NT / Excuse Me While I Vent

[RitaB]

Lady makes crafts. Gives me ALL her receipts. I gave her a nice list (that I made up JUST FOR HER) last year with category tips (never mind there is a Sch C there with all this on it) and a written plea to NOT SEND ME ALL YOUR RECEIPTS.

Yeah, on 3/01/10 husband is waiting at my office door when I come to work with her box of receipts, mainly because the county property tax schedule was due that day. I put it aside cause I'm so disgusted. She calls today, 3/19/10, because "we really need our refund, not paid our property tax" (due 2/28).

I have never seen so much worthless information. For example, she buys some storage bins and writes this explanation:

"Storage sheds (yard bins) purchased in Sevierville to haul wreaths home in back of truck in rain after cardboard boxes disintigrated! Got flooded out of our campground and came home at midnight so lucky we had these and had everything already stowed as we had to unhook and go pronto as in emergency situation! (Ankle deep water! River coming in fast!)"

There is a whole box of this crap.

She used to work in a CPA's office.

[Gretel]

Why don't you just refuse to do her work?

No offense to you, Rita, but I would like to take this opportunity to voice something that was on my mind the last days anyway, reading all that venting. I truly do understand this disgust and the hope a client might perform to my standards if I just try hard enough and find the right words. Right! It is not going to happen.

Does that mean I have to be unhappy about this? No! (But I have a very hard time myself to not blame the client for what I feel and to try to get rid of this feeling by venting to...it really doesn't matter).

While along all that is needed to kindly tell the client I won't do his work, or say to him: No, whatever you heard from ..(fill in: TV, your neighbor, your hair dresser) is not a deduction or credit and if you don't believe me or don't like it there is nothing I can do for you. End of story - go on with work and life without grumbling.

Besides I know of myself that I am as ignorant in other areas of my live and definitely not "better" than my client. After all if our clients knew what they can take as deductions, they would not need us, right?

[thomtax]

Why don't you just add a big extra fee for sorting and dissemination of documents provided and tell them that if they do the work, it could save them money. And if they pay it, you are just that much better off.

LT

[RitaB]

You are right of course

Why don't you just refuse to do her work?

Well, I was hopeful that I could educate her, but apparently not. I fired 45 clients last year, but I thought she would do what I asked, and I kept her. I am rethinking that one.

My venting was meant to be humorous, BTW. I mean, only you guys would understand that you can't make this stuff up. Read her description of the asset. As my Daddy used to say, "Her tongue is loose at both ends."

[dyne]

I had a new client appear several years ago with TWO grocery bags full of receipts.
I politely advised her that I do NOT do that type of work and told her she needs an
accountant AND a tax preparer.

[Snaggletooth]

We All Vent

Rita we all vent, and me as much as anyone else. In the heat of the tax season, there have been so many of these NT and venting posts that the sheer volume of them is crowding out tax questions and tax topic dialogue.

Notice that a post made on a particular day can be buried and slips to page 2-3 in 24 hours' time. This is a tribute to TTB message board that we now have many members posting and the atmosphere is conducive to posting.

Your posts in particular, however, are hilarious and presented with an unparalleled zest. I enjoy them immensely.

We've all had the grocery bags and cigar boxes full of receipts. I tell them I will go through this stack of paper and charge my normal hourly rate. After paying that once, they are usually more interested in doing more of their own compiling by the time next year rolls around.

[BP.]

I thought craft-lady's storage bin note was really hilarious!

[Gretel]

Your posts in particular, however, are hilarious and presented with an unparalleled zest. I enjoy them immensely.

Me too!

Gretel

[joanmcq]

I charge $125 an hour to go through receipts. More if I even agree to do so in March or April. I let people know this up front, and describle how their records could be presented to avoid this fee. I'd do the lady's return...in January or June. And it would cost well over $500-600 for a small shoe box of receipts.

I had one client that opened up an auto repair shop and did not want to do accounting. He literally brought me his metal file cabinet drawer with his invoicing and vendor payments for me to construct the return. But he brought it in the first week of January and fully expected to pay my rate to do the bookkeeping.

[Lion]

Extension!

At this point, I'd tell her no bookkeeping during tax prep season; therefore, extension for her unless she totals as you instructed her. If she wants that refund badly enough to pay her property taxes or whatever, she'll get to work or pay a huge fee to you or wait. I had an artist who was like that, written notes and all. This year she actually put things in big envelopes with totals on the outside. I had to do some moving around, but it was a huge improvement. And, there are things missing that she's feeding me one by one via email today. But, I have her return ready to add the last bits. Last year it was on extension.

[JohnH]

Ditto on the extension.

I already had two people object to extensions and the day isn't even over. But this late in the season, it's extension or HRB as far as I'm concerned, especially if there's extra work to be done in getting the return ready.

[taxxcpa]

Slopppy records

I have a few clients for whom I've prepared excel worksheets for them to use in summarizing their income and expense. Every year there is something new that they come up with that doesn't fit the worksheet, so I keep revising the worksheets. Every year, their tax info comes in a little better than the prior year. The biggest improvement was with an elderly client who has a daughter who offered to make his worksheets on excel. Now it takes me several hours less time to do his return. Originally I was charging too little, but as the records have improved, my time is now well compensated.

[DMICPA]

Need a comeback to this question

Here is one situation I can never answer to the clients satisfaction.

Client returns blank organizer. If we have to fill it out, why do we need you.

Economic Stimulus-They don't know, I explain that if you are collecting Social Security most likely they got it. Husband does not receive SS but gets a pension from the State
and maybe something from the VA. They don't know, don't want to look it up, just put $250. I complete the return and e-file.


Return gets rejected. SSA says both got $250 a total of $500. Tax goes up $250.

Client: Well if we have to pay the addtional $250 in tax that is your fault and you should pay it because you said it is possible that husband didn't get it.

I explain that they should know how much they received. I tell them to call SSA and they do and they both got $250.

Client: Well the SSA says we each got $250 but we don't know and besides you should pay any additional tax because it is not our fault you did not put the right number the first time you did the return.

I start explaining to them and this is what always gets me: Client says " I don't understand what you are saying because it is tax gobblygook and I don't understand so don't keep trying to explain it. Just pay the money and this is the end of the conversation"

At this point what else can I say to get them to understand?

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[RitaB]

Never pay the tax

I would never pay the tax for a client. If I made a mistake that cost them penalty and/or interest, I would pay the penalty and/or interest, but never the tax. If that client can't understand that it is HIS tax, and HE is liable for it, I would part company with him.

On the $250, I have had pretty good success not asking the client at all and just entering what SHOULD have happened. Only problems I've had have been two clients who didn't tell me they got SS benefits or VA benefits. It was very easy to shift the blame to them. And neither one was upset in the least. Your client is a goober.

Regarding the organizer, I tend to feel the same way as your goober client. I don't ask my clients to complete one. To be honest, I don't think many of my clients COULD complete one. A couple of years ago, I got a doctor from another preparer out of state. He brought his completed organizer, and it was more difficult for me than if he had not done it at all. Lots of duplicate information. He did not know what he was doing, and most of my clients would be in the same boat.

[JG EA]

Here is one situation I can never answer to the clients satisfaction.

Client returns blank organizer. If we have to fill it out, why do we need you.

You are not required to fill it out, it is for your benefit to help you collect tax information. If you would prefer I won't send one to you as long as you come in for an appointment and not just drop off your information.

Economic Stimulus-They don't know, I explain that if you are collecting Social Security most likely they got it. Husband does not receive SS but gets a pension from the State
and maybe something from the VA. They don't know, don't want to look it up, just put $250. I complete the return and e-file.

Call the number and find out yourself before they come in even. Don't take their memories - only financially smart people seem to remember.

Return gets rejected. SSA says both got $250 a total of $500. Tax goes up $250.

Client: Well if we have to pay the addtional $250 in tax that is your fault and you should pay it because you said it is possible that husband didn't get it.

I explain that they should know how much they received. I tell them to call SSA and they do and they both got $250.
Client: Well the SSA says we each got $250 but we don't know and besides you should pay any additional tax because it is not our fault you did not put the right number the first time you did the return..

They are not listening. It was their fault. If they want to blame me I'd set them straight. Nicely tell them that you are not a mind-reader and rely on the information given.

I start explaining to them and this is what always gets me: Client says " I don't understand what you are saying because it is tax gobblygook and I don't understand so don't keep trying to explain it. Just pay the money and this is the end of the conversation"

At this point what else can I say to get them to understand?
.

After all that at this point call the police.

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