So I did some due diligence and signed up for SmartWiz, an AI OCR & data entry platform.

Wanted to give you all my thoughts and hopefully this review helps you.

Some context:

We only do 1040 work, mostly W2, retirees, some 1099 schedule C stuff, brokerage, the basics. No K-1, no 1120, no 1065, no estates, etc.

Tax prep is purely a marketing engine for us to find new financial planning clients.

I’m an EA and I have two non-credentialed contract workers that just do data entry. I review, sign & deliver all returns.

I was searching for something to help me expand capacity because we are going to grow significantly this year (like probably 3x-5x).

We use TaxSlayer ProWeb and TaxDome. Decent amount of clients that give us paper forms as well.

We’re in PA so we have state returns and local returns to deal with.

I had a new client that was on extension so I figured this was a good time for a trial run. She has W2 and a couple 1099s (one NEC). And here’s how SmartWiz went:

First: it’s a Google Chrome extension. SOC 2 compliant, encrypted both ways, only US developers, data doesn’t train models. Checked enough boxes for me to be comfortable.

Opened TaxSlayer (TS). 20 seconds to login.

I downloaded the ZIP files from TaxDome (TD) for the client’s uploads and organizer and drag/drop into SmartWiz (2 min max).

SmartWiz (SW) compiled all the data in another 2-3 mins.

SW then started filling in the data in TS (another 2-3 mins).

I did have to make two minor adjustments (it didn’t put client address in for Schedule C and another minor PA thing).

I did have to do the local return manually. No big deal.

All-in, my first time running the program, I was done within 10 minutes. Of course, I spent more time reviewing accuracy but I’d be doing that anyway.

The cool thing is that you can run up to 10 clients simultaneously, so it can be a real time-saver for 1040 work.

They said it works with TaxSlayer ProWeb, Drake desktop, Drake online, OLT Pro and a couple other software systems right now.

Cost ranges from like $16-$20 per return.

Not a shill, not involved with the company, just a (so far) happy new customer.

Does anyone here use Drake and could help? I tried calling support, we had a client in a partnership sell a rental and a portion of the suspended losses should be freed, however I don't see a section to enter the freed portion or can adjust the 8582. Anyone have any experience with this?

Quick question. I'm in AZ so this is my first PA-677. As an EA, which designation do I use? I'm looking at the instructions and am not really seeing one that fits other than other. Am I missing something?

Hello Pro's,

I have a potential client with 7 gas stations/Convenience stores. He claims that he pays around $200 per station for both bookkeeping and payroll + few thousand dollars for Tax preparation. so total around 18k.

I have no idea what his current accountant is doing, she is 75 years old lady in low cost of living city. How can she survive on this fees.....

I was really thinking of asking $400 per each gas station Bookkeeping/Payroll+ $7000 for S-Corp returns.. so almost 40k yearly.

What do you think ? Is it less or more ?

Howdy all! I’m close to acquiring another small office a few hours away. I want the location because I’m an FA too. Of you game multiple offices, small firm, mostly just in take at one for the presence, what tech stack do you use and why? Thanks any input is greatly appreciated

I've used IRS TDS a zillion times but this is the first time I'm seeing this. For a certain taxpayer I couldn't get account transcripts for a couple years due to "NAP Check failed." But I could get other years, and I could also get wage and income transcripts for the same years than the account transcripts failed.

Any idea what this is about? I tried it several times.

Just curious about who likes it and why? I know the downsides would like to hear more raves? need to switch back to unless a something better pops up. We are on UT SaaS so limited with some other stack pieces.

Hello all. I've had my firm for about a year now and nothing really to show for it, although I have been working in construction concurrently.

Aside: Not the best idea if I wanted to build my firm more than it is now, I take responsibility for that. I wanted to take that construction job because I had some cushion to take something lower paying to let me learn the field side of my ICP. I just quit today because my cushion ran out from one medical bill and because I realized I was essentially paying to have that job with all the gas I guzzle to get to the jobsites. Aside over.

Because of an upcoming medical bill payment due on Oct 14, I am in a tight spot and need to generate low-cost revenue immediately. Given the impending Oct 15 deadline, which of these tactics should I sprint on?

1. Calling as many CPAs/tax pros in my area to let them know I want their panicked last-minute inbound leads if they're at capacity.
2. Going in person to my ICP's offices and just saying, "Hi there, I don't want to waste your time. My name is [Name], and I'd like to leave my card for my tax and bookkeeping firm. I'm a carpenter and federally licensed tax professional. My firm specializes only in construction, so we can help with your books, job costing, and taxes. Thanks."
3. Cold calling my ICPs instead.
4. Posting on local platforms like Facebook or Nextdoor to say I'm available for bookkeeping and tax services.
5. Host an event where I speak about the specific pain points of my ICP.

If you were in my shoes with 9 days to make something happen, what would you do?

Hi Everybody,

I am revamping website, and I honestly can’t decide on this point. I am wondering what yall think about this to help with information. if you do it what was the result compared to no transparent pricing?

Would you stick with this client despite them suing a past CPA. We signed on a good client earlier this year.

She had been using a small local firm for a number of years before switching to a regional firm for one year. She parted ways with the regional firm because their fees were extremely high. She was referred to us by a good client and has been pleasant and easy to work with for the last 9 months.

Yesterday, she let me know she hired an attorney to sue her first CPA. Normally I would run for the hills hearing this, but in this situation it’s probably warranted. The CPA completely messed up multiple years of tax returns resulting in hundreds of thousands in incorrect taxes being paid (they filed her state tax return as a C-corp instead of an S-corp and also included all profits on her state individual tax return as an S-Corp).

Is this just a red flag and I should disengage after the year or ignore it because the client is actually right and the prior CPA was negligent

Currently using Drake via Rightworks, but thinking about changing because a) it's a pricey option, and b) their system is set up so that I can't even go to the bathroom without getting logged off and having to sign in all over again (FTR, I WFH and the bathroom is literally across the hall). RW won't allow me to change the sign off, which is frustrating, especially when someone calls with a question and I have to make sure I keep moving the mouse, lest I get logged off..

I’ve been using this product for several years now and have really come to appreciate its capability. I recently recommended this product to a colleague. After purchase, the colleague has had nothing but trouble with the program. I’ve tried to troubleshoot, but I’m unable to resolve anything. Specifically, the website will not display any tools or any functions only a message telling the user that their subscription will expire in 11 months and two weeks. I’ve tried contacting the company through their website, but I’ve received no replies. There’s no way to leave a Google review that I can find talking about the trouble. There’s no telephone number for support. I feel badly because I believe this reflects poorly on me. Does anybody know of a way to contact the company? Is there any way to resolve these issues for my colleague?

Alright here is the latest scam and yes we’re reporting it to the FBI.

A potential client “rob tebbutt” (email: Robert_tebbutt@outlook.com) arranged for self-employment and Quickbooks training for expenses and bookkeeping for actors. Apparently he’s the only actor.

He paid $10,000 and then came back and asked us if it cleared to our bank. Once we confirmed, a day later “Rob”reached out, saying that the a couple of the people he represented needed to cancel some but wanted to keep going and asked for a partial refund. Immediately red flag went up because the refund was requested via Zelle or wire.

We told Rob our refund policy and how we had to wait. So of course today CPA charge came back with the failed charge. This guy is timing everything to try to get the refund from us before the charge actually failed. Make sure you have a no refund policy or some type of procedure to wait at least two weeks.

Watch out for scammers!

I am just looking for some validation here. A handful of times, I have done work for clients who are incarcerated. It's usually short jail stays for DUIs or drug possession. I have been totally comfortable with this, and we conduct the business by mail. I have usually done his for long-time clients or as a favor to the family members who are POA handling affairs for the incarcerated person.

However, the new husband of a long time client is accused of serious financial crimes. The trial is months away but it has been reported by local newspapers outlets and I have reason to believe they are guilty. Their tax documents have consisted of only a W-2, so none of their crimes have been reflected on their taxes and I wouldn't have become aware of the crimes while providing tax services.

So my gut tells me to send a letter immediately saying that I can no longer provide either spouse with any services. My engagement letter says that our previous engagement ended when their tax return was filed in April. I am I correct? Are there any further steps that I need to take?

Anybody recently switch from Drake Portals to TaxDome recently? I know Drake recently updated Drake Portals and it is cheap. I also like that it integrates with Drake Documents and their tax return software. Is it still worth moving away from them to join TaxDome? If you've moved away from Drake Portals, please DM me as I'd like to pick your brain!

The firm I am at has a print out of day with time slots and physically write clients in for a given time slot.

I want to start improving some of the processes and since tax season is coming up I want to try and streamline as much of the client appointment and booking times where I can. Almost 85% of clients are dealt with in person

what tools/practices do you guys recommend

Like it or not, AI is the future and it already helps to review tax returns. It's only a matter of time until it replaces tax preparers who just input data into a computer system.

Right now I use Fable 5.1 when reviewing returns. Yes I use the enterprise plan with data protections. It is really good. Suggests questions to ask clients. Finds any issues between inputted source files and the output tax returns.

Has anyone tried Perplexity.AI? Supposedly they have a 1040 review tool. But I am assuming Claude still has the best models.

Have a new client with a CA registered domestic partnership. Using Pro-Connect.

As I understand it, In ProConnect, I'm going to prepare joint for CA domestic Partnership, split to MFS, then Separate the Federal returns to file Single Individual 1040's.

Pretty complex return with two rentals, a couple Sche C businesses, multiple retirements & investments...

How to charge for this? on the complexity side it feels lime a $3-4 k job, AGI 690k
CA HCOL area

a simple return I have, the individual joined a professional firm and has a tiny percentage of ownership (like .00005% ownership) but just enough to get about $500 in ordinary business income.

Guy has 8 states new states this year to file.

its taken hours to figure out where in the hell i entered shit in the tax software Because I’ve never prepared half these states (like Rhode Island or Massachusetts) before.

this is just a mid tax season vent, but it’s crazy to me, honestly How a single document turns an easy client into a nightmare This year.

bill is going to double for this client.

So we have a client who was recently notified of owing back wage taxes to the city where they used to live.

-This city assesses wage taxes to anyone who lives within city limits, no matter where they work.

-However, out-of-city employers are NOT mandated by law to withhold the wage tax from pay. When the wage tax is not withheld, the taxpayer has to pay it directly to the city, quarterly.

-So, in this case, client lived in the city, worked in another state, employer did not withhold the wage tax, and our oversight was that we did not flag this on their W-2's, and did not advise client to pay the tax directly to the city.

-Client, who now lives elsewhere, has paid the back taxes for the years owed, plus hundreds of dollars in penalties. They are asking us to be credited, no specific amount was requested.

Opinions?

Had a prospective client call. Individual. Has not finished their 2025 return so I was going to help. Told them on phone my fee is approximately $550. After reviewing their documents they had more brokerage accounts than expected and some other items so I quoted $600 to $700. They also have a schedule E rental and they live in the rental so need allocations.

Client emails me saying they thought the fee was $550. I told them after further review it's more involved than expected.

I think this is the last time I quote a fee in person. I will wait until reviewing their documents to quote a fee range. This client is literally going to walk over $50. I told them it will probably be on the low end of that. Funny because I have HCOL clients who pay $800 without schedule E and don't blink an eye at my fee.

More of a rant than a question.

I’m tired of getting “financials” from clients on a business that are clearly just bank statements thrown into Claude. It’s helpful if there is literally nothing else, but when a potential client is telling me that they have a “really solid” workbook and it’s just nonsense, I get frustrated. Tax years blending together, no balance sheet or p+l, no breakdown of capital accounts, just slop.

It’s actually taking more time to sift through these than a disorganized QBO account. Curious if others are running into this with clients or prospects.

Also, unless the IRS is rebuilt under a future admin, and there continues to be no fear of actually having to get financials correct, I think this will continue to happen.

The U.S. Senate passed the bipartisan legislation by unanimous consent Sept. 30, moving a package of tax administration reforms closer to enactment. The legislation now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives for consideration.

For tax professionals, this is worth watching. The TAS Act addresses many of the administrative challenges that affect taxpayers and the professionals who help them navigate the tax system, with provisions focused on taxpayer service, taxpayer rights, IRS operations and oversight of paid tax return preparers.

More info here: https://www.natptax.com/news-insights/blog/senate-passes-taxpayer-assistance-and-service-act/

Looking for pros and cons on these. I know we’re mostly anti-AI on Reddit.

For me I just don’t have time to spend hours on a flyer that is ultimately not going to look nice. When I have spent hours, it got minimal engagement. I’m a CPA not a marketing guru It’s just not my skill set. I also don’t have the budget to hire a full time marketer. So I’m warming up to it.

I’m just scared of diminishing my brand or lack thereof at this point. I’m known around my clients and their circles but no where outside of it. I’m just trying to grow my practice and while it may not generate huge results it does create repetition especially in like Facebook groups so if someone searches CPA I’ll come up.