Tax Prep Support Outsourcing: 5 Tips to Search for the Right Partner in Tax Season 2022

The time’s come — sleepless nights beckon. Stress is knocking at your doors. The work-life imbalance will impact your life in more ways than one. Tax Season 2022 is here.

I know every CPA has a story to tell about the tax season and how their life got upended in a busy season. But here’s the thing. Why make Tax Season 2022 like any other season? Why not seek to make it more productive but less ‘taxing’? Why not say to yourself – “Today, we celebrate our Independence Day”?

No, you don’t have to go all guns blazing against aliens, but just decide to outsource.

Yes, switch to tax prep support outsourcing to free yourself from all the stress that otherwise weighs you and your team down in the tax season.

Why Tax Prep Support Outsourcing?

There are probably 4 kinds of CPAs, seen through the outsourcing prism. A section of CPAs are already using tax prep support outsourcing; yet another group knows what outsourcing tax is all about but isn’t using it because they haven’t thought of using it. There is still another group that looks at the whole prospect of outsourcing tax preparation with jaundiced eyes; and lastly, there are CPAs who find it difficult to search for the right provider.

While this article is primarily for those who are looking to outsource tax preparation, this is also for the naysayers (if they get convinced to give it a try), also those who are working with outsourcing partners (and aren’t happy), and those that are on the fence.

Here’s the rub. Everyone knows about the benefits of outsourcing. It helps your firm build capacity quickly, scale seamlessly, bring down operational costs, free up time and explore new growth avenues.

We are entering the tax season, and there is a perfect chance that your firm doesn’t have a big enough team of tax preparers or that your accountants are busy with accounting tasks. In such cases, you are trying to search for quality tax preparers to join your team and find it difficult to search for them.

Curse of the talent shortage at play here!

The answer lies in accessing a team of tax preparers who will seamlessly work as your extended team and can be scaled up or down as per the tax preparation work coming your way.

So, take action and start hunting for a tax outsourcing provider. The key here is to work with the right provider to experience the benefits.

Searching for the Right Providers

It’s all very well to say, “Hey! Let’s get started with ax prep support outsourcing”, but how do you zero in on the right kind? Here’s how:

1. Google Them!

Yes, a shoutout to the friend, philosopher, and all-around genie in a bottle, Google. Key in the correct search terms, and you will get a list of providers who provide taxation services. The problem here is some work with CPAs, and others work directly with businesses and individuals (your competition). So, make sure that your search term has CPAs in it, a case in point being – tax outsourcing for CPA firms or along the same lines. The providers who have taken pains to rank for such keywords are the right choice for you.

Go through their tax services and prepare a list of providers you think are worth talking to and dial them.

2. Get References

You must know someone who knows someone who has worked with an outsourcing services provider. Just joking! It will mostly be someone you have known for many years who has outsourced accounting work (Yes, it’s that common!). So, look around for references from your circle, and you will definitely get a few names.

This is one of the better ways of searching for an outsourcing firm; the very fact that someone in your peer circle is referring them to you means they are happy and confident doing so. You can therefore trust them. However, you need to do your research into the reference’s expertise and experience.

3. Your Inbox

More often than not, you and your firm’s partners will be on the opt-in email list of an outsourcing services firm. If you want to outsource tax preparation, all you need to do is wait for a sales email to come your way.

It might not just be a sales email. It might be a webinar invite email or might be a mailer asking you to download a report or a case study. The idea is to keep an eye out for such emails. You will often be able to judge the ‘reputation’ of a tax prep support outsourcing services provider with their email. Simply put, their emails will ‘smell quality.’ They will make sense, make the right pitch and talk about their accreditation, market reputation, and more.

Pick and choose the providers you want to reach out to, and start talking to them.

4. Research, Research, Research

You won’t get anywhere without really doing your homework. The above search tactics are all well and good, but the outcome of your search rests on your ability to do your research. Take, for example, a provider’s website. It will have all sorts of information on accreditations, processes, testimonials, and more. The key here is to test the merit of each piece of information. Ask them for proof of accreditation. Ask them for client references and get in touch with these clients. If they highlight expertise, make sure you thoroughly interview the tax prep support outsourcing company and check whether they know their stuff.

5. Don’t Make Cost-Benefit the Deciding Factor

Cost savings are to be had with outsourcing. But don’t make it THE parameter to decide which outsourcing provider you are going with. There is a tendency to see outsourcing non-strategically and think of it purely in monetary terms, wherein you see it as a way of bringing down your operational costs. Great! But it is much more than that.

Think of it as a strategic move wherein you extend your in-house team with offshore tax preparers and accountants. Think big. Think how this move will help you beyond the tax season, freeing up your time, which can be invested in other revenue-boosting activities.

Conclusion

Let’s get started, then. Your competitors are building capacity for the tax season, and so should you. It is easier than it looks, provided you work with the best business.

If you are looking for a Tax prep support outsourcing partner, we are your firm. But you can still do some more research and search for the companies with the ways and means mentioned in this article. The chances are that you will still find us.