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.

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.

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.

Brian O'Connell, President

My wife Kathy is a CPA. I’ve been at her side plenty of times when an acquaintance asks for free tax advice at a party or at one of the kids’ games.

That probably happens to you, too. It can be a little tiring – like a busman’s holiday.

But there is an upside to all the free advice you give: It lets you really impress folks with your knowledge and it raises your professional reputation.

Now what do you think would happen if you ran into the same person once a month and gave them free advice for a full year?

They would remember you. They might even switch from their current accountant to you – or recommend you to a friend.

Take a break! Your client newsletter does the work of connecting with prospective clients.

That sounds pretty nice. To make that happen, you could frequent as many parties, sports events, and other gatherings as possible in the hopes of running into the same people over and over…

Or you could take the weekends off – catch up on your sleep – and leave the networking to your Monthly Client Newsletter, which comes free with our CPA websites.

9 Meetings to Make a Sale

The Direct Marketing Association states that it takes an average of 9 contacts to turn a prospect into a client.

That’s 9 times you need to connect with an individual – in person, by phone, or by email.

Chances are very good your competitors are not making that much contact with prospects. It’s frustrating and time-consuming to keep calling or emailing someone, and most people give up after the 4th or 5th attempt.

If you use your client newsletter to make those contacts, it gets done once a month, every month – 12 times a year, year after year. Of course, not everyone will convert to clients – but touching base with them once a month significantly increases your chances.

Then, if you run into them at a party 6 months down the road, that’s just icing on the cake.

Newsletter Jam-packed with Helpful Tips

Is the newsletter really something your acquaintances will appreciate?

You bet.

The monthly client newsletter addresses the topics people are interested in – like saving for college, financial planning, and, for small business owners, hitting their tax due dates. There’s even a regular column on how to make the most of QuickBooks.

The table of contents of the July 2010 issue of the client newsletter. Click on the image to enlarge.

Hearing from you every month – with customized, firm-specific messages, if you wish – makes your contacts feel like they know you. This is important in their choice to switch to your firm or recommend you.

They’re also grateful for the gift of useful information that helps them protect what’s most valuable in their lives. This practice of “gifting” – especially to folks who aren’t paying you yet – is an effective way to build long-lasting client relationships.

A Favorable Equation

The monthly client newsletter comes with CPA websites from CPA Site Solutions at no additional cost.

And it has the potential to make you extra revenue. Say you add 10 prospects to your newsletter distribution list in a year and 1 becomes a client or recommends a friend to your firm. If you do just a standard tax return for them, you make $250.

That’s $250 for you with no additional expenditure and almost no effort.

And remember, $250 is a conservative estimate. Your extra revenue could be much higher.

If you’d like, consider the equation this way: one night off a week – with no schmoozing necessary – earns you $250 . . . or about $4 per night of sleep!

Get Started

How does it work? Each month, you get 10 new financial or tax saving articles automatically updated to your website. The articles are written by our award winning team of CPAs and MBAs and provide your clients with enough information to pique their curiosity – while giving them a consistent reminder to contact your office for more details.

We give you time to customize the newsletter if you like – and then the newsletter is automatically sent to your list of clients and contacts, using the Email Newsletter Marketing System.

If you don’t have a web suite with us, give us a try free for 60 days. See if the newsletter does what I claim – and enjoy all the other features of your site, like the secure Client Portal, 3,000 pages of financial guides, Online Tax Organizers, plus 111 other features.

If you already have a site with us and have questions about your client newsletter, call us at 1-800-896-4500 or email support@cpasitesolutions.com.

Do you enjoy networking in person, or would you rather have your newsletter do it for you? What other methods do you use to establish relationships with potential clients? Let us know in the space below.

Brian O'Connell, President

I love cable news. I love getting up-to-the-minute headlines 24/7. I’ve come to trust that if I tune in to CNN, it will deliver, every time.

The most successful accounting websites have something in common with CNN: they always deliver up-to-date information.

Of course, accountants don’t have the huge staff and generous budgets of cable news companies. It’s not easy to find the time to keep your site updated with the latest staff changes and firm events. Realistically, you need to focus on work that brings in revenue.

Most of the time, client work takes precedence over tweaking your website.

Besides, not all of us are techies. While updating your site isn’t hard, it does take a little while to figure out. And it can be frustrating – a real drain on your energy.

So how do you squeeze in as much billable work as possible (and keep your stress levels in check) while also staying on top of your website?

I have a solution…

Let Us “Do It All For You”

Make the most of each minute by outsourcing website maintenance.

Consider upgrading from Silver to Gold. The Gold level gets you the We Do It All For You service.

This service is like having your own webmaster just a phone call away. When you need to update your site, simply email us. We make the changes as soon as possible.

Here are some examples of the information to regularly post on your site:

• New employees

• New address or contact info

• Firm event – seminars, extended hours, etc.

• Introducing a new service

• Adding a new page when we offer a service improvement – such as our new QuickSend service

With “We Do It All For You” service, you stay focused on your core business while we do the grunt work.

The Benefits of Fresh Content

An updated site is critical for client relationships.

Like with cable news – if your site is always fresh and relevant, your clients are trained to “tune in” on a regular basis. What better way to keep that client connection?

And because search engines reward sites that regularly post new content, keeping current lands you a top spot in Google, Yahoo, or Bing. Listing high in organic search results is key when trying to attract new clients.

Cost Benefit Analysis

At $69.50/month, an upgrade from Silver to Gold costs an additional $20/month, or $240/year.

Say you bill $125/hour. If using our webmaster service allows you to do just 2 extra hours of client work per year, that’s $250/year in extra revenue. You make a little profit from upgrading to Gold, just from a tiny bump in client work.

And as a bonus, you save yourself a few mornings of tedious technical stuff. (Why suffer more stress than you need to?)

Of course, this doesn’t take into account the less quantifiable advantages of increased client connection and a possible rise in page rank on Google.

Upgrading has other benefits, too:

• When you want to try out a new website design, choose from double the number – 300 instead of 150. (It costs you nothing to switch designs.)

• For the Client Portal, you get easy one-click file upload. Simply right-click any file on your system and send it directly to the Vault.

• You also get additional space in the Vault - 500 MB total.

Click to Upgrade

If you sometimes put off making changes to your site because it takes time or it’s a bit complicated, then an upgrade to Gold might be a great solution.

To upgrade, click here. Once you submit your name and website address, one of our webmasters will call. Or call us: 1-800-896-4500, or send an email: support@cpasitesolutions.com.

What updates do you think are important for your website? Did I miss any? Share your thoughts below.

Brian O'Connell, President

We like to think we’re judged on the quality of our work alone.

But in truth, a company’s image makes a big difference, too. What clients see when they visit your website or pick up your materials has an impact on how professional you appear.

It may seem shallow, but the more professional your image, the higher you can set your rates.

CPA websites with CPA Site Solutions help you do this not just through our website designs, but also through professional logos.

When you pick a logo from our gallery, you get it at no extra charge – which means you raise your image without compromising your wallet. And it takes just a few minutes of your time.

Why Logos?

A logo is a graphic, often combined with a company name, that is instantly recognizable. It’s the face of a company.

You use logos not only on your website, but also on your letterhead, business cards, brochures, and other printed material. This consistency gives your firm a cohesive look and raises the professionalism of all your materials.

A professional logo enhances your image. Choose one for free from our gallery of 100 professional designs.

Getting a Logo Free with Your Website

Your logo shows in the header of each page of your website with CPA Site Solutions. You have the option of using your own logo or picking one for free from our gallery.

You’re certainly welcome to pay a graphic designer for your logo, but keep in mind that it could cost you hundreds of dollars. It also takes time. If the designer starts from scratch, you have a slew of decisions to make regarding color, font, size, and so on.

When you use one of our logos, you get it right away at no additional charge. Choose one as is or ask us to customize a design (which we do for a reasonable price).

Or, if you like, you can find a design that appeals to you and take it to your graphic designer so she has a starting point.

The Next Step to More Revenue

If you have a website with us but haven’t chosen a logo yet, go ahead! It only takes a few minutes. Once your new logo is in place on your website, integrate it into all your promotional efforts. It gives you a more polished look – which means clients won’t balk at paying a higher fee.

Don’t forget that you can update your logo, too. We add new designs on a regular basis – take a look and see if any of our new styles appeal to you.

If you haven’t signed up for a website, give us a try for free for 60 days. You get a logo as part of the package. And if for some reason you cancel your service, keep the logo as our gift.

Do you find that your logo enhances your image? What other methods do you use to lend your firm a more professional look? Share your thoughts below.

Have you ever had a day like this?

You just arrived at work. You say hi to your coworkers, get a fresh cup of coffee, and settle in at your desk. The day is off to a fine start – until you turn on your computer and discover your email is down. Not good.

Remote Assistance Means Less Downtime

At first, you’re calm. You tinker with this and that, maybe reboot your computer – but nothing helps. Finally you ask someone else in your office whether their email is working.

Bad news: It’s not the network. It’s just your computer.

Now, you start to panic. Every minute you’re not on email you feel itchy and jumpy. And you have no idea how to fix it.

If you called a computer techie, it would cost you $100-$300/hour – and you’d have to transport your computer to his office, or wait for him to show up. You don’t have the money, and you certainly don’t have the time.

You’re about to pick up the phone and call the techie – resigning yourself to a couple lost days of work – when you suddenly remember: your website service with CPA Site Solutions comes with free tech support!

Instead of calling a busy and expensive computer repair person, you call CPA Site Solutions for Remote Assistance – and your email is back up before 9:00 a.m.

Hallelujah!

The Convenience of Remote Assistance

Remote Assistance is included with CPA websites hosted by CPA Site Solutions at the Gold or Platinum level. Remote support is when a technician logs into your computer, finds the problem with your email, and fixes it.

You stay in control of your computer the whole time, monitoring every step – yet you never have to schedule and surrender your desk or office to an IT person while they fix the problem. You never even have to leave your chair!

And if something comes up that needs your immediate attention, simply suspend or terminate the session.

Our Experts Are Here to Help

Most email problems stem from a configuration error with Outlook. We’ve seen it all, and we’ve fixed it all.

We also provide support if your Email Marketing System, secure Client Portal, or other website feature doesn’t look quite right. We see exactly what’s on your screen and explain what will fix it. And we fix it while you watch.

You have to grant access for us to get on your screen. We can’t get on without your permission.

Nothing to Buy – Just Enjoy More Efficiency

If you’re a Gold or Platinum client with CPA Site Solutions, and we host your email, there’s no software and nothing to buy. Remote Assistance is included in your “We Do It All For You” service.

If you have a website with us but we don’t host your email, call 800-896-4500 and make the switch. You no longer have to pay for email hosting and you get full support.

Are you a Silver client who wants more efficiency with Remote Assistance? Call 1-800-896-4500 or email support@cpasitesolutions.com to discuss an upgrade for only an additional $20/month.

Why not let us fix your email in a matter of minutes – instead of hours or days? Don’t waste your time and energy on outside computer technicians. Let us reduce your frustration – and increase firm efficiency – with Remote Assistance.