Jassen Bowman EA
Jassen Bowman EA

Podcast Episode #4: How to Maximize Stress, Increase Anxiety, & Eliminate Spare Time with Dan Henn, CPA

Welcome back to the 4th episode of The Profitable Accountant podcast.

My guest today is Dan Henn, CPA. Dan hails from the Space Coast of Florida, where he is now in his 27th tax season. Dan holds bachelor’s and masters degrees in Accounting and Tax from the University of South Florida, spent 3 years at KPMG, plus 13 years at large regional firms before starting his own firm.

His office runs with a staff of five, focusing on real estate and medical taxation and taxpayer representation. He is very active in the FICPA, and teaches the annual tax refresher class for his local chapter, as well as dozens of live webinars and seminars each year on IRS Collections representation topics.

On this episode, Dan and I discuss the challenges faced in going from staff accountant at a large firm to transitioning into firm ownership, and how his experiences at different sized firms shaped his expectations for how his own business would run. In particular, we discuss perspectives on fees at different size firms. Dan shares his biggest sources of anxiety in growing his firm, and how he’s worked to fix those. Dan also discusses the best ideas he’s implemented from a practice management perspective to grow his practice.

Be sure to listen through the end of the episode, because Dan will share his reasoning for switching to a totally new tax software suite for the upcoming filing season, including what drove his search for new tools and the factors that went into that decision.

Dan’s book suggestions:

Any of the “E-Myth” books by Michael Gerber

“Getting Things Done” by David Allan

The Profitable Accountant Podcast provides short installments to help you operate a more efficient and profitable accounting and tax firm. On our website, you can find additional information about marketing for accountants.… Continue reading

Do I need to be a CPA, Enrolled Agent, or attorney in order to do tax resolution work?

This is a very common question that I get from unenrolled preparers, particularly those from states like Oregon , California, Maryland, and New York that have their own state-level tax preparer licensing in place.

Short answer: Unequivocally YES, you need to be an EA, CPA, or attorney in order to represent taxpayers in IRS Collections.

In order to sign a Form 2848 and represent somebody in front of IRS Collections and/or Appeals, an individual must be an EA, CPA, or attorney. Under current IRS regulations, this is non-negotiable. The IRS does not recognize any of the state-level preparer licensing programs for representation purposes.

Connecting with an EA, CPA, or attorney is a great way to be engaged in this work, but the unenrolled preparerer is limited to the tax prep and bookkeeping in support of the case. We have plenty of preparers that attend our classes in order to better understand the process that they’re supporting when working with an EA/CPA/JD on IRS Collections representation cases. In fact, many CPAs and attorneys send their admin staff to our classes in order to learn how to work cases.

But never forget that the tax prep and bookkeeping is the lower dollar value work, compared to the actual representation component. It’s the most labor intensive component of tax debt resolution, but it’s the lowest value work for the client case.

I personally encourage all unenrolled preparers to simply go take the Special Enrollment Exam (SEE) to become an Enrolled Agent. Most preparers can pass Parts 1 and 3 with limited or even zero study, and Part 2 is passable by most folks with a few weeks of intense study. Becoming an EA literally doubles your earning potential overnight, plus it’s also a hedge against the inevitable passage of a bill by Congress to give IRS authority to regulate preparers. Become an EA now, and you’ll bypass any impact of future legislation in this arena.… Continue reading

Pitbull vs Canopy: Battle of the Tax Resolution Software Titans

“Should I use Pitbull or Canopy?”

“What’s the best tax resolution software?”

…and other variations on this same question have become the #1 thing I get asked on the “Ask Me Anything” webinars that I occasionally host.

Note: This is an old review, published in 2019. Unfortunately, I can no longer recommend Canopy. See my current recommendation here.

Since it’s a question that inevitably turns into a 15-20 minute conversation about features, pricing, and user interfaces, I’ve decided to create this page to have a place to send all the folks that ask the question. So if I sent you here because you asked the question, please don’t be offended — I’ve simply gotten tired of repeating myself over and over and over and…

To cut straight to the chase…

1). There are only four full-service tax resolution software programs that I’m aware of. One of them is really old and archaic, one of them is too new and behind the 8-ball. That leaves Pitbull and Canopy. 2021 Update: Sometimes, the new kid on the block takes a few years to grow up into something amazing. Such is the case with the software I was dismissing when I first wrote this post in 2019. Check ’em out.

2). What about Audit Detective from Tax Help Software? Yes, it’s a great tool — I used it myself when I was in practice. If you want a stand-alone transcript analysis tool without all the other features of a full-service tax resolution software package, then by all means get Audit Detective and don’t even bother looking elsewhere. But if you want a full package suite, that’s not what they do. 2021 Update: The THS transcript report has been eclipsed! <gasp!> Yes, indeed! For my new recommendation for full featured tax resolution software, read this review.

3). Don’t be a cheapskate on this. The price difference between Pitbull and Canopy is insignificant. Both platforms offer the exact same core features, such as client portal, document management, 433 questionnaire, resolution options determination, etc. They both offer additional features for additional fees. How they break out those features and fees is very different. For example, transcript service is included at no cost with Canopy, but Pitbull charges an extra $250/yr for it. They also both charge extra for practice management features, such as time tracking, billing, payment processing, etc. With Pitbull, you’re going to be in … Continue reading