In today’s market, simply providing clients with referrals for tax incentives is no longer enough. Your CPA firm must be a go-to provider of corporate tax credit services if you hope to maintain long-term client relationships.

The process of capturing tax credits is often difficult, especially when the CPAs at your firm are unfamiliar with tax rules and documentation requirements. However, it is advisable for your CPA firm to provide tax services, even if that means expanding beyond your comfort zone. It’s in your CPA firm’s best interest to expand your scope of services to include tax savings programs. The more avenues you pursue to help clients maximize savings and increase cash flow, the more valuable you become to clients.

The right tax consultant complements your CPA firm without usurping your control over your client base.

Your firm alone decides your tax consultant’s level of involvement. You maintain complete responsibility of client relationships and all activities that generate revenue for your clients.

The following expert processes demonstrate just some of the ways a tax consultant complements your firm as you pursue tax credits: 

1. Consultants Evaluate Client Needs And Identify Solutions

Your outsourced tax consultant examines your client base to identify tax-savings opportunities that generate revenue. Tax credits and incentives are very specific, so some work well in certain industries over others. Your consultant is able to identify winning tax-savings strategies for your clients, relieving you of the burden associated with capturing credits.

2. Periodic Check Points Provide An Opportunity To Adjust

A successful long-term partnership with an outsourced tax consultant is both customizable and scalable. Over the course of an engagement, a consultant meets with your CPA firm on a monthly or quarterly basis to evaluate what tactics are working, what improvements need to be made and whether the scope of your agreement needs to be adjusted. Additionally, an annual checkup should be held to examine the success of your tax-savings strategies on a deeper level. You and your consultant should work together to create a partnership model that best suits your firm.

3. Audit Support Services Protect Tax Credit Claims

Many CPAs refrain from pursuing the maximum benefit for clients because they are cautious about making mistakes that may result in an audit. Your outsourced tax consultant partner should build audit support into their pricing to instill you with confidence that clients’ corporate tax credit claims have expert protection.

When you outsource specialty tax services, you and your tax consultant develop a customized approach to meet your CPA firm’s needs. And, when you combine your current accounting specialties along with your consultant’s tax credit expertise, your firm outperforms competing CPA firms that choose not to expand their services. Not only does this help you maintain your client base, but improved services attract valuable new clients.

Ready to expand your CPA specialities to include R&D tax credit services? Learn how to maximize R&D benefits for your clients.