Are you interested in choosing Tom Umstattd, CPA as your certified public accountant? Here is a guide of our process so you can be informed of how our services will work if you choose us to prepare your income tax return.
Before moving forward, please Check out our services page to learn more about the kinds of services we offer and see if we are the right firm for your income tax needs. If you would like to know about our staff, visit the Employees Page.
1.) First, you would set up a consultation. You can do so by calling our office at (512) 250-1090 or using the website form. The first 30 minutes are free and there is no obligation for you to do business with us afterward. One of our CPAs will talk to you and decide if your financial situation is one we are best suited to work with and familiarize ourselves with your accounting needs. The best way to head into a consultation is to fill out the Client Tax Organizer available on our front page. For new clients, it is best for our first consultation to be in person at our office. For directions to our office visit the Directions page.
2.) After your consultation appointment, if you have decided you would like to hire us, we will send you an engagement letter. This letter explains our agreement and includes a downpayment on preparing your taxes, which goes toward your final bill.
3.) Once your engagement letter has been signed and we have received your downpayment, we need to collect and organize your tax documents and tax organizer. Ideally, you would send them over digitally through Intuit Link, which we would provide you a personal secure login for. We will also accept physical documents for us to scan and return to you the originals of. E-mail and DropBox-type services digital transmissions are not secure and we highly advise against you using them.
- If we have received your information after March 15th, we will not be able to complete your return before April 15th. You can request that we file your extension to October 15th and we can work on your return after the deadline. If you need your tax return done at the first deadline, try to submit your documents as soon as possible and let us know.
4.) After we’ve organized your documents, the preparation can begin. Our CPAs may contact you for additional information while they work on your return, so you should provide us with your preferred method of communication. Our CPAs will work at whatever angles there are available to get you back your best possible return. After work is complete on preparation, the tax return is reviewed.
5.) When your tax return is completed, we will send you a bill through e-mail or the post, whichever you prefer. We prepare a packet with your return and some projections (on newer returns) for your copy. You may request a digital copy of your return over a physical one. We prepare a physical copy by default but can create an encrypted PDF if you prefer digital copies. If your return is being E-Files, you will need to sign a form 8879 Permission to E-File. We will send it to you via DocuSign or by post.
- We bill by the hour. If you would like to know what kind of services go into your bill and how to save money, please visit the Fees page.
6.) Once payment is rendered, we file or E-File your income tax return and send you your copy. For more information about payment and fees, check out our Fees page.
We follow a very strict Confidentiality and Privacy policy and are dedicated to keeping your personal information safe and secure. To keep your transmissions secure, please use Intuit Link to upload documents to us and avoid sensitive information in e-mails.
We hope you consider us for your Income Tax Preparation and accounting needs.