As a tax preparer (or a student learning to become one), your clients and potential clients depend on you to know the tax laws. Getting the basic knowledge down is just the first step towards becoming a well-seasoned tax professional. Once you have the basic knowledge, you must build on that base and begin learning to do more complicated tax returns.
When a client comes to you with a complicated return, they need to feel confident that you know what you are doing no matter what their situation. If you have been properly trained, and/or have gained a certificate like our Charted Tax Professional Certificate, you are more likely to assure potential clients that you can file their returns accurately. The more confidence a client has in your abilities as a tax professional, the more likely they will come back to you year after year, and recommend you to others.
Conversely, not knowing how to prepare more complicated returns will limit the clients you can obtain. This is not a position you want to be in as a tax preparer because clients with more complex returns will not be as price sensitive as other clients may be. They are more concerned with the tax preparer’s knowledge, accuracy, year-round service and guarantee. Once a client has found a tax preparer they are confident with, they are not likely to change preparers.
As a tax preparer, you really get to know your clients on a personal level as you gather information about their finances and certain aspects of their lives. In fact, the more complicated the return, the more information you will need to obtain from them. This is one of the many ways you begin to build a relationship with your client. This type of relationship will serve to build loyalty, trust, and even dependence.
To sum it up: the ability to prepare more complicated returns will help broaden your client base, give you and your clients more confidence in your abilities, help build stronger relationships and thus more loyalty with clients, and help you earn more money.
If you feel you need to expand your tax knowledge and are ready to learn to prepare more complicated returns, we suggest starting with our Advanced-I (individual) and Small Business-I (corporation & partnership) courses. From there you can expand to our Advanced-II and Small Business-II courses, and then on to become a Charted Tax Professional. Find out more about these courses here.