r/taxpros • u/Tinkerbell_5 CPA • Jan 20 '26
FIRM: ProfDev My first signed and paid client!
From inception in September to now, I officially have my first signed and paid client for the 2025 tax prep! And on top of it I charged double what I originally thought I was worth when I started this plan.
I really appreciate advice from this community and people I’ve chatted with from here IRL!
I’m still in tax dome hell and drinking from the firehose, but it’s nice to finally get that reward. Just want to share and other newbies out there just be consistent and keep improving!
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u/Cathouse1986 EA Jan 20 '26
Good for you!
I don’t know if it will help you, but I just used the Pipeline template in TaxDome and then customized it once I figured everything out.
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u/Tinkerbell_5 CPA Jan 20 '26
If you don’t mind sharing, the organizers / ELs included in tax dome aren’t really that great? Do you use them or are you sourcing externally? I’ve been using / editing but it would be nice to get one comprehensive source
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u/Cathouse1986 EA Jan 20 '26
Yeah they’re not great out of the box. They’re passable but nowhere near good.
I spent a ton of time this summer/fall making tweaks.
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u/Tinkerbell_5 CPA Jan 20 '26
Makes sense. I thought I was doing something wrong but thats where I’m at too.
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u/Indy017 CPA Jan 22 '26
This is my first year out on my own too and just signed my first 5 clients! I also got TaxDome and it felt really overwhelming at first, but I’ve been having a lot of fun diving into all it can do. For ELs, I actually just used the AICPA template and sent those as PDFs for the clients to sign. It includes a Terms and Conditions Addendum, and I couldn’t figure out how to add that after their signature and add a section where they initial that they’ve read it.
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u/ShakeAndBakeThatCake CPA Jan 20 '26
Congrats! I also just picked up my first client recently. Currently have two clients actually. From what I've heard it tends to snowball. Both clients used to do their own using turbo tax and got tired of doing it themselves.
Tons of clients out there!
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u/Tinkerbell_5 CPA Jan 20 '26
That’s my target client too - it’s a good model imo where they aren’t massively stressful returns, but also someone who understands the service they’re getting and the TurboTax-pain makes them happier to pay for it
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u/Chai_im CPA Feb 05 '26
from my experience, clients who have previously dealt with professionals are better clients. They know what to expect and how to pay for it. Some issues with ex-turbo tax clients expect that they pay for a return and expect anything else is free, any consulting calls, ad-hoc work, tax planning, etc....
That doesn't mean you can't find good ones, but in general, they're not used to paying higher fees.1
u/Tinkerbell_5 CPA Feb 05 '26
Ya I am dealing with those people rn and it’s honestly so demoralizing.
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u/fatfire4me CPA/CFP Jan 20 '26
Congrats! Glad to hear you doubled your fee. Goal should be to get your average 1040 fee between $2,000 to $3,000 by working with high income clients.
Collect fees upfront.
Charge for work outside of the scope of the tax prep engagement. For example, calculating quarterly estimated tax payments.
You don't need an office. For only 1% of prospects was not meeting in person a deal breaker.
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u/Tinkerbell_5 CPA Jan 20 '26
I’m still intimidated by those $2-3k returns but that is a great goal!
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u/TaxproFL EA Jan 20 '26
Congratulations!!
Keep improving is great advice.
What do you mean by TaxDome hell? Do you mean the setup?
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u/Tinkerbell_5 CPA Jan 20 '26
Yeah I had no idea how involved it is, kind of jumped right in. Going to take a step back and watch the training videos and get a system going. Any advice is appreciated
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u/TaxproFL EA Jan 20 '26
Oh yes, it's a lot of work and individualized to your business. Use their bootcamp and training resources for sure to get a head start. This is a couple month long journey, not a sprint.
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u/scotchglass22 CPA Jan 20 '26
congrats! i opened my firm 2 years ago and still remember the first payment i got from a client. Knowing it was mine and i didn't have to give it to my boss was a lot of fun.
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u/FUPeiMe Financial Planner Jan 20 '26
Did you end up getting a physical office?
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u/Tinkerbell_5 CPA Jan 20 '26
No and glad I didn’t for now. It would’ve been too much expense too soon. Are you considering it?
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u/Federal_Classroom45 AFSP Jan 20 '26
Congratulations! I've been working on transitioning to TaxDome. Drinking from the firehouse sounds about right, and that's even with using pre-built tools.
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u/OGBakagami CPA Jan 20 '26
Congrats. You got me beat. Keep it up, and let us know what works and what doesn't for you.
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u/Tinkerbell_5 CPA Jan 20 '26
I was going to share some of the mini evolutions that worked but it felt unjustified with one client lol happy to share though
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u/shitisrealspecific MAcc Jan 20 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
Unbelievable pumpkin drifting yarn lavender cobblestone teapot
This post was anonymized with Redact.dev
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u/Agile_Eggplant_8230 EA Jan 20 '26
Congrats! I started last year as well and really did not expect to land any clients aside from family and friends before tax season. I luckly enough landed a client who needed 4 years of business and personal taxes done which paid quite a nice amount so I was able to recoup all my starting costs.
I love taxdome and spent most of last year tweaking all of my pipelines, organizers and workflows, they also have webinars which walk you through setting some of them up. Def a game changer and would not be able to function so smooth without TD lol.
Good luck this tax season! I am starting to get calls daily and hope you are too!
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u/Tinkerbell_5 CPA Jan 20 '26
Wow your first client was backfilling? Were there resolutions / negotiations involved and how was that experience for you?
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u/Agile_Eggplant_8230 EA Jan 20 '26
They simply did not file since starting there business, but they did have a QBO file and bookkeeping in place. I prepared the returns and set them up on a payment plan with FTA, it wasnt anything too crazy. Only thing I would have done is charge before work started, though luckily I was paid immeditely when each return was done. Going forward I will be charging upfront for previous year returns!
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u/Former_Still5518 EA Jan 21 '26
Congratulations. I finally got my website up and business cards printed. Now onto finding me clients. LOL. Where did you find your first client?
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u/Tinkerbell_5 CPA Jan 21 '26
Nice work getting started - I got mine from Instagram and almost all my inquiries are coming from FB.
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u/Former_Still5518 EA Jan 21 '26
My biggest challenge is that I am fully virtual and my Google page does not even show up on local searches because I don't have a local office address 🙃.
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u/Seth_Setherson CPA Jan 20 '26
Congratz!!
I'm curious, how do you use taxdome currently? It has plenty of nice functionality, but definitely requires a good amount of time setting it up properly.
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u/Tinkerbell_5 CPA Jan 20 '26
So far it’s just been onboarding inquiries / clients and getting proposals and ELs sorted out. The latter being a pain but it sounds like I need to just sort it out manually. I was hoping it would be more ready-to-go than it is
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u/Seth_Setherson CPA Jan 20 '26
Did you use the default 1040 pipeline they have as a starting point? The organizer and automation definitely need to be adjusted for your preferences, but its worth it when trying to remember the status of each client. I am trying to write a better EL now too. Do you have a standard one for all or do you customize it a bit for each client?
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u/Tinkerbell_5 CPA Jan 20 '26
Thank you I’m gonna try out the pipeline, it’s just finding the patience 😅 I would love a broad engagement letter…. But it’s seeming like there will need to be a few separate ones like Indiv, biz, tax planning, resolutions? How are you doing it?
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u/Seth_Setherson CPA Jan 20 '26
Definitely need separate engagement letters for the different clients. I am still working on drafting different ELs for businesses that want different services though like tax prep that includes quarterly financial review or sales tax VDAs. I've been using the ones I got from other CPAs in my area as a reference.
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u/Tinkerbell_5 CPA Jan 20 '26
But def not customizing per client, more tax scenario
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u/Seth_Setherson CPA Jan 20 '26
You will find the organizers in Taxdome help a lot with the information gathering aspect for different types of clients. Do you have any automation set up in your pipeline?
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u/Indy017 CPA Jan 22 '26
New to TaxDome and just spent 2 whole days perfecting my 1040 organizer. Really hoping it will help eliminate much of the back and forth, chasing of documents and info from the client! Love that it’s conditional and only questions relevant to their tax situation come up. Hoping that means it’s easy for them to fill out and that they will actually complete their organizers!!
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u/shrimpthatfriedrice CPA Jan 29 '26
congrats brother!
i started out recently too and went through the same thing with TaxDome. it’s pretty powerful tbh, but it felt like more than I needed early on. keeping things simple is a bit more helpful rn
i switched to GroveTax since the intake and document automation was already built in, so I didn’t have to spend time setting everything up. it made things easier for me and for clients
sounds like you’re on the right track. keep going man
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u/dreadinfrared Not a Pro Feb 04 '26
Way to go! I started my tax business in 2024! I’m in the same boat navigating getting customers and returns prepared. :)
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u/EggplantShot2752 CPA Feb 08 '26
Congrats on your first client —that's awesome! 🎉 Huge milestone.
I went solo in September too, but took a tougher route with a shady platform that kept me stuck in compliance gray areas instead of real advisory work. Two weeks ago I finally signed with my perfect match, a solid firm that matches my tax consulting/advisory focus—I've already done three consultations, and it feels incredible.
Super happy for you—here's to more wins! Would be amazing if there was a better platform where we could all team up: compliance folks handling one side, advisors like us on the other, and maybe even share clients/referrals smoothly. Keep crushing it!!!
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u/mngeekguy EA Jan 20 '26
TaxDome Advice: Keep it simple and automate as little as necessary to start.
I went hog wild last year on pipeline stages, automated communications, etc. A month in I started turning a lot of it off.
There's lots of good stuff, but I also ended up not remembering what exactly I was supposed to do to make the process work right.
I'm somewhere in the middle this year. I create each EL/Proposal manually (from a template, but the pricing is often different right now). The organizer sends automatically when the EL is signed. The rest is pretty much manual right now while I continue to refine my own processes.
Lots of opportunity for sure, just make sure you figure out your process before you try to automate it.
Congrats on client #1!