22 rentals - what would you charge?

[Gary2]

Call a few storefront preparers and tell them you are pricing your return before deciding where to take it.

May I give your phone number to all the people who call me asking for quotes?

[Lion]

Better yet, may I pay you to prepare all my returns?! I could take next tax season off and still make money.

[AZ-Tax]

I agree I am selling my self short BUT....

I been in marketing nearly all my life via insurance, investments, I really didnt think marketing was also essential in the tax prep world but I was wrong.
1. There is NO way that prospect would have choosen me if I would have charged the same or more then his previous preparer who charged $800.
2. TP allowed me to file an extension which gives me work in the off season.
3. TP is open to me creating books for him and I believe once he sees the books, he will like and more importantly the middle aged person who helps him with his books I believe will really like it for they have been hinting around to the TP to obtain a PC.
4. Once the TP becomes impressed with the efficiency, then its time to charge according.

[thomtax]

Better yet, may I pay you to prepare all my returns?! I could take next tax season off and still make money.

You do not seem to be considering that you live in a very, very high cost area, CT, and the economy is in a different world from many of us. Prices that are normal to you may be outrageous in "lower" income parts of the country. Of course you charge these prices, that seem terribly high, but everything else that make up your expenses are also inflated. Everything is relative to the environment being lived in.

LT

[Lion]

Oh I know my expenses are high so I charge higher fees than those in many parts of the country. That's why it'd be possible to pay a "back room" preparer in one of those spots while still charging my customers the same and have an amazing tax season!

When I know what the last preparer charged, it does color my quote. I often quote about the same or only marginally less (or even a whole lot more). In 16 years, I've had only two (and they were a mother-daughter combo that was going to be all or nothing) clients not accept my quotes. After all if they're shopping, they're dissatisfied with their last preparer. If it was about service, I know I can provide great service at a similar price. If it was about price, I don't want that customer (they would leave at my first price increase, anyway).

One thing about marketing: If you hook them with price, it's extremely hard to raise your price later. (Although, your idea about selling them additional services like monthly bookkeeping at additional prices could work.) If you hook them with service, price increases are much less likely to drive them away.

I also provide discounts to those willing to go on extension to spread out my workflow. What I lose on a discount I more than make up for by being able to prepare many more returns during nine months.

[ruthc]

Honestly???

WOW! TAXEA........I don't like what I just read from you.

[JoshinNC]

Over $1000 easily

If they got on my nerves, double.

BTW, tax clients aren't "prospects". I sell insurance and provide retirement advice a well, as an ancillary to my tax practice, generally because most brokers/financial advisors/etc are ignorant a-holes and I don't enter my clients going to them. But, I would never, ever call a potential tax client a "prospect" (I still cringe when I hear a wholesaler say "Mr or Mrs Prospect").

[taxea]

WOW! TAXEA........I don't like what I just read from you.

Email me...I would love to hear your issues with my post...maybe we can come to a meeting of the minds.

say you bill a Sch E at 30. That times 22 is 660 on its own. This would mean that the other forms necessary to prepare the return are all free to the client. Isn't your expertise worth the expense to the client. How many hours, if billed that way, would it take to do the return with 22 rentals on it? Divide that into $600 and what are you being paid an hour for the return?

If you have an expertise in this field of tax prep aren't you entitled to be compensated fairly for that? I am now really curious what any preparer with your expertise would charge for the same return. I know that in my location it would be much higher than any fee I bill out.

Okay...the only reason I suggested calling other companies is because the OP asked how much to charge. How else do you find out?

taxea@hawaii.rr.com

[MRPLOW]

I'm gonna come in with a rack rate billed per form charge of $1,350.
I would probably discount $300, and charge the client $1,050.

I estimate that I could complete this return in about 4 hours total time.