Seminars not only make money for your firm, but are also a great way to advertise your services. The seminar process is a whole lot easier using online tools.

Here are 6 ways to improve the next seminar for your firm.

Easily Change the Order in Which Seminars Appear

Seminar Page. Adding a seminar page to your CPA website provides you with a built-in registration system (see tutorial). Once you have several seminars in place, reordering the seminars is easy via the editing screen (see figure to the right).

Free Slide Presenter. Use a free slide presenter to add clarity to your ideas. The tool is online and easy to use.

Advertise and Communicate. Once you have a seminar page set up, you need to advertise to get people to attend. Use the Email Marketing System to advertise to your existing contact list. Once people have signed up, use the EMS to further communicate to the list of attendees reminding of start dates and requirements to attend.

Events Blog. You can advertise your seminar for free on the CPA Site Solutions events blog. If you have a seminar ready to go, send an email to support@cpasitesolutions.com with the date, time, and – if it’s not online – the location.

Consider Giving Quizzes. Online quizzes help to reinforce what you are teaching. The quizzes don’t have to be hard and often provide interaction from your audience as they engage with a prompted Q and A session.

Post-Seminar Interaction. Consider doing a survey of your attendees once the seminar is over. This is a great way to get feedback and incorporate suggestions for the next one. Survey Monkey is a great free resource for up to ten questions.

Doing seminars is easier using some of the online tools available to any website hosted by CPA Site Solutions. If you have suggestions about the seminar or any other tools, send an email or comment below.

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Do you have a firm profile page on your CPA website? What does it consist of? Does it look and read like a resume, just a list of your educational and work background, perhaps with a picture of you in a business suit in front of a shelf of books? If so, you could be missing a vital opportunity to market yourself to potential clients.

Personalize. There are a lot of accountants out there and, as you may guess, there are a lot of accountant websites as well. Standing out from the crowd isn’t easy but personalizing your firm profile goes a long way. Don’t take the person out of personalizing; this is your opportunity to distance yourself from the hundred other accountants in business suits.

A picture where you are smiling and having fun can do more for winning over a client's trust than a list of degrees and awards.

The biggest fear about integrating personality into your site seems to be that it compromises your professionalism. It’s easy to think that if clients sees photos of you on a rock climbing trip or reads that you enjoy watching horror films, that they won’t be able to take you seriously. This fear prevents you from making a genuine human connection with your clients.

Connecting with Clients. It’s important to break out of this mindset. Your accounting website is filled with pages upon pages of articles, guides, and tools dedicated to showing that you know taxes, bookkeeping, and accounting. What potential clients are looking for on your About Us page is what sets you apart from everyone else in your field; a sense of humor, a common interest, or anything that allows them to form a personal bond with you.

Clients will be more trusting of you and feel more comfortable around you when they see you not as just a calculator or a reference book, but as an actual person. That is why making that connection with your clients is so important. If someone has to choose between several accountants, all with similar credentials, to trust with their finances and you are the one they feel most at ease around, who do you think they will go with?

More Than an Accountant. Remember that marketing on your website is more than just keywords and search engine placement; getting a client to come to your site is only half of it. You still have to convince them to choose you. If you can get clients to identify with you and see you as more than just an accountant, you’ve already got a head-start.

Great designs mean nothing without solid content

The copy on your accounting website is important. Your words are your marketing voice. You want to attract prospective clients by telling them what sets you apart from the competition.  A nice looking site alone can’t do that.  Here are some tips for making sure the text on your site doesn’t get overlooked.

No underestimation for your punctuation

Those grammar rules you learned so long ago STILL apply on the Internet. Do you know the difference between their vs. there vs. they’re?  What about your versus you’re?  If not, you should probably brush up, because being accurate adds credibility to your site.

If you promise me you’re going to do my taxes right, but you don’t remember which witch is which, then I’m less likely to believe your promise of carefully filing my taxes. You want to market yourself as a reputable and accurate CPA who goes the extra mile to get it right.

Put in the time to read over your site, ask a trusted friend to check it for spelling, punctuation and grammar. Show your clients that you’re willing to go the extra step to make accuracy a top priority.

The Break-Up

Even newspapers, known for their text-heavy pages, break up their paragraphs with spaces, bullet points, photos and graphics.  The same should apply to web writing, perhaps even more so. Online readers are accustomed to glancing at headlines, and are often drawn towards small blocks of text as opposed to larger ones.

Don’t overwhelm visitors to your accounting website with paragraph upon paragraph of text without using something to break it up.

• Bullet point information that lends itself to being in a list.
• Don’t be afraid to hit the enter key each time you being a new thought.
• If you’ve got a visual, throw a small photo or graphic icon on the page to break up all those words!

Some readers are turned off by a page of static text, no matter how well-written it is.  Take that same page of text and jazz up the layout just by using some simple spacing.

Why Should They Care?

Why should your potential client care what you have to say?  The answer should ring loud and clear throughout your copy (see point #3 in this post). It’s not about all the tools you have on your accounting website. It’s about why those tools save your clients time, money and energy.

You want the content on your site to excite potential clients. Let clients know, for example, that a secure file exchange system means instant access to their tax documents 24/7.  Now the client sees the value behind a service you offer.

Think about the “why should I care” idea each time you write about the services you provide. Put yourself in your clients’ shoes and think about what they’d be most excited about if they were looking for a CPA and came across your website.

Offsite backup of critical files is essential for any CPA firm. Your Quickbooks files are some of the most critical. Now there is an easy solution to just backup Quickbooks files. It is called the Protector and is included free with any accounting website hosted by CPA Site Solutions. Below are the details. Eager to just get started? Click here to sign up.

Why Offsite Backup. Disasters strike anytime, anywhere. The best way to go into a disaster is being prepared. Offsite backup ensures that your CPA firm has the critical data it needs to keep running should disaster strike at anytime. You sleep better knowing those files are secure and you retain your clients confidence.

50 Gigs of Storage. When you have a website hosted by CPA Site Solutions you automatically get 2 gigs of storage free for all your Quickbooks files. After signing up an email comes with a license key and link to download the software.

Virtual Computer Drive. Once the software is installed a virtual drive should appear alongside your other computer drives. This is a virtual drive and functions in much the same way as your regular hard drive. Placing files in this drive means they are automatically backed up offline.

Automatic Backup. There is an automatic backup feature. The software scans your files and automatically backs up any Quickbooks files. You don’t have to do anything to make this happen, it is all done for you.

All Files. You have the option, at anytime, of upgrading to a plan that automatically does the same for all your computer files, not just Quickbooks. This works well if you have a number of other files that you need to backup offsite.

Already have your own offsite backup solution? How has it worked out for you? Comment below.

Domain names are very important when it comes to dealing with search engines. Wondering how important? Take a look at the recent article from the Notable Samurai. Here are some details and how it applies your own CPA website.

There are many CPA firms that wonder about what to use as a domain name for their CPA website. The default is to use their firm or last name. While that certainly gives you a unique domain name, it isn’t strong when it comes to search engines.

What It Really Means. The article basically points out how creditcards.com gets a better search result than any major credit card company. This is for the search term “credit cards” and yet the credit card companies have much better page rank. Not only that they have a huge number of incoming links, are talked about in the news all of the time, etc.

What It Means to You. Your domain can be much stronger if it includes some of the words that people are using to search. How strong? As the previous paragraph points out, in some cases strong enough to do better than some major established domains. Think of keywords that people might use to find you…

Your Location. One obvious keyword is your location. When an online search is made, more people want to find someone they can trust locally. So if you live in Winooski, Vermont then Winooski may be a good keyword to have in your domain.

What You Do. The next obvious one to use is what you do. If you are a CPA then you want to use this as a keyword as well. So, taking the example above, consider using winooskicpa.com.

This gives you a leg up when you are starting your CPA website. Want more proof? Norm has a blog that talks about this same domain issue with a Lemus and Company in Florida with cpadoral.com as a domain.

Have your own thoughts on domain names? How have you found your own domain useful with marketing your CPA firm? Fill out the comments below and share with other readers.

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The Financial Calculators are included with any website hosted by CPA Site Solutions. The great features behind how the Financial Calculators work have recently been improved upon. Here are some highlights.

Financial Calculators Updated

Cross Browser Compatability. The Financial Calculators have been updated to be compatible with Google Chrome, Firefox 3, and IE 8. This makes it so that anyone using any major browser should be able to access the calculators without difficulty.

All U.S. Mortgage Rates Normalized. All default interest rates have been made consistent across all mortgage calculators. The following rates are now used:
* 30 Year Fixed rate: 6.00%
* 15 Year Fixed rate: 5.75%
* Adjustable Rate (mortgage): 5.00%
* Equity Line of Credit: 9.0%

Rates of Return Normalized. All default rates of return have been made consistent across all calculators (Savings, Investment, Retirement and certain Mortgage and Loan calculators where investment rates are required). The following rates are now used:
* Long term market rate: 8%
* Conservative/retirement market rate: 6%
* Savings/bank rate: 2%
* Federal mid-term rate: 2.95% (Used for 72T calculators only)

Health Savings Accounts Calculator (HSA) Finalized. This includes the following new contribution limits and rules put into law for 2010.

• Self only coverage 2010 contribution limit $3,050.
• Family coverage 2010 contribution limit $6,150.
• HDHD 2010 required deductible for Self Only coverage $1,200, for Family coverage $2,400.
• HDHP 2010 Maximum out-of-pocket for Self Only coverage $5,950, for Family coverage $11,900.
• Tax table to detemine marginal tax rate updated to 2010 tax rates and income brackets.

1040 Tax Estimator Finalized. This includes extensive changes to the labels and field names to match the actual tax form. Additional changes to the definitions, output pages and input fields have been completed to comply with tax law changes. The form matches the inputs on the 1040 Tax form. The changes include:

• Automatic calculation of additional child tax credit
• New total of “Non-refundable tax credits”
• New total of “Refundable tax credits” which includes Make Work Pay credit, additional child tax credit, and other refundable credits such as the first time home buyers credit
• Added entry for new vehicle sales tax added to calculated increased standard deduction

Estate Tax Planning Calculator. This has been updated to the 2010 rates and rules including the repeal of the estate tax for one year in 2010. This has affected the definitions and the calculations. No new input or output fields have been added.

A new note has been added that it is likely that some sort of congressional action will take place during 2010 to reinstate some sort of Estate tax. It is as follows: “It is very important to note that it is very likely that a congressional change will be made in 2010 that could greatly impact estate taxes, and it could possibily be retroactive to the beginning of 2010.”

9. Minimum Distributions Calculator (RMD) Updated.  The RMD is now required and no longer reported as $0 as it was for 2009. The suspension of the Required Minimum Distribution for tax-deferred retirement accounts in 2009 has expired as is no longer available in 2010.

This includes distributions from IRAs, 401k(s), 403(b)s and other defined contribution plans. These calculators have been updated so that the RMD is now required and no longer reported as $0 as it was for 2009.

These are highlights of some of the recent changes. Let us know if you have any comments by filling out the form below.

There are many new designs that have been added to the list of website designs available to any website hosted by CPA Site Solutions. As previous posts have noted, there are many options for customizing a CPA website. Here is another great example of using a firm’s own web designer’s design integrated into the CPA Site Solutions system.

The Website. The Watts Group has a design based on a few great ideas kept simple and reinforced throughout the website. CPA Site Solutions custom designers worked to integrate the design so that it would work well within the system.

Seeing the Light. A light bulb, with drop shadow, is used to indicate where a user is on the website. This indicator reinforces their business name in a fun and useful way.

Services and Packages. Another great element is the use of expanded text on their Services + Packages page. This expansion method not only looks good but keeps the elements on the page contained within a certain height.

Watts Group Contact Form

Logo Header and Overall Theme. The logo is simple which also reinforces the overall theme. The pages are kept contained so you don’t have to scroll down long pages of content to see everything.

Through the simple theme the graphics used are able to come through even more effectively. A prime example is their contact form made up of a background image of hanging lights.

Custom designs can be of all types and be easily integrated within the CPA Site Solutions system. Many designs, like the one from the Watts group, concentrate on a few elements. This serves to keep the overall theme, via specific graphics that work well together, and message, via few but concise text, clear and unmistakable.

Your Own Custom Design. Are you interested in a custom design? Contact CPA Site Solutions via phone 800-896-4500 or email support@cpasitesolutions.com and a custom designer can help solidify your website needs.

Have a comment? Fill out the form below or email support@cpasitesolutions.com.

There are ongoing changes to existing security laws that affect CPA’s and other tax professionals. An example of this is within the new Massachusetts law governing how a client’s personal information is handled. Regardless of what state you are in, if you have a website hosted by CPA Site Solutions, then there are several ways that you and your clients data are kept secure that should meet any new requirements you may encounter.

14 Layers of Security

14 Layers of Security. All data for any website hosted by CPA Site Solutions has 14 layers of security. One way to think about layers of security is with your house.

If you have a key and an alarm then you have two levels of security. Once I pick the lock and disable the alarm then I have gained access. Each of our 14 layers protects you and your clients data from illegal access.

SAS 70 Type-II. There are many data centers out there that have security measures in place but our data center is SAS 70 Type-II certified. This means that, “a specially trained CPA Firm performed an in-depth audit attesting to the fact that the datacenter has sufficient processes, controls, and safeguards to keep your data safe from theft, corruption or mishandling.”

Passwords. There are stringent requirements for creating a password for an admin, firm, or client accounts. Beyond that none of our account representatives have access to any of those passwords.

Data Logs. Every CPA website hosted by CPA Site Solutions has a report that can be run showing all of the activity on every account. These data logs can be accessed at anytime.

(To access the data logs you need to be logged into the Secure File Exchange. Up near the top left corner is a More option. When you click on this you get several options one of which is titled “Usage Report.” )

There are many ongoing changes to the security laws in place. By using Secure File Exchange that comes with every website hosted by CPA Site Solutions, your firm can help stay within compliance.

Have a comment about security? Fill out the form below.

You can get plenty of visitor data for any accounting website hosted by CPA Site Solutions via the webalizer. Wouldn’t you rather be able to chat with these potential clients? There is a way to have live chat for free on your CPA web site. Here is a breakdown of how that can work.

Download the software. The company is called Volusion and the download is free. Although you are limited to one operator, for most CPA firms this shouldn’t be an issue. If it is you can check out their Premium Edition and the comparison chart to the free service.

Free Online Chat Service

Very easy set-up. Once you install the software, you then enter an email address and password. A verification email is sent to the email address you used.

Install the code. Code is generated to be used on any page of your CPA website. Just copy and paste it into the page you want to use it via the source view in the site editor. Alternatively you can email the code to support@cpasitesolutions.com and indicate on what page the icon should appear.

Start it up. Now when you want to chat you just open the Volusion software, sign in and your set to go. Although you are limited to one operator, that operator can have up to five chats going at once.

Works offline. They system even works when you are not logged into the account. When a user clicks on the icon they can send an email with their question. You then get an email to the email account you registered with.

Create a custom email. One way around having only one operator is to create a custom live chat email account. If you have the password available to people in the firm then anyone can manage the account.

Volusion’s free live chat feature is fairly quick to set up and use right away. Although you could spend a lot of money per month for a more robust system, for the a lot of CPA websites this service fits the bill quite nicely.

As a CPA, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to get a helping hand when you need it? Consider utilizing interns as part of your accounting office to solve your work challenges and save time.

CPA Interns need experience, you need help, time and value. Interns are a great way to get more time during the busy season. They gain valuable work experience while you get the needed help during a busy time of the year. Another great value is that most of the time the help they offer is free as they are gaining college credit as their compensation.

Offset the busy tax season by hiring an intern.

Analyze work done on a regular basis. Review your daily workload. Analyze it to find tasks that could be done by an intern with minimial training. Tasks like appointment setting, information gathering, data entry and basic paperwork could  be done by an intern.

Calculate. Calculate how long it would take you to do it. Add extra time for a person with less experience to get a realistic idea of how much work an intern could accomplish in the 10-20 hours a week you’ll get from them.

Job description. Based on the analysis of the work you have write a quick job description. Be brief, to the point, yet informative enough for the person looking.

Contact local university. Go through some of your local universities to find college students looking for an internship. You can coordinate with people at the university. Take a look at their transcripts, even those classes outside of the usual accounting.

Interview. No search is complete without an interview. Instead of doing the usual interview, you might consider them shadowing another person in your CPA firm for a certain period of time doing a variety of tasks. This can actually provide you with hands on feedback that the usual questions might miss.

If you have never used interns before you might consider trying them before going into a busy season. There are certain tasks that they can do that help offset your busy tax season. At the same time you are helping someone further on their new career path. Who knows you may even find a person you want to hire permanently.