Protection Plus

[gfizer]

Does anyone have any experience with protection plus?  Seriously considering the firm level coverage but wanted to reach out and see if anyone has actually had any experience using them to resolve client issues and if so was the experience good, bad or ugly? Thanks!

[Lion EA]

I'm interested, also. A rep was a vendor at a tax seminar I attended in December. It sounded interesting, so I took a brochure. I've scheduled a call with her for Thursday. I'm a sole proprietor and seeing more letters go to my clients, often just plain wrong, but requiring responses. It's just me, so finding time to handle issues is becoming a problem for me. That's why I'm going to explore Protection Plus. What do you think about them?

[BTS]

Proseries offers it.  My issue is, will clients use it if needed.  Or will they just keep asking us to handle the issues when they arise ?  Guess I need to research how Protection Plus handles issues.  

[gfizer]

I spoke with a rep yesterday.  It sounds great.  I have clients who sometimes get letters that take up my time and energy in the off season.  They are often wrong but as you said still require a response.  The rep said that I could opt to act as a middle man between them and my client or I could simply say, “I have a team of EA’s and CPA’s working with me who will handle the matter.” If I wanted to be completely hands off.  I would probably opt to stay involved in the process but still it would be nice to have someone else to deal with the IRS.  Also the $2500 return preparer error benefit was attractive.  I’ve only had to cover minor penalties a couple of times in my 36 years but you never know.

[kathyc2]

It looks like they charge you $10 for every return you prepare, including any you may prepare at no charge.  That's $1,000 for every 100 returns.  How many notices per 100 returns do you receive? One?  Possibly two?  If it's more than 2 I'd say people need to look into their procedures.  

Is it worth $500- $1000 to you to have someone else write a correspondence, or to ascertain if the notice is correct? 

 

 

 

 

[BTS]

But of course the cost will be passed on to the client.  If its $10 for every return you prepare, then raise your rates $20.  $10 to Protection Plus, $10 to you.  Let clients know all returns now include it and that will justify the increase.  Might be a win win situation.  Especially preparers who typically do 500 or more returns a year.  Extra $5000 in revenue and you no longer have to deal with letters.

[kathyc2]

22 minutes ago, BTS said:

But of course the cost will be passed on to the client.

LOL!  Would you have confidence in a restaurant that charges you extra to cover the cost of pumping your stomach in the case you get food poisoning?  

[Lee B]

I wouldn't do it, but is it any different than paying for an extended maintenance contract on a car or a dishwasher?

[Medlin Software, Dennis]

1 hour ago, kathyc2 said:

LOL!  Would you have confidence in a restaurant that charges you extra to cover the cost of pumping your stomach in the case you get food poisoning?  

They already do charge for that. And most also have to pay the charge card fee on the tip amount too. 

[Catherine]

21 hours ago, kathyc2 said:

Is it worth $500- $1000 to you to have someone else write a correspondence, or to ascertain if the notice is correct?

I had one case for tax year 2021 that ended up taking over a year and a half to settle (state issue). Had I billed for that time, it would have exceeded the amount of tax at issue - which itself was over $1,500. Why didn't I bill for it? High school friend of my older daughter, who had quit work to go back to school for some special certification program. Can't get blood out of a turnip, or money out of a starving student.

[Lion EA]

I've been dealing with a letter for a client on and off for over a year, mostly hold time, waiting for the call backs that never come, etc. Yes, I could've done $500-1,000 in other returns during that time, probably 5 times that. I do NOT like to deal with letters; they break the flow of my tax preparation, have deadlines unknown until the letter arrives, etc. I have a call with Protection Plus on Friday to explore. A colleague asked me if what we provide to Protection Plus goes against our WISP and other data protections issues? Anyone know? Does PP get info upfront, when filing, or not until a letter arrives and I tell them to take it off my plate?

[Catherine]

On 1/11/2024 at 6:34 PM, Lion EA said:

A colleague asked me if what we provide to Protection Plus goes against our WISP

That would be a great question to ask them. It might be that if the help is needed, at that point you get a section 7216 Disclosure Authorization from the client. If they want the help, they'll sign.  

[Lion EA]

Had a call today with Kirstie (named after Kirstie Alley) at Protection Plus. I'm going to try it out this year. I have more complex returns but not a lot of returns; it's just me. Most of my businesses have faded away, so I'm down to one S-corporation going forward (and a couple trusts that they don't cover yet). $10 per return (and $75 for that biz return) is a very, very small price to pay to offload IRS and state letters.

Billing is monthly based on returns filed that month.

I have an onboarding call later this month, so will know exactly how it works then. But, if a client gets a letter, they can file a claim on the PP website or via telephone. I think I might open their PP client portal and upload their return, if they request. That request would include a 7216. And, then hope my client can upload their letter and deal with PP without me.

The only information PP gathers prior to a claim is how many 2023 returns are filed under my EIN.

Their ID theft restoration also applies to shareholders/partners, as well as the business return.

I'd be glad to share Kirstie's email with details to anyone who wants to know more. Or, Kirstie said to contact her:

Kirstie Hutchins
Territory Manager VT, NH, MA, CT, RI -- but she said anyone can contact her for info
Office: (866) 942-8348 ext. 3605
Direct: (336) 726-3605
Email:[email protected]
Website: www.taxprotectionplus.com

[BTS]

2 hours ago, Lion EA said:

Had a call today with Kirstie (named after Kirstie Alley) at Protection Plus. I'm going to try it out this year. I have more complex returns but not a lot of returns; it's just me. Most of my businesses have faded away, so I'm down to one S-corporation going forward (and a couple trusts that they don't cover yet). $10 per return (and $75 for that biz return) is a very, very small price to pay to offload IRS and state letters.

Billing is monthly based on returns filed that month.

I have an onboarding call later this month, so will know exactly how it works then. But, if a client gets a letter, they can file a claim on the PP website or via telephone. I think I might open their PP client portal and upload their return, if they request. That request would include a 7216. And, then hope my client can upload their letter and deal with PP without me.

The only information PP gathers prior to a claim is how many 2023 returns are filed under my EIN.

Their ID theft restoration also applies to shareholders/partners, as well as the business return.

I'd be glad to share Kirstie's email with details to anyone who wants to know more. Or, Kirstie said to contact her:

Kirstie Hutchins
Territory Manager VT, NH, MA, CT, RI -- but she said anyone can contact her for info
Office: (866) 942-8348 ext. 3605
Direct: (336) 726-3605
Email:[email protected]
Website: www.taxprotectionplus.com

Good deal.  Thanks for the info.

[Catherine]

Thank you, @Lion EA - I'll contact her tomorrow.

[Lion EA]

Hey, Catherine, I see you're teaching for John Sheeley's Tax Practice Pro now. You go, girl.

https://taxpracticepro.com/featured

[Catherine]

22 hours ago, Lion EA said:

Hey, Catherine, I see you're teaching for John Sheeley's Tax Practice Pro now. You go, girl.

https://taxpracticepro.com/featured

Yes indeed - just finished presenting, in fact. They'll have it on self-study webinar at some point. We'll see if they ask me back!

[mcbreck]

On 1/11/2024 at 11:27 AM, kathyc2 said:

LOL!  Would you have confidence in a restaurant that charges you extra to cover the cost of pumping your stomach in the case you get food poisoning?  

 

I've seen multiple threads on here about declining customer service at the tax software firms. It's routine for Drake that people are concerned about their future. Imagine if you called customer service with a problem and the rep was all of a sudden in India. Think that might be rather disconcerting? Imagine the gall at the idea of them charging you a premium because they fired all their US employees and outsourced to India. That's basically what you are doing when you hire one of these firms.

I've seen threads on other boards where people have outsourced their data entry, they are outsourcing their problem solving and they refuse any client meetings during tax season and want everything handled remotely. I'm not sure what service they are providing clients but I'm guessing clients will soon be demanding a significant discount for such non-personalized service.

People compared this to an extended warranty on a vehicle. This isn't that. This is the Toyota dealer closing their repair shop and directing you to take your car to Joey B's Auto Shop for your warranty work and expecting you to pay a privilege for the service. If Toyota did that, I wouldn't buy another Toyota.

 

[BulldogTom]

25 minutes ago, mcbreck said:

 

I've seen multiple threads on here about declining customer service at the tax software firms. It's routine for Drake that people are concerned about their future. Imagine if you called customer service with a problem and the rep was all of a sudden in India. Think that might be rather disconcerting? Imagine the gall at the idea of them charging you a premium because they fired all their US employees and outsourced to India. That's basically what you are doing when you hire one of these firms.

I've seen threads on other boards where people have outsourced their data entry, they are outsourcing their problem solving and they refuse any client meetings during tax season and want everything handled remotely. I'm not sure what service they are providing clients but I'm guessing clients will soon be demanding a significant discount for such non-personalized service.

People compared this to an extended warranty on a vehicle. This isn't that. This is the Toyota dealer closing their repair shop and directing you to take your car to Joey B's Auto Shop for your warranty work and expecting you to pay a privilege for the service. If Toyota did that, I wouldn't buy another Toyota.

 

^^^^ That

Tom
Longview TX

[Medlin Software, Dennis]

"I've seen multiple threads on here about declining customer service"

I would shorten it to the above. While we do not offer phone support, I get comments multiple a day when people are shocked we reply almost instantly during business hours, and even on off hours at times.

Truth be shared, it is also a decline in customer skills, given I get multiple messages daily where the only symptom is "help", "I can't", etc. I literally have to pull out details of the issue by asking questions. This is not a case of having no idea what is going on (like telling your mechanic the beating on the passenger inside CV shaft is out), it seems like the expectation is for us to know what they are doing, what they want to do, and how to tell them to do it, in some sort of magic mirror fashion.

The problem is us (humans).

[Medlin Software, Dennis]

Even given my avatar/photo. That was my dad, at a time when people made and fixed things themselves.  IIRC, he was running a flathead at the time, and once V8's were allowed, he went with an Avanti (just to be different, plus he likely got it cheap from the auto wreckers. My passion for racing is likely stronger than his, but I find it boring today.  Why?  Because no one builds their own, and just buys the same parts and pieces the others have. Back then, the rule sheet was literally about 3/4 of a page, double spaced. I gave it a spin in my "day", but it was all about who bought new tires every meet (or who could cheat - soften - the tires without getting caught), and whose engine builder had enough spec motors to test them, and would give you one of the "good" ones.

The only comparison, at present, to how it was then, is the robot fighting. Each participant has freedom, within certain parameters, to build what they want. It is getting homogenized though, as there are places to buy kits, the motors are all the same, and the designs are trending towards one or two styles.

I am not saying the old days were better, just that there was self responsibility back then, which we have lost as a group of humans.

[kathyc2]

2 hours ago, mcbreck said:

I've seen threads on other boards where people have outsourced their data entry, they are outsourcing their problem solving and they refuse any client meetings during tax season and want everything handled remotely. I'm not sure what service they are providing clients but I'm guessing clients will soon be demanding a significant discount for such non-personalized service.

I agree.  TT seems to be going more in the assisted returns area.  If you don't have a relationship with client there will be some who don't see the value of us rather than going that route.  

I had always met in person with clients.  During COVID I refused to let clients in my home office, although I would have phone consults. I had a drop slot for them to drop off info, and then we would meet briefly in the garage to sign.  I lost a few clients during that and have a few that continue (mostly younger) to use that method.  It's what works best for client.  

I don't remember ever charging a client extra to deal with a notice.  I've never had a full audit and most notices can be dealt with without much effort.  Other than the clients who had to file in 15+ states, I only remember one client notice for 2022 due to the fact that they messed up their estimated payments.  

I'm way too much of a control freak to outsource.  First off, I'd want to make sure that the notice wasn't in any way because of an error on my part.  Most notices are from matching.  If it affects federal AGI, I need to amend state or get a notice from state when that do an AGI match 2 years later.  Doubtful the PP company would handle the state amendment.  

I know if I was the client I would appreciate the preparer handling the issue.  If I was told I need to contact someone else to handle it, I wouldn't return the next year. 

[BTS]

Well if Protection Plus used out of country employees, then that would be an issue for me.  As far as raising your fees if you do go with Protection Plus, I see no issue.  Its gonna cost you $10 per client if you implement it for all.   I assume there is added paperwork per client with adding Protection Plus.  So at least raise you overall fee $10 to cover it.  And to those who say you shouldn't raise your rates to cover it and to pay for your time spent on paperwork.   Good for you and maybe you should not charge for anything.   

[kathyc2]

 

Like any kind of insurance, some people will get more than they paid, but most will pay and not receive benefit.  I certainly hope people that want to sign up for this have read the small print of the exclusions.  

[kathyc2]

There were some people gung ho on this last year.  Curious how many actually did it and if experience was good, bad or neutral?