bay Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 After I have completed a client's tax return -my secretary calls to see if they want to pick up their copy of the return and their original source documents. This year more clients (even those that are close with 5 mile radius in my suburb) are saying drop it in the mail. I am thinking of tacking on a $5 fee on top of my tax prep fee for "mailing fee" Does anyone out there do this? Again thank you in advance for your comments Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnH Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 I do everything I can to keep my clients out of my office, so I gladly pay the postage to mail the return to them. It's already built into my fees and I wouldn't want to attract any attention by having a seaprate charge. I'll cover $3 - $5 in stamps to avoid having to tallk with them about their kids, the weather, the rebate, follow-up questions, etc. Not that I don't care about these things, but not at this time of year, please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HV Ken Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 We charge $5 for postage & handling. It takes additional time to package it up, drive to the post office, purchase the postage, etc. Never have had a complaint for doing this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfling Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 We also include mailing into the fees. For the most part, we charge by the form. But not everyone is charged the same price for the same form since some generate more work than others. Someone with 8 W2s is charged more than a person with just one. Unless folks would happen to bump into each other and compare line-by-line, document-by-document what they paid us they aren't aware of the built in mailing fees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joelgilb Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 I decided not to add the postage but have increased their fees slighty each year (5%) to cover things like this. Clients get to pissed off at little things like extra charges for postage, but don't seem to mind a cost of living bump. Also, since you are no longer sitting in the typical 1 to 2 hour appointment you can probably do their return in 1/2 to 1/4 of the time and get 2 to 4 more returns in the same time frame. Now isn't that a better answer than charging them for shipping, either losing the client or getting the to push you into an appointment next year? Joel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcb39 Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 I also build it in. I send them all flat rate Priority just as an added precaution. There get to be more and more every year, which is fine with me. I have not seen some of my clients for years. They mail the return; then either email or fax them the 8879. Hopefully they send a check and I file and mail them their copy of the return. Unfortunately, there are still many who think that I am their best friend, counselor, grief therapist and/or solver of all problems big and small. I do willingly spend a lot of time with these people as they are the ones who pay my wages; but do, also, welcome the mail-ins who are generally people who are as busy as I am or live out of town or out of State. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnH Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 Well said Marilyn. I try not to be their best friend, counselor, etc, but (as you said) the ones who use the mail presumably make it possible to spend a little more time with the ones who seem to need that. I'll say one more thing about the ancillary charges. Some people accept them, but others will want to come by and pick up the return "to save the postage", or worse yet they will form a negative opinion over being nickeld and dimed . They may not compalin, but the attitude will be there. My own story - I normally take my car to a client's shop for routine maintenance, but once a year I take it to the dealer just to keep on track in case there's a warranty issue. I took the car to the dealer last week for an oil change, wiper blades, etc. I expect to pay more at the dealer and wasn't surprised at the $80+ bill for a job that my mechanic will charge $40 - $50 to do. But what really got under my skin was the 49 cent "Document/Forms" fee. The cheapskates are charging me a separate fee to prepare my invoice! I can afford the 49 cents and I paid it without complaining, but I walked away with a higher level of distrust and disdain for car dealers. And next time I buy a car I'll walk into their office with that same attitude still intact. I don't want my clients thinking of me in the same manner that I think of the car dealer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catax Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 I really like to mail the returns to my clients. It keeps them out of my office for the second time. Gives me more time for preparing other returns. I send the 8879 form with the package and request that they return with a check. I email when I have the 8879 form and payment. This also helps me to track being paid better. I include the postage in the flat fee. I do not itemize it. This year I purchased a Dymo Twin Turbo Label printing machine. It was my Christmas present to myself. I have saved all my trips to the post office because I can print my own postage. I know you can do this with other software but the hassle of trying to print on label sheets and envelopes is not for me. In years past I would try to buy the right stamps to keep on hand only to put lots of extra postage on most of the envelopes. The twin printer alows you to load in two rolls of labels and keep them loaded. Anytime I want to print a address label or a stamp it is all ready to go. There is no monthly fee to purchase postage like with Stamps.com etc. The postage comes from Endicia. The other thing that is really neat is that you can purchase an computerized scale to go with it and you just place your envelope on the scale and hit weigh and the dollar amount for the postage pops up on my computer screen all I have to do is hit print and the stamp prints. It also comes in very handy for printing address labels for out of state returns or for address labels of any kind. I am very happy with it and use it most every day. You can find the Dymo Duo Mailing system(includes scale) on ebay for about $125. It costs about $200 in the stores. This is a great time saving device for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack from Ohio Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 I really like to mail the returns to my clients... ...There is no monthly fee to purchase postage like with Stamps.com etc. The postage comes from Endicia. I just checked Endicia on the web, and the have a monthly charge just like Stamps.com??? http://www.endicia.com/Products/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catax Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 I just checked Endicia on the web, and the have a monthly charge just like Stamps.com??? http://www.endicia.com/Products/ That is not the case when you buy the Dymo Printer. Look up the printer and you will find the specs and info regarding no monthly fee when the printer is purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joelgilb Posted February 23, 2008 Report Share Posted February 23, 2008 ... Unfortunately, there are still many who think that I am their best friend, counselor, grief therapist and/or solver of all problems big and small. I do willingly spend a lot of time with these people as they are the ones who pay my wages; but do, also, welcome the mail-ins who are generally people who are as busy as I am or live out of town or out of State... Just a comment regarding your clients thinking you are their "Best Friend, etc.". As an attorney, I routinely give advice to CPA's and other professions regarding malpractice issues. Best advice (I once taught this seminar to CPA's) is to make your clients your friends. Then when and if they get mad at you and think, even if you did not do it, that you have committed malpractice, they are more likely to yell at you and stop using you, but not sue you. Time and time again I get new clients that think that they were the friend of their former tax accountant and tell me things like .. "Well I could have sued him, but he was my friend for years, so I just decided not to use him anymore..." Protect yourself and be their friend, it works more often than you would think. From one that has sued accountants for malpractice. Sorry everyone, it is part of what I do for a living. Joel CPA JD Attorney at Law Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdmcfarland Posted February 23, 2008 Report Share Posted February 23, 2008 That is not the case when you buy the Dymo Printer. Look up the printer and you will find the specs and info regarding no monthly fee when the printer is purchase. I just checked the site and it looks like you get one year free Endicia service with purchase of the Dymo printer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joelgilb Posted February 23, 2008 Report Share Posted February 23, 2008 Can't do insurance, certified mail delivery confirmations though with the Dymo. Joel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcjenkins Posted February 25, 2008 Report Share Posted February 25, 2008 You can do insurance, certified delivery confirmations, etc, with Stamps.com, you just have to print those to your regular printer. You can also print postage directly on envelopes using the printer, which is neat when you are mailing in a return, and want to provide a nice package that includes an addressed and postage-applied envelope, so that they can sign the return, put it in the envelope, and drop in any mail box on their way home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joelgilb Posted February 29, 2008 Report Share Posted February 29, 2008 You can do insurance, certified delivery confirmations, etc, with Stamps.com, you just have to print those to your regular printer. You can also print postage directly on envelopes using the printer, which is neat when you are mailing in a return, and want to provide a nice package that includes an addressed and postage-applied envelope, so that they can sign the return, put it in the envelope, and drop in any mail box on their way home. KC, you are correct regarding Stamps.com or Endica and you can get this from the service I use also, Pitney Bowes Shipstream. With the Dymo and the free Endicia this is not available though. Have to purchase a plan with the Dymo. Downside to Shipstream is you can print postage but not plain old stamps! Anyone know a way to print stamps without a contract? USPS maybe? Joel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.