SFA

My husband works for a chocolate company. My mother-in-law also works in the candy kitchen for the same company. We NEVER run out of high quality chocolate in our office!!!

Rich, thanks for the moral support. Actually, I did email a response. I thanked them for expressing their concerns and without getting defensive, sent them a .pdf of the invoice details, (which I do not usually reveal). I have not received a reply and they have not picked up their returns yet. It's kind of ironic because just a few days prior, I had confronted an outside computer support company over their invoice. I was charged $166/hr x 2.5 hrs. I said I believed that was excessive. I have spent over $10,000 last year on a new server, four custom computers, peripherals, software and some tech support, They were not sympathetic and did not adjust their invoice.

In my office, I review, sign and invoice all the individual returns (another person invoices business and write-up work). Sometimes, the returns, when finished look so darn easy and simple, yet when I look at the time cards, they tell a different story. We charge by the form and factor/adjust for the complexity of the form. We also charge an hourly rate for any work required prior to the start of tax return entries, such as compiling and organizing papers. This can be especially true when we receive QuickBooks backups that are a mess, or the classic shoebox of papers. After all of that, I step back and look at the big picture to decide if the invoice is fair . . . and I do exercise some discretion in that area as well. Our clients our like the goose that lays the golden egg. We do not want to fall on our sword over one return, when we are looking forward to a long and prosperous future with them. Recently, we had a new client, who prior to pick up, tell us that she and her husband are unhappy with the invoice. They have called around and compared prices and believe we have pushed the limits. I am sure that they did not call HRB or Liberty! They have self prepared in the past. They itemize, have employee business expenses, and in 2013 they started a new business with home office, depreciation, travel, etc. The information needed to be organized prior to the start of their return. The price of the return was $320 plus $50 hourly. They think the return should be $225.00. They are not the goose that lays the golden egg. I will have no problem saying goodbye to them. On a final note, their criticism is helpful. We do need to stay informed of and sensitive to the prices of our competitors. I personally prepared that return and felt like I had done a good job for them. It does hurt a little to have them turn on me and diminish the value of our product. Oh well. NEXT!

Our server hard drive space instantly changed by approx 18gb after the 13.4 update. We are closely monitoring the situation.

Sunday, I had asked my tech man to remotely logon to our server to do the update for me. Before starting we were looking at the hard disk usage and saw we were almost at 90% usage. We did the update anyway, and rechecked the usage and were at 99%. RED alert! Our c-drive has 199 gig. He moved files off the server's c-drive to make additional room, so for now we are ok. But that was disconcerting to have that happen immediately after the update to 13.4. Monday had no problems.

I agree with KC. Just be honest and matter of fact. Tonight I am really tired, I can't imagine trudging through a "free" return at this time of year . . . except for my Mom's return, and oh yes, my kids returns, and my nieces expect a family discount, so do my brothers, all the in-laws too. You get the picture. Nite Nite everyone.

"You gotta be kidding. Right? Although . . . I could use my entire house spring cleaned . . ." That should do it.

Thanks for posting this video, KC.

Went to the post office recently, and the Postmaster checked my $100 bill with her counterfeit pen. I asked her what she would have done if the pen color indicated forgery. She said, she would confiscate the money. We now stripe $50 and $100 bills BEFORE accepting or using them. I don't deposit cash in the ATM night depository for the same reason. The reader may detect forgeries that we have missed.

Definitely take the time to read and follow this story. Shines a bright light on a health care system run amok.

I too am disheartened to hear of your difficulties. These are circumstances that can happen to any of us, at any time. Perhaps you know of a respected competitor who you can call and ask for help, then "subcontract" certain returns to them (if the client agrees). A friendly local alliance may turn into a long-term business transition solution. I have developed a relationship with another CPA firm that I refer clients to that are not suitable for us (such as audits), and they also refer work to us that is within our specialty areas. If you encourage your clients to search on their own, you may never see them again. What a loss.

Even in this case, we would include Form 8594 with the return.

An office is not the same as a workstation (desk). Right now we have a client who joined the Pampered Chef program. She had about 4 or 5 events in 2013 (her first year). We are trying to sort out her situation, so this topic is very timely for us. She has a $1,500 1099-misc statement for commissions earned from her "catalogue" parties. She has no inventory, just "samples" for showing and demonstrating the merchandise. Business or Hobby? I think I know the answer.

I agree with Pencil on this one. No need to tell her how ethical you are and obviously she is not. It can come across as pompous and that's when you lose, because that's all that the client latches on to in the message. They pick up their papers with an attitude, then move on and need to ridicule you to others, because you have turned the table on them. Now they are the ones who are insulted and need to find friends who agree with their position and console them. You have plenty of professionals on this site who have your back. We probably all have our own story of a client who has pushed our limits. I have had clients leave and return for similar reasons. Others, oh well. Next! Stay professional. There are a lot of fish in the sea. There are a lot of fish for me!

Client brought a container of Wilbur Buds (premium chocolates) today for our gang. For the past two weeks we gave our clients personal size boxes of Sweetheart candies. Gotta love this time of year. We're just not going to get hung up on the small stuff.

Hmph. Well that's informative, but not as much fun or intriguing as having a client in the WPP.

Verrrry interesting . . . witness protection program?

http://www.amazon.com/Dura-Heavy-Forced-Utility-Heater/dp/B003B4WEME

Margaret, did she receive a "tip fee" for finding her own home? Not sure how that works? It's either other income, Line 21, or possibly an offset to the real estate commission paid on the price of the home and not income at all? Perhaps she should not have received a 1099-Misc statement. Could it be, that she independently found a home to buy. Then contacted a realtor friend associated with a broker so that the real estate commission would be split between buyer's realtor and seller's realtor. Then her friend and her split the buyer's commission. That may be how she received the "tip fee" (kick-back).

I just changed mine. Thanks for the ideas.

Jack, do you work out of a bunker?

Catherine, you shouldn't have planted this idea into my head. I have this cool kerosene 75,000 btu flame thrower/heater that has some potential to clear a nice path through our mountain of snow.

I also had a client bring in a 2013 1099-C for a credit union debt that was supposedly discharged in bankruptcy several years ago. Client is going to check with the attorney that handled the bankruptcy to see why this may have slipped through the cracks. Client said that his reason for filing was primarily because of his debt to this credit union. Something is not right. We will get to the bottom of this.

I activated the 30 day trial of Portal Safe. So far, it is promising.

Just plug in the figures.