We want to be the partner you can trust to handle your US tax questions now and for years to come. We know the best partnerships are built on transparency and open communication, so we want to give you some information about how we work so you can decide if we will be a stellar fit for your US tax needs.
Where We’re Located
We are primarily based in Charlotte, North Carolina and travel to Berlin for regularly scheduled meetings with new and existing clients. This allows us to maintain our personal and very people-centric practice with the efficiencies and customer service that technology can provide. Being US based for most of the year gives us faster and more direct access to the IRS. Charlotte has a thriving business community and fast-growing talent pool from which we can grow our business and continue to offer you the highest level of customer service.
We are always available to have phone calls. And sometimes the time difference can be very convenient if you’re in Germany and prefer to talk to us after work or late at night. We think face-to-face interactions can also be very important. This is why we travel regularly to Berlin for meetings with new and existing clients.
How We Best Communicate With You
We primarily use a mix of email and scheduled phone calls to communicate. We really like emails for addressing more complicated questions because it gives us a chance to do any research we need to on our side and it keeps a nice, written record that we can reference later when more questions come up. Some things are easier to discuss on the phone, so we provide an easy way for clients to schedule calls with us at convenient times. Scheduling the call gives us a chance to make sure we’re both fully present and prepared to talk about your specific tax issues.
We Care Deeply About Data Privacy and Security
Your privacy and the security of your documents and identifying information is really important to us. Keeping your data safe is always at the forefront of our minds. Our email servers are and will always stay local in Germany so that our email providers and servers are fully compliant with GDPR. We use a secure document sharing portal for you upload and send sensitive information to us and to deliver your tax returns to you. This portal is fully compliant with all IRS and state board of accountancy’s data protection requirements. We use this portal to deliver your tax returns to you and any other sensitive documents. We request that you also send documents to us via this secure portal. We also carry cybersecurity insurance that will help us assist you in the unlikely event of a data security event.
We’re Paperless
For security and practicality, we aim to be a digital and paperless firm. Our paperless policy also helps reduce the costs associated with scanning, storage, retrieval, and filing of paper documents, and provides additional environmental benefits. Practically speaking, a paperless process is far more efficient and secure when working internationally. We are also an authorized IRS efile provider and are able to electronically file the majority of federal and state tax eturns. Whenever possible, we will electronically file your tax returns. This process may still require you to print, sign, scan, and upload signed copies of e-file authorizations. Some tax forms still must be mailed with original signatures, or certain situations may prevent e-filing. In these cases, we deliver your tax return to you with clear mailing instructions.
How We Use Technology
We want to be able to serve as many clients at the highest level possible without anything falling through the cracks and we use technology to help us do this. That means we use digital engagement letters and some automated emails and reminders to help us keep you on track with deadlines. We want you to have a clear understanding of the information you need to provide as well as the status of your returns and we’ve found the best way to do that is through an online dashboard that lets you see where we are in process and to take away any uncertainty about the timelines for us finishing your returns.
Why We Use Engagement Letters
We use engagement letters for all our work. This is a contract that clearly states the exact work we’ve agreed to and each of our responsibilities. We send these electronically and you can sign them digitally to make this process as easy and painless as possible for you. As much as we hope that you’ll keep coming back year after year for your tax returns, our contractual relationship will only ever cover the current year and any prior years we’ve agreed to. In the unlikely event that a serious problem arises, signed engagement letters are also very important for making sure our professional liability insurance can step in and help us make things right.
We Get Things Filed By the Deadlines
We make it our practice to file your return on time even if you don’t owe taxes and aren’t liable for penalties. A clean and timely filing and payment record with the IRS makes it easier to request abatement for penalties should the situation ever require that. That means keeping on track with deadlines offers a little insurance against future uncertainties.
Because we take deadlines so seriously, this means we can be overloaded and working really hard in the weeks leading up to the deadlines. Still, we don’t think we do our very best work when we’ve been staring at computer screens for over 80 hours in a week. We much prefer to spread our work out and get as much as we can done as far in advance of the deadlines as we can. We do our best to make it as easy as possible for you to gather the necessary information for us so we can work calmly and carefully to get your return filed well in advance of the deadline.
Our goal is to make getting your US tax returns filed as stress-free and uncomplicated for you as possible. We want you to feel like you’re in safe hands with your US taxes throughout the process so you can put your attention and energy on things other than taxes.
Interested in working for us? We’re expanding our office. Learn more here.
