the limits of current knowledge make sensible, then stop, revisit your assumptions, and replan at each milestone.”

6. Parsimony

As much as possible, you should keep costs down until your assumptions are tested.  MacMillan and McGrath suggest that you “think of this step as spending your imagination before your money.”

In today’s uncertain economic environment, it’s important that you use as much information as is available to make strategic business decisions.  In order to help you achieve that, Universal Accounting Center offers customized business assessments designed to help you compare your business with the competition, fulfilling step two of the Discovery-Driven Planning process.

UAC Provides Customized Business Assessments for Businesses

Universal Accounting Center (UAC) is in the business of seeing small businesses like yours succeed.  And we know one of the ways to accomplish that is to provide you with all the valuable information of a customized business assessment.  How does it work? From several of your company’s key business metrics, we will run a full analysis of your organization’s financial health. This includes a follow-up counseling session with one of our profitability coaches to help get your business on the fast track to increased profitability.

Universal’s reports will interpret and explain your industry benchmarks and provide the following customized features:

• Executive Summary highlights strengths
• Industry percentile rankings for 20 major financial ratios
• Interpretation of variances from industry norms
• Bold graphs that show comparisons
• Profit improvement “what if” financial capabilities
• “Discussion Ideas” section that provides a springboard for action

Click here to view a sample business assessment performed by Universal Accounting Center.

You owe it to your business to get a complete financial picture of how it compares to others in the industry. It’s a tool that will enable you to better navigate through the recession.  Add to the detailed analysis provided in your business analysis an hour of business consulting, and you have an amazingly great value.  Call UAC at 1-(800) 343-4827 for more information about getting your own customized business assessment!

Resources

Girard, Kim.  “Three Tools to Manage Uncertainty.” BNET
MacMillan, Ian and Rita Gunther McGrath.  “Using Discovery-Driving Planning in Business Building.” October 2002   Wharton@Work

Move Forward Fearlessly

There are many who have dreamed of starting or expanding their own businesses.  Some are waiting for the perfect time.  Others may expect a guarantee of success or a low-risk opportunity.  And others still may simply be waiting to build up the nerve to move forward.  The majority of these tentative people are now cowering in the wake of the recession, certain that their entrepreneurial dreams must wait.

Many great business owners have built their empires amidst economic adversity.  In fact, nothing better demonstrates the entrepreneurial spirit than a business owner moving forward regardless of the obstacles ahead.

“We know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the road.  They get run over.”  — Aneurin Bevan

You will have to decide whether to build your business or return to status quo.  Indecision will do nothing for your dreams but promote apathy and insecurity.  Once you make that decision to move forward, however, you must do so with confidence and determination.  This will continue to build your confidence, motivation and belief in your own potential for success.  And like attracts like-the more positive and assured you are, the greater your likelihood to become victorious and profitable.

“You can’t do today’s job with yesterday’s methods and be in business tomorrow.” – Anonymous

Accounting is the perfect service to complement tax preparation.  And there are countless local businesses in need of small-business specialists.  The majority of accountants today are trained in corporate accounting which makes up less than 10% of accounting opportunities.  Small businesses, on the other hand, comprise more than 80% of those accounting opportunities, and their needs are different from those of big businesses.  These prospective clients are looking for small-business accountants who can help their businesses achieve greater profitability.

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. Our Professional Bookkeeper (PB) Program has a curriculum designed specifically to address the needs of small business; it offers the most complete small-business accounting training anywhere.  And depending on your schedule and situation, it will only take you 60 hours to complete.

The PB Program offers numerous benefits, and here are just a few:

• The Professional Bookkeeper designation to add to your credentials
• Special training in small business accounting (which makes up the majority of accounting opportunities)
• The ability to work at your own pace
• Low enrollment costs
• Follow-up support and,
• An iron-clad guarantee

“For every sale you miss because you’re too enthusiastic, you miss a hundred because you’re  not enthusiastic enough.” – Zig Ziglar

No business can succeed unless people know about it.  So unless you market your new business, it will dwindle and, eventually, collapse.  In order to succeed, you need to employ effective marketing techniques designed to target your prospective client base.

In all our years working with accountants, bookkeepers and tax preparers we’ve come to understand that most don’t know how to promote their services to this niche market of small business.  We do!  And not only do we know how to market those services, but we know which strategies and approaches will grow your business to the point where you will become so busy you may just have to start turning clients away – that or consider increasing your staff in order to increase your capacity (and your bottom line!).

To share this priceless information we developed the Universal Practice Builder Program, otherwise known as Marketing on Steroids.  Here’s just a sampling of what you will gain from enrolling in this phenomenal program:

• A guarantee of $30,000 in new annualized billings in only 12 months
• The skills to become a Profit Expert for each of your clients
• 12 marketing strategies that you can implement immediately
• A process which can produce 15 to 25 qualified leads per month
• 3 months of coaching via telephone and Internet
• Training on a computerized database tracking program
• A presentation DVD to show potential clients
• Training to use QuickBooks to attract more clients
• Access to a plan proven to help retain clients

“Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakens.”-Carl Jung

So what will you do?  Will you sit by and let the recession cloud your vision for success?  Or will you take advantage of the economic downturn to push your practice forward, enabling it to become the premier accounting and tax firm in your area by the time the recession is over and done?  Look inside yourself and take the initiative to move forward.  Enroll in the Professional Bookkeeper and Universal Practice Builder programs and ensure your likelihood for success.

Everyone makes mistakes, but there are some mistakes we can avoid by taking a few cautionary measures.  Starting a new business is hard enough; it’s best to do all you can to avoid any more obstacles than necessary.  Last week we shared 4 of 9 common startup mistakes to help you better prepare to launch your new practice:

1.    Not researching the market before entry

2.    Focusing on a narrow niche

3.    Launching too slowly

4.    Forgetting about branding, marketing, and sales

This week we’ll share the final 5:

5. Being short on passion

Before starting any business, you must ensure that it’s something you’re passionate about.  You’re going to be working many long hours to build and grow your fledgling practice; if you’re not passionate about what you’ll be doing, it’ll make your new venture more drudgery than dream-come-true.

6. Spending too much money

A financial practice is one of the more economical business ventures you can start.  You shouldn’t have to spend too much money to begin; a good computer, printer, scanner, fax machine and software package are about all you’ll need to sustain your business.  And as long as you have a good home office, you don’t even need to pay rent on a professional location.  However, regardless, some entrepreneurs still feel the need to spend more money than is absolutely necessary.  Don’t fall into that trap.  The more money you can save in building and growing your business, the more likely your business will survive long-term.

7. Bringing in unnecessary partners

Topping the list of big startup mistakes is arguing with business partners.  But before that comes bringing in unnecessary partners.  We thought we’d cover them both in number seven by encouraging you to thoughtfully consider the necessity of adding any partners to your practice.  Unless you don’t trust your own skill and expertise, you don’t need anyone else to help you launch your new business.

8. Lacking clarity in long-term business goals

It’s an old adage that has become cliché: when you fail to plan, you plan to fail.  But it’s cliché because it rings true.  Unless you take the time to articulate your vision and long-term goals, your business will lack focus and direction.  Business goals are more than mere projections of success.  As you plan how and what your business will become, your goals are the markers by which you measure success.  And the more specific your business goals, the better.

9. Refusing to receive further training

No matter how experienced you may be, refusing to enhance your skills will make you less competitive.  Also, when you add new services, like accounting, you can increase your income and your practice’s profitability.  While it may require some time, energy, and financing, without continued training your business may become obsolete.  Take the time to invest in yourself and your practice’s future.

While you can’t (and shouldn’t-how would you learn anything?) avoid all mistakes, there are a handful that can be avoided with some thoughtful planning.  And if you take the time to receive valuable training on building and growing your new business, you’ll be more likely to experience the type of success you dream of.

Universal Accounting’s Power Package

By adding small-business accounting services to your menu, your practice becomes a full-service provider that can operate year-round and not just during tax season.  Universal’s Professional Bookkeeper Program is designed to help you master small-business accounting on your own time and at your own pace.  You can earn a professional designation, demonstrating to prospective clients that you have the necessary expertise to manage their financial data.

And to learn how to promote your services to the right clientele, you need a reliable toolbox full of proven marketing strategies.  The Universal Practice Builder Program will help you master 12 of these strategies, enabling you to secure 15 to 25 qualified leads per month!  This program alone can help you avoid a slew of startup mistakes, helping you grow your business so that it’s not only sustainable, but profitable too.

Learn more about this Power Package by visiting Universal Accounting Center today!

Have you been thinking about launching your part-time tax practice into a full-time venture?  Don’t let the recession intimidate you.  For many, this economic downturn presents the perfect opportunity to inject their businesses into a depressed market and experience a strong showing as a result.

While startup mistakes are common, and expected, you can take measures to avoid the greatest pitfalls by avoiding the most common mishaps.  In this article we share 4 of 9 mistakes you can avoid in order to enjoy greater success more quickly.

1.  Not researching the market before entry

Not even your enthusiasm can make up for a lack of research regarding your prospective practice and its intended market.  Before launching your business full-time, do a little research to ensure your intended niche can sustain your practice.  If you plan to service small businesses, your “research” can include a drive down your main street, or you can thumb through the yellow pages of your local phone book.  How many small, local businesses can you find?  Consider that these don’t even include the countless entrepreneurs working from their homes.  This potential client base is huge and continues to grow every year.

2. Focusing on a narrow niche

It’s always good to specialize-be it restaurants, construction companies, retailers, etc.; it can help your business to have an industry-specific focus.  However, if you narrow your focus too much, you may eliminate many prospective clients.  We suggest you focus on small business and then, perhaps select a specialty within that venue.  That should keep your niche wide enough to attract the clients you need sustain your business.

3. Launching too slowly

There’s a risk in launching too quickly (for example, without having done the necessary research), but the risk for launching too slowly is even more common.  Once you’ve done the necessary research, have developed your vision and business goals and have determined the best time to enter the market, you should move forward with your undivided attention and energy.  Doing so will ensure your business the greatest likelihood of success.

4. Forgetting about branding, marketing, and sales

Stuart H. Britt said, “For a business not to advertise is like winking at a girl in the dark.  You know what you’re doing but no one else does.”  As a tax professional, you may think that focusing on your craft is the most important strategy in launching your full-time business.  While that is important, your expertise will get you nowhere if you don’t have any clients.  You must dedicate some of your time and energy to promoting your services.

As you pursue your dream of owning and operating your own full-time tax practice, you can avoid failure by avoiding common startup mistakes.

Return next week when we’ll be sharing the final 5 startup mistakes:

5.    Being short on passion

6.    Spending too much money

7.    Bringing in unnecessary partners

8.    Lacking clarity in long-term business goals

9.    Refusing to receive further training

Attracting Even More Clients

One thing to consider when marketing your business is how to leverage all your skills in order to attract as many potential clients as possible.  You may not realize just how much business you  could get when properly promoting your QuickBooks expertise.  From setup to consultations to help services, you could increase your offerings with no effort at all.  It just depends on how you promote it.

Increase your clientele using a skill you already have. To learn how to promote your QuickBooks expertise in order to gain more clients, order QuickBooks Made Profitable today.

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.

5 Big Mistakes to Avoid

The recession is making everyone nervous, especially small business owners.  And as a result, many are taking a cautionary approach to business management, which, in the end, will threaten their ability to outlast the recession.  If you’re interested in gaining momentum in these difficult times, you’ll be sure to avoid the following 5 big mistakes:

1. Stop Marketing

While you may need to reevaluate your marketing approach, you should definitely continue to market your services.  Determine which tactics have worked well in the past and repurpose them for the current economic climate.  Too many small businesses are decreasing their efforts to promote their businesses which will only enable their competition to eclipse them in the long run.  Now is the perfect time to heighten your efforts to market your business and gain more familiarity with prospective clients.

2. Mind Your Own Business

One of the worst things you could do is ignore your competition and their response to the recession.  You’ll gain a competitive advantage by monitoring their efforts in marketing, networking, retention, and service offerings.  Only when you’ve research the competition can you be strategic in your attempt to outlast them.

3. Wait to Self-Assess

Now is a good time to assess your efforts, determining both your strengths and your weaknesses in order to improve your business.  Prospective clients are tightening their purse strings and will be even more deliberate and thoughtful when selecting a tax professional that best suits their needs.  Your willingness to advance your business despite the recession will demonstrate your professional dedication.

4. Minimize Networking

While networking may take time, it doesn’t require a lot of money.  You would make a big mistake in minimizing your networking efforts during a recession.  You can learn a lot from other professionals weathering the economic storm, and as you continue to network, you’ll be exposed to good advice, helpful tips, and potential referrals.

5.    Sit Tight

Now is the time to make all necessary efforts to improve your appeal to prospective clients.  When you sit tight, you surrender the advantage to your competition and lose precious ground.  Look for ways to enhance your service offerings and marketing advantage.  When you do, your business will quickly become the premier financial provider in your area.

UAC’s Training Programs Will Catapult You Ahead of the Competition

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that by expanding your service offerings you can quickly expand your client base and, consequently, your bottom line.  As a tax preparer, adding accounting and QuickBooks services to your menu will not only attract more clients, but it will enable you to easily expand your seasonal business to a year-round venture.

Universal’s Professional Bookkeeper Program and Professional Bookkeeper’s Guide to QuickBooks are perfect recession-proofing training programs.  They will bolster your business with valuable services that every small business owner needs.

For more information on these two programs and their ability to strengthen your business and help you outlast the recession, visit Universal Accounting Center today!

Finding Opportunity amidst Economic Adversity

Stephen Fuller, the Dwight Schar faculty chair and public policy professor at George Mason University, believes “there’s always opportunity in adversity.”  In an article published on Entrepreneur.com, Fuller explains that with an economic recession comes more creativity, as professionals look for innovative ways to overcome difficulty, and with more creativity comes a surge of entrepreneurialism.

Last week we discussed how you might know if your job is in jeopardy.  With the recession, many are leveraging layoffs as the perfect opportunity to start their own businesses.  Even those with full-time work see the economic downturn as a good prospect for launching their own financial practices.  What will you do?  When life gives you a recession, we suggest you make lemonade.

Making Lemonade: Becoming a Full-Service Financial Provider

Regardless of how difficult things may become, there are always two services businesses will need: accounting and tax preparation.  The law requires it.  Becoming a one-stop financial shop for local small businesses will enable you to have a competitive edge; prospective clients will appreciate the convenience and specialized services your business offers.

Small-Business Accounting

Over 85% of the opportunities in the accounting field are within small businesses. Universities prepare their students for corporate accounting processes, leaving a huge gap in the small business arena. And with the economic recession, more and more small-business owners are looking for proactive accountants who can make their businesses more profitable, enabling them to thrive their way through financial difficulty.  Those who recognize this need and receive the proper training can take advantage of this fantastic opportunity by becoming small-business accountants.

At Universal Accounting, we understand the needs of the small business like nobody else. UAC has designed a curriculum specific to small businesses needs and offers the most complete small-business accounting course anywhere.   It’s called the Professional Bookkeeper program and will educate you in the day-to-day accounting tasks required for small business.  From establishing a business’s books from scratch to managing payroll, you will receive hands-on training that will give you the confidence and expertise necessary to take on the most diverse clients.  Not to mention, we dedicate one entire course module to the process of starting and marketing your new accounting practice.

Tax Preparation

Tax season is a busy time that can ensure the tax preparer a lucrative start to the year.  Unfortunately, the recession is causing many taxpayers to be more selective when choosing a tax preparer who can save them money now without costing them an audit later.   Many find themselves more inclined to work with individuals who have earned valuable certification.  Becoming a Professional Tax Preparer can put these prospective clients at ease.

UAC’s newly updated Professional Tax Preparer course will provide you with all the information you need to tackle the current Tax Code, enabling you to prepare most individual and business returns with ease.   And if you ever have a question, UAC’s follow-up support system will be there to respond with professional, reliable advice.

Many see the recession as an opportunity to finally start the business of their dreams.  Are you one of them?  Take this opportunity to enroll in these complementary programs: the Professional Bookkeeper and the Professional Tax Preparer programs. Your future will thank you.

Resources

Wang, Jennifer.  “Recession = More Creativity = Higher Rates of Entrepreneurship.” 3 February 2009.  Entrepreneur.com

4 Signs that Your Current Position Is in Jeopardy

“The successful always has a number of projects planned, to which he looks forward. Anyone of them could change the course of his life overnight.” - Mark Caine

According to CNNMoney.com, 2.6 million Americans lost their jobs in 2008.  More than half of those jobs were lost from September to December.  Unemployment rates continue to rise, promising that many more will lose their jobs this year as well.  If you currently work full-time, you may be worried that your job is at risk.  How can you tell?  The following four signs might help you determine whether or not you should quit your day job before it quits you.

1. Competitors are cutting back

If your employer’s greatest competitor is cutting back, chances are your employer will look to do the same, if he hasn’t already.  Yahoo hotjobs.com suggests that this is a sign that your industry is in danger.  Objectively view your position within the company to determine how dispensable you are.  While this may be a painful process, it could enable you to prepare for the worst in order to lessen the potential impact on you and your family.

2. Bosses are cutting back

If the president and other key administrators are cutting back, it is a sign that they are nearing a more drastic cutback that may include your position.  If the bosses have eliminated business lunches, luxury business vehicles, and technology purchases, you can assume that your employer is feeling recession pangs.

3. You’ve lost your appeal

Do you find yourself invited to fewer meetings and business lunches?   Are you no longer asked your opinion on key business matters?  If so, it may indicate that your superiors are preparing for your exit.

4. Changes in employer’s standing

Has your company been merged with or acquired by another?  This is a sure sign that changes are fore coming and you should prepare yourself for alternative forms of income.

Take Actions and Secure Your Professional Future

One way to prepare for job loss is to start a home business.  If you currently do taxes in your spare time, you should seriously consider evolving your part-time business to a full-time venture.  It is possible to keep busy year-round, especially when you provide crucial services like accounting and tax preparation.

Accountants Wanted!

Paul and Sarah Edwards, authors of The Best Home Businesses for the 21st Century, rate a bookkeeping service as the “Best of the Best” home-based businesses.

There are many reasons why an accounting practice makes so much sense. Here’s a list of some of those reasons:

• Every business is required by law to keep books
• You can earn a good living (the average client will bring in about $300 per month)
• It’s an inexpensive business to start (you probably have most of what is required right now)
• No expensive equipment is required
• You can make money doing what you enjoy
• You can work anytime, any place
• Rented office space is not required
• Inventory is not required

Professional Tax Certification

While Congress considers passing legislation that will require all tax preparers to become licensed, taxpayers become wearier of tax preparers without any credentials. So how do you put clients and potentials clients at ease?  By earning a professional designation that demonstrates tax preparation proficiency and competency.  In adding accounting to your tax preparation service you become a full-service financial provider, enabling your fledging practice to stay busy year-round by offering crucial services other businesses need in order to survive this recession.

Take charge of your professional future and start your own accounting and tax practice.  Start-up costs are few and potential payoffs are significant.  Learn more about the possibilities today.

Resources

Goldman, David.  “Worst Year for Jobs since ‘45.”  9 January 2009.  CNNMoney.com

Matuson, Roberta Chinsky.  “5 Signs Your Job Is in Jeopardy.”  Yahoo! Hotjobs.com

The Art of Asking for What You Need

Entrepreneurs are a unique breed.  We are brave, bold, and optimistic.  We have to be in order to start a business from nothing and see it through both the good times and the bad.  And while we may be in a recession, as small business owners, we are the most flexible businesses, the most mobile and rebound-able entities you can imagine.  So much so that our ability to thrive through these difficult economic times may help the nation as a whole rebound more quickly.

However, in order to see your way through the recession you must be willing, more than before, to speak up and ask for what you need.  Here are four simple things you can ask for:

A deal. Whether you’re looking for a computer, office furniture, a year’s worth of supplies or a new cell phone carrier, you must be willing to pursue the best deal, and often that requires that you ask for it.  Don’t be afraid to admit that you’re a small business owner looking for a discount.  In fact, these days more retailers expect some good old fashioned bartering anyway.  Either way, you’ll never get what you don’t ask for.

A sale. Wouldn’t it be nice if all prospective clients asked to retain your services without the least provocation?  You’ll be lucky if that happens a handful of times in your career.  Typically you must explain the advantages of retaining your services to a prospective client.   That conversation should never end without you asking for a sale.  It can be as simple as, “Would you be interested in having me prepare your tax return this year?”  The thought may not occur to them until you ask.  And the worst thing they could say is “no.”

A favor. When you are involved in a professional community you will often extend and ask for favors from colleagues and other professionals.  The favor could come in the form of referrals, business advice, a mentorship, or a networking opportunity.  You shouldn’t feel self-conscious to ask for favors; the business community is all about exchanging them.  You just need to be ready to give as willingly as you receive.

An audience. Much of your business will be the result of you talking about what you do.  This can occur in the line at the grocery store, at a local convention, or at a tax seminar you organize.  Regardless of the forum, you will be required to request an audience, either by interacting with confidence or formally inviting attendants.  Regardless of the method, you must take initiative and speak up!

Those are just four ways you can enhance your business by determining what you need and asking for it.  You’ll be amazed at what that one simple principle can do to improve your business.

Now It’s Our Turn

Your business becomes more appealing when you offer complementary services.  More than 80% of small business use QuickBooks software to manage their books.  Mastering QuickBooks will make you a QuickBooks authority, enabling you to offer QuickBooks seminars and attract more potential clients by demonstrating how they can use this product effectively.  The Professional Bookkeeper’s Guide (PBG) to QuickBooks is designed to help you accomplish that.  And we wouldn’t be a good example of smart business tactics if we didn’t ask you to enroll, for the good of your own business!

The Professional Bookkeeper’s Guide (PBG) to QuickBooks is a self-paced program that enables you to complete the parts that interest you and skip over the parts that don’t. Even if you have used the program for years, the PBG teaches you shortcuts and methods you may not have known. You will be impressed by the simple flow and completeness of the PBG; it will teach you how to do the basic transactions, reconcile accounts, as well as a basic understanding of fundamental accounting principles. Use this product to enhance your service offerings and your bottom line.  Purchase the Professional Bookkeeper’s Guide to QuickBooks today!