Developing a Tax and Financial Planning Business

There are different ways to develop a tax & financial planning services approach. Evolve the scope of your current business or services to serve as primary point of contact, consider your unique areas of expertise and hyper-specialize, or consider building your practice from the foundation. Here are some ways to approach this:

Evolving your current business

Formalize or expand the scope of present consulting work, showing your clients the value-added services you can provide. Refer to the types of services described earlier and use the Personal Finance Scorecard to help your clients discover areas where they can strengthen their plans. Review client tax returns or tax organizers as well as new tax laws for planning ideas, using the Analysis of a Tax Return for Financial Planning Checklist to help you identify planning opportunities based on your client’s latest tax returns and related documents and the Impact of Tax Reform on Planning Toolkit to determine the impact of tax reform on your clients financial situation.

Build and formalize services from the beginning

If you have an entrepreneurial spirit or owning a business is your dream, consider designing your practice from a clean slate. Focus on the unique way that you can serve your clients, aligning your competency and skills with the types of clients you wish to serve. If this seems like a daunting task, remember that you have a vast array of resources surrounding you on this journey.

Organizing a tax & financial planning client-service model

Determining the best client-service model for you to deliver tax & financial planning services is an important decision. Start with a client-centered approach and consider several factors such as the size of the existing practice, type of planning services offered (for instance, investment adviser services), individual experience levels, regulatory issues and liability issues.

If you are working in a medium or large firm, you are likely already part of this business in some way. Taking an integrated approach to tax & financial planning services, rather than viewing them as separate service lines, will benefit both your firm and your clients by creating one unified offering and experience.

Tax & financial planning practices usually are built by starting small and slowly extending the business as the practitioners and their clients become more comfortable with the new levels of service.

One of the most valuable steps you can take is to surround yourself with like-minded individuals. Consider attending a special workshop, like Building a Tax & Financial Planning Advisory Business, to meet peers and seasoned practitioners who have built their own practices and who can guide you along this journey. Visit the Tax & Financial Planning Services resource center for even more in-depth information and resources.