To help you prepare your CPA website for the upcoming tax season, the design team has completed a big batch of new designs so your accounting website can look its best for the busy days ahead.

Click the links below to see the full-size samples of these new site designs.

Design 35329 Gold	Design 715330 Gold
Design 267331 Gold	Design 773332 Gold
Design 106333 Gold	Design 125334 Gold
Design 547337 Silver	Design 720338 Silver
Design 579339 Silver	Design 395340 Silver
Design 823341 Silver

Take a look at these new designs above, and all 250 website designs available for your CPA Site Solutions website.

There’s never any charge to switch to one of these or any other ready-to-go website design. Call 800-896-4500 or email support@cpasitesolutions.com to give your CPA website a complete makeover right away.

There are over 265 web designs, or you can consider building a new, unique website design. Keep an eye on our blog for updates and announcements of improvements and new designs for your website.

There are over 250 website designs available to any accounting website hosted by CPA Site Solutions. As previous posts, such as using a brochure or blending a previous design, have indicated a customization can be a great way to start your CPA website. Clayton, Paulk & Associates used their own website designer with some great results.

Moving Image

No Gray Area. Clayton, Paulk & Associates slogan is, “No Gray Area.” They came up with a design that uses this idea within the black and white colors used throughout.

Moving Image. Another great feature they incorporated is the use of an image that scrolls down the page. What is nice is there is a link that brings you right back to the top of the page at the top of this scrolling image. This means that no matter where you are at you can get to the top of the page.

Simple Yet Effective. This type of website is both simple and effective. There is a strong element of personalization both within the slogan, the choice of colors, and the moving image while still leaving the content to speak for itself.

Working With Your Own Designer. If you have a web designer that you already are working with it is easy enough to incorporate that design element into the CPA Site Solutions system. It is very cost effective as well.

In a previous post there were a couple of different ideas around some free photo editing possibilities. Although this post is about another photo editing tool, this one is the closest to functioning like Photoshop and it is free!

The next time you need to make some changes to your accounting firm’s logo, create an interesting ad for your CPA Seminar, or make a fun Christmas photo, here is where to get and how to use pixlr.

All online. Pixlr is all online which has some serious advantages if you want to be able to work anywhere you have access to a computer online. You also don’t need to download any software so nothing to upgrade over time, all of it is taken care of for you.

Free Photo Editing Tool

Full tutorials. There is both a tutorial section on how to do some specialized tasks or a help section on how to work with different parts. If you have ever worked with Photoshop you won’t need these. Otherwise they are a great introduction to the different parts, how to use them and then how they can come together to create some interesting effects.

Other fun stuff. There is a blog post on how to add a Christmas hat to your favorite mug shot. As well there is an add-on for both Firefox and Internet Explorer to edit any webpage via a screen shot directly in the browser.

Basic Version. There is even a very basic version for quick edits or if you don’t see yourself using many of the more advanced features. This can be especially helpful if you just need to crop a photo down so it can be used in the page header of your CPA website.

Bookmark it. Bookmark the site as one of your favorites to make it easier to come back to and use. That way when you want to use it in a couple of months to help create a quick advertisement for your CPA seminar there it is for you.

You never know when a quick photo editor can come in handy. Now you have one the next time you are thinking about changing anything including pictures on your accounting website hosted by CPA Site Solutions.

In a previous posting there was an offer for 10% off a December Jennings Seminar. As promised CPA Site Solutions is offering 10% off a Jennings Seminar for January. This time the topic is 1040 Tax In Depth, is scheduled for January 18th and is worth 16 hours of CPE credit!

10% off Jennings Seminar in January

Limited seating! The seating is limited so you will want to sign up early for this event. Be sure to test your system to make sure that you meet all of the system requirements.

16 CPE credit hours! This is a great way to get 16 hours of CPE credit all at once. If you attend this event and answer 75% of the polling questions at the conclusion then you will get 16 credit hours for this event. There are no prerequisites for this seminar.

To get your 10% discount: Be sure to use the code jancpasite during the checkout process to get the 10% discount.

Event Description. “We start by reviewing all of the regulatory and judicial changes for Federal income tax returns that have occurred during the last year, including all new law changes up to the week before the seminar. During the seminar, we will expand on problem areas with multiple examples and point out the traps involved in the changes. We will also provide planning ideas revolving around the changes for current and future tax years, as well as for practice management concerns. Finally, we will review major 1040 tax return compliance preparation issues on a form-by-form basis. In order to provide the best hands-on information, this course, like all of our courses, is taught only by full-time tax professionals who have personally prepared at least 250 tax returns in the most recent tax season. All participants receive a 700+ page reference manual which is hyper-linked to the internet-based tax research library for a complete tax reference source.”

Jennings Seminars was founded by Bob Jennings CPA, CFP, CITP, a national and World renowned speaker. Jennings has published articles in such magazines as The Journal of Accountancy and The Practical Accountant along with authoring several accounting and technology seminar manuals.

If you can’t make this event look for another posting in January for a similar offer for a February seminar. Click here to take advantage of 10% the seminar in January.

There are times when you may be looking through the over 250 website designs from CPA Site Solutions and trying to decide which one to choose. In order to stand out from the rest why not try blending a couple of website designs together as a low cost solution? That is exactly what Bernstein Rosen & Company CPAs PC requested with their firm’s website.

Two Dudes. There used to be a commercial where two guys were walking, one eating chocolate and one eating peanut butter. When they collided they were at first frustrated but then amazed at the taste. Sometimes combining two great elements can make an even better one.

Website Design 233

Design 233. The first website design is number 233. Bernstein worked with our custom designer who took the elements of the people with the puzzle going to Success and changed the color to blend with the other website design.

Website Design 305

Design 305. Website design 305 became the overall structure of the customization. The final website design incorporates some movement that provides an element of fun.

When looking at what to do with your current CPA website you might consider a custom design. If you can’t decide between a couple of great design elements, try combining them.

Bernstein Rosen & Company CPAs PC

Alternatively you can check out some of the past posts on custom website designs such as a personalized look, blending previous,  or old and new. If you have questions you can call 800-896-4500 or email support@cpasitesolutions.com.

When you have a website with CPA Site Solutions you automatically have a newsletter with new content each month generated for you. What can sometimes be overlooked is the ability to use the Email Marketing System that sends the newsletter to generate messages to your subscribers. Here are some highlights to this included feature and how it can work to your CPA firm’s benefit.

Email Marketing System

Custom messages. The key behind the Email Marketing System is in using the ability to send out custom messages. There is a complete help section on how to start creating and sending these messages out.

Custom Campaigns. Any custom message has to be linked to a custom campaign to work. Campaigns are a great way to stay organized with your messages. You can change the campaigns according to theme or time of year. For example you can have one campaign for Businesses and another campaign for Individual Tax Returns, and then create custom messages with valuable information dedicated to the contacts in each of those campaigns.

Content. As a CPA you may wonder how to create content for a message, after all you are a CPA not a writer. The key to the messages is the content, not how long it is, or if it could be published in a book.

Most people who subscribe to your website newsletter want to hear from you. Like you they want to get information but don’t have a lot of time to read through. Use this to your advantage and provide key information, short and to the point.

Why take the time. Taking the time to give free information via custom messages keeps your firm and CPA website in front of your clients and potential clients. If you have good information that people want to share then your CPA firm is the topic of conversation.

Being thought and talked about keeps you at the forefront when a decision is made on who potential clients want to give their business to. There is also the point made in previous posts about how fresh content improves SEO and how sharing can help establish your CPA firm.

Seminars. You can also use custom campaigns to help drum up attendance to your next CPA Seminar. You can help get the message out and help remind attendees about the logistics of the seminar such as date, time, and place.

The Email Marketing System is a powerful way to help your firm move forward. This tool is freely available to any CPA with a website hosted by CPA Site Solutions so why not use it?

As a CPA there may be busy times of the year when you need extra help from those in remote locations. For this and many other reasons having a collaborative task manager is essential.

Although there is a previous post on using Basecamp for project management, the free option is somewhat limited. Used in conjunction with the Workteam Collaboration Suite, Zoho is a useful way to manage projects alone or collaboratively online.

Free Project Management for CPA's

Create the set-up. The set-up process is easy enough and only takes about 30 seconds to complete. Just go here and put in some basic information to get started.

Free edition. Although the free edition does limit you to one project you can have unlimited number of users, milestones, task lists, and tasks. You also get a calendar, reports, forums, wiki, and chat feature. I am going to show you what you can do for document sharing and time tracking two things you don’t with the free edition.

Milestones and tasks. Central to everything is the ability to add task lists to milestones. You can create as many milestones as you want. A task list allows you to create a check list for each item that needs to be completed for the milestone to be considered done.

Multiple users. What is nice is that you can have separate task lists under the same milestone. You can then attach the milestone or task list to other users. This gives a central person control over a project, who does what and where they are at in the process.

Dashboard. You can post updates on what you are working on and keep an updated record of others in your CPA firm. This allows you to easily coordinate priorities and make sure that a particular task is completed on time.

Document sharing. If you have a website hosted by CPA Site Solutions then you could have the Workteam Collaboration Suite. This type of email solution offers online document sharing. This means you can share documents with others online and even have access to different versions allowing for an easy way to collaborate.

Time tracking. You can still have time tracking. Check out this previous time tracking post on how to get that aspect up and running.

Although there are many different options for project management, Zoho is free and seems to offer quite a lot of flexibility for any CPA. When you use it for your accounting firm along with the Workteam Collaboration Suite, you can collaborate effectively with others online.

Everyone knows it is more effective to keep existing customers than it is to get new ones. Established relationships give back much more in terms of word of mouth advertising than any expensive advertisement. Here are some ideas to consider in keeping your website hosted by CPA Site Solutions at the forefront of your clients tax conversations.

Links and search engines. Even search engines view relationships, in terms of those linking directly to your website, as an indicator of your domain strength. Even though links to your website are much more important to develop, it is still of good practice to link to others without expectation of a link in return.

Highlight your clients services. Every client you work with has their own services. Take the time to highlight the services these clients offer on your website or other public places. Change who you highlight on a regular basis.

Deepening Established Relationships Can Help Your CPA Website

Do a review for clients. Many clients have their own website or a social platform where reviews help get them. Take some time to do a review every now and again. Not only will it help them but your name is out there as well.

Share helpful information. When you come across a book or article that you think is worth reading, think of which of your clients would like it. Small gestures like this can go a long way towards keeping a client happy outside of the services you offer as a CPA.

Give something away. Have a give away of a free hour of service that clients can win. Create a product with your business name on it to give away. Even having some food out for clients who come in the door can help.

Try doing a couple of these on a regular basis, even during the busy times of the year or directly after. Doing some of these on a regular basis can help keep the relationship you have with your clients stronger. A stronger relationship is harder to break away from and can help in this economy to give you an edge over your competition.

Any new website with CPA Site Solutions comes complete with a map showing your firm’s location on the contact page. Now a client can type in their address on the contact page and get specific driving instructions. Here is a breakdown of how that works and how to request it if you are an existing customer and want to add it to your contact page.

What is displayed. Here is exactly what is displayed within the contact page of your CPA website. You can try this now by putting in your address to get directions directly to CPA Site Solutions:

Simple and cost effective. A client can put their address in from where ever they are at and get directions directly to your firm’s location. This can save you money by cutting down on phone calls to your office for driving directions.

How to request. Any new CPA website hosted by CPA Site Solutions automatically has this added to their contact page. If you already have a website then you can call 800-896-4500 or email support@cpasitesolutions.com and request this be added to your contact page.

Having a map on your CPA website makes it that much easier for clients to find you. Now with the driving instructions gadget added you can save your clients time in trying to figure out just how to get to your location from anywhere.