Brian O'Connell, President

Are your clients satisfied with you? You want to believe they are – but sometimes clients get frustrated with their accountants because of what seems a small thing:

They can’t get in touch with you.

Especially during busy season, this becomes a real problem. A client who has a simple question becomes increasingly annoyed when their calls go unanswered. You may have your nose to the grindstone, but, despite your best efforts, your clients may start looking for another CPA if they can’t get two minutes with you on the phone.

I want to show you how to leverage CPA websites to mitigate this problem.

Using all kinds of tools that come with your site, you can provide your clients with the high level of customer service they’re expecting. Which gets you satisfied clients.

When You’re Too Busy for the Phone

When you’re chest-deep in client work, you don’t want to take the time to answer the phone. It interrupts the flow and dramatically lowers your efficiency.

In the busy season, encourage your clients to use these methods to get their questions answered – and avoid the phone.

Contact Us Forms

All websites with CPA Site Solutions come with a “Contact Us” form that clients and prospects can fill out on their own time with their question and contact information. Each submission generates an email to your inbox.

This means your clients feel the relief of submitting their question, and you can answer them when it’s convenient for you.

Clients can schedule meetings with you right on your website.

Book Appointments Online

Half the time, clients call you just to schedule an appointment. Wouldn’t it be helpful if they could schedule those themselves?

Well, they can, with our “Book Appointments Online” feature. They see your calendar (with your busy times simply marked “busy”) and they fill out a simple form that requests an appointment for one of your free blocks.

FAQs

Sometimes clients have answers to standard questions and they don’t really need personalized service. That’s where your FAQs come in, which come free with all our websites.

Here are some examples of questions your FAQs answer:

• When should I refinance my home?

• How much should I expect to pay in closing costs?

• Is interest on educational loans tax deductible?

• What kind of records do I need to keep in my business?

Videos

A video is an excellent way to get information across. With the enormous popularity of YouTube, folks are increasingly comfortable with this format.

It’s not hard to make your own video! I recommend Screenr. With this free tool, you can record yourself answering clients’ most common questions. Not only does it satisfy their need for information, but it also puts them at ease to see and hear you talking. It’s almost like a little appointment in itself.

Keep Clients Happy with Our Help

We are more than happy to help you take advantage of any or all of these methods to stay in touch with clients – and keep them satisfied with you.

If you have any questions about these features, give us a call at 1-800-896-4500 or email us at support@cpasitesolutions.com.

Remember – although it doesn’t take much to annoy your clients, it also doesn’t take much to make them happy again.

Brian O'Connell, President

Busy season is around the corner. Are you looking to grow your client base this year?

If so, I have two words for you: CPA websites. Having a website for your accounting firm is the number one way you’re going to pull in new clients.

But before the busy season kicks in, make sure you get your site looking and working the way you want. Maybe you need to know how to import contacts into your Email Marketing System. Or you need some help with Search Engine Optimization. Or perhaps you’d like to try out a new design.

Now is the time to ask for our help with your website.

And we offer 6 ways to get that help.

1. Videos

Our website – cpasitesolutions.com – is loaded with helpful videos. Our tutorial videos show you how to perform various tasks, and you can find those in the Help section. Others are more of an overview of various features, like this one about the Workteam Collaboration Suite:

2. Help Section

We have a vast Help section with numerous articles that give you step-by-step instructions on how to tinker with everything on your site – with sections like Modifying Your Site and Interactive Tax Organizer.

To access the Help section, click on the link at the bottom of our home page – as pictured here:

The link to the Help Center is in the footer of most our pages.

3. Leave a Comment

If you leave a comment on one of our Help files or in our Blog, we answer you with an email within 24 hours.

4. Chat Us Up

We have 60 hours of live chat coverage every week – from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time.

To get to our live chat option, click on the image in the right sidebar on our FAQs page or on About Us (as pictured below on the left). Once you click on the link, you get a pop-up window and a webmaster comes online. You type your question in the box on the bottom (circled in the image on the right below).

The link for our live chat option is in our right-hand sidebar.

Once a webmaster comes online, you just type your question into the box at the bottom.

5. Email

Many of our clients ask questions through email, and that works very well. Just send your question to support@cpasitesolutions.com and a webmaster will reply. If you have a Dedicated Webmaster that you prefer to work with, just email him or her directly (e.g., Allison@cpasitesolutions.com or Rikk@cpasitesolutions.com).

Our goal is to answer all support requests within 24 hours – and it’s usually much quicker than that.

6. Just Make a Call

Our webmasters are available by phone all day Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, at 1-800-896-4500.

This is probably the most popular method for getting help – and it works great. Just give us a call and let one of our friendly and knowledgeable webmasters work with you to get your site where you want it to be.

Get Help Now – Then Get Clients

To attract more clients, you need your primary marketing tool to be in tip-top shape.

Your service pages should be updated; you should be thrilled with your design; and you should understand how all your tools and features work.

We can help you get your site just where it needs to be, in time for the busy season. We’re here to help!

Brian O'Connell, President

If you could list the top 5 contributors to the health of your business, would you include email? I think most of us would think on a grander scale – areas like client relationships, the ability to attract and retain clients, or staff expertise.

But think how impossible it would be to achieve any of those “bigger” pieces without email. It’s pretty tough to build a business if you can’t communicate with your clients, prospects, partners, and staff.

So what do you do when there’s a problem?

Our CPA websites come with a robust email solution that’s easy to use and accessible from anywhere. And part of the solution is a Dedicated Webmaster, who’s there to help you with any challenges that come up.

What Happens When Your Email Goes Down?

When you’re a CPA Site Solutions client, if you have one of those nightmare situations where your email goes down, all you have to do to get help is call our office.

Our Dedicated Webmasters will get to work on the problem right away – so you can get back to your clients.

Technical Problems? We Take Care of Them

Maybe the best part of this level of support is the hours of frustration it saves you. After all, you’re an accountant – not a techie! Let us take care of the technical details while you focus on your core business.

Our webmasters diagnose and quickly repair server issues, DNS issues, or MS Outlook issues so your firm’s email always runs smoothly across all your computers – at the office, at home, and even on your smartphone.

Meet a Few of Our Webmasters…

Watch this video to see some of our Dedicated Webmasters in action. Allison hosts the video, and Jon and Erik are shown talking to clients. (You can spot Norm and Joe in the background, too.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxMz_GwWgX0

Put Us to Work for You

If you’re a client, don’t be shy about calling up when you need help with your email (or anything related to your website). Our number is 800-896-4500.

If you need a website, check out our offer. When you sign up, you get 60 days with no obligation – so you can evaluate our Webmasters and see if they deliver the service you need.

Some clients won't feel comfortable using the Online Interactive Tax Organizer. We have a solution for them.

The Online Interactive Tax Organizer that comes free with our CPA websites is secure, flexible, and a huge boost to firm efficiency.

But not all your clients are ready to enter their tax information online. They may be resistant to change – or maybe they don’t trust the security of an online program.

Meeting your clients “where they are” is key for client retention. So how can you maintain efficiency while also serving your less tech-savvy clients?

Just suggest they use the PDF version of our tax organizer. They download and print it out directly from your site, so you don’t need to mail a thing.

PDF of Tax Organizer

For clients who just don’t want to use the online version, we provide a PDF of the Tax Organizer.

Clients simply go to your website . . .

To get the to the right page, clients choose "Free Tax Organizer" under "Tax Center."

. . .  click on “Free Tax Organizer” under “Tax Center” . . .

Clients just click "View Tax Organizer" to get the printable PDF.

. . . and click on “View Tax Organizer” in the bottom left to call up the document.

So, instead of urging your skittish clients to use your Online Interactive Tax Organizer, just direct them to this page on your site. All they have to do is click a button.

(They will need Adobe Acrobat to open the PDF. Note that this page on your site includes links to download Acrobat for both a Mac and a PC.)

2010 Tax Questionnaire Now Available

Your printable tax questionnaire is now updated for the 2010 tax year. Clients can now print a copy of the worksheet and begin entering in their information, to bring to a meeting in the office with you.

The Tax Return Questionnaire takes your clients through all the information you need to complete their return.

Serve Your Clients – Efficiently

Just because your clients aren’t ready to use all the time-saving features of your website doesn’t mean you have to say good-bye to efficiency. Our Free Tax Organizer is easy to access and print out – and it saves you time and energy.

Do you have questions about our Online Interactive Tax Organizer or the PDF version of the Tax Organizer? Give us a call at 1-800-896-4500 or email us at support@cpasitesolutions.com.

Be prepared this tax season!

Wish there were a way to streamline tedious tax work? Check out your Online Tax Organizer.

Websites for accountants help you serve all your clients – whether you manage their books, run their payroll, or act as their part-time CFO.

But the bread and butter of most small to medium-sized accounting firms is taxes.

How can you speed up the time-consuming and laborious process of completing 1040s?

With your Online Tax Organizer, of course!

Save Time

The Online Tax Organizer saves you time in 3 ways:

1. Because the organizer is online, there’s no need to mail a tax info sheet back and forth. The client fills in the information online at his or her convenience, as they gather data (and at any time throughout the year) – and you can see it right away.
2. It’s easy to collaborate with your clients and your staff. Everyone has access to the same document right at their workstation – cutting down on the need for face-to-face meetings.
3. With your Tax Organizer, it’s a cinch to compare a client’s information year to year so you can check your work and cut down on errors. Say good-bye to flipping through pages while you struggle to keep your place.

Work Flexibly

Every client is different – so not every client will need the same Tax Organizer. That’s why we made your Online Tax Organizer easy to customize.

You can customize an organizer for a particular client – or create multiple organizers, one organizing Real Estate transactions, one organizing Stock transactions, one organizing interest income, and so on.

And as your practice grows, so does your Tax Organizer. Not only can you create and store up to 200 Tax Organizers per client, but the Online Tax Organizer also allows you to support up to 10,000 clients. You’ll always have enough capacity to store as many Tax Organizers as you need.

Enjoy Top Security

All of your clients’ data is stored on our secure server, which uses 128- to 256-bit file encryption. You can be assured that critical financial information is fully protected.

Update Now to 2010

When it’s time to update to the next year’s organizer, it’s easy to do. Once you’re in the Tax Organizer Administration in the Portal, click on “Manage Organizers.” On the next screen, you’ll find a link: “Add 2010 Organizer.” Click that link, check the box next to the 2010 Organizer now listed in the table, and hit “Publish.”

Check out our Help file for detailed instructions and screen shots.

Tax Season Is Coming…

Do you have questions about the Online Tax Organizer before tax season hits? Give us a call at 1-800-896-4500 or email support@cpasitesolutions.com. We’re more than happy to help.

If you don’t yet have a Complete Web Suite with CPA Site Solutions, remember that the Online Tax Organizer is included in your subscription fee. Give us a try free for 60 days!

Brian O'Connell, President

Having a Client Portal is a must for accounting websites – and with CPA Site Solutions, you get a secure Portal that saves you time and money.

I’m happy to say that your Client Portal just got a little more efficient, while maintaining our high level of security.

Now, with SecureReceive, you receive your clients’ documents in just one click. And it’s just as secure as ever because it still goes through our secure Client Portal.

The New Way to Receive Client Documents

It used to be that when a client sent a document to the Secure File Exchange and you got an email notification about it, it took you 7 steps to start loading that file. You clicked on the link, gave your username, gave your password, clicked over to the Secure File Exchange . . . and so on.

That was the old way. Want to hear the new way?

Now, when you get your email notification that a client has deposited a file in the Portal, you just click the link in the email and the file starts to load right away. Instead of 7 steps to receive the file, it’s just 1.

Here's an example of the email notification you get with SecureReceive.

If you’re not logged in to the Client Portal at the time, you get a screen asking for your password. Once that’s filled in, the file starts to load.

Once you start receiving the file, you see this screen.

How Is This Secure?

Using SecureReceive doesn’t mean you’re getting client documents through email. (Email is NOT a secure platform for sending and receiving client files – which is why you need a Client Portal.)

SecureReceive still routes through the Client Portal. But now receiving files is quicker because you can easily get the file by clicking on the link in your email.

That’s why, if you’re not logged in to the Portal when you click on the SecureReceive link, the system will prompt you to give your password. This ensures that only authorized users are receiving files with this method.

And your Client Portal is protected by 14 layers of security. In fact, it’s the most secure Client Portal available on the market.

SecureReceive Is Already in Place

This new feature is already working for you. There’s no need to download or install a thing!

With the busy season creeping closer, this little time saver should make life a bit easier for you.

Do you have any questions about SecureReceive? Give us a call at 1-800-896-4500 or email support@cpasitesolutions.com.

There's lots of "juice" in your website. Make sure you get it all...

Websites for accountants are an excellent way to serve existing clients and draw in new ones.

But sometimes, their value is even more direct.

With your CPA website, you actually earn commissions.

With no extra work from you, money on the sale of QuickBooks software comes right to you.

Earn Commissions Selling QuickBooks

Your QuickBooks Store allows you to keep your clients’ software up-to-date by offering them up to 20% off retail prices and free shipping on the latest version of QuickBooks.

Best of all, you earn 5% every time your clients buy from your site.

You don’t have to be a QuickBooks ProAdvisor to take advantage of this program – but if you are a ProAdvisor, you earn 6% instead of 5%.

Serving Your Business Clients

QuickBooks is far and away the most used accounting software among small to medium businesses. When you offer a discount on QuickBooks products, it truly benefits your clients.

When clients visit your site, they see a menu option for QuickBooks Services under the Services tab. When they mouse over “QuickBooks Services,” the last option is “Buy QuickBooks and Save.”

On this page, they get a listing of all the QuickBooks products you sell. And when you sign up with Intuit’s affiliate program, you get an Intuit banner to put on this page.

The page for your QuickBooks Store.

Get Started Selling QuickBooks Online

To become an affiliate with Intuit and offer QuickBooks products to your clients at a 20% discount, check out this Help file.

Gold and Platinum clients, if you’d like your Dedicated Webmaster to take care of this for you, call 1-800-896-4500, or email support@cpasitesolutions.com.

More Ways to Earn Commissions…

Selling QuickBooks software isn’t the only way to earn commissions on your website.

Take advantage of these other sources of income that take virtually no effort on your part:

• sell books online through Amazon

• online client incorporation

• online payroll processing

Make the most of your CPA website. Get started with our affiliate programs and add revenue to your firm today.

We’re Always Here to Help

If you have any questions about your QuickBooks Store – how it works or how to start the ball rolling – or you’d like to learn more about our other affiliate programs, give us a call at 1-800-896-4500, or email us at support@cpasitesolutions.com.

Do you participate in the QuickBooks Store? How do you like it? Let us know below.

Don't drive away clients with inaccurate tax info!

CPA websites absolutely must include this one feature – or your clients will go elsewhere.

What is it? Updated tax information.

The Danger of Outdated Tax Information

For the majority of your clients – both business and individual – their most urgent need for your services is related to taxes.

Clients must feel secure that you are fully informed on the latest tax laws and regulations.

If they visit your site and can’t find the information they’re looking for, they might cease to trust any of your expertise – even when it doesn’t relate to taxes.

The kicker is, you might be fully aware of the tax changes. But if you don’t post the updated information on your site, your clients won’t know that. They might assume you actually are ignorant – even if nothing is further from the truth.

Our Solution – Four Areas Updated

CPA websites with CPA Site Solutions are always up-to-date with the latest tax news.

Here are the four places on your site where we post tax information:

1. Tax Services. This section of your site, under Services, describes your tax-related offerings. We make sure the three subsections – Tax Preparation, Tax Planning, and Tax Problems – reflect current laws.

Your website has a 3-part section devoted to Tax Services.

2. Financial Guides. Your site contains 3,000 pages of articles about financial issues. Two of these sections are especially relevant to tax news: Tax Strategies for Business Owners and Tax Strategies for Individuals. These are updated for you regularly.

Two of your Financial Guides are solely about taxes for business and individuals.

3. Financial Calculators. You get 58 interactive financial calculators in the Resources section of your site with CPA Site Solutions. Your clients can trust that these are programmed with the most recent version of the tax code.

Your 58 financial calculators reflect the latest changes to the tax code.

4. Monthly Client Newsletter. Finally, in each Monthly Client Newsletter you get articles and tax tips about recent tax updates. For example, the August 2010 newsletter ran a piece titled “Homebuyer Credit Closing Deadline Extended,” which discussed the closing extension from June 30, 2010, to September 30, 2010.

Your Monthly Client Newsletter keeps your clients up-to-date with articles about the newest tax information.

Updated 2 to 4 Times/Year

Your website is updated 2 to 4 times a year with the latest tax information.

That’s several hours every quarter or two that you don’t need to worry about gathering the latest tax news from http://www.irs.gov or other sources of information.

We take care of it for you. Kathy O’Connell, CPA, one of the company’s cofounders, makes sure your site is fully updated.

That means you stay totally assured that when your clients visit your site, they’re getting the professional image of you that you deserve.

Keep Your Valued Clients

Sign up for a Complete Web Suite with CPA Site Solutions today. You get 60 days to evaluate your site’s effectiveness – such as the tax information that’s regularly updated.

If you already have a site with us but have questions about the tax-related content, give us a call at 1-800-896-4500, or email us at support@cpasitesolutions.com. Or leave a message below!

If you have a website for your accounting firm, you’re doing something right. CPA websites are an excellent starting point in the never-ending battle to increase efficiency.

But you can’t stop there.

There’s a revolution under way, and accountants need to embrace it: the smartphone.

The Blackberry has the leading market share for mobile devices.

Once you join the “smartphone revolution,” you see why they’re taking over. With this tool, your productivity reaches new heights – and you even strengthen your relationship with clients.

Smartphones Increase Efficiency

Work from Anywhere. It’s especially true during tax season – but this applies anytime of year: accountants are spending more time outside the office.

Whether it’s visiting clients in their office, taking an afternoon to go to their daughter’s ball game, or just working from home after hours, CPAs find plenty of reasons to leave the desk behind.

Smartphones make it easier to do business away from your office. You have access to phone numbers, addresses, your calendar, and your email – all while getting your life done.

Not Ready to Start Hiring Again? When the recession hit, many accounting firms had to lay off staff – and they’re not yet confident enough in the economic recovery to rehire.

Smartphones give partners a way to conduct the business of the office with fewer admins and assistants.

Smartphones Strengthen Client Relationships

More and more, accountants find that their clients expect a return phone call right away. If a client calls in with a question, it’s not acceptable to wait until you’re back in the office to call them back.

A smartphone is crucial for keeping that client relationship as healthy as you can. With a smartphone, the client’s phone number and address is right at your fingertips, wherever you are.

And because you can sync a smartphone with your email, you’re able to access relevant information about your client, too.

50 Million Users Can’t Be Wrong

There’s no denying the popularity of smartphones. Here’s a breakdown of the most popluar brands’ market shares:

All told, nearly 50 million people in the United States use this technology, an 8.1% increase from earlier this year.

That’s a lot of smartphones.

Take Advantage of Our Experience

There’s only one catch: if you’re not technically savvy, it can be a bit tricky to set up your phone to sync with your email.

But do not fear. We do this all the time – and we can help.  Just give us a call at 1-800-896-4500 or email us at support@cpasitesolutions.com.

If you need a CPA website and you want excellent customer service – Dedicated Webmasters who handle all the techie details – give CPA Site Solutions a try. You get 60 days free with zero obligations.

What about you? Have you joined the smartphone revolution? What’s your phone of choice? Leave us a comment, or catch us on Twitter!

Think of the Quick Login for the Client Portal as a gateway to billable time.

It’s 9:00 am. You’re in webmail, checking messages and mapping out your day.

You get an email from a client asking you to check on a figure in his tax return. You start to close the message and move on, thinking you’ll take care of it later – when you remember:

“I can log in to the Portal directly from my webmail!”

And so you can.

Accounting websites from CPA Site Solutions just got more efficient. Now you can access the Client Portal directly from a link in webmail – which means you only need to remember one password, and it’s that much easier to jump in to client work.

And, of course, the easier it is to do client work, the more you do – and the more your profits grow.

Quick Login to the Client Portal

When you add the link, you get a Portal option in the menu on your webmail.

This means you can quickly go from your email to your Portal – eliminating the need to open a new window, get into your website, enter your password, and click to the Portal from there.

The link to the Portal shows up on your “More” menu, as seen here:

Two Mighty Features That Save You Time

Two of our most popular features – our email solution and the secure Client Portal – are now connected.

Email Solution. Our email service is a huge time saver for your firm.

For one thing, our webmasters support the tech aspect, so you no longer need to rely on the IT guy if your email is down. Our email is also easy to manage – there are no folders, and the search function is fast and highly targeted.

Note that the Quick Login feature does not integrate with Outlook. To take advantage of this time saver, use our email solution. (When you do, you benefit from its full integration with the Workteam Collaboration Suite, including its shared calendars, wikis, and instant messaging.)

Secure Client Portal. Our Client Portal includes QuickSend and 1-click send, both of which save tedious administrative steps and help your day run more smoothly.

Of course, our entire Client Portal is highly efficient – allowing you to easily and securely exchange large accounting files and sensitive financial information with your clients.

How to Get the Quick Login Feature

It’s easy to add the Portal link to your webmail page.

If you’re a Gold client, give us a call at 1-800-896-4500 or email us at support@cpasitesolutions.com. We’ll be happy to add it for you.

If you’re a Silver client, visit our Help file for instructions on how to add this link. Don’t worry – this is an easy one! It takes just a couple clicks. (If you’d like us to add it for you, upgrade to Gold and have a Dedicated Webmaster make all your changes.)

Add the Quick Login to the Client Portal and enjoy the improved workflow – from webmail straight to work.

Do you think this new feature will improve your workflow? What other suggestions do you have for cutting out steps in your daily routine and bumping up efficiency? We’d like to know. Share your thoughts below.