Readers will recall that in January we announced a new “cloud”-based service, which allows clients to submit their bookkeeping data to a secure site on the Internet. That facilitates the transfer of large electronic data files very easily. Already many clients have used this system, and we’re receiving very positive feedback about it.
Thus encouraged, we now plan to expand the cloud program to the personal tax season.
It’s become a fact of life that many information slips ‘trickle’ in over the months of February and March, making it a nuisance for clients to accumulate everything in an envelope, and submit information only when it’s fully complete.
Since it is generally better to deal with things while you’re thinking about them, this new system will keep things as efficient as possible. Your tax information will accumulate in a place where both you and we know where to find it, and when the time comes to prepare your tax return, we can access it very easily. As a bonus, you can check the contents whenever you like, in case you forgot what you did, or didn’t, send us.
All you need do is contact either Anthony Leong at aleong@lohncaulder.com, or Pauline Roberts at proberts@lohncaulder.com), and get them to set up an account at our cloud site. Anthony or Pauline will arrange for you to be assigned a user name and a password. Then, it becomes a simple matter of scanning whatever document that comes in the mail, and send it to us now, rather than waiting for April.
Of course, we are talking about electronic documents here, not paper, so you need a scanner. And all the paper slips that you receive over the next few weeks at your home or business regarding your personal taxes need never actually be delivered to us. That promises to save an awful lot of paper handling, as you can imagine.
However, any information brought in any other way (in person, by mail, or by fax) –i.e., paper – will be scanned by us. Of course, in that case, you can expect your paper documents back, when we complete your return.
Clients who want to take advantage of the ‘cloud’ service must remember to prompt us, once you’ve sent everything that you think is relevant to your ‘folder in the cloud’. At that point, we will begin the preparation of your return.
Please refer to the enclosed checklist as a reminder of what we need.
