The holiday season is almost upon us, which means tax season is around the corner. Are you prepping 
employees and staff for the upcoming season? There’s a lot to prepare for – especially if you have a staff! You may think you have plenty of time to prepare, but the holidays go by so quickly it will be January before you know it. To help get your staff ready for the upcoming season, we’ve prepared a checklist of items you should be planning for.
Staffing Par Levels Set and Hiring in Process
For those who are not completely staffed, it takes a bit to find the perfect fit – especially if you’re planning to train new hires to prepare taxes. We’ve found that hiring people with great people skills and personalities and training them to prepare taxes is the best way to hire new tax preparers.
Download our free Whitepaper: Free Guide To Recruit and Train Tax Preparers
All Continuing Education Courses Completed
All tax preparers are required to complete a certain number of Continuing Education Classes each year. Make sure all of your current tax preparers have either already completed, signed-up for or are currently taking the required classes.
5 Must Take CE Courses for the Upcoming Season
AFSP Record of Completion
All of your tax preparers should complete the Annual Filing Season Program by December to ensure that they are on the IRS Database of Credentialed Tax Preparers.
Meet to Discuss Customer Feedback
If you sent out Customer Satisfaction Survey after last season, you’ll want to review these for strengths and weaknesses so that you can improve upon your efforts and increase your level of customer service. All of your preparers should be engaged in this conversation.
Operations and Employee Handbooks Up-To-Date
Review your Operations Manual and Employee Handbook for needed changes and make sure all staff is aware of the changes. Don’t have one? Check out ours.
Up to Speed on New Tax Laws
As you know, the tax season laws change from year to year. You’ll want to make sure all preparers have been updated on the new law.
Read: Recent Changes to the Tax Code You Should Know About
Networking and Speaking engagements
Being the owner doesn’t mean you’re the only one who can speak or network. You should encourage your preparers to do the same. Have them reach out to contacts or clients that are part of other organizations to see if there are any opportunities for speaking engagements. You should also take a look at networking opportunities from now until tax season and put together a calendar.
LinkedIn Profile
Are all of your preparers on LinkedIn? How do their profiles look? Filled out? Professional? Now is a good time to audit their profiles to ensure that they are maximizing LinkedIn.
Here’s a great resource for using LinkedIn as a tax preparer: How To Use LinkedIn As A Tax Preparer
Tools to do the job
You want to make sure everyone on your staff has the tools they need to job their job efficiently and effectively. These tools include user-friendly, comprehensive tax professional software, up-to date computers with dual monitors, plus a reliable printer, copier and scanner. Don’t forget all the small desk accessories and Internet access to all tax reference sources.
Do you have a lot to do to ready yourself for tax season? Tell us what’s on your to-do list!
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Hiring and Training Tax Preparers for the Upcoming Season