TaxCoach Briefs:    October 29, 2009

Volume 4, Number 45

• Marketing Minute: Location, Location, Location
• Member Resource: Member Call-In With Ed & Keith
• Major Discount: CTC Dues Included with Press Club!
• Did You Know: Firm Logo and Photo
• Member Q & A: FICA for Kids

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MARKETING MINUTE (EAL)
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LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

I built my personal service practice primarily with real estate agents, so I definitely understand their expression, "location, location, location." Even in today's lousy real estate market, nothing matters more than a home's location when it comes to scoring top dollar.

Tax professionals worry about location too, when it comes time to choose office space. Some of us like a classy downtown feel, while others like cheaper suburban space. And more and more of you are choosing home offices -- then writing to ask us how to explain them to clients. Which is best?

As I write these words, Keith and I are in Tampa hosting our last Roundtable of the year. We've just finished the Thursday "basic session" day with 20 members from across the country. This really has been our most national audience yet. (At last year's Tampa Roundtable, our longest traveler came from Portland, Maine. At this year's event, our farthest traveler came from Portland, Oregon!) At one point, we put two of the participants on "hot seats" to discuss "location":

• One member from Oklahoma City told us how she had rented space in the city's most expensive neighborhood, Nichols Hills (an ironic name, considering that on the Oklahoma prarie, there isn't anything resembling a real hill for miles). She said that her upscale location helped screen clients, and signaled up front that her fees would be substantial.

• A second member from right here in Tampa told us how he had bought a house in a transitional neighborhood to fix and flip, then chosen instead to move in -- and keep his office there as well! He was originally uncomfortable about advertising his location -- but found that nobody complained, and clients really didn't care where he did his work.

• A third member from Orlando told us the best move he ever made was getting rid of the fancy office that he was killing himself to afford -- then discovering that clients never cared where he worked in the first place!

So, which member was "right"?

That's a trick question, of course. The answer is that all three are right. The key is making location "count" -- or making it not count, in the case of a home office -- is showing clients that their service is so valuable that it doesn't matter where they work.

Are you worried that clients will resent a beautiful office in an expensive part of town? Are you afraid they'll resent paying more so that you can afford it? Then make sure you deliver enough return on the fees they invest in your service that they forget all about your rent. If you can show a client you give them three dollars in tax savings for every dollar they invest in you, they'll wish they could give you more. They won't care how much of that fee goes to your landlord.

Are you worried that clients will scoff at your home office? Meet them out for breakfast, for lunch, or at their offices. Show them how much they'll waste in unnecessary taxes without your help. Show them how your service rescues those wasted dollars. Then dare them to take their business to one of the "final four" firms on the top floor of a local skyscraper!

TaxCoach Roundtables are always valuable presentations. Diana Little, of California, Maryland, said today that "attendance is mandatory if you want the practice you've dreamed of." But today's lesson was particularly valuable for those of you worried over "location, location, location." Once you understand that the real key is "value, value, value," you'll never worry about "location" again!

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MEMBER RESOURCE (KAV)
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MEMBER CALL-IN WITH ED AND KEITH

Hi down there! It's Wednesday afternoon, but Ed and I are currently headed to Tampa for the last Roundtable of 2009, in Row 21 aboard a Delta MD88. (Us oldtimers still like to call 'em DC9s!)

So, as you might imagine, there's no Member Call-In this week. But we're looking forward to getting back in the groove next week, and we hope you'll be able to join us on Wednesday, November 4, at 1pm Eastern. Check the Contact Us button within TaxCoach for registration and connection instructions.

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MAJOR DISCOUNT (KAV)
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CTC DUES INCLUDED WITH PRESS CLUB!

Last weekend in San Diego at the first Certified Tax Coach™ Academy, Ed made a little announcement of something that he and I had been mulling over since the introduction of the CTC program. We would like to offer to comp the monthly CTC dues for members of our Press Club program.

This means we will actually be writing a check to the AICTC each month for the $197 monthly dues for each member who's in both programs. But, we feel that both CTC and Press Club are implementing the TaxCoach method at such an elevated level, that the programs should work together for most people, and so one fee should offset the other.

So, once you're certifed in CTC, if you're active in the Press Club, there will be no additional charge for the monthly fee from the AICTC for the listing, traffic, CPE, and license to use the designation. Same if you enroll later in Press Club, and same if you're in the PC and enroll later in CTC — Ed and I will pick up the monthly CTC fee.

We think this makes sense for the true TaxCoach elite. And we want to thank you for your loyalty, both to TaxCoach and to Dominique and the AICTC.

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DID YOU KNOW . . . (KAV)
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FIRM LOGO AND PHOTO

. . . TaxCoach lets you upload your photo, your bio, and even your firm logo to customize your client tax plan reports?

You'll access these tools directly from TaxCoach's home page. Just sign in, and click the "Edit Planner Information" button in the blue area. That will take you to the Planner Info screen, where you'll find instructions for creating your bio sketch.

Now look on the right side on Planner Info. The blue button titled "Photo & Logo" takes you to the Upload screen, where you can browse your hard drive and upload graphics. Emblazon your logo on your report cover, and drop your photo alongside your bio sketch on the "About Your Planner" page of the report.

Ed and I realized that far too many of you are missing this golden opportunity to brand yourself and your reports. TaxCoach gives your clients great concepts and strategies for saving tax dollars. But the system's real job is to make you look like a hero. Don't underestimate the effect that adding your personalized graphics will have on your clients.

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MEMBER Q & A (KAV)
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FICA FOR KIDS

Normally, when TaxCoach members email questions on TaxCoach marketing or strategies, we refer them to the (almost) weekly Call-Ins for questions. But we occasionally receive ones that we can can answer quickly but which might also merit some elaboration to be useful to a broader audience. Time permitting, we're happy to do that, and reproduce those here.

Q: One of my clients hired her two teenage children to work at her office. Since she is a single member LLC no social security or medicare tax was withheld. This was a great deduction.

One of the children recently turned 16, and the payroll company said now they have to withhold SS and Medicare. I thought the age was 18, and your Real Estate power point also mentions it as 18. Can you tell me if 18 is right or if the payroll company is doing the right thing about age 16? Thank you for your assistance.

A: No, you are right, the age is 18.

Code Section 3121(b)(3) states that wages paid to a minor child employed in a parent's unincorporated business (including a partnership, if all interests are owned by the parents) are not subject to employment tax. The citation is in the TaxCoach module "Hire Your Family," in the Your Business section of the report.

This is exactly why we include the citations in the planning modules — they're not primarily for you, they're for people who don't believe you! Especially clients who may be uneasy that a bit of proactive tax planning that can be so lucrative for them may be somehow aggressive and crossing some line.

You are right that this can be a great strategy. The essence of good, proactive tax planning is to move expenses to where they are deductible, and revenues to where they can be taxed at the lowest rate. By hiring your family, you not only help build responsible adults out of your kids with jobs for them to do, you'll also take advantage of their inherently lower tax rate to build their savings faster in the process!

Because strategies like this one are so powerful, TaxCoach contains additional resources to help you put them in place for your clients, including an Implementation Guide. In the Forms & Templates folder within TaxCoach, you'll find the "Hire Your Kids" Guide which contains all the components you'll need to substantiate this strategy — including a step-by-step checklist of responsibilities to create the arrangement, an employment agreement for family members, sample record-keeping, and IRS forms.

Don't let fear or ignorance of the law keep you from demonstrating your value, and delivering real savings for your clients. You were right to ask the question!

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We're happy to answer your questions on TaxCoach content or features. (Save marketing and tax strategy questions for Member Call-Ins.) For best response, email support@taxcoachsoftware.com. If we think the answer will be useful to all of our members, we'll publish it (anonymously) here in the 'Member Q & A' section of TaxCoach Briefs.

Regards,

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