What to Expect from Effectur...

Remember

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 15:09:00 +0000

*Remember*
When your a client of Effectur you have MULTIPLE people working on your account. So when you get switched around from person to person it is not that we are not working on your case. We just have alot of people involved in your case so we can get you the best possible outcome!!! :)

Paying Etiquette

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 02:26:00 +0000

I am more likely to help a client with their money issues if they keep me informed. Like unexpected travel because of death or injury, hospitalization, car accident, levied, job loss. I understand stuff happens. On the other hand, if you avoid me when I call to see when you can pay your bill to make you current. I don't want to be hard and demanding on getting your payments, but if you avoid me you really leave me with no other choice.

Easiest Way to Pay

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 22:34:00 +0000

For both clients and us here at Effectur I have found that clients who pay by card ( debit,or credit) on thier accounts go allot smoother. We have many different options for payment here at Effectur direct debit from card or with your bank account and routing number, and mailing in a check, money order, or cashiers check. All these make our clients life easier to make sure they can pay us some way so they can have a piece of mind about their taxes.

The sure fire way to make sure you account is paid on time every month is using a direct debit from your bank or credit card. This allows both the client and us to know automatically if it want through or not with out any doubt.

With using a debit using your bank account and routing numbers. It always goes through at first ( as long as we have the right numbers in front of us) but then if it is denied it can take 1 week-1 month before we will find out. Which can make a big mess for some people.

The mailing method is OK but everyone runs the risk of it getting lost in the mail. Which believe it or not happens allot more frequently then not. So I guess to sum it all up the best way to pay your account is using direct debit using your bank card or credit card.

Sending in Payments or Other Information

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 22:30:00 +0000

I have had a few situations where I have had clients send payment s to the wrong address or our old address. Please make sure if you are sending anything to Effectur, especially since your information is private, please give us a call first to make sure you have the correct address. Thank-you. I just hate knowing that some clients information is just floating out there for someone to get there hands on it.

Balancing Act

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:20:00 +0000

I have learned that working and going to school is defiantly one BIG balancing act. I am amazed at myself on how I am able to keep up with everything. I know some people are probably saying I do a balancing act between work and school all the time it’s no big deal. Which if I was in just college I would say the same thing. Of course though I am not just in college, I am in a Hospital Based Radiological Technology Program. That within itself is a 40 hour non-paid work week.

I remember when I first started the program. My bosses at Effectur would pick on me are you sure you want to do that and not go full time here. Which defiantly back then and at different points in time when the program seemed too much to handle I was highly thinking about it. I am happy I did not though. I truly get great satisfaction at taking care of people in the Health Care field. But I will admit in 6 months when I graduate from this program I am truly going to miss everyone here when it comes time to switch jobs. As I have said in previous entries this company is not just a job but everyone here has become apart of my family!!!! The people here mean so much to me. They have been there for me through my roughest hours and helped push me to the other side.

I am proud to say that I am/have been an employee of Effectur. Also I will always care in my heart the many valuable growing lessons I have learned her along the way!!! Thank-you all, I am going to make sure the next 6 months are even more unforgettable then the ones before!!!

Growth

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 19:14:00 +0000

It is amazing to me how much Effectur has grown this past year. So much has changed!!! We moved to a bigger building, we have doubled our Tax Consultants, Case Specialist, Enrolled Agents, and made new positions to let everything flow easier. Change around different processes to make thing easier for our clients to see what is going on with their case. One example of this is now clients are able to pull up their case progress online at http://customer.efffectur.com/. I am so happy to be apart of a company that gives people a peice of mind when they need IRS Help!!

Work Atmoshpere

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 14:17:00 +0000

The atmoshpere of where you work can make or break your job. This is one thing I have always loved at Effectur. Ever since I started working there Novemeber of 2005 work has always seemed like a second home to me. I work with such great people that actually care about me. From the first day I worked there they have always made sure that my schooling comes first. Throughout the years they have always checked on my progress and when things have gotten tough at school they have encouraged me to continue striving through. The poeple I have worked/work with will forever been in my heart since they have been there for me through alot. I know it sounds like I am talking about my best friend or something, which in actuality I am. This is because being apart of Effectur you automatically become apart of a family.

Billing Statements???

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 04:14:00 +0000

I have quite a few clients tell me well I have never gotten any bill statement in the mail from you so I did not know what to pay. First I want to say I am sorry. We do not do monthly bill statements for our clients. Your payment dates and amounts are all put on your Promissory Note that you received and sign when you first initially sign up with us. This is your billing statement through the whole time you are a client with us. I promise we are not trying to make things hard on you. SO REMEMBER YOUR PROMISSORY NOTE IS YOUR BEST FRIEND WHEN COMES TO GETTING PAYMENTS IN ON TIME. Hint hint :)

Effectur- Stair Step Part 5- Enrolled Agent

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 15:01:00 +0000

Enrolled Agent- This is a person you most likely will never speak with. They work closely side by side with your Case Specialist. This person is the one that actually talks to the IRS, Revenue Officer, or State Revenue Office on your behalf. This person is one of the people that is listed on your POA ( Power of Attorney) that you singed when you first started with the Effectur. They use what information the Case Specialist gives them and negotiates your case down.

Effectur- Stair Step Part 4- Case Specialist

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 16:34:00 +0000

Case Specialist- This is the person that pieces all your information together once you have all your returns submitted to the IRS or State Revenue Office. They look at your information and see what "Right Fit Solution" will work best for your situation. This is the person you will talk to the most that will ask you for what seems like a ton of paper work. The main thing to remember with your case specialist is everything they ask you for is time sensitive. They can not show the IRS information that is more then 3 months old. This is why it is so important to get all your information to them in a quick and timely manner. If not then they would have to re ask you for information. Which makes your case take longer to come to a resolution plus it makes everyone have to do double the work.

Also, this is where you might get a letter about "non-response" this is us warning you that you need to get your information in. Once you get three of these letters we close your case. And you can reopen it with us but there is a 250.00 reactivation fee. This is because most of the time when this happens the Case Specialist has to start all over on your case.

Effectur-Stair Step Part 3- Tax Preparer

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 00:23:00 +0000

Depending on what you sign up for us to do for you, you can either go to a case specialist or a tax preparer.

Tax Preparer- This is the person who actually puts your return together whether it may be state, federal, personal, or even business returns. The will be asking you to fill out forms called "tax organizers" with your personal information. So they can decide on what forms are best to fill out for you. Yes this form might seem a little long and time consuming but it is in your best interest to fill out all the applies to you, if not then you are cheating yourself in the end.

Stay tuned tomorrow for insight into the work of your case specialist!!!!

Effectur-Stair step Part 2- Tax Consultant

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 00:22:00 +0000

Tax Consultant- This is the he/she that you first initially talk to that you tell them what your situation is, they go over a ruff draft of your finances to see if we can help you or not with the IRS or the State Revenue Office, If not they let you know what the best thing you should do is and how to get there. They also set up your payment schedule and method of payment if you decide to use our services. Sometime right before these guys though depending on how you find our company you might talk to someone in our tele-sales team which does a even more brief over view with you so they can send you over to the Tax Consultant.

These are you people to help you take the first steps to relieving the burden of the IRS or State Revenue Office off your shoulders.

Effectur- Stair step

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 00:04:00 +0000

Another main complaint I have heard from clients over the years is “I have been switched around to so many people!" Which I know for some people can make you think that we are just shuffling you around and not doing any thing on your case. Which I assure you that is defiantly not what we are doing. When you sign up with Effectur you first go to a tax consultant, then your case specialist. And in between them you might have to talk to a tax preparer, or even an account specialist (like myself) if your payment did not come in. So I figure to help easy your mind about the process I am going to explain the roles of each of these positions so you can feel more comfortable with how this journey can go when you decide to let Effectur help you with your tax problems.

I am going to do a series called Effectur-Stair step that will explain the roles of each position. Also, I will include some posts about other positions you might hear when talking to your case specialist that you will not come directly in contact with. A great example of this is your enrolled agent. So please stay tuned to take an in depth look at Effectur’s workings for the inside out.

Double Ended Sword

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 18:58:00 +0000

Being in collections for this industry can be a double ended sword for our clients. They are on a set payment schedule for us, when at the same time the IRS can put a wage levy on them at any time. You would never guess how tricky it can be to handle a client that has just been levied and also has a payment due. Being in collections you realize that everything you do is defiantly on a case to case decision on what you can do for that client. You defiantly hear some interesting stores along the way :)

Consequences for not paying on time

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 19:15:00 +0000

Every thing in life has some type of consequence whether good or bad. Well the same goes for our clients when it comes to paying. I figure I would put a list out so our clients know what will happen if they do not pay their payments in a timely fashion.

Changing payment date- First time is forgiven and any time after that there is a $20.00 charge to your account
Returned check/ NSF- $25.00 fee
Case closed due to non-response- (Which is not a good thing if you want Effectur to get done with your case in a quick and timely fashion you need to make sure you keep in contact and get in all paperwork in as it is needed.) But to reopen your case after this is a $250.00 reactivation fee.
Non-payment more then 60 days old- This is automatic grounds for us to send you to a collection agency. Do not worry though we will definitely let you know if your account gets to this point. In order to keep your account going at that point though is to pay ALL back payments.

With all of these things and any payments that we do not receive we do call all our clients and let them know. We are not the type of company that does not inform our clients of where their status is and just send them over to a collection agency or anything. We especially in accounting treat our clients as we ourselves want to be treated in the same situation.

Being an employee

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 21:32:00 +0000

I have worked with Effectur for over 2 years now. I have watched this company flourish from taking up 3 rooms in an old renovated warehouse, to moving to an actually office space where you do not have to run all the way down the hall to go to the bathroom. Hehehe

This job opportunity fell into my lap my junior year of college and I am happy it did. I could have never asked for a better company to work for. It opened my eyes to a whole other world of helping people that I never thought of before. Also it expanded my knowledge about how to do taxes, what it all involves, and how the government works that I was so oblivious to.

They also let me really spread my wings with learning leadership very quickly. Since from the time I got here they handed me a task and wanted me to put a process together for it. At first I admit I was scared out of my mind, but then I realized how naturally it came to me. Like Kenneth and Reed saw something in me that I had not even seen myself.

My first job was to call the leads we got in and then transfer them over to a tax consultant. Which was really easy just need to be aware of time zone hours. My first big task though was to create a department that we called "Welcome." I was so excited!!! The man duty of this department was to of course welcome the client into Effectur and then to get all their initial docs (Promissory Note, Engagement Agreement, Tax Organizers, Financial Disclosure Forms, etc.) before I sent them on to the Case Specialist. Our goal was to be able to get the clients information in faster and elevate the load on the case specialist so they can focus on closing their cases better. I loved this job! It gave me so much satisfaction, to take this small idea and create this amazing system. Unfortunately since it was such a success and Kenneth and Reed were able to see that it did not elevate the case specialist load like we hoped it would do. So we gave the duties back to them.

After that I got put into the role of collection specialist where I still am today. With this I still had to make all new processes in getting clients that have not paid us for the work we have done to pay. This was very interesting for me for I am not a mean or demanding person at all. I am very understand and 99.9% of the time give people the benefit of the doubt when they have already broken their promise to me more then once. But as the year has gone on I found myself being able to be tougher with clients since I document everything the client and I say.

I love the company I work for; they’re one of the few companies that family still means something. And they also want the best for their employees. For heavens sake they are going to give me a bonus for quitting smoking over 6 months. And guess what I have been a non-smoker for 2 months and 1 week today!!!!! And I can tell the difference. :)

Keeping payments on time

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 20:36:00 +0000

I have noticed the biggest thing clients forget to check and read is our Promissory Note. I always hear I did not realize I had a payment to come out; I don't have the money to cover it. So my biggest advice for clients not to have to talk to me in collections is to double check their payment schedule. This would help the client be able to concentrate more on what the case specialist needs to complete their tax work.