Catherine

Kea -- I'll take the Burns book. PM me (or I'll PM you) and we'll discuss. Catherine

Oooh -- that one is nasty! Unprotecting the form and then pasting saved my behind a couple of times last year with day-trader clients. I thought there was supposed to be an Excel import for Sch. D this year but I haven't looked at it yet.

I only do it for tax clients and add a small charge to their tax bill when we get there. Of course I tell them ahead of time when they first bring me the papers! I suppose if someone wanted just the aid forms I'd charge about $100 or more (depending on how complex). They're really nasty. I don't charge tax clients that much ($50 or so) because it's mainly a rehash of the stuff I need for their taxes anyway.

The line between bureaucratic inertia and outright tyranny can be exceedingly thin.

A friend who was a professional fundraiser for many years has been involved in quite a few direct mail campaigns. She always said a 1 - 2% response was pretty good -- but that's asking for money. I think for marketing it's a bit better. If you average about $250 per return, then six new clients puts you in the black for this campaign in terms of direct costs of the mailing. But a 3% return would get you 45 clients. Good luck!

Yeah.

I get good rates from Target Insurance Services (through the Hartford); they have a special tax preparer program. Don't know how they are on claims, as I haven't had any (and please God that it stays that way!).

A client of mine had this done (two eyes but separately) a couple of years ago. She said the most amazing part was how much more vivid the COLORS were. Had she known in advance, she would not have waited those extra couple of years! Did you find that true as well?

Hope the eye surgery goes very well and that recovery is very quick and painless!!

Hope you have a VERY :bday:

Now -that- is a nice route to take. Talk to the designer and take a couple of your wife's favorites so s/he can get a "flavor" of her style. Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

Hope you had a VERY :bday:

Gwen counted -- we had 213 ravioli. About a third of them got eaten for Christmas dinner and the rest are in the fridge slowly being enjoyed. It took several hours of hard work rolling dough, filling, shaping, cutting, setting out to dry -- and then boiling in batches. I should post a picture of the process and/or the final result. Yum!!

First, Congratulations!!!! Ten years is a nice milestone. (And a note to all the others -- no, I am -not- jealous.) To answer your question properly, how about a little more info on your lady wife? Think of the sparklies she already has, and likes, and wears frequently. Does she like/want/expect diamonds -- or does she prefer colored stones like rubies, sapphires, or emeralds? Is she the type who would prefer a smaller -flawless- stone with perfect color -- or does she want the ring equivalent of brass knuckles? A single eye-catcher, or a circle of matched stones? Does she like traditional styling or something a bit more modern or avant garde? A friend of mine who is a jeweler asks these questions (with a bit more subtle wording) when she has customers come in looking for anniversary presents. Let us know, and you'll get some specific advice. I suppose you could put a big bow around you, like a sash, but that's a bit difficult for her to wear, even if you actually are wrapped around her finger. Catherine

Merry Christmas to all!

<<<Grabbing a handful and another bottle of that root beer and watching with you -- we sure get some great shows here! Wonder if/when the sparks will fly...>>>

Hope you have a VERY

Hope you have a VERY on your beautiful island!

One of my clients keeps their old meeting records in the attic of one of the officer's homes. So next day would be the earliest they could pull them out. I'm just sayin'... ^_^

Hi Booger, and Merry Christmas to you and yours!! As of today, I am enjoying the holidays. All the gifts are boughten and/or completed (although a couple still need wrapping), the cards are all sended out, the decorations are up and behaving themselves (which means I've swapped out all the suction cup light hooks that were weak and falling for better ones). And the OIC that's been badgering me for too long is ready to mail out -- the client is coming Monday to sign forms, and he has promised that all the copies of all the supporting documents are ready in a folder. My daughters and I spent most of today making a -full- batch of the filling for the traditional Christmas ravioli, made to my great-grandmother's recipe (it needs to set at least overnight to develop the flavor fully). And I've discovered this is -way- easier to pull off with two mostly-grown girls. The last time we tried (a couple years ago) we made a half-batch and I was teaching as we went along. The time before that I was working all on my own while trying to keep both eyes on two very active little girls. That was not fun. When I was a kid, we did this for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter every year -- with two grandparents and two grandchildren busy as beavers with preparation for two days straight. This year, Gwen's boyfriend's family (5 of them) are coming for Christmas dinner, and so we also have the promise of ravioli making assistance on the day itself from a strapping 17-year-old young man. (This is also why we went for the full-batch recipe with five pounds of riced potatoes, one pound of ricotta, another pound of fresh-grated (with the big grater my grandfather made by hand) Parmesan cheese, and all the rest -- lots of people coming to EAT!) My husband has made me a new maple pasta board and a new clamping system for the pasta roller machine. Doug is off picking up the porchetta roast, my older girl (Fiona) has gone off to buy a few last-minute gifts, and Gwen (who did -lots- of cooking with me today) is tuckered out and napping on the sofa. I am a very happy Catherine right now. :wub:

That quote is so true. The world would be a better place if those who purport to worship Christ would pay more attention to acting as He taught people to act.

It is well-deserved, KC! Thank you!!

I have never been given a QB file that was clean enough to attempt the import. However, if the file is from one of your accounting clients, you know the file is in good shape, and you've made any adjustments beforehand, you can give it a try. I believe there are some things that don't transfer.

CONGRATULATIONS, TAXBILLY!!!! What a great milestone for you. Thank you so much for all your posts, filled with advice, assistance, and friendship! Catherine

Thanks, Taxbilly -- I had just checked it on the IRS site. Should have done that in the first place, but I've been doing 17 things at once when I -know- my limit is 9. Ah, the holidays -- such a -restful- time of year! :blush: