Still taking clients this tax season?
Say who you work with, what it costs and if you're taking anyone new right now.
What the home page says
Section by section, in the order a visitor reads it.
Who you work with
Contractors, restaurants, rental owners, people with a side business. A named client type lets someone decide in seconds, and it helps turn away the returns you don't want.
Taking new clients
In February, people want to know if you'll even talk to them. Put it on the page with a date, and change it when it changes. A bar across the top can carry it and hide itself after its last day.
What you do
Tax returns, bookkeeping, payroll, IRS letters and how to set up a business. Use those words. People with a problem search for help with a letter from the IRS, and they've never heard of a compliance engagement.
How you charge
Flat fee, hourly or a monthly retainer, with a starting figure if you can give one. People put off calling an accountant because they fear the bill, so say how it works first.
Your credentials
CPA and the state that licensed you, or enrolled agent if that's your credential. Use the CPA title only if you hold it, and check your state board's rules on how a firm can describe itself.
Documents go in your portal
Tax documents don't belong in a contact form. Ask for a name, an email and the kind of help they need, say plainly not to send Social Security numbers, and link clients to the portal you already use.
How they search
- accountant near me
- cpa near me
- tax preparer near me
- small business accountant
- bookkeeper near me
- cpa for self employed
- irs letter help
- accountant for rental property
What earns their trust
- Your CPA license and the state that issued it, or your enrolled agent status
- The client types you know best
- How you charge, before the first call
- If you're taking new clients, and until when
- How clients send documents securely
- Who answers if a client gets an IRS letter later
How it gets found
What moves a CPA up in a town's results.
CPA or Accountant as your category
Use Certified public accountant if you're licensed, and Accountant if you aren't. Add Tax preparation service or Bookkeeping service when that's real work you do.
Keep seasonal hours honest
Your hours in March aren't your hours in July. Update your listing and your site's details when they change, because neither updates the other. Closed dates on your booking page keep calls off your busiest days.
Working from home or remotely
A virtual office isn't eligible for a Google Business Profile, and a co-working desk qualifies only with signs, your own staff and customers coming in during your hours. If clients don't come to you, set a service area and hide your home address.
Write for one kind of client
A page for contractors can talk about quarterly payments and job costing, which a general services page can't. Write one for each client type you know well, using the words they'd type.
How to sell one
Accountants tend to want better clients more than they want more clients, meaning fewer shoebox returns and more businesses on a monthly fee. Many have a site that lists every service in the same dry words. A site that names one kind of client helps them turn away the rest.
Time it. Leave them alone from January through April 15, and pitch in May or after the October extension deadline, when they can think about their own business. Show a home page that names the client type they like most, so they can see how it would sort their calls.
- “It's tax season. I can't talk.”
- Understood. I'll come back after the deadline, and the demo will still be at the same link. Look at it when you can breathe.
- “All my work comes from people I know.”
- Referred clients still check you out, and the banker or lawyer who sends them wants a link to pass along. A site that says who you help makes that referral easier to give.
- “I can't have client files going through a website.”
- They won't. The form asks for a name, an email and the kind of help they need, and it tells people not to send documents. Your portal stays where it is, and the site links to it.
- “What if the site says something wrong about tax?”
- It writes from the facts you give it and doesn't research tax law, so keep advice out of the brief unless you've written it. You read every page before it's published, and you can change any line by hand at no cost.
Common questions
Can't find your answer? Read Shingle Help or email [email protected].
Who you work with, what you do in plain words, how you charge, your license, if you're taking new clients, and how clients send documents securely. Someone deciding in February wants those answers on one screen. A small firm can start with one page and add more as it specializes.
No. Shingle's forms have no file uploads, and a contact form is the wrong place for tax documents or Social Security numbers, because answers arrive by email and in your team's inbox. Ask for a name, an email and the type of help needed, and send clients to your secure portal.
No. Shingle has no client logins and no file storage for your clients. Keep the portal you use today, and link to it from your menu or a button on your home page, so nobody has to call you for the address in March.
Change one line on the page, which is free and goes live when you publish. Or turn on the announcement bar, which runs across the top of every page, and give it a last day so it hides itself. Set closed dates on your booking page for your busiest weeks too.
It can draft a blog post for 5 credits, from the notes and facts you give it. It doesn't research the web, so it won't know this year's limits or your state's deadlines unless you say so. Check every number and date before you publish.
Yes, and they vary. Your state board of accountancy sets rules on the CPA title and on advertising, and the IRS's Circular 230 covers solicitation if you practice before it. Check the ones that apply to you. Shingle doesn't check your site against any of them.
Read next
- BlogPosts on your site, by you or drafted for 5 credits.
- Website formsForms that email you and send each lead where you work.
- Local SEO checklistWhat to do first, second and third to get found nearby.
- Search result previewSee your title and description before Google does.
- WidgetsCookie banner, age check, chat button, bar and popup.
Websites for other trades
Build your first site
Start from a Google listing or a few notes. Demos usually take 5–15 minutes.
7 days for $1, then $49 a month. Cancel any time.