Brian O'Connell, President

Who likes turning away easy business? Anyone?

I didn’t think so. I don’t either! Yet when clients need help incorporating their sole proprietorships, accountants often send them to an attorney.

With CPA websites from us, you get to keep that business, perform it easily, make a nice profit, and save your clients money.

That sounds pretty efficient to me.

The Easy Way to Incorporate a Business

Our Online Incorporation Solution automates the whole process of forming a corporation.

It orders your corporate supplies and even tracks the progress of your order.

There are so many details you no longer need to take care of. Check them out:

How Much Profit Would You Like?

You make a nice profit incorporating your clients' businesses.

When you register with our partner – a leading national incorporation service – you enter the amount of profit you’d like to make.

That’s right – you set the price. Choose $200, $350, $400… It’s up to you.

The online system calculates all the fees, adding in the profit you chose, and comes up with a package price for your client.

Clients Win, Too

Using our partner for incorporation services saves your clients money in two ways.

First, incorporating is an excellent tax-saving strategy. If you offer this to your clients, they appreciate the long-term advantages of this effort.

Second, even with you making a $400 profit, the total cost of incorporating is still hundreds less when your clients use you instead of an attorney. Attorneys charge $1,000-$2,000 and up for the service. That’s far more than what you charge.

Fully Integrated with Our Sites

Online incorporation is fully integrated with CPA websites from CPA Site Solutions. It takes your clients just five minutes when they visit this page on your site.

Interested in getting a Complete Web Suite with CPA Site Solutions? Try us out for 60 days free. There’s no obligation whatsoever.

Do you find yourself sending your clients on to attorneys when they want to incorporate? Are you intimidated by the incorporation process? Let us know in the space below!

Brian O'Connell, President

We all agree: you’ve got to get paid for your work. You can’t allow clients to skip out on their bills.

Luckily, our CPA websites have an Online Credit Card option, which means your clients pay their bills right on your site.

You save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars when you take advantage of online credit card processing.

But which credit card processor?  The right choice makes a difference in how much you save.

Which credit card processor you need depends on your monthly usage.

PayPal or Capital Payments?

Our CPA websites offer you a choice of two credit card processors: PayPal or Capital Payments.

Here’s a quick look at the plans:

PayPal =  1 or 2 transactions/month

Capital Payments = 3 or more transactions/month

How to Get the Lowest Fees

To get the lowest credit card fees, follow these steps:

1. Evaluate your needs. Do you have a busy firm with a high percentage of Web-savvy clients – or a smaller firm with a more traditional clientele?

2. If your clients will pay by credit card only once or twice a month, choose PayPal.

3. If you think you’ll process 3 or more credit card payments per month, you want Capital Payments.

Getting Paid On Time, Every Time

Whichever company is right for you, accepting credit card payments online means you get paid on time, every time.

In fact, between paying low processing fees, avoiding bad debt, and saving on collection costs – you save at least $1,000/year.

Both PayPal and Capital Payments accept Visa, MasterCard, and American Express – so your clients enjoy the convenience as well.

We’re Happy to Help

If you would like clients to pay you online by credit card, sign up for one of our websites. You get a free 60-day trial and have absolutely no obligation for two months.

If you already have one of our Complete Web Suites and would like to take advantage of online credit card processing, call 1-800-896-4500 or email support@cpasitesolutions.com. We’re happy to help you get set up with the right processor.

Do you ever feel burned by clients who fail to pay? What ways do you deal with this? Post your thoughts in our Reply section.

An RSS feed keeps a stronger bond with clients.

The wide variety of content on our accounting websites is a key reason our accountants have a year-round connection to their clients.

But we want your clients to get the full benefit of these articles and posts.

Now, with our new service improvement, they do. Clients receive updates of newsletter articles and blog posts – which means you have an even stronger bond.

RSS Feed with Newsletter and Blog

Your Client Newsletter and Blog now include an RSS feed.

RSS, which stands for Really Simple Syndication (sometimes given as Rich Site Summary), is an automated way to deliver updated web content.

More and more people get their news and updates through RSS these days. It’s convenient – you read all the latest headlines from your favorite blogs and websites in one place.

How Does RSS Work?

Clients subscribe to an RSS feed by clicking on the RSS icon, which takes them through the steps of subscribing.

When clients visit your newsletter and blog pages, they see these icons:

RSS Feed Icon on Newsletter Page

RSS Feed Icon on Blog Page

When they do, this page pops up, asking them how they want to receive the feed:

Once clients click on the icon, this box comes up. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

When they fire up their reader to get that day’s news, they see the latest headlines and teaser text from your newsletter and blog.

A feed of CPA Site Solutions's blog in Google Reader. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

They read your updated content along with the other online publications they subscribe to – the New York Times, CNN.com, and so forth.

Let Your Clients Know

Let your web-savvy clients know they now have the option to subscribe to your newsletter and blog with RSS.

They enjoy all the latest firm news, useful tips, and financial articles…

…and because RSS automatically delivers updates to your clients, you make the most of your high-quality content – and enjoy a stronger bond with clients.

If you have any questions about how your clients use the RSS, give us a call at 1-800-896-4500 or email support@cpasitesolutions.com.

Do you subscribe to any websites with RSS?  Do you find it a useful way to get the latest news? Share your thoughts in the space below.

A new Security Measures page helps clients understand the Web is not the Wild West anymore.

Are your clients afraid of the Internet? Do they mistrust the security of cyberspace? And does this prevent them from taking advantage of all CPA websites have to offer?

The Internet is not the Wild West anymore. Safety measures are now in place – firewalls, encryption, and anti-virus software – that make it a much more trustworthy environment.

It might be time to give your clients a little push – to show them how secure the Internet is these days. With a bit of encouragement, clients start to feel comfortable using the Web for more than just contact information.

A great place to start is your secure Client Portal. Once clients see how it improves their financial lives, they’re hooked. They’re more satisfied with your services…

And you reap the reward in higher retention.

Our New Security Page

You have an easier time convincing your skittish clients to use the Client Portal with the new Security Measures page.

Clients get to the new page with a link on the updated Client Portal page.

When clients go to the updated page on your site, they see this:

Your updated Client Portal page includes a link to information on Security Measures. Click on the image to enlarge.

When they click on that last link, they’re sent to a Security Measures page detailing the Portal’s impressive 14 layers of security.

Benefits of the Client Portal

Although they might need some encouragement to try it out, once your clients do take your Client Portal for a spin, they love the benefits.

The Client Portal provides…

• a secure, convenient, and easy way for you and your clients to exchange and share files;

• 24/7/365 access for clients to their tax returns, financial statements, scanned documents like W-2′s, employee data, corporation papers, and legal documents;

• secure access to their tax information – with your Online Tax Organizer – anytime from anywhere, so they no longer need to complete and mail paper organizers;

• a way for them to make entries, print reports, and have full access to QuickBooks, Sage Peachtree, or any accounting software from home, office, or any location in the world (when you add the Online Accounting module); and

• a secure environment to enter their hours and earnings, print detailed reports, print checks, make direct deposits, and file all federal and state payroll taxes (when you add the Online Payroll option).

There’s no question that the Client Portal improves your clients’ financial lives.

And in a way, when you push them to try the Portal, you’re doing your job at a high level – offering information, technology, and support to help your clients stay organized and in control of their finances.

How to Get the New Pages

Let us know if you want the new Security Measures page on your site. It means adding two pages – the updated Client Portal page as well as the Security Measures page.

If you’re at the Silver service level, visit our Help file called “Adding the Updated Client Portal and Security Measures Pages” to learn the steps involved in publishing them.

If you’re a Gold or Platinum client, give us a call at 1-800-896-4500 or email support@cpasitesolutions.com to request these pages. We’re happy to add them.

When consumers go online to look for products and services, they bring their magnifying glass. Like any other service, accounting websites must stand up to the scrutiny.

But how do people evaluate accounting websites? What helps a site stand apart from its competition?

Quality content. Load your site with great content and you make the grade.

New visitors read your articles, profile pages, and other information and become comfortable enough to take the plunge and hire you.

The 10-Second Test

Did you know that 95% of all buying decisions are now made online? Folks are searching for websites to help make decisions about what to buy. This goes for professional services as well as consumer products.

Once they land on a site, they take 10 seconds to decide whether to click away or read on.

If your design is professional, they feel comfortable enough to stay past those 10 seconds – and do a closer read. That’s where content comes in.

Quality Content Makes the Difference

But what content, exactly?

Here’s a list of the pages you need to convey who you are:

• Descriptions of your services

• About Us pages

• Articles

• FAQs

• Newsletters

• Blog posts

• Contact Us pages

If your site is filled with these pages, and they’re well written and knowledgeable, you put your best foot forward. You allow prospects to research your firm in the way they want to – online, in private, without needing to pick up the phone.

And, as a bonus, loads of high-quality content position you as an expert. This means you not only get the client, but you also get to charge the expert rates.

Get That Content Here

When you have a Complete Web Suite with us, you get page after page of outstanding content.

• 35 pages describing your Services - Tax services, business services, QuickBooks services, and services for individuals (you add and delete pages to fit your firm’s focus)

• About Us pages that are fully customizable and feature pictures and bios of you and your staff

• 3,000 pages of Financial Guides covering life events and business, tax, and investment strategies

• 1,000 Frequently Asked Questions about financial planning, insurance, taxes, and numerous other subjects

• Client Newsletter uploaded to your site monthly, with links to previous issues, covering taxes, investments, financial planning, and many other topics relevant to individuals and small businesses

• Fully Integrated Blog that’s easy to update with helpful accounting-related articles as well as more lighthearted pieces on your hobbies and personal interests

• Contact Us page with all your contact information, an email contact form, a map and driving directions (which can be omitted if you run a home office), and a staff directory

Someone looking for an accountant wants to research a variety of firms to find the right fit. Providing them page after page of text allows them to become familiar with your staff as professionals and more personally. This kind of information is what tips the scales in your favor and gets you the sign-up.

Free 60-Day Trial

If you want a website with loads of content that helps you acquire new clients, sign up with us today. You get a free 60-day trial, as well as all the tools and content of our Complete Web Suites.

Have new clients given you feedback on your site’s content? What other features do you think clients rely on when choosing a CPA? Share your ideas in the space below.

When it comes down to it, is there anything more important than client relationships? Without happy clients, you soon have no clients – and no revenue.

CPA newsletters allow you to upgrade your once-a-year relationships with tax clients to monthly relationships. Clients feel protected year-round, which strengthens that all-important relationship.

We made some changes to the newsletter design that further enhance your bond with clients.

The previous design. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

The new design. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

The new design offers several benefits:

1. Your clients now have the option of signing up for your newsletter right on the newsletter page.

2. The “Print This Page” icon makes it easy to print out the newsletter. It also pulls in your footer.

3. It’s more fully integrated with your website design. It uses the same primary colors as your overall website, and it also matches the width of your site.

4. The newsletter now displays the QuickBooks tips only if you have the QuickBooks service pages on your site.

Put Our Newsletter to Work

Think of the newsletter as an on-staff PR and outreach professional. It takes your firm from once-a-year tax work to year-round financial advisor.

You get our CPA newsletter free with our Complete Web Suite.

Don’t have a website with us yet? Sign up and get your first 60 days absolutely free.

What do you think of our newsletter updates? What other changes would you like to see? Post your suggestions below.

In March and April, you have plenty of clients. Maybe even too many.

But what happens after the returns and extensions are filed?

Come October, do your clients remember you?

All our CPA websites come with a Monthly Client Newsletter that makes sure they do, even when receipts, W-2s, and thoughts of deductions are months away.

Touch Base Every Month

Don't let another firm swoop in and grab your clients.

Your client newsletter goes out to your clients and contacts once a month – 12 times a year. That’s 12 times you remind your clients of your expertise and helpfulness.

Without this regular contact, your clients are susceptible to the marketing efforts of other firms.

Keeping in touch with your clients on a regular basis makes it difficult for them to be poached by an accountant down the street.

Interesting Topics, Too

Our newsletter covers timely topics that are directly relevant to your clients. The newsletters aren’t just junk mail in their inbox.

Even when taxes are months away, the newsletter reminds clients of your expertise. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

Here’s what your clients get in each massive monthly newsletter:

• Feature Articles

• Tax Saving Tips

• QuickBooks Tips

• Financial Planning Tips

• Tax Due Dates for the Month

• Links to previous months’ newsletters

Don’t Forget Personalized Messages

Your newsletter is sent out each month through the Email Marketing System. This powerful and flexible system helps you keep in touch with your clients not only through the newsletter, but also through custom messages you send whenever you like.

The Email Marketing System makes it easy to maintain a personal bond with your clients year-round. Here’s what it does for you:

1. Automatically sends clients your monthly email newsletter. (Send a personalized message with the newsletter to make the most of your monthly contact.)

2. Manages your contact list.

3. Sends custom email messages to your contact list.

4. Creates campaigns of sequential e-mail messages to your contacts.

No Need to Pay Extra for Your Newsletter

You could get your Email Newsletter Marketing System from BizActions. It would cost you $1,750 a year as long as you have fewer than 3 professionals in your firm. (The price goes up to $3,250 if you have more people on staff.)

Even at $3,250, it would be worth every penny when you consider the help the newsletter gives you hanging on to clients. If just 5 clients went elsewhere, you could lose thousands of dollars.

But you don’t have to pay $3,250 a year for your newsletter. When you have a CPA website with us, we include it – and the entire Email Marketing System – free with your subscription.

Start Now

Give us a try free for 60 days if you don’t have our Complete Web Suite. You get our Email Marketing System with a Monthly Client Newsletter right away at no additional cost.

Now is a great time to start – folks are returning from summer vacations and soon their thoughts will turn to more serious matters, like taxes.

Would you like some ideas about what kinds of custom messages to send out? Call us at 1-800-896-4500 or email support@cpasitesolutions.com.

Do you find you lose clients in the fall?  What methods help you stay in touch year-round? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Our Life Events guide helps when clients lose a spouse.

When a client’s spouse passes away, it’s rough. You feel terrible for their loss, and you want to help them sort out the financial tangle that’s often left behind.

That’s your job – to be there for your client when they need you most.

But you can’t always predict when life events will unfold. What if your client needs you in May, when you’re taking a well-deserved vacation? Or over a long holiday weekend?

Accounting websites with CPA Site Solutions allow you to be available for your clients 24/7/365. Our sites contain page after page of guides and FAQs designed to help your clients whenever they need it.

You serve existing clients far better with this high-quality content. And a well-served client – one you support in his hour of need – will never want to leave.

3,000 Pages of Financial Guides

Our financial guides cover 5 major areas:

• Life Events

• Business Strategies

• Tax Strategies for Businesses

• Tax Strategies for Individuals

• Investment Strategies

Our guides are written by top-flight writers so you know you’re offering sound information.

Over 1,000 Frequently Asked Questions

A list of FAQs is an important resource for your clients. Sometimes it’s easier to skim a list of questions than to look for an answer you didn’t even know you wanted.

Our FAQs are divided into categories, such as Financial Planning, Life Events, Banking, and Taxes, among others.

On That Long Holiday Weekend…

On Labor Day weekend, when you were at the lake with your kids, your client Nancy needed you. Her husband had died the previous week, and after the shock had worn off a bit, she was ready to tackle the will, life insurance, mortgage, and everything else left behind. The only problem was, it was late on Sunday night.

Luckily, the last time you’d met, you mentioned the Financial Guides and FAQs, and urged her to use that resource whenever she needed it.

Nancy remembered that. When you got back to your office on Tuesday morning, you had an email from Nancy. Using your Financial Guides, she’d researched what papers to collect for various benefits and for finalizing the estate. She knew she needed to contact Social Security and she was hoping you could help her with that.

This Financial Guide, "Death of a Spouse: Financial Steps You Should Take," helps clients get organized in a time of confusion. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

In short, she used the Financial Guides to become informed about her situation. She still needed to talk to you – but she knew the questions to ask.

This was a great comfort to Nancy. She began to feel that she’d be able to make it on her own after all.

Of course, with you as her trusted advisor.

Complete Web Suite with Tons of Content

Accounting websites with CPA Site Solutions come loaded with Financial Guides, FAQs, financial calculators, Monthly Client Newsletter, and many other pages. Your clients have access to all this material anytime. It doesn’t take your place – it just enables clients to help themselves with the big picture, and come to you for the details.

If you’d like to take advantage of our Complete Web Suite – serving your clients better and turning them into raving fans – give us a try free for 60 days.

If you have any questions about the content on your site, call us at 1-800-896-4500, or email us at support@cpasitesolutions.com.

Do your clients use the Financial Guides or FAQs? What other content do your clients enjoy? What content is the most important on your site? Let us know in the box below.

Diana has too many questions. She's stressed.

Meet Diana. She runs a catering firm and is always challenged with paying her five employees on time.

Although Diana likes her accountant, she’s overwhelmed by her finances. Her accountant sends her a CPA newsletter every so often – in the mail. The articles sometimes look useful, but she never reads them.

Angela is enjoying life. She feels in control.

Now meet Angela. With her own business to run – she has three employees for her landscaping outfit – and two kids nearing college, she’s busy, too.

Angela gets a CPA newsletter, too – straight to her email inbox. She stars it and reads it over the weekend, when she has more time.

Last month, she read an article about the best college savings plans. She went straight to her CPA to set up a new account.

Emailed Newsletters Are Better for Clients

Obviously, Diana’s newsletter isn’t doing her any good.

Angela, on the other hand, gets a lot out of hers. It educates her about financial matters and gives her action steps that help her manage her complicated finances. It also helps her stay more closely connected to her accountant, which helps her feel in control.

Emailed Newsletters Are Better for Accountants

With an emailed newsletter, a CPA firm is more efficient – saving time and money – and has stronger client relationships, which leads to better client retention. Why?

Here are 6 reasons…

1. Saves Money

An emailed newsletter is far cheaper than a paper one. Let’s compare costs:

Costs of Paper Newsletter

Total = $800-$900 per issue / $9,600-$10,800 per year

Costs of Emailed Newsletter

Total = $0.00 (included in your web suite)

2. Saves Time

Not only do you have to pay for all the materials when you send a paper newsletter, but also you need to take the time to coordinate the writing, design, printing, and distribution.

Your emailed client newsletter is automatically uploaded to your site and then emailed to all your clients. If you want to take a few minutes to add a couple custom messages, it’s easy to do; or just leave it as is. Your clients still receive a superior product.

3. Clients Actually Read Them

When clients receive a newsletter in the mail – stapled over, black and white – they usually recycle it. They have too many competing needs, and opening a piece of mail that’s not a bill is low on their list. They also might not choose to keep it around so it won’t clutter their living room.

Emailed newsletters, on the other hand, can be archived and read when the client has the time. Further, more and more people are used to reading and gathering information online. It fits with their schedule – they can read it at work, on the weekends, or on the commuter train.

4. Go Green

Everyone is going green these days. The less paper and ink you use – as well as fuel for the delivery trucks and cargo jets – the better for our planet.

Clients appreciate less waste, too. Emailing a newsletter reflects well on your firm.

5. Stronger Client Relationships

When clients get an emailed newsletter, they hear from you once a month. If they have a festering tax or financial question, all they have to do is it “reply” to send you a message, or see your phone number on the newsletter and give you a call.

It’s a monthly reminder that you’re there and it provides a super-easy way to get in touch.

6. The Way of the Future

There’s no question that fewer and fewer professionals will send paper newsletters in the future. Email is the method used for all types of transactions, and that will only increase. Everyone needs to make the switch at some point.

CPA Newsletters Included at No Charge

If you have a website with CPA Site Solutions, you already have an emailed client newsletter. Your clients enjoy useful articles and tips delivered to their inbox once a month – and your client relationships are stronger as a result.

If don’t have our web suite, give us a try free for 60 days. Try out our emailed newsletter and see for yourself.

As always, call 1-800-896-4500 or email support@cpasitesolutions.com with any questions.

Is your firm trying to go paperless? What challenges does it present? How has it helped your efficiency? Post your thoughts in the box below.