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Yes, that red line is gone now. When editing your post, quotes can be reliably clicked/dragged to move them around. When you hover over a quote, you'll see a little 4-arrow handle appear in the top-left corner of the quote. The editor has changed quite a bit under the hood; it feels less flaky, and is much faster to load. There used to be a bit of lag when adding a reply while waiting for the editor to load, and now it should be almost instantaneous. The difference is even more noticeable on mobile devices. I really like being able to highlight some text in a post, and quote it directly from there. Member mentions have been added... just type @ and follow with a few characters of a member name. Example: Thank you @JohnH for another donation

Thanks! I, um, happen to be a moderator of that subreddit, under my alter ego, quakerorts.

Eric is always looking for ways to make this a better forum. I saw this as an opportunity to show appreciation by clicking on the "Donations" button during this slow period of the year. Maybe others will take a similar view.

Alright, the latest forum update is finished, and you'll probably notice the change in the navigation at the top. If you're looking for unread topics and things like that, check out the Activity tab. All of that has been consolidated into a more powerful "Activity Streams" feature. There have been some changes to the editor too. Quoting selected text is a big one. There are a pile of other changes, so post here to me know if you have any questions. If you notice any weirdness immediately after the upgrade (specifically, the editor buttons have the wrong icons), make sure to clear your browser cache. In Chrome click the "Hamburger" icon at the top-right choose Settings click History on the left side click Clear browsing data... button uncheck everything but Cached images and files click Clear browsing data button In other browsers

I put notes like "OMG" or "PITA" in the file and it all comes back to me come time to charge at tax season. Actually, I keep pretty good notes of phone conversations, and put a hard copy of emails and text messages in the file. Then adjust fee upward. I don't explain why. No, I never overcharge, so nobody complains. I'm fine with that, too.

Those quote and edit functions are very nice and welcome changes. Once again, thanks for taking good care of us!

I agree with this 100%. There isn't a magical rule that says our fees should be equal for each client. Nice clients who ask lots of questions aren't charged at the same rate as jerky clients who ask a lot of questions. Everything is in perspective. My business is small enough to remember these things - if larger - just make a note on their return to remind you when you update the client list for the new tax season to charge $x more for X service.

I am currently sending them an Excel file that made up. I would prefer to send a fillable .pdf.

I'm doing more and more of what JohnH does. Used to think I needed the face-to-face interview, but learned that receiving the hard copy and having hard copy of what I told them (well, electronic but printable if needed) is really more important. I build a fee into my tax prep fee to cover those questions throughout the year. I do want them to contact me BEFORE they do something with tax consequences, so I try not to bill extra. I adjust their tax prep fee each year as I get to know their needs better. If I don't feel used, the fee stays the same. If I was feeling put upon during the year, next year's fee goes up. Sometimes I detail the reason, sometimes something vague like Bookkeeping or IRS inquiry or..., sometimes it's just less of a discount or I refer to some tax law change when I talk with them. But, I try to have only one bill per year so they feel like they are receiving service from me during the year as opposed to paying those 15-minute increments like their lawyer charges.

The best defense is a good offense. Deflecting nuisance calls & visits begins with getting them to use email and texting as their primary means of communication. If you don't start the process it usually won't get done. I get the client's email and/or text number (depending upon which they prefer to use), and I find a reason to initiate a communication with them using that method early on. Now they have me in their contact list, so the natural thing to do is send me an email or text when they have a question at some later date. I also tell them that I return phone calls within a day or two, but generally respond to texts & emails immediately. I'll reply to texts and emails after hours and weekends if it's convenient for me, but phone calls are generally during regular work hours only. That sets the expectation that they will get a reply faster, so they tend to migrate toward emails & texts as the primary means of communication. Sometimes my reply is simply "I'll look into that and get back to you", but that generally satisfies them that I'm on it. And if the question is so complex that I actually need to invest billable time in the answer, it's easy enough to tell them that in the reply. Very few questions are actually that complex. Getting clients to email and text also forces them to stick to the point and clarify their question. If not, my responses asking for clarification serve that purpose without my having to listen to them ramble. My philosophy revolves around the idea that I want to keep my clients out of my office and off my telephone so I can get some work done.

Glad to see MBjunket took jm's advice and has already received two responses on reddit. Nice response jmdaviscpa.