If you’re in tax law, you know that October 15 is the federal extended income tax deadline. Taxpayers who requested an extension of their April filing deadline are now down to the wire
In other words, your tax law firm may be seeing a rush of intake calls right now, from people desperate to get these filings off, make sure they’re handled correctly, and keep themselves out of further trouble with the IRS. All noble goals!
So how can your firm make use of this influx of work? It’s a once-a-year opportunity to put your skills to excellent use, take on some more cases, and earn a bit more ahead of next year’s tax season. Let’s break down what to do, the possible obstacles in your way, and the steps that can help you profit within the weeks ahead.
If you’re a smaller tax firm, you know the main thing holding back new work isn’t your skillset, determination, or talent. Instead, it’s your bandwidth. Not your caseload, necessarily. The amount of time you have right now to take on the maximum work possible.
Because in between actively advising October clients, you likely have a mountain of other, smaller tasks that will still need to be done. Filing to handle. Documents that need to be drafted. Transcripts that still need to be requested from the IRS. Or updating client information, such as changes to their address.
None of this work is unimportant, but it still chews into your week. You glance up at the clock, realize it’s already 3 pm, and feel like you’ve gotten hardly anything accomplished. And you’ve just received three new intake calls today. Do you have the time to take those clients on? Without the right support systems in place, it’s unlikely.
That means those potential clients will wait all of 24 hours before calling the Big Tax Firm across town. The one that’s always on TV and will just delegate that case to a junior lawyer. That’s not the low-bar level of service you offer, but there’s no way to snag that client if you simply can’t find the time to bring them on.
Here’s how an ILA from DocketWorks can be truly helpful.
Getting those extra tasks off of your desk is the first step in bringing on more of those October clients. Clear your desk, clear large swaths of your workweek’s schedule. Take on more tax clients, earn more money.
Let an ILA help.
Your ILA is a fellow attorney who comes trained in American tax law and the tax laws in your specific state. They’re ready to learn, thin out the list of tasks you have to get done, and help you save 10 to 40 hours per week. Your ILA can handle…
With an ILA on your team, you’re saving valuable time, making your week far more efficient, and now have the time (and mental focus) to take on more clients, do excellent work, and capture back some revenue from the Big Tax Firm.
Each client can get extra, tailored attention now. And you’re free to work far quicker, helping clients meet those tight deadlines, alleviating their fears, and allowing them to stay out of further legal trouble. Every skill you have can now get to work at maximum efficiency.
That personable, small-firm approach to tax law that handles their case before October 15th? That gets talked about. Word of mouth still does an incredible amount of heavy lifting for firms just like yours.
All in all? You just saved ten more clients’ tax year, all because you gave yourself the bandwidth to work at your best, cleared away those extra tasks, and hired someone you can delegate to simply, effectively, and on your own schedule.
Q: Why is the October 15th deadline so important for tax law firms?
A: October 15th marks the last day that taxpayers who requested and received an extension to the April deadline can file without being late and suffering a failure-to-file penalty. This makes it an important date for tax firms looking to be of help to more clients during an otherwise slower part of the year.
Q: Why do many smaller or solo firms struggle to connect with these potential clients?
A: A smaller or solo firm that’s handling most of the office’s administrative tasks may not have the time to take on as many October clients as they otherwise could. Competition from larger firms with more marketing power can also steal many of these clients before you have a chance to call them back.
Q: How can an ILA help smaller and solo firms make use of the October 15th deadline?
A: An ILA can help you handle those smaller, administrative tasks that eat into your time and keep you overly busy. This frees up hours per week, allowing you to help even more of these October clients as well as provide attentive, high-quality service that puts larger, anonymous firms to shame.
October 15th isn’t that far away. For quality, impactful help making use of every deadline, extension, and opportunity to reach new clients, you need a support system that works for you. Delegate, review the work, and keep things running optimally year-round.
You have so much more to offer than the Big Tax Firms downtown. Let clients see how much you can do for them, one filing at a time.
Interested in learning how an ILA can help this October and year-round? Reach out to Parke Parker for a Discovery Call today.
Grace Singh is a writer and editor for DocketWorks. She enjoys bridging services and client needs in ways that are meaningful, memorable, and human-focused, even as technology continues to change. When she’s not at her home office, she enjoys nature walks, reading, and brewing coffee.