My updated Word file of checklists is now available. There are 178 checklists for tax season, practice management and personal tips, plus a Getting Your Affairs in Order Tool Kit with 27 additional checklists. The total is 205 checklists on 370 pages in usable searchable Word format. The page count is 50 pages higher than last year. They have all been updated for the upcoming 2024 tax season.
I am certainly nutsy with checklists. When I have a new situation I usually plan the assignment with a checklist of what I think needs to be done. It also helps me scope the engagement and arrive at a reasonable fixed fee when also considering the value to the client. This doesn't just apply to business, as I also have checklists when I pack for a trip or am the host of my weekly card game. For business, a detailed checklist helps me prepare the proposal and to frame it in terms so the client becomes aware of the entire project and not just the end result. It is the end result that they are paying for, but they also need to cover the costs of all of the work to get there. Once this is done, I now have a template for similar engagements. I do spend more time planning new projects, but that is offset by a more realistic fee and much less time proposing similar future engagements from other clients.
I write a lot about what I did, and still do, and some people contact me wondering why I do what looks like so much extra work and how it's cost-effective. My response is that everything I did was when I was trying to build a practice, get clients, train staff and make a living and spend time with my family. I figured out early on that deliberate planning, carefully scoping a job and setting up systems and checklists made me richer in the long run than shortcutting to get to the end result. What I did worked and works for me, and I am sharing it with this checklist file for my colleagues.
The 35 new checklists cover these topics and many more:
- Tax return review methods and ways to stop wasting reviewer time;
- A getting started guide with artificial intelligence checklist;
- A checklist to use with clients that decline to engage us for an essential service they really need;
- I added my 1/20th Tax Client Marketing Rule checklist to the file;
- Many are about client services and helpful checklists when advising clients;
- Many include ways to increase staff productivity and train, manage and evaluate staff (there cannot be too many of these);
- How to be a better boss and provide staff what they need and want, and what staff you should definitely not allow to work for you;
- A few sample letters, including why a current will is necessary with a checklist how the client could get started; and,
- Some checklists when preparing for a CPA firm merger or dealing with buy-sell agreements with partners and an owner or partner self-coaching checklist.
I also have auditing and bankruptcy checklists and some for colleagues in private industry. What I do, and suggest, is to print out the six-page checklist listing and keep it handy. When I have a new situation, I look over the listing to see if there is a checklist that could help me and then I go to the Word file.
The file is free and you can easily download it from
Every one of the 205 checklists have been used by me, so they are field-tested, and I know they work and are useful.
Enjoy!
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