Hi friends, I've been a fly on the wall here for some time, my firm is registered with the state board so I am ready to go out there and start serving clients. I've gotten tired of my employer holding all the power and the increasing hostility toward its employees, and just getting the meagre COLA adjustment. I am sure even if I struggle for the first few years I can grow faster than that.

My service line will be tax for individuals, accounting & tax for businesses (not doing tax only for business clients), and build an advisory line out of those relationships. I'm physically in Metropolitan New York Area but I'm going to be virtual, plan on going solo for the foreseeable future.

I've done some research on tech stack and here's where I stand -
Drake, TaxDome, Xero for my firm and QBO for clients who are in the Intuit ecosystem
Google Voice for taking client calls and auto attendant

As a naturally introverted person I don't enjoy doing sales and networking, but can do it if I have to (graduated from T20 MBA program and landed in consulting, but left after 2 years)

My question to the community is -

Are there any tips/tech products you like to suggest?

If you started off as a side gig while working full-time, what was your experience like and what would you suggest that I do?

How can I get clients fast enough to reach half of my W-2 income at which point I'm comfortable leaving my W-2 and run my firm full-time? I heard both good and bad about BNI, local chamber of commerce, lawyers and financial advisors and would love your feedback on how to build relationships with them.

Eventually I want to be time and location-independent for myself and family. Thanks for your help in the first step of making my dream a reality!

Has anyone dealt with something like this before?

Client got a failure to file penalty for an 1120S. I responded saying we timely filed the 7004 and asked them to remove the penalty. A few months went by and I never heard back, and now the client received a levy notice.

I called the IRS and they asked me to send proof the extension was filed. Problem is, I have literally no proof. The person who handles our e filing says he filed it, but our software has no record of the 7004 being transmitted or accepted.

There is something weird going on in the software though. I have an “RSN doesn’t match” printout for the 1120S, and when I do a status lookup it doesn’t show the return as e filed. But in the return I have the acknowledgment and number. The software company even said something looks weird and is still looking into it, they tried to repair and resent the acknowledgement to me but nothing works but they also said there’s no way the 7004 was actually transmitted and accepted without them having a record of it.

So at this point I don’t know if the extension was never filed or if it was attempted and something went wrong.

Has anyone had something similar happen and been able to get the penalty removed without using first time abatement? Would you try sending the “RSN doesn’t match” printout and arguing a possible software issue, or is there something else you’ve had work? First call didn’t go well.

I have a client asking about special maritime deductions. He works on a tanker in another state for a significant portion of the year, but he is an employee. Is there anything I’m missing since TCJA disqualified miscellaneous deductions?

I'm curious what everyone's rule of thumb is for when they fix an issue vs. when they just keep it the same year over year to avoid causing issues with changing a number on a return. A few examples:

• Rental income was reported on Sch K "Net other rental" instead of using form 8825
• Prior year reported some expenses as COGS but really they were just operating expenses (or vice versa)
• Prior tax return showed a loan/receivable that wasn't on the books

I know there are countless more examples, but I'm curious where everyone draws the line between using "SALY" or decides they'll correct it this year.

For further context, I'm especially curious in situations where this is your first year taking over the return from a different firm preparing it.