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TAX CLIENTS

Onboarding and Engagement Steps

Thank you for choosing
Perpetual CPA to prepare your tax return.

Perpetual CPA (PCPA) is a digital public accounting firm. We’ve built our tax preparation processes and provide
tax services to clients nationwide, remotely online, via the secure cloud technology solutions. Nearly all of our processes are paperless, in electronic format.

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Request A Free Consultation

Generally, PCPA provides a free initial 15 to 30-minute phone consultation for every new tax/accounting client. During that call, we learn the details of a prospective client’s tax/accounting situation and provide a quote for the services.

IF you have NOT yet scheduled an initial call with us, please navigate to the CONTACT US page and submit a request for a free initial consultation call. Make sure to include in the request the details about what services you are looking for.

IF you already had a call with us and we’ve provided you a quote for your tax preparation work, please proceed with the steps for a typical tax engagement below:

STEP 1:

If you are a new client, please complete our online New Client Onboarding Form.

STEP 2:

Each year, for each engagement, and for each client, PCPA sends out an electronic Engagement Letter to clients, to review and e-sign via Adobe Document Cloud, per information provided in the New Client Interview Form.

New clients typically receive the Engagement Letter within 5 business days after submitting the New Client Onboarding Form.

Returning Clients typically receive the new tax year engagement letter by January 20th, after the tax year end.

STEP 3:

If you are a new client, after you sign the first Engagement Letter, you will receive an automated invitation to create a login to Perpetual CPA Online Client Portal, which can be accessed via our website.

STEP 4:

PCPA provides a comprehensive ONLINE Tax Organizer for clients to fill out, and instructions to upload to Client Portal any applicable tax documents. If you are not sure which tax organizer you need to complete, please refer to your Engagement Letter, or contact us at [email protected].

IMPORTANT DATES – when to submit tax organizers and upload tax documentation to Perpetual CPA Online Client Portal:

IRS generally begins processing tax returns at the end of January each year. We advise our tax clients to complete the tax organizers and upload tax documents for us as early in the tax season as possible. The sooner we prepare and file your tax return, the sooner you can get a refund if one is due. Additionally, with the proliferation of identity theft and fraudulent tax returns, it is a good practice to file tax returns as early in the season as possible, because the IRS will generally only accept the first e-filed tax return, whether fraudulently filed by identity thieves or a real one filed on your behalf.

For Individual Tax Returns: please submit tax organizers and upload tax documentation as early as January 20 and no later than March 31.

For Partnership and Corporation Tax Returns: please submit tax organizers and upload tax documentation as early January 20 and no later than February 28.

TAX EXTENSIONS:

Please NOTE – at the beginning of February, and as needed, PCPA will file “zero-tax-due” Tax Return Extensions for all onboarded tax clients. We do this as a precaution, in case any tax clients submit their tax information to us late. Any tax returns with tax information submitted after the dates outlined above, will be pushed out and completed after the April 15 tax deadline. Taxpayers may be subject to a penalty on any unpaid taxes due and interest related to any late filings.

Even with a tax return extension filed, taxpayers who owe taxes must pay them by the original tax return deadline or risk incurring late tax payment penalties and interest. Please contact us, if you know your tax information will be late and you will owe taxes to the IRS and State DOR. We will then prepare a custom Tax Return Extension voucher for you to mail your tax payments to IRS and/or State DOR.

STEP 5:

Once we receive your completed tax organizer and all applicable tax documents are uploaded to your folder in the client portal, your tax return file is added to our tax return preparation queue to wait for its turn.

Please NOTE: that the wait time between the date you submit your tax return organizes and tax documentation and the when we first review your tax file, can be as long as two weeks, especially closer to the tax deadline. Therefore, we recommend you to make sure you answer all of the tax organizer questions in full and upload all applicable tax documentation the first time, and as early in the process as possible.

Once we process your tax file and prepare your tax return and it is ready for your review and signature, we will email you an electronic invoice. Please pay the invoice online at your earliest convenience.

STEP 6:

Once we receive your payment on the invoice, we will send you, via Adobe Document Cloud, a secure link so you can review your finished tax return, ask any questions, and e-sign.

STEP 7:

If applicable, PCPA will then e-file your tax returns with the IRS and State DOR.

Please NOTE: In some cases, there may be a need to file local tax forms (City and/or County). We will prepare those forms, but may not be able to e-file them on your behalf, since most municipalities do not participate in the e-file program. In those cases, we will provide you with instructions and completed forms to either mail or file and pay directly online yourself.

STEP 8:

Once the IRS and the State accept your e-filed tax returns, we will prepare and upload for you to the Client Portal the Final Client Copy of your return, E-File confirmation Letter and any other applicable forms that require additional action (ex. signing, mailing, etc.). Lastly, we will email you very specific instructions for which files were uploaded to the portal for you and what to do with each file.

At that point, our tax engagement with you is complete. Thank you for your business and we look forward to working with you soon again.

FYI: Also, here’re a few links from our website that you may find useful later in the process: Perpetual CPA Online Client Portal

Client Information Forms

If at any point during this process you have any questions, please email us at [email protected].

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frequently asked questions

  • What Is A Virtual CFO & How Can It Transform My Business?
    • a. A Virtual CFO can be a much-needed sounding board, coach, and guide. Outsourced Virtual CFO is generally not just one person, but an experienced team of professionals providing a full-stack Accounting and Finance Department at a fraction of the cost that it would otherwise cost a business to hire even just one full-time CFO internally. The right virtual CFO service team, such as the one at Perpetual CPA, can deliver timely, detailed, comprehensive financial reporting, interpret the financial data, prioritize recommendations, give expert guidance on how to execute those recommendations, and ultimately give a better path to business success.
  • How can a Virtual Accounting Department help small businesses scale and grow?
    • a. A growing number of small businesses are opting to outsource services such as IT, human resources, or accounting. The benefit of a Virtual Accounting Department is that the company can reduce or increase services to accommodate current business needs. Because the service provider has multiple clients they can absorb fluctuations in workflow more easily than the average small/medium business can on its own.

      b. A Virtual Accounting Department can integrate with a company’s own accounting department to create a blended solution or provide a full-stack accounting department, including Accounting Staff, Manager, Controller, and Virtual CFO. By using a Virtual Accounting Department Small business owners don’t have to worry about hiring, training, figuring out compensation, and payroll compliance for the internal accounting team. Also as the business grows and new and more complex accounting and tax issues come up, the outsourced Virtual Accounting Department can provide all the needed expertise to facilitate continued business success.
  • What are the benefits of hiring a CPA firm?
    • a. Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) do a lot more than just crunch numbers and prepare taxes. They provide valuable expertise and strategies to help businesses and individuals achieve their business and financial goals. A CPA firm can help small businesses with management financial reporting, tax compliance, strategic business advice, and much more. Firms like Perpetual CPA, that specialize in helping small and medium-sized businesses achieve growth, can also provide Virtual CFO services, that help the business owners have the foresight into the short-term future cashflows and be able to more successfully navigate their business performance.
  • What are the best strategies for small business growth?
    • a. A business growth strategy is, simply, a plan of how a business gets from where it is today to where it wants to be in the future.

      b. Some of the questions to consider when coming up with a growth strategy are:
      i. Where will the business get new customers from?
      ii. How will the business expand into new markets?
      iii. What new products could the business offer?

      c. In reality, what happens with many small businesses, is that they generally achieve a specific level of business activity or sales and then the business growth trend flattens. In those cases, working with a firm like Perpetual CPA, which provides Virtual CFO services, can help small businesses avoid stagnation. Virtual CFO services, aside from providing timely accounting and tax reporting, can also provide valuable insight into the current performance of the business, as well as, foresight into the future cash flows for the business. Perpetual CPA Virtual CFO team helps small businesses interpret their financial information and come up with business strategies to help improve business performance and achieve growth.
  • What are the best strategies for small business risk management?
    • a. A risk management plan helps a business develop a detailed strategy to deal with certain risks that are particularly important for the businesses’ success.

      b. For many small and medium-sized businesses, the easiest way to develop and implement a business risk management plan is to work with a reputable CPA firm, such as Perpetual CPA. Large corporations invest a lot of resources and time into managing risk, which is a material factor that allows those large corporations to continue to generate billions of dollars in revenue every year. Small businesses, however, almost never manage any business risks, which is the major reason that over half of all the small businesses do not survive for more than 5 years. Generally, small business owners are not experienced corporate business professionals and lack the needed business knowledge, yet they often have to wear many hats while trying to get their businesses off the ground. In those situations, a CPA firm such as Perpetual CPA, can help small businesses better manage tax compliance risks, cash flow, internal controls, business administration, financial reporting, and much more.
  • What is Strategic Advisory and Virtual CFO? / How do Strategic Advisory and Virtual CFO services work?
    • a. When small businesses start spinning wheels, it is a good time to consider hiring a reputable CPA firm, such as Perpetual CPA, which can provide both Strategic Advice and Virtual CFO services.

      b. As a strategic advisor, the CPA firm will work with business management to improve the effectiveness and profitability of the business. They will look holistically at the business and find ways to operate the business more efficiently, increase customers through additional or improved marketing or improve customer touchpoints and service.

      c. As a Virtual CFO, the CPA firm is like a part-time version of a traditional CFO or Chief Financial Officer plus a full Accounting support team. They perform the tasks that in a larger organization would be performed by the CFO, Controller, and Accounting Staff such as preparing and overseeing the budget process, identifying and analyzing current and future trends, and developing strategies for the business growth.
  • How can timely financial visibility and management reporting help with better business decisions and growth?
    • a. A simple way to a successful business is to prioritize the timely financial visibility and management reporting as it means:
      i. Timely financial information and analysis are essential for making informed decisions, evaluating your company’s results, improving financial performance, and ensuring you are on the path to meet your strategic goals.
      ii. Management reporting is a source of business intelligence that helps business leaders make more accurate, data-driven decisions. But, these reports are most useful if they are available timely and the management receives proper interpretation of the business financial information.

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