Free advice.

[JohnH]

Not a problem

I still don't understand the problem.

If ther poster's wording offends you, then why not click through to another post? Or have a little fun with them if you wish. Either way, there's no harm done.

And I really don't think anyone on this forum is so busy that they don't have the time to peek at a post they decide not to answer. The hover featrure works quite well. Besides we all seem to find time to read & post replies to these strings complaining about non-pro posters.

[Jesse]

................. the client looked at me like I didn't know what I was talking about.................

I know that look!!

[Jiggers]

Free Advice

As you said, we sell only our time. We sell no other product.

Wasting time by giving free advice does not put bread on our table.

Those that use QuickBooks should be required to take at least a year or two of general bookkeeping. That would be a start.

I dread doing returns for those that use QB. Or Quicken.

They used the applied theory of GIGO, Garbage In, Garbage Out, in posting.

Just finished an S-Corporation that I fight every year and try to get the client's wife to understand the need for accurate posting. One example I showed her this year was the notes payable. They have 5 at one bank. They post the payments in whatever account QuickBooks pops up when writing the check. All the notes were out of balance, and the interest was reported incorrectly. Sometimes she broke out the interest from the payment, sometimes she didn't.

All payroll is generated on Quickbooks. Yet she never gets the deposits correct and always has either a balance due 941 or a refund from 941!

I pointed out all these and the client looked at me like I didn't know what I was talking about.

I am sending a letter that these accounts all need to be balanced by 12/31/2008 or I am not doing the return next year.

[Black Bart]

Some recent posts to the board:

...I do my own personal taxes because...it's a challenge and quite fun to tackle it...it's not that difficult...Thank you for your time...I also volunteer my time...helping people from all over the world, so I appeciate your time as well..."

That one takes the cake. Does his employer pay him or recite that line every Friday?

"I'm doing my...return with Turbo Tax, but it doesn't cover the meal allowance in interview mode. Where is that deduction taken? Thanking you in advance...thank you kindly."

"...thanks for the input...I picked up Turbo Tax for Business yesterday...the business is filing as a C corp...Turbo Tax will be able to handle it..."

Should we give up Quickbooks and become Turbo Tax Pro advisers?

"...in business...graphic design and illustration...selling products to consumers...I'm confused by...Cost of Goods Sold...I understand every other aspect of my taxes so I don't feel the need to pay a professional. I'm a...small business...if anyone has...comments I'd love to hear it!"

What's wrong with these? We have here some reasonable requests, courteously presented by seemingly nice people; probably deserving small business folk like us. We instinctively want to help such people and so we answer simple tax questions at ball games, at the cafe, out in public, etc.

Still, these questions are just a little different. They're posted by people who -- however decent and charming they might otherwise be -- are bluntly and straightforwardly telling us they don't want to pay for our work and (implicitly) that they want us to work for nothing (cut it any way you want, that's what it amounts to). They'd probably be astonished if you asked them the same; maybe replying "All I have to sell is my time. That time is not free for the asking."