Why You SHOULD Get Into Form 1040 Services w/ Trina Rozen

Summary

In this episode of Growing Your Firm, host David Cristello interviews Trina Rozen, owner of Trina Rozen CPA. They discuss various topics, including unique ways Trina has structured her firm, pricing strategies, making tax prep profitable, and her opinions on the coaching community. Trina shares insights on dealing with challenging clients and finding success as a solo practitioner in South Pasadena, California. Tune in for an entertaining and informative conversation.

What you’ll learn

In this episode, we talk about Trina’s experiences with tax preparation and running her firm. But we also dive into some of the following topics: 

• The benefits of offering 1040 tax services as a CPA
• Her approach to managing workload during tax season
• The importance of having a well-organized workflow process
• Dealing with weird returns and customer service challenges
• Acquiring and integrating firms 
• Considerations when buying CPA firms
• Using Jetpack for technology workflow
• Challenges of tax season and client organization

Guest Bio

Trina Rozen is a CPA and the owner of Trina Rozen CPA. She encourages listeners to connect with her and emphasizes the importance of efficient workflows, embracing specialization, and increasing profitability through efficient systems.

Detailed Synopsis

As we dive into the episode, Trina shares why tax preparation can be both enjoyable and profitable. 

Her and David discuss strategies to transform the perception of tax prep from a mundane and tedious task into a rewarding and engaging experience. 

They emphasize the importance of incorporating fun elements into the process, such as implementing unique workflows or approaches that add excitement and increase engagement. 

Trina also highlights the potential profitability of tax preparation when done correctly, citing margins of around 80% for 1040s. 

They challenge the notion that advisory services are the only solution for CPAs, emphasizing the numerous opportunities and benefits that still exist in tax preparation. 

By adopting a positive mindset and finding creative ways to make tax prep enjoyable, accountants can not only have fun but also achieve financial success in their practice.

During the episode, Trina also emphasizes the importance of having a superstar office manager for CPAs. This role involves handling paperwork and organizational tasks, allowing the CPA to focus on other aspects of their work. 

She asserts that every CPA needs an office manager to avoid being burdened with assembling or managing paperwork themselves.

The episode highlights the office manager’s exceptional organizational skills and responsiveness to client emails. Their ability to service clients by setting reminders, sending and requesting information is crucial in a CPA firm, ensuring efficient collection of client information and preventing the CPA from neglecting client requests. 

Recognizing that most CPAs dislike this type of work, Trina emphasizes the value of having an office manager who excels in these areas.

During the conversation, there is also a discussion on the usefulness of Jetpack Workflow as a tool for managing workflows and billing. Trina mentions that they initially used another tool called Aero Workflow but switched to Jetpack because it offered the necessary functionality. 

One key feature that Trina found valuable in Jetpack Workflow was the ability for her staff to bill within the tool, eliminating the need to log into QuickBooks online and manage timesheets separately. This feature allowed for more efficient time tracking and billing for clients. 

Trina also explains that they maintained a concise library of workflows, focusing on standard workflows for different tax forms, such as 1040 and 1120s. They only made modifications on a per-client basis when necessary. Overall, Jetpack Workflow greatly streamlined workflow management and billing processes for Trina’s firm.

Timestamps

[00:02:35] The greatness of 1040s.

[00:03:59] Pricing 1040 tax returns.

[00:09:33] Hiring a superstar office manager.

[00:11:07] Customer service-oriented superstars.

[00:17:30] Transitioning to a cloud-centric universe.

[00:19:06] Deal structure for retention.

[00:23:43] Chopping block and workflow.

[00:26:22] Tax prep can be fun.