It’s not the most wonderful time of the year. Not for your clients. Not for you. We’re talking about tax season. It’s an informational whirlwind for you and your collective advisory team. Juggling client deadlines, gathering data, and ensuring accuracy can feel overwhelming. Good news – it doesn’t have to be this way. We’ve got the receipts. More to come on that.
Gathering all the necessary information for your clients' tax returns can feel like a Herculean task. By implementing a proactive approach throughout the year, you can significantly reduce the stress and workload associated with tax season. Here's how:
24-7-365 data gathering
Custodian data: Regularly review filtered transactions and reports from custodians like Schwab, Fidelity, and Altruist.
Held-away accounts: Monitor transactions in platforms like Orion, Pontera, and Morningstar's ByAllAccounts to ensure a 360 view of your client's financial activity.
CRM utilization: Leverage your CRM to track tasks, workflows, notes, and email correspondence related to each client's tax situation. This creates a centralized repository of information easily accessible throughout the year.
Mid-year review
Make tech your friend
Overwhelmed by data gathering for tax season and beyond? Let's talk about ways we can help.
Now that you understand how thoughtful and intentional preparation can help 24-7-365, let’s harken back to those receipts we mentioned a few paragraphs back.
In 2024, we prepared a staggering 304 tax letters for our advisor clients, covering a range of critical information for advisors to share with their clients including:
Expected Tax Forms: These were organized by custodian and account type for clarity.
Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) Amounts and Recipients: These helped ensure clients were positioned to maximize their charitable giving strategies.
Details on Backdoor Roth Contributions and Roth Conversions: No more missing Form 8606s!
Tax Document Delivery Method Elections: These letters empowered clients to choose their preferred method for receiving tax documents.
It was a lot of information to disseminate for our clients and theirs; however, it further proved to us the power of repeatable processes and operational partnership. By standardizing and systematizing data gathering, tracking, and document distribution procedures for our advisory clients, advisors and their teams were able to focus on the immediate needs of those they service. Automation, innovation, and delegation can be the three approaches to client service that elevate your practice this year and beyond.
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