All Activity

I like to say, "I have easier ways to hurt myself!" and Eric has (or had?) a GIF for us on that exact topic.

I have one couple who share an email, and I send to them twice - once for him, and once for her. I suppose in theory one could sign in both spots, but for that you'd have to know the clients, I guess. I had emails in the workspace sent by each of them (signed by name; different 'voices'), and so knew both were on board and spoke with each other about the returns regularly. If it was a couple where I had contact, mostly, with only one of them, I might be chary of using a single email address.

Good point about the bot activity. In which case, caching the site makes a lot of sense.

Both good points. Even in a situation where the site is cached for logged out users, the TTL would be set to a low value, likely to an hour or less, so they would still see almost all of the most recent content. Then, after that period of time, the cache expires and the next hit generates a fresh copy. It would go a long way to dealing with all of the bot activity that the site sees. Every hit from one of those bots is processed like any other, which generates multiple database queries. Serving them a static file would be tremendously more efficient. In any case, I'll know more once the move is complete, and I've had time to work on the server/software configuration for a little while. There's a reasonable chance we'll be able to get away without the caching layer at all.

The site does have the option to stay logged in, and stays that way until the user clears browsing history unless leaving cookies intact. I'm logged in almost all the time. The site also has the ability for a user to log in anonymously too and stay that way.

That might make sense, except that some regular users probably check the site without logging in just to see if there is anything new that might be interesting.

You're very welcome. I feel like people should be donating to Judy instead, as she's got more to do with keeping this place running smoothly than I do. I doubt there will be any significant change in cost--instead of one powerful/expensive server, I'll have all my sites broken up into multiple smaller, less expensive virtual machines. We'll see how the first few days go. Because the whole site is dynamic, I can't get away with leaning on caching as much as I do with your average static website. E-Commerce sites are similar in that way. It'll be interesting to see the CPU/RAM required to run the site when it has its own dedicated resources to work with. If resource use seems excessive even after tuning, I may entertain caching the site for guests (those who aren't logged in) so that content might be outdated by an hour or two unless you log in.

When I first began using it, two email addresses were required but that changed recently. I still use 2 to be sure each has all the access and information. Except for one client couple who share a single email address and account. It is possible to change the name. Verifyle also offers 2FA is you choose to use it. I do not as I know all of my clients.

Thanks everyone. My client is Old Order Amish so no drivers license to change. The property was under contract prior to the time the physical move was made. It just did not close until after the move. The farm was actually split into two tracts when sold - one was unimproved farmland and the other was the sawmill and the house and lot. The house was built on the property after original acquisition in 2010 so figuring the exclusion for principal residence was not too difficult. I will talk to the client to see if residency in WI was fully established by the date the closing occurred or if there was still a lot of going back and forth at that point. Thanks for your input.

yesterday Catherine White EA was the presenter for Tax Practice Pro, a c.e. provider. Her presentation was a case study of what happens when a client changes tax professional, and issues with prior years are discovered by the new tax pro. Kudos to Catherine on a well developed and perfectly presented class.

After reading all that, for one of my biz clients similar to my example, from what I've seen of them in action, I'd say the H&W are but the kids are not. In another one of my biz clients, I'd say all four are. In both cases, I think the one with the ownership interest would disagree with me (for different reasons in each case). So, I really don't want to be involved in these filings. Less and less the more I read. I'm sticking to tax!

That's covered on the FinCEN site's BOI page of FAQs. See section D. https://www.fincen.gov/boi-faqs#D_5

I wasn't asking if the preparer must send two emails. Based on what Margaret said here: ...what I meant was, for example, must each party signing the 8879 have his or her own separate email address.

I did get a renewal notice from Drake, with different options. I'll be looking at them soon. Still recovering from bronchitis.

As long as they are in a Workspace thread with both people, you set up the two signers. It goes to #1, automatically to #2, then back to you once signed.

What is substantial control? For example, husband owns 80%, wife 20%, adult son 0% but VP of marketing, and high school daughter 0% but VP of finance. Both H & W are the producers of the local TV shows as well as being the on-air talent. Does only husband report? Or, some combination of 2, 3, or all 4? Would it matter if the responsibilities stayed the same, but the "kids" didn't have VP titles? Is there a difference between the kid that's over 18 and the kid that under 18? I guess I have to go read the details at the website! Thanx, Lynn, for your post. That's what I'll send my clients, with the website in large font, bolded, and highlighted.

How do your clients verify their identity before going to the signature lines in Verifyle? I use CCH eSign for signatures. I use FileShare that already included as a part of my CCH SiteBuilder website. See if your tax software or website or phone provider or other vendor you already pay for has what you need included or as a bundled (i.e. low cost) option.

Well that was my point. She is not a full time student. But SHE can get the AOC herself.

Does a form requring 2 signatures need to have two separate emails?

I'm not Lynn EA but can answer. I upload the client copy of the returns, pdf. I then upload what I call the signature pages, beginning with 8879. The signer(s) are part of the portal with their email address originally entered as a client. The software prompts me to determine if I want to add signatures. For the client copies, no, but I click Yes for the signature pages. All is then uploaded for client access and I am prompted to indicate which signer is to sign first, i.e., taxpayer. I scroll to the signature line and highlight it. Then highlight the date line. I also highlight for initials the bank information and selection for payment or refund. At the end, I am prompted for the next signer, if there is another. Repeat the process, review if desired, send. The clients receive an email (each one) and are directed to the highlighted spaces to accept/enter. When the first signer is finished, an email is sent to the next one. I am notified at every step. A few of the folks were reluctant until I or someone explained it's similar to the now ubiquitous signing pads everywhere. I think you can try it out.

Can you walk me through the process a client has to go through to sign electronically through that application? I am finding more and more of my clients cannot print, sign, scan and upload back to me their 8879s. I want something cheap and easy that does not sell their personal information to the highest bidder. Tom Longview, TX

Thanks Lynn and Margaret. Sounds very interesting. I will certainly checked them out.

Verifyle is only $9 per month if you are not with one of those organizations. I have been using it for 3 or 4 years and am very pleased with the service and responsiveness to my questions at the outset. I use workspaces, one for each year, and request that all client communication be managed there. That way I can keep messages for each client in one place. At the end of the season, I copy the message string to my client file for each one for each year, just in case.

Thanks Randall for your comments. Those are some good thoughts. I am a numbers guy, and I do like to do payroll. What I hate is paying an overpriced service a ton of money for the pleasure. I understand it costs money to breathe, but not that much. Thanks!

I'm not doing it for clients either. I'm waiting to see if they change the requirement. Otherwise, I'll let them know about it and send them to a website for info.