2009 TS Series 1 Planning

Tax SchoolSeries

Session 1

TheRight Start

Tax School Series

Your Path to Staffing for a Successful Tax Season

Session 5 – Building Careers

Communicating Employment

Opportunities, Evaluating

Student Performance &

Student to Employee Hiring

Process

Session 4 – Sharing and

Building Knowledge

Delivering Content

Session 3 – Filling Classes

Recruiting and Converting Leads into Students

Session 2 – Getting the Word Out

Marketing, Generating Leads, and

Entering Leads into Employee

Education

Session 1 – The Right Start

Planning, Staffing,

Training, and Building

Curriculum

ObjectivesBy the end of this session, you’ll know:

• What resources are available to help set your goals and plan your Tax School

• What key roles you should consider staffing and the tasks to assign to them

• How to use the training curricula available on the Learning Center and the resources on JHnet

• How to build your curriculum and create classes

• Where to get information on State Regulatory Considerations

Operate Your Tax School

Business Center

• What’s New

• Tax School - By Task and By Role

• Tax School Tools

• eServices for Tax School

• Tax School Reports

• JH Learning Center Links

• Tax School A - Z

Setting Goals

• Identify your Tax Season goals:– How many tax returns you

plan to prepare next year– How many Tax Preparers

you need to prepare those tax returns

– How many experienced Tax Preparers are interested in returning

• Identify your Tax School goals:– How many Tax School

students you need to complete the course

– How many Tax School students you need to enroll

– How many Tax School leads you need to generate

Determining Preparer Needs

• Sample• Template

Determining Preparer Needs

Goal Summary

• Budgeted Returns 3000

• Total Preparers Needed 24

• Returning Preparers 11

• New Preparers Needed 13– Daytime Preparers 7– Evening Preparers 4

• Registration Goal 65

• Inquiries Goal 650

Budgeting

Create a budget that will allow you to recruit the necessary number of tax preparers to meet – or exceed – your goals for tax return growth.

• Identify expenses for Tax School:– Staff salaries, wages, bonuses, and incentives– Staff training– Marketing and promotions– Office rent and utilities– Telephone– Insurance– Computers, books, and supplies– Awards and certificates

• Determine your “break-even” number:– Divide your total expenses by the number of students needed to

meet your recruiting goal.

• Determine your registration fees, tuition fees, and book fees, if applicable.

Budgeting

Staffing Your Tax School

Working together with a well-trained staff, you should be confident you can achieve your Tax School goals.

Staffing Your Tax School Coordinator Responsibilities

• Monitoring compliance with state regulations for operating a Tax School

• Executing and monitoring your marketing plan

• Tracking inquiries and registrations

• Helping hire and train Recruiters and Instructors

• Entering classes in eServices

• Monitoring course sessions and student progress

• Monitoring fees and expenditures

Staffing Your Tax School Recruiter Responsibilities

• Handling inquiries

• Establishing relationships with leads and enrolling them in Tax School

• Tracking and managing leads

• Following up with those who haven’t registered

• Training support staff to assist with inquiries

• Holding Free Information Seminars

• Processing student registrations and mailing Registration Packets

• Providing input into the hiring of Tax Preparers

Staffing Your Tax School Instructor Responsibilities

• Managing course sessions

• Monitoring student attendance and progress

• Delivering course content

• Facilitating online classes

• Administering ProFiler labs

• Explaining potential employment opportunities

• Evaluating students for employment

Support Staff• Assist with paperwork and

data entry for inquiries and registration

• Enter lead and student information into Employee Education

• Process registrations, including paperwork and fees

• Send Registration Packet to registrants

• Answer the telephone and take messages when the Recruiter is either busy or unavailable

• Assisting with classroom set-up and testing computers before classes

Task School – By Tasks

Analyzing Your

Tax School

Evaluating Students

Delivering Content

Recruiting & Registering

Managing Leads

Marketing &

Generating Leads

Setting Your Curriculum

Planning & Staffing

Tax Education Curriculum Catalog

• Description• Target Audience• # of CPE for Enrolled Agents• Length• Format• Materials Needed• Source • Availability

Planning Your Basic Income Tax Course

Delivery Options:– Traditional Classroom– Computerized or Online Classroom– Online

Reference Materials:– Basic Income Tax Rollout Guide– Basic Income Tax User’s Demo

Planning Your Basic Income Tax Course

These recommended materials are available from RR Donnelley:•Traditional Delivery

– Basic Income Tax 1, 2, 3 (Kit) Participant’s Manual– Basic Income Tax 1, 2, 3 Facilitator’s Guide– Basic Income Tax Transparencies 1, 2, 3

•Computerized Delivery– Basic Income Tax 1, 2, 3 (Kit) Participant’s Manual– Basic Income Tax 1, 2, 3 Facilitator’s Guide– Basic Income Tax Transparencies 1, 2, 3

•Online Delivery (Includes Online and Online Classroom)– Basic Income Tax 1, 2, 3 (Kit) Participant’s Manual– Basic Income Tax 1, 2, 3 Facilitator’s Guide

Building CurriculumTo build your curriculum:

1. Gather data to determine the training needs of your prior-year tax preparers.

• Fee Modeling eService – What type of returns?• Gold Guarantee Claims• Red Flag Report• Risk Analysis Report• EA Track

2. Gather the tools to plan your curriculum.• Tax Education Curriculum Catalog • Tax School Calendar

3. Consider offering an Enrolled Agent Study Group session.

Building Your CurriculumTo build your curriculum (continued):

4. Review your Tax School Goals.

5. Determine Tax School Offerings.• New vs. Experienced Prepares• Tax Education Curriculum Catalog• Delivery Methods• Lab Work

6. Determine course session locations and dates.• New Offices• Low Staffed Offices• Varying Times – Focus on Day/Night/Weekend Preparer Needs

Building Your CurriculumTo build your curriculum (continued):

7. Set up courses in the Employee Education eService.

9. Create your Tax School Catalog.• Enrollment Agreement• Course Offerings• Refund Policy, Etc. (Sample on the Operate Your Tax School Business

Center)

9. Purchase your course materials from RR Donnelley using the Tax School Order Form.

10. Make arrangements for your course sessions.• Reserve the rooms that you will need. • Plan your classroom set-up. • Identify equipment and supply needs.

Tax School Order Form

• Tax School Order Form Available on JHnet• Tax School Materials

– Basic Income Tax Course, Basic Modules, Intermediate Modules, and Advanced Modules

• Participant’s Guides• Facilitator’s Guides• Transparencies (BIT only)

– Administrative Items– Marketing Materials (posters, banners, lawn signs,

brochures, postcards)• Expected Ship Dates• Customized Ship Dates• Payment Dates

State Regulation Requirements

Our tax courses are subject to regulation under proprietary school laws and regulations in many states.  If you operate a tax school in one of these states, you may have to obtain a license or registration to offer your tax courses and meet other requirements relating to facilities, instructor qualifications, contribution to tuition guaranty funds, bonding and advertising.  Review the laws in your state to ensure you are in compliance with these requirements.

Regulatory Affairs Analyst, [email protected].

Summary

• Setting Goals

• Budgeting

• Staffing and Training

• Building Curriculum

• State Regulations

Location Settings

Don’t miss the live Tax School Q&A eSession which features….

Hear from a PeerSubject Matter Experts

Open Q&A Session

Any [email protected]