When you start a business or launch a new service offering you are eager to help everyone that you possibly can. We take on work that we can't manage alone because it is not easily identifiable. If you are reading this you are probably fairly new to doing tax representation work.
Tax representation is a unique service offering. The workflow and communication process is much different than tax preparation. Understanding the journey that a taxpayer goes through is key to creating your workflow. I am going to share with you the tax representation workflow that I use with my clients.
This workflow is the result of mistakes I made working with representation clients. These mistakes resulted in me:
dropping the ball.
clients not having the best customer experience.
having ineffective client communication.
Even though I still solved their problem their experience could have been better. All we have in this industry is our name and reputation. I'm sharing this to help you protect yours.
Allow me to introduce my 3 phase tax representation workflow process. If you chose to implement this workflow you will be able to:
track where clients are in the process.
identify where you need help in managing your case load.
effectively communicate with your client.
The Tax Representation Onboarding Call
Everything begins here. I am paid for my tax relief consultations. Once our call is coming to a close if I feel that the taxpayer would be a good fit to work with me I let them know. They have 14 days from that call to retain me for their case. Most of my clients don't wait that long. They retain me right there on that phone call.
If you want to know what that phone call looks/sounds like check out the practice consultations that I did with members of the Tax Pro's Representation Journey. I have posted the recordings of those calls in the group.
I explain to the client that this is a 3 phase process.
Investigation
Compliance
Negotiation
These are also the 3 phases that I track my workflow in. If you use a software like Pitbull Tax you can use their case management set-up. But you can also set up columns to track this within a project management software. If you're just starting out something like Trello or Microsoft planner or projects is just fine. You need something where you can physically see where they are in the process and what the next step is for them.
If the client can't make a payment that day or they can't stay on the phone another 30 minutes I set up an onboarding call. If they want to get started right away and can make a payment the call quickly transitions into Phase 1: Investigation.