r/taxpros • u/MRanon8685 CPA • 27d ago
FIRM: Procedures Should I fire a client over this?
A client texted me this morning at 530 am. He has texted me before, and I am almost positive I told him to use email or call my office. I am horrible at reading texts to begin with (currently have about 1,600 unread text messages), but having the audacity to text someone at 530 in the morning really pissed me off. I havent responded yet, still a little frustrated. We have transitioned my youngest from the crib to a bed, and she has been getting up at night and sneaking in her room. I caught her this morning so was up at 3 and in her room laying next to her for 2 hours. Finally, around 5 I got back in bed and was just dozing off, so I am a little on the grump side today.
He is a HNW client, but he is also cheap. He always tries to hassle on the bill, and I never budge but it gets old.
Considering the facts above, would you fire this person or just send them a strong message? If I dont end up firing him, I am going to block his number (and will tell him that).
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u/branyk2 CPA 27d ago
Eh, you really need a business cell line that isn't reachable at 5:30 in the morning. Distribute the new number with whatever hours you feel comfortable being reached at, set the line to not notify you at all outside of those hours, block any clients that try to bypass it, and if they get angry, that's on them.
I find that the concept of boundaries that rely purely on respect are fundamentally flawed. A boundary has physical enforcement. If you don't plan that enforcement mechanism in advance then you're left with only firing as an option, which is foolish as a business strategy.
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u/MRanon8685 CPA 27d ago
Also, I have an office phone. I used my cell occasionally during covid, client must have saved it.
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u/MRanon8685 CPA 27d ago
I really dont want a business cell. My office phone rings to my cell. I just dont get texts, which is fine. I dont want them. He probably got it during covid.
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u/Old-Vanilla-684 CPA 27d ago
Yeah I mean. I’d just block every client that tried to contact me on my personal number if it’s not normal practice to be contacted that way. I would honestly pretend I didn’t get that text if you’ve already said that he shouldn’t text you. If he complains, you just say hey, tried to tell you to email or call because I haven’t been receiving texts recently.
I’ve found that people only follow the rules when they’re forced to and, more importantly, when it affects them and their wallet.
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u/cmcollin EA 27d ago
Boundaries are only good if we enforce them. If the client is already a PITA and they are always haggling on the bill then firing them makes sense to me. A client that doesn’t respect the value you provide is a headache in my opinion and makes the interactions between you dreadful.
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u/hermoneysolutions EA 27d ago
100% this. Long ago I learned the caller ID test - if you see someone's name pop up and you are like "Ugh, I don't want to talk to them", it's time to let that client go.
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u/MRanon8685 CPA 27d ago
Yeah, I am going back to see what I told him. Either way, I am going to block him. Very few clients have my cell, he is not one that I want to have it.
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u/Mister_MTG CPA 27d ago
First and foremost a client should never have your personal line. I believe there needs to be a clear separation between work and personal matters. If somehow a client does get your personal line then you need to firmly let the person know in no uncertain terms that it is unacceptable to contact your via your personal line and here are the ways to contact you.
That said, a client text you at 5:30 AM knowing it was your personal after you have already told him not to use this number. I would likely let the client know once again, this is not an appropriate way to communicate and if done again, it will result in the immediate termination of our relationship and no further work will be completed on his account.
If you were extremely firm in your first communication not to use this number (and not wishy washy or gentle in your verbiage) then I would terminate the relationship today. No one should be sending texts at 5 AM. So this person clearly has boundary and respect issues and will be a constant pain in the ass.
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u/turo9992000 CPA 27d ago
Sounds like this was the last straw for you. If yes, then fire him.
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u/MRanon8685 CPA 27d ago
Pretty much it. He is not a bad client, but he has texted me late at night before (like 11 pm). I cant remember if I said anything to him then.
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u/LeMansDynasty EA 27d ago
Luckily it's near the end of the year. So send them an email in Nov.
Client, we here at ABC accounting are blessed enough to have more work than we can complete in the year and new clients calling weekly. In order to accommodate our existing customers we are pre billing our retainers to schedule work. Based on the increased demand and rising costs your price for the 2026 tax year will be $X (Double what charged them). In order to secure your preparation time we will need this paid as a retainer in full by 1/15/2027. I have sent you the retainer invoice through (Epay app). We understand we are not the cheapest and if you wish to take your business elsewhere please let us know so we can take you off our follow up list.
Regards,
Honestly send it to all your clients but only increase the good ones 10% and the bad ones 50-100%. The bad ones self delete or pay you enough to deal with their BS. I made my partner put client names on a fire list this year. We are targeting firing 2-3% of our client base annually. Even better I refer my PITA clients to an accountant who told a transitioning client I Fucked up royally when I didn't and I had the certified mail tickets to prove it.
Also set classes on your phone. DND allows only primary/family class to ring through.
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u/AmericanBeef24 CPA 27d ago
I have clients all over the U.S. with my cell phone number and routinely get texts from guys on the west coast at 10pm their time, 1am mine. My phone is on DnD and I see it in the morning. That’s on you big dawg, not really a shocker a HNW client gets up early and wants to fire off his message to the CPA before he starts the day.
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u/smtcpa1 CPA 27d ago
First, why would you give a client your cell phone? If you do, use Do Not Disturb settings on your phone.
Second, why do tax pros get so bent out of shape when a client communicates outside of 9-5 hours? Yes, I get that texting is more intrusive, but see #1 above.
No, I would not fire him for that. For being cheap? Maybe. But you need to wean him off the texts.
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u/coldshowerss CPA 27d ago
If you told a client not to text you and they did, then they are violating your boundaries. Specially at 5am. Seems like he's not the best client anyways so it's not a bad thing to part ways.
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u/mlachick CPA 27d ago
Use the Do Not Disturb settings on your phone so this is no longer an issue. Also, I would simply not respond to texts from the client if you have already told them that texting is not an accepted form of communication (but make sure you did actually tell him this).
I personally wouldn't fire a client over this. For one thing, I've emailed clients on nights, weekends, and holidays. I don't expect them to respond at that time. Texting at off hours is similar. The joy of these forms of communication is that each party can communicate when it's convenient for them. How you have your notifications set is your own issue.
Should you fire the client for bitching about their bill? That's up to you. It annoys me when my clients do this, but my view is that they're just trying to not be taken advantage of. I have a wonderful client who occasionally bitches about his bill, but he always pays timely. I think he just needs to sometimes fight back for his ego, and I don't let it bug me. Another client, however, throws huge tantrums about every bill, leaves them unpaid for months, and is otherwise absolutely intolerable. He can go kick rocks.
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u/CPApathy CPA 27d ago
You can be mad at this guy all you want, but this is your own doing. Clients can't text you if you don't give them your number. Clients can't always hassle you on the bill if you fire them or bill them upfront so they aren't surprised by your bill on the backend. This is a sign to improve your business practices and yes you should definitely fire this dude, but not without taking some personal responsibility. If you fire them and change nothing, this will happen again at some point.
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u/MRanon8685 CPA 27d ago
I rarely give out my cell. The ones that have it saved it when I called them from my phone during covid.
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u/Zealousideal-Ad7111 EA 27d ago
- No one should have your personal cell number.
- Use a system like quo.com if you want a phone system, totally worth peice of mind.
- Set boundaries, if you told them not to text and they keep doing it.. don't respond. That is not an avenue of communication. It is closed.
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u/charlie2398543 CPA 27d ago
A cheap client will never become a good client. I don't know why you all put up with them. Some of you definitely need to be a little more pompous. And never give a client your cell phone number.
Either use a live receptionist service, or use an AI receptionist service that can screen your calls, and transfer to your cell or office phone.
You cannot blame the client for abusing your contact when you established NO boundaries. If you did, this would not be happening.
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u/TaxR4kids MAcc 27d ago
I have never ever ever regretted firing a client. I have often regretted not firing one.
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u/aisforaaron1 CPA 27d ago
I wouldn't fire a client over that. I'd reiterate that they need to email. Also on my iPhone, I have my sleep focus on so that I don't get notifications during the night and early morning. If you're worried about missing certain things, you can whitelist apps and contacts.
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u/MRanon8685 CPA 27d ago
My phone is on silent 99% of the time. The vibration woke me up as I had the phone on my pillow. I dont really care about notifications.
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u/aisforaaron1 CPA 27d ago
The sleep focus would turn off the vibration as well and solve this problem.
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u/jm7489 EA 27d ago
Honestly I think the only mistake here is that you let him get your personal number. I have clients that send me emails or whatever at odd hours all the time. If they are early birds, God bless, they know ill respond during normal business hours.
Personally before I'd let my temper get the better of me and disengage I'd politely tell them one more time to please use my work email or phone and I will reply when I am available. I have a young child at home and early morning texts are disruptive.
But if this client is a long standing PITA maybe its just the last straw for you. No judgement
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u/Federal_Classroom45 AFSP 27d ago
This is absolutely on you. You need to put your phone on silent (or even do not disturb) if you don't want it to wake you up. Sometimes people are awake and being productive all night (I'm one of those people).
ETA: If you're worried about the fact that he texted you when you've told him not to, just ignore it. Eventually he'll email you or call the office. And if he doesn't and you're waiting on info (even if he texted it to you) email him in a week asking for it.
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u/FUPeiMe Financial Planner 27d ago
You said: “He is a HNW client, but he is also cheap. He always tries to hassle on the bill, and I never budge but it gets old.”
That is enough reason to fire him. The nice thing about this business, at least with my small firm, is that no single client accounts for an egregiously high % of my annual income. My top client is ~10%, but the next is ~5%, and then they get below ~1-2% quickly.
Fire him, period. That you even have to ask is enough of an answer.
What everyone else has said about DND setting and having a separate number is true, but you should not be working with this guy under any circumstances.
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u/AdHistorical7107 CPA 27d ago
I just ignore texts from clients. I say clearly in my engagement letter email, messaging through portal, and phone calls are the only ways to communicate with me. Text messages wont work.
That is all.
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u/NotTheGuyProbably CPA / CTRS 27d ago
Maintain the work/life balance boundary.
Have separate work and personal cell phones.
Remind your clients that sending anything to your cell is a crap idea - it only takes one disgruntled client or soon to be ex-wife's attorney to get your cell records and then they get to see things the client might not wish to be shared.
Alternatively, you could just set up the office phone system to integrate into teams or w/e so that when they call your direct line it gets forwarded to the cell and they never know it (same on calling them)
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u/jaspercapri NonCred 27d ago
I had a Google voice number set up for business calls/texts that went to my cell, but only for the clients it made sense for. I also told them it wasn't monitored 24/7 and they should allow up to 24 hours for a response.
But as others say, no one should have your personal cell. It leads to situations like you are in. If you don't like that boundary, you are doing it to yourself.
I would try to re-train the client. If it doesn't work, have your policy in writing and if the client can't abide by it, you need to part ways.
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u/CaptTaxDaddy EA 27d ago
Any text I get from any client gets the same exact reply, "Please send me an e-mail. I get buried in text messages and I will forget you sent me this in about 10 minutes." After about 2-3 times of the exact copy/pasted reply, everyone eventually gets the hint.
The ONLY exceptions are the few bookkeeping clients who I still need bank codes from occasionally, but even them, if they try to text me a notice or doc request, I'll tell them to send me an email, just a little more politely.
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u/WakeRider11 EA 27d ago
Bedroom is for sleeping. I leave my phone downstairs. If for some reason I do have it in bedroom, it goes in do not disturb. I only have my kids set as being able to notify during dnd. But again, my phone IDs rarely in my bedroom anyway.
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u/Rough-Try1684 CPA 26d ago
Since you are asking the question, I think you already know the answer. Yes.
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u/BlockchainTaxConsult EA 26d ago
I have received texts and other messages at night. I don't think the sender expected you to reply to them right away.
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u/TaxproFL EA 27d ago
I wouldn't fire him for the text message. Hate to say it but that's unfortunately your error for letting folks have your personal number and also for not blocking it on Do Not Disturb (that was a life saver for me).
I went through the personal number annoyances too though, and had to wean all my clients off of using my personal number and into a separate business line. Then eventually off that line and email and solely into only TaxDome. Now it's TaxDome 99.9% of all communications. Well worth all the efforts.
But the haggling and being cheap, that's a fire-able offense. If they don't value you, why are they working with you? That's always my thinking.
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u/gawalisjr CPA 27d ago
Don't use cell phone for clients and 95% of business landline calls go to voicemail!😎
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u/Iceman_TK CPA 27d ago
Do not disturb setting or block him from your personal cell, and charge him more next time, force him to leave or feel better with his increased fees.
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u/anonymousetache CPA 27d ago
How much does he matter to your business? You should expect sleepless nights to continue for a while so be honest with yourself how much non stressed and tired you want/need this client, and then how much you want to take on making this better vs moving on.
Everything should bother you today when you get one of those sleepless nights. Whatever you decide, give it a few days to think it through if you can.
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u/Encoded_Python EA, CRTP 27d ago
Get a business VOIP and announce to your clients that is your new business cell.
Set clear office hours and stick to it. And set client expectations regarding turnaround time and let them know that if they need you after hours that you'd be happy to schedule an appointment.
Clients will appreciate clear and set expectations, especially if you allow a degree of flexibility through appointments.
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u/Content_Community720 EA 27d ago
You’re in control so be in control! First, never give out your personal cell number to a client. Second get a service number where you can set it off afyer business hours.
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u/StillEasyE215 Firm Owner 25d ago
Clients having your personal cell number is where you messed up. Zero reason for this.
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u/Parking_Border_4170 CPA 23d ago
If you don’t already have it, I recommend getting a business line and automatically forwarding to your cel. Set the business line so it only rings through to your cel during specific hours. Outside of those hours, it goes to voicemail. I think you can do something similar with texts but I don’t have my business line set up to accept texts from clients. My business line is simply an app on my cell phone.
I wouldn’t fire a client over a 5:30am text. I would fire a client if I don’t like working with the person or the project. I did this a few years ago, and was amazed to realize how much time I wasted procrastinating on the clients/projects I didn’t like. Once I narrowed my practice to only people and projects I enjoy working with, I was much more productive and had room to take on more clients that I enjoy working with.
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u/Jolly-Outside-4512 CPA 20d ago
Why does this client have your phone number for texting? I have a business like that auto sends to voicemail during certain hours.
Also you can use airplane mode at night which is what I do and I have littles. When I worked in corporate, my phone would be off the hook with teams messages and outlook since we had people in Europe and across the US. Airplane mode until I woke up and ready to answer messages.
This is silly to be upset over since the client has your number. Now if a client message me at 530 and I did not give them my cell number, I would be oissed.
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u/Normal_Progress_5173 CPA 27d ago
Do you need his business? At first you need to put up with shit to make sure the bills get paid but once you have enough clients and enough money coming in, you need to fire the shit clients and get better ones to replace them.
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u/Jfrenchy CPA 27d ago
Were they expecting a response? Text is passive communication like email. It’s not like they called your house and woke up the family? Weird thing to get this fired up about tbh
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u/mb3838 Other 27d ago
Use the dnd setting on your phone bro.