June 3, 2025 • 39 mins
Tired of trading hours for dollars in your tax practice? Discover how strategic planning and AI-powered tools are helping CPAs reclaim their time and boost their value.
Summary
In this conversation, Heidi Henderson and Dr. Jackie Meyer discuss the transformative power of strategic tax planning and advisory services. They explore Dr. Meyer's personal journey, the challenges faced by CPAs in achieving work-life balance, and the innovative solutions offered by Tax Plan IQ. The discussion highlights the importance of boundaries, the shift towards value pricing, and the integration of AI in tax planning. Dr. Meyer shares success stories from users of Tax Plan IQ and emphasizes the need for women in business to find their support networks and take decisive action in their careers.
Guest Information
Name: Jackie Meyer
Email: cpa@meyertax.com
Website: taxplaniq.com
Facebook: facebook.com/jackiemeyercpa
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jackiemeyercpa
TikTok / Other: https://www.youtube.com/@jackiemeyercpa
Takeaways
- Strategic tax planning can significantly enhance client outcomes and firm success.
- Personal pain often drives entrepreneurial inspiration and innovation.
- Work-life balance is crucial for CPAs to avoid burnout and maintain productivity.
- Setting boundaries is essential for managing client expectations and personal well-being.
- The shift towards strategic tax planning is being driven by industry changes and technology.
- Tax Plan IQ automates and simplifies the tax planning process for professionals.
- The ROI method of value pricing allows CPAs to charge based on estimated tax savings.
- AI can enhance tax planning efficiency but should be used thoughtfully.
- Success stories from Tax Plan IQ users demonstrate the platform's effectiveness in increasing revenue.
- Women in business should seek supportive networks and take bold actions to achieve their goals.
Chapters
00:00 Jackie Interview
37:44 Transforming Client Outcomes with Strategic Tax Planning
38:40 Innovative Value Pricing and Technology in Tax Advisory
39:08 New Chapter
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Heidi (00:06):
Welcome to Slash Tax, the podcast where we uncovered legal
tax strategies, incentives,smart investing moves to help
you slash your tax bill and growyour wealth. I'm your host,
Heidi Henderson, and I ampassionate about giving high
income earners, business owners,investors, and CPAs the tools
and strategies they need tomaximize savings and build
(00:29):
financial freedom. Today, I'mjoined by an incredible guest
who is blazing a trail instrategic tax planning and
advisory services, Doctor.Jackie Myers. Jackie is a
certified financial planner,enrolled agent, and a nationally
recognized leader in taxadvisory.
He is the founder of Tax PlanIQ, which is a revolutionary
(00:53):
SaaS platform that helps CPAsand financial professionals
deliver high value, proactivetax planning for their clients
as well. As a CPA practiceadvisor, forty under 40 honoree
from 2018 through 2022, Jackiehas dedicated her career to
advancing financial literacy,promoting work life balance, and
(01:16):
addressing cultural issues likeburnout in the accounting
industry. She has developed hersignature ROI method of value
pricing, aligning pricing withclient value and transforming
how firms deliver results. Herinfluence extends way beyond tax
strategy. Jackie is a dynamicspeaker, an author, an
(01:38):
entrepreneur, and she inspiresprofessionals to lead with
purpose, embrace technology, andachieve both personal and
professional fulfillment.
Today's episode, we're gonnadive into this intersection of
proactive tax planning,strategic advisory, and the
power of aligning your businesswith your personal why. Let's
(01:59):
welcome Jackie to the show. Ihope you're impressed. She is a
phenomenal person and a truedisruptor in the accounting
industry.
Dr.Meyer (02:07):
Hi, Jackie. You have had such an incredible journey
from founding an award winningCPA firm, then leading Tax Plan
IQ, which is such an amazingplatform. I would love to start
with just hearing what inspiredyou to start this
entrepreneurial path that you'vebeen on and how your early
experiences shaped yourapproach.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Okay. Wow. Well, Heidi, thanks for having me.
That's that's a loaded question.
Dr.Meyer (02:32):
Yeah. Let's diving right in.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
Yeah. Diving right in. Okay. So inspiration. My
inspiration kinda comes frompain, so it kinda reminds me of
Simon Sonnette.
If you've seen his start with ay, and he had some pain. He had
some depression, anxiety aroundwhat he was doing for a living.
Mine stemmed from having kidsand trying to run my own CPA
(02:55):
firm and just how there'sliterally zero balance that you
can get in that endeavor. And somy body started rejecting
working nights and weekends andall the time, and I had some
health problems. And so I wentdown this crazy path of like,
how do I change my firm, or do Ijust am I completely burned out
(03:19):
and I need to get out of thisprofession?
Right? And I did that about sixyears into my firm. My firm
started at 10, 20 16 afterhaving my second kid is when I
was finally like, okay, enough'senough. I went out, I found a
business coach. His name's ChuckBauer who I ended up doing
coaching with him.
He's a great friend. I was like,hey, I need help. I need to just
(03:41):
change something in my practiceor else I'm done with this. And
he simply asked me who I likeworking with and why out of my
clientele. And from there, Ideveloped tax advisory packages
around high net wealthexecutives and completely
transformed my firm.
Eventually got my hours down tofour hours a week like Tim
(04:01):
Ferriss. Wow. Yeah. And tripledmy revenue. So it was quite the
story.
And so that's what inspired mewas like my personal pain. And
then I always had this like urgeto help others. And I actually
wanted to be a counselor growingup, but because of personal
(04:21):
issues in my own life orcounselors I knew that ended up
being a little cray cray, Idecided no, I'm gonna go down
the business path. I don't wantanything to do with this
emotional stuff. Still need tohelp others.
And so by discovering how Icould transform my own firm, I
found a way or that path forothers. And so I developed a
whole pricing methodology aroundit. I started coaching other
(04:42):
accountants. And then, you know,the rest is history. I created
Tax Plan IQ, the tax advisorysoftware for tax advisors.
And we're helping a lot ofpeople now. So it is kind of
Dr.Meyer (04:53):
a dream come true. It is amazing. So just as
background, you know, we had theintro about your you know,
really what you've built, yourfirm, and we're gonna dive into
Tax Plan IQ, this platform aboutthe industry, what's happening
in accounting and the CPA space,because I think what you did is
probably the epitome of of whatmany accountants want to do but
(05:14):
don't see a path through. Andthen one personal reason I was
real well, two reasons.Obviously.
I was really excited to have youon the show is, one, I I have so
much respect for what you'vedone professionally and the
innovation with building thisplatform. But, also, this
podcast was very much when Istarted this, it was totally a
passion project. It was one ofthose where I think you get to a
(05:37):
point in your life where yourecognize that I'm willing to be
really vulnerable even if peopledon't like it. And so for me,
the healthy, wealthy wise, thebalance and finding how to
create that in life while wetake care of ourselves
physically and mentally and wetake time for our families and
we can still be successful hasbeen a major passion of mine.
(06:00):
Working in the CPA world made meso sad because I saw so many
people.
I've seen so many people whohaven't been able to find that
balance. And so that's somethingI wanna dive into before we
start to dig into actually thethe platform of what you've
built. But I hear you're writinga book called The Balance Sheet
of Life. Is that right?
Speaker 3 (06:20):
Yes. Yes. I I think I actually might be evolving the
title. The Balance Sheet of Lifetends to scare people because as
soon as you're a balance sheet,you're like, I want nothing to
do with this. So I think I'mthinking it's gonna be more like
the balanced millionaire.
And so I'll have kind of anaccountant edition where we deep
dive into how accountants can dothat. And then a more kinda
(06:43):
general edition where everyonehas these like, this weird love
hate relationship with the wordbalance too.
Dr.Meyer (06:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Some people say like there isn't work life balance,
there's only harmony and thingslike that. And I totally get
that. But we I think that youstill need to measure and
optimize what you can in yourlife, what you care about, and
that's what this concept is allabout.
Dr.Meyer (07:06):
I think it's amazing. And, you know, your CEO, I
believe, Dave Lucas was on theshow, And he shared that, you
know, that it's more aboutharmony versus that, quote,
unquote, work life balance. AndI love that. That was one of the
things I wrote down as he and Iwere talking because it's like,
yeah. You you do have to createsome sacrifice.
(07:26):
I think we know I was a parentas well when I was starting my
career, and I made a lot ofsacrifices. There were lots of
games and dance recitals andthings that I missed because I
had to be at certain events or Ihad to do certain things. So
there are sacrifices to be made.But in accounting, specifically
in tax, I mean, it can be sodemanding with tax deadlines,
(07:48):
and burnout is a huge issue. Ithink it's also why the industry
is struggling to actually addnew professionals to the space.
So looking to create morebalance in their lives while
still, like, growing a practice,what are some of the things that
you're really honing in on totry to to advise people on?
Speaker 3 (08:07):
Well, there's several layers to that. First of all,
you need to kind of reevaluateevery aspect of your firm,
starting with pricing. When areyou doing pricing? How are you
pricing? Are you making a lotharder on yourself?
So there's really practicalthings like that. I advocate for
value pricing and then createdthis ROI method of value
(08:30):
pricing, which is just aproposal that you give the
client visualizing tax savingsand their return on investment
in you. Right? It's not thelike, it's not that
revolutionary. It's prettysimple.
It's pretty straightforward.People just, for some reason,
aren't doing it. So it'simportant to really reevaluate
those different processes inyour firm and figure out how to
(08:52):
make those easier. But thesecond component that is a lot
harder for most people isliterally just boundaries. Being
able to say no.
Being able to tell a clientyou're not the best fit for
them. Because you're probablynot. In a lot of cases, I see
accounts just taking on any andevery work thinking, oh, I feel
(09:12):
so bad for them. Or they calledme up on 414 and they're in a
bad situation. Well, guess what?
Got them in that bad situation.Themselves. Yeah. And so you're
gonna by irritating this, andthen you working all night the
night before a deadline, or youmaking your team work all night
(09:33):
the night before a deadline,because someone else didn't have
an appropriate boundary. So youreally need to strengthen that
that that boundary trait, so tospeak.
And a favorite book of mine thatI think is really great about
that is called boundaries bydoctor Henry Cloud. So I'd
highly recommend that toeverybody.
Dr.Meyer (09:53):
Love it. I will put that in the show notes as well
because that and the the startwith why, that I love that book.
It's so it's so simple, but sopowerful. And I think you're
right. But with boundaries, it'sinteresting because I think with
when we set boundaries, you youyou know, people are afraid, and
I think many accountants tend tobe a little introverted.
(10:15):
And, you know, they're they'renot that strong. But the
interesting thing is oftentimespeople respect it more on the
other side. So For sure. Youknow, if they decide not to work
with you, it's probably not abad thing because a lot of
people actually will end updisrespecting someone who will
bend over backwards and work allnight to finish something, and
then they think they can do itall the time. So it's a great
(10:37):
point with boundaries.
I mean, that's all things withlife. Right? Even kids.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Yeah. For sure. Right before this, I was teaching a
webinar on four steps to, like,tripling your profitability
during tax busy season. Andthere were a lot of things we
kinda deep dived around whatwe're talking about here in that
session. But it was it was neat.
There were a lot of like reallyhopeful people there. Whether
you can do, you know, do atransition in the middle of busy
(11:03):
season or wait until post busyseason, that's up to you. But
think it's important to givepeople hope no matter what time
of year it is that there thereare a lot of resources out there
Dr.Meyer (11:12):
to help them. I love that. So let's let's back up a
little bit and dig into, firstoff, strategic tax planning and
then into Tax Plan IQ, and thenthe ROI pricing model, because I
I think it kind of segues allwith how it flows. But this
whole shift in the accountingindustry, what you've done with
Tax Plan IQ, in creating a wayfor accountants to more easily
(11:36):
create a strategic tax plan. Imean, it is I've seen more
discussion, more disruption,more change, I think, in the
last two to three years thanI've ever seen in the last
twenty plus years in thisindustry.
What do you think is drivingthat shift?
Speaker 3 (11:53):
Oh, I think that COVID was a huge wake up call
across air every area of ourlives. People were thinking, do
I really have to do put up withall this nonsense anymore?
Right? And so I think thecombination of that and the
progress we're seeing with AI,chat GPT, large language models,
(12:15):
the writing I mean, there's afear factor and there's a hope
factor of like, oh, I can findsomething better but I also
could be out of a job if I stickwith just compliance work.
Right?
So I think that combination ofsqueeze is like what's moving
most people. And I'm okay withthat because that's my literally
my mission which I don't knowwhy I care so much to help other
(12:37):
people move into this. I'm gonnago through all the bad things I
went through in the profession.Right? Because it it it can be
really rewarding.
And so, you know, that's that'swhy I advocate for it. But it's
my personal mission to move asmany people as possible into tax
advisory because I think itsolves all our problems.
Dr.Meyer (12:53):
Yeah. I I I it certainly looks that way. What
do you think? I mean, you kindof you talk you touched on it a
little bit, but what ultimatelyis holding firms back from
jumping into more of a strategictax planning versus just
strictly compliance?
Speaker 3 (13:07):
Too busy, confidence in not understanding tax
advisory, fear aroundregulations. Gosh. The list goes
on and on. There's so manydifferent things. You know,
people ask me all the time,what's the one biggest reason to
hold someone back?
There isn't one reason. There'slike five or six that are pretty
evenly spread across firms.Whether you have the technical
(13:28):
knowledge, you don't know how todo the sale. I mean, there's a
lot of stuff involved there. Sowhat we've done, I might be
jumping ahead here, but at TaxOne IQ last summer, we
identified like, a softwarealone isn't enough.
People need that confidence andsupport and accountability from
others. And so we actuallycreated an entirely new
(13:50):
subscription tier where we offertons of CPE. We walk you through
exactly how to do every step ofthe process. We have over a 30
tax strategies in our library,but we deep dive into them to
help, like, hold your handthrough it versus making you
have to do it on your own. Andso we've really tried to address
(14:12):
all of those reasons why peoplecan't move into tax advisory,
and it's working really well.
Dr.Meyer (14:17):
Yeah. So so let's dig in to, like, backing up,
assuming that our listeners arenot familiar with Tax Plan IQ.
Yeah. Dive in a little bit aboutwhat exactly have you built, and
how are you helping taxprofessionals be able to shift
their business? How does thisplatform essentially help them?
Speaker 3 (14:37):
Yeah. So TaxiQ, I kinda say is like a a blue
ocean, new type software. Itdoesn't do really anything other
softwares do. We don't do justdo tax projections, for example.
It's all about visualizing thesales process and automating the
tax plan.
(14:57):
And then automating and makingmore efficient implementation of
planning and managing thatclient relationship. So it's a
lot of like different productsinto one, but I was actually
just putting together a casestudy of like how much time it
saves through the differentsteps involved. So a quick
example, if you're not quitefollowing me yet as to what it
(15:18):
does, you upload a client's lastfile ten forty. It'll
automatically identify withinabout thirty seconds now over 50
tax strategy suggestions andamounts. You spend another ten,
fifteen minutes maybe like finetuning those results.
You create an automated proposalfor the client using the ROI
method to visualize the taxsavings, visualize the
(15:40):
investment in you. Itautomatically creates a
PowerPoint presentation to showthe client because most people
are visual learners. They're notnecessarily huge number
crunchers like we are. And itautomatically produces a full
tax plan report where each pageis going through each strategy,
how to implement it, what aretheir to dos and tasks. You can
(16:01):
assign those out in the softwareand whatnot.
So I don't know, Heidi, if youhave a better way of describing
it. But to me, a lot of peopleare like, I don't get it, what
it does, because it's not a taxprojector. And so that's how I'm
trying to kinda fill in thegaps.
Dr.Meyer (16:16):
Yeah. No. I think that's a great explanation. Can
you provide a few, like,examples and insights of what
might someone might expect fromwhat is reported in the in the
report? Now I'll preface thatwith the fact that you you said
how many 30, I think is what yousaid, are opportunities that
it's identifying.
You know, I'm always the devil'sdevil's advocate here. You know?
(16:38):
I had a conversation with theCPA, they're like, oh, you know,
I mean, this is just like itsays we should just apply the
Augusta rule. I mean, you know,this is just small stuff. This
is not what I'm interested in.
So defend that because Yeah.Yeah. I've looked at it. I'm
using the platform, and I thinkit's just amazing. I'm your
biggest reporter.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
You. I mean, I it's like this has never been done
before. Like, I literally wentone by one, like, analyzing
someone's ten forty, figuringout what that formula is, what
numbers to pull, and then how tosuggest, like, how does it
suggest if someone needs mealsand entertainment deduction on a
schedule c? Right? Yep.
So there's, you know, there's alot of estimation in that
(17:20):
process. But to me, the simplestuff is just as important as
the big stuff. If I'm going tobring a tax plan to the table
for somebody, I'm gonna realizethat I looked at it from a
complete holistic perspective.And we're gonna get the home
office deduction, Augusta rule,some of that basic stuff out of
(17:40):
the way, alongside any othermore advanced planning that we
do. And it's up to the taxadvisor how advanced they wanna
be.
I mean, they could literallyjust hone in on those super big
ones, you know, saving hundredsof thousands of dollars a year.
Or they could be more holisticand provide, like, three to five
strategies that have a good mixof both so that you're not
overlooking the smaller thingsfor the client. I think it's a
(18:03):
disservice to overlook thosethings.
Dr.Meyer (18:07):
Yeah. I mean, being in specialty tax. Yeah. That that's
preaching to the choir becauseone of the, you know, one of the
struggles we have and I I tellthis all the time. Like, we'll
work on a a a project for aclient.
They'll be thrilled, and they'llsay, wow. This was amazing. I
saved so much money. How did Inever know about this? What else
should we be doing?
Else can we be looking at? Andwe are not a tax compliance
(18:29):
firm, so we're working with ourCPA partners. We want to manage
those relationships. And so it'sdifficult when clients are
begging for those opportunities.They are looking for strategy.
And I know it's difficultbecause it's a timing issue.
Right? So when we look at that,I mean, the fact that this
(18:50):
creates a PowerPoint, it reallyis phenomenal because the way
that it represents the benefitand the opportunity is pretty
dramatic.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
Uh-huh.
Dr.Meyer (19:00):
How are you seeing this help firms increase their
revenue? And I'll then alsopreface that question with the
fear of people feeling likethey're price gouging or they're
selling. And, you know, there'sthis kind of fear, I think, with
many CPAs. Well, I don't want myclient to feel like I'm trying
to sell them other things justso that I can get more money.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
For sure. Yeah. So that's what's so cool about tax
advisory is it sells itself, inmy humble I mean, when you're
able to quantify the estimatedtax savings, you're obviously
not guaranteeing the tax savingswith a proposal upfront. Right?
I mean, but you can guaranteethe client satisfaction and your
(19:41):
engagement.
There's other ways you can makesure that you're taking care of
that relationship. But yeah, Imean, value pricing upfront,
especially with utilizingtangible tax savings and then
looking at a few otherintangible factors like the
complexity of the work and stufflike that. It just makes it all
really, really easy and it's winwin. I mean, the client gets at
(20:04):
least three times more savingsthan they did before. You
naturally are getting paid atleast three times more.
And the client's netting more intheir pocket. So no one loses
here. And, I mean, it it's allabout the end result is all
about the bottom line thatyou're getting the client. If
the cost benefit's not there,don't propose the work. You
(20:25):
know?
Yeah. Yeah. It it really is.It's incredible. One piece of
this that you've developed, oneof
Dr.Meyer (20:31):
the most surprising things, actually, was this ROI
method of value pricing. So youhave created and and I think
you've termed that phrase ROImethod of value And it's so
interesting because we've gotcontingency rules within the CPA
industry where there's a lot ofconcern about charging a
(20:53):
percentage of savings or havingour Circular two thirty
compliance issues and how do wework around that or we're not
allowed to do this or whatnot.You've developed this really
interesting pricing model. Canyou dig into that and kinda
share how I mean, I'm, first offreally interested actually in
how you developed it, and thenreally how you've been able to
(21:15):
implement that into theplatform.
Speaker 3 (21:17):
Yeah. So let's start with how I developed it. I
developed it because I wasfrustrated that I kept hearing
over and over again how I needto be pricing upfront and I need
to be value pricing. But it wasso theoretical. It was always so
theoretical.
Like, what does that even mean?How do I standardize that? How
do I make that fair across theboard for all my clients? How do
(21:39):
I make it to where my team canquote the same way that I would
quote something? And then Ikinda worked backwards with what
can and can't we do as CPAs.
Because, yeah, we can't chargecontingent fees. And so what
does that mean? Well, acontingent fee is charging on
the back end for exactly thepercentage savings you find on
(22:00):
someone's tax return. Okay? Soalright.
Well, can't do that. Although, Ithink it's a pretty silly thing.
I think that and they'reactually doubling down on the
contingent fee regulations nowwhen attorneys and other types
of engagements are just fine touse contingent fees. But okay,
fine. We won't do them.
So then it's like, okay, well,what is value pricing? And how
(22:25):
does someone assess a value ofsomething? Well, some people
will say, you can never assess avalue on a value price. Right?
Engagement.
I disagree. Because we have taxsavings involved. Right? Mhmm.
So I can figure out an estimateof a hundred thousand dollars of
tax savings that I think I canget you.
(22:46):
Again, I'm not guaranteeing it.I'm charging up front based on
those proposed results. And I'madjusting the price on the back
end like a contingent fee would.And what's really neat is that
the AICPA is actually on boardwith this method and they're
mass releasing it to theirmembers this year. It was
supposed to happen last year,but hey, you know how
(23:08):
bureaucracy is.
So I'm just kinda waitingaround. I'm so thankful that
they're embracing thismethodology and that they're
getting it out there. But I havea completely free workbook,
Excel workbook that I spenthundreds of hours put my heart
and soul into for anybody to usewhether you wanna use Tax Plan
IQ or not to use the ROI method.So I'd be happy to share that
(23:30):
with your listeners. They canactually just go to
taxplaniq.com/ROI dash method,and you can download the
workbook and give it a go.
And I think people will reallybe like, wow, this just makes
sense.
Dr.Meyer (23:44):
That's an I I downloaded the spreadsheet, and
I have to say, I was actuallyreally surprised. Like, I can't
believe they just gave this tome. There is because there
really is
Speaker 3 (23:52):
so Well, I've been I've been told maybe not to give
it away for free. I didn't Idon't care. I I want it to be a
gift to the profession. I wannahelp people, and I want to
alleviate any you know, one ofthose many problems they might
have to moving to tax advisory,and I think this is one way
forward. So Yeah.
There you go. You're welcome,everyone.
Dr.Meyer (24:10):
Well, it is I mean, I say that from the sense of it
being so generous because itreally does have so much in
there. And it clearly it was itwas a project that that took a
lot of time to develop. Sothat's why I say that is that,
you know, it it is a gift. And Ithink that's amazing that you
guys are that you personally areworking with AICPA and really
(24:32):
creating more of that awarenessand encouraging firms to do
that. One issue with thencreating a tax plan is what
happens when you create thiscool tax plan and there's these
15 things you recommend?
Now the CPA actually has to dothat or help their client set it
up. How do you typicallyapproach that? And how would you
(24:52):
also then respond to a CPA whosays, look, I just don't have
time to do this. And now I havea plan. This is gonna create
more work for me.
Speaker 3 (25:00):
Right. So it's up to the advisor what services they
wanna offer. I have some of ourtop users of Taxman IQ actually
charge a flat fee like $4,500just to hand them the tax plan
report that Taxman IQ produces.Mhmm. And then they don't
implement for the client.
(25:21):
They say, you know, look, here'swhat I'm recommending. Take this
to, you know, your tax preparer,whatever, and someone else can
help you kinda thing. That'sfine. I mean, it's it's super
profitable. I personallypreferred to do the
implementation myself so thateverything was done at a really
high level, like what I callconcierge level of service for
my clientele.
And it's gosh. It's soprofitable too because it is the
(25:47):
hardest part knowing how to dothings. Although it is all in
your learning. So the first timeyou implement a plan, it
probably takes you twenty hours.The second time maybe takes you
ten.
The third time I mean, by thedozen time you implement these
plans with similar typestrategies for similar types of
clients, I mean, it's it's notthat much work. It's a few hours
(26:09):
of work and you're looking at, Imean, fees of tens of thousands
you can charge for this becauseother people can't or won't do
it. So just know that you havethat choice. You can charge a
one time planning fee. You cancharge ongoing subscription fees
or you can do both.
And we did both at Meier Tax andwe were very successful with it.
Dr.Meyer (26:30):
Yeah. Amazing. Have you guys used AI in the
automation of the platform? Isthat part of of, you know,
what's powering it?
Speaker 3 (26:39):
We have. Yeah. So interesting enough, you know, AI
is so new. We were really likean early adopter when it came to
figuring out how it worked, butI knew there was opportunity
there. And I'm an avid chat GPTuser.
Like, it's my BFF. I just sawdeep research came out in the,
like, twenty dollar a monthversion this morning. And I had
(27:00):
it, like, review 78 PowerPointslides for me and help me figure
out the script of exactly whatto put on every single slide. It
was So imagine what AI can do ifyou if you tell it what to do
with a tax return. Right?
So that's the method that wetook. We first went like full on
(27:23):
large language model typelearning with it and with the
suggestion of strategies. Thenwe actually paired it back
because at the end of the day,it's more these logical
assumptions or what we call thedeterministic approach of
programming that is better whenit comes to suggesting tax
planning ideas off of someone'sten forty. So we have a chatbot
(27:47):
named Jane, j a I n e. She'slike a really smart tax manager
in Tax One IQ that you caninteract with.
She'll help you come up withideas and whatnot. But our
strategy suggestions tool isactually more just programming
than logic. And we found thatthat's a lot more reliable than,
you know, the the LLMs canprovide at the moment.
Dr.Meyer (28:10):
Got it. That's so it's so interesting. I mean, the the
inception of AI in our world hasbeen unbelievable, and the speed
with which it's moving
Speaker 3 (28:19):
Yeah.
Dr.Meyer (28:19):
Is just incredible. I, like you, it has become my best
friend.
Speaker 3 (28:23):
Yeah.
Dr.Meyer (28:24):
And it's actually shocking to me how helpful it
can be. So I love that. Can youhave or do you have any success
stories? I would love to hear ofa couple stories of some CPA
firms that you've worked withYeah. That have seen really
transformational results.
Speaker 3 (28:39):
For sure. Yeah. I mean, I could I could pull up a
list of things, but just off thetop of my head, we had a first
time tax adviser sell their veryfirst tax plan that was saving
the client a million dollars andthey charged $70,000 for that
(29:00):
plan. Do you think the client'supset with it? Heck no.
The client is thrilled Causethey just netted 930 k in their
pocket. Right? That's more thanI ever charged for a tax plan.
The biggest tax plan I ever soldat MyerTax being the what
someone said, the goat the otherday of this. There's so many
(29:21):
other goats by the way.
Like, we all learn from oneanother over the years. But, you
know, the biggest tax one I eversold was like about $50,000. So
I was over the moon excited forthat Tax Fund IQ user. They were
super excited. Their client wassuper excited.
That's the kind of results thatwe wanna see. And but it doesn't
have to be that big. I mean, wehave people that are selling tax
(29:45):
plans for $5,000. But beforethat, they were selling $500
annual tax return engagements.Right?
So they've increased theengagement by $4,500. Let's
apply that to maybe 50 clientsthat you can up sell into a tax
planning engagement. That's, Ibelieve, over $200,000 that you
(30:07):
can add to your firm just fromadding that offering into
things. So it adds up very, veryquickly.
Dr.Meyer (30:16):
Wow. It's it is incredible. We work with, as I
said, a lot of CPAs, but a lotof tax advisers as well. And it
is really incredible to see someof the results and how thrilled
clients are. And this platformreally has been so instrumental
with that from what I've beenseeing, but it's so interesting.
So a shift away from theplatform itself and back to you
(30:36):
being the amazing human that youare and successful entrepreneur
and doing all the things. Whatare what are next plans for you?
Where are you going with this?Are you focusing primarily on
Tax Plan IQ? Or what are youwhat are your goals in the
company and going forward?
Speaker 3 (30:52):
Yeah. Thank you for asking that. I don't get asked a
lot about kind of my my personalplan in life, and I've got so
many goals. Like, I'm sure youunderstand, Heidi, because I
think you're a lot like me, butI know I had you on my podcast,
The Concert of CPA, and we justlike instantly jived. But I did
write a book.
I wrote a second bookspecifically for accountants on
(31:16):
growing a 7 figure firm down tofour hours a week. I wanna get
that one out, I think first,because I think there's so many
more people within ourprofession and industry that I
can still reach before I gooutside of that to any
entrepreneur about this kind ofbalance of life concepts.
Dr.Meyer (31:35):
Mhmm.
Speaker 3 (31:36):
I'm kinda doubling down this year. We are trying to
double Tax Plan IQ. We havealmost 500 firms that are on it.
We wanna double that before yearend. We are having tremendous
success, which is like, youknow, mind blowing.
You can't even fathom howamazing it is to create and run
and grow a SaaS software. So ifanyone's thinking out there
(31:57):
doing it, yes, please do. It'svery, very rewarding and it's a
lot of fun. And then, yeah, nextyear, I think I'm gonna really
hone in on kind of helping allentrepreneurs a little bit more
and speaking at maybe eventsoutside of my industry, but
still, of course, guiding theaccountant and helping them. But
(32:19):
I just reach as many people as Ican with this messaging because
I really think it will helpthem.
Dr.Meyer (32:23):
Yeah. Absolutely. And what what are some of your
biggest you know, whether it'stakeaways or, I guess, advice
for any business? I mean, yes,CPAs, because I think we've both
been in this industry for a longtime, and we see and have a
passion for wanting to see achange. But for any business
owner, for and, you know, not tonot to exclude anyone, but
(32:46):
women, particularly.
You know? And well, now I'mgetting on a tangent. But, you
know, one of the things I'veactually struggled with is
finding other women in my spacethat are really career focused
and really wanting to aim forsuccess and shoot for the stars
and and really do all of thatwhile they're still they have a
(33:07):
family, and maybe they'reraising children and going
through all of those things. Sowhat are some of the biggest
things? There's a loadedquestion.
But in your life, what have youlearned that you would share
with people on what matters andhow to how to find the harmony
since we're using that insteadof balance?
Speaker 3 (33:26):
Yeah. Yeah. Oh gosh. Well, I'll tell you what I think
about for women in particular.Like, I'm a huge advocate for
women.
I try not to exclude anyone inlessons learned because they do
apply to everybody. So I try toteach everyone. And then really
(33:48):
lift up women while I'm at it.Right? Because there are some
things that are stacked againstus and it just is what it is.
So I would say like, find yourpeople. Find that like inner
circle of people and then havean outer circle of people. Our
team's actually reading thisbook, John Maxwell's twenty one
(34:11):
Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.And he talks about having like
an inner circle of people thatyou interact with every day and
then an outer circle of morelike visionaries that you can
brainstorm with, bounce ideasaround with. And sometimes that
outer circle becomes your innercircle.
I was just complaining myself,Heidi, last week to a business
(34:33):
group that I didn't have a lotof, you know, entrepreneurial
women that I could, you know,rub elbows with either. So I
think that this is a a commonthing for us and we need to band
together, figure out how to, youknow, how to get together more
often with people that we dojive with and really just go for
(34:54):
it. But a grander like lifeguide that I always have in my
mind is literally just do it.Stop overthinking. Start doing.
And that's who's gonna actually,like, be successful. If you
don't try, you're you're nevergonna be able to do anything.
Dr.Meyer (35:13):
That is awesome. You know, the old Nike slogan, just
do it. But
Speaker 3 (35:18):
You should have changed. Because I saw in the
Super Bowl, it was somethingtotally new. And I'm like, I'm
the old one. But okay. Whatever.
Wait. Go back. Like, that'sthat's forever.
Dr.Meyer (35:27):
Yeah. Well, and and Dave and I Dave Lucas, when we
were talking too, he was talkingabout, you know, the principle
of just making small changes andsmall incremental improvements.
That, along with just makingprogress and taking steps, it's
especially with accountingminded, I know it's always been
one of my biggest struggles isto overthink things and
(35:49):
overprocess. And then you getanalysis paralysis. So I love
that.
I love that principle of just doit and take the leap. So that is
very cool. How can listenersconnect with you to learn about
Tax Plan IQ? We do have adiscount link actually for
listeners, which is You guyswere so great to extend that to
(36:10):
us. So we'll put that in theshow notes.
But how can they stay connectedwith you and stay updated on
your upcoming book?
Speaker 3 (36:17):
Well, thank you for that. I would say LinkedIn is
where I'm spending a lot of timethese days. So if you find me,
doctor Jackie Meyer, CPA onLinkedIn, I'm starting to do
some videos, which has been ahard thing for me. I love
interviewing people on mypodcast and being on other
podcasts and just kindashooting, you know what? But
(36:38):
when it comes to staring at acamera and trying to give
advice, that's a whole anotherstory.
Right? So I'm trying hardbecause I do wanna help, and I
think that's probably one of thebest ways to do it. So yeah,
LinkedIn is a great spot.Facebook, I do have a group of
about 8,000 accountants calledAccounting Firm Influencers. So
you can join us over there, oryou can email me.
So it's Jackie, j a c k I e attax plan I q dot com. And
(37:03):
definitely would love to hearfrom anyone that I've, you know,
inspired or made someone givepause today and be like, I have
more questions. I'd love to helpyou out.
Dr.Meyer (37:13):
That is so amazing. Thank you so much for sharing
all of those details. We'll addall of that into the show notes
as well as links to some of thebooks you mentioned because a
couple of them are some of myfavorites, but I have not read
the 21 laws of leadership. Ilove that. And, again, thank you
so much for being our guest.
I really appreciate it. And Ihave just been it's been amazing
(37:33):
connecting with you and gettingto meet you. So I hope that we
can collaborate more in thefuture.
Speaker 3 (37:38):
For sure. Thank you, Heidi. I really appreciate it.
Thanks for having me on.Absolutely.
Bye bye.
Heidi (37:44):
Well, I hope you enjoyed this episode of SlashTax with
doctor Jackie Meyer, founder ofTax Plan IQ. We discussed how
strategic tax planning cantransform both client outcomes
and a firm's success for CPAs.And then we talked about
Jackie's innovative ROI methodof value pricing, her journey as
a leading voice in the taxadvisory and tax strategy space,
(38:07):
and how technologies like TaxPlan IQ empower CPAs and
financial professionals todeliver proactive, high value
services. Listeners can gaininsights into aligning business
with personal purpose, embracingchange in the accounting
industry and leveragingstrategic tax planning to slash
taxes, and to unlock wealthbuilding opportunities. If you
(38:29):
have questions on how you canuse this either directly as a
CPA or if you would like yourCPA to have information on this
platform to potentially look atthose alternatives for you, you
can either reach out to medirectly, click the link in our
show notes, and I'd be happy toshare information for you or
even discuss a strategic taxplan.
(38:49):
Thank you so much for listening.Remember, please subscribe,
follow. Remember, FlashTax ishere to bring you the tools and
strategies to cut your tax bill,build wealth, and invest
smarter. Make sure to subscribe,leave a review, and share this
episode with someone who mayneed to hear it. And until next
time.
Welcome to Slash Tax, the podcast where we uncovered legal
tax strategies, incentives,smart investing moves to help
you slash your tax bill and growyour wealth. I'm your host,
Heidi Henderson, and I ampassionate about giving high
income earners, business owners,investors, and CPAs the tools
and strategies they need tomaximize savings and build
(00:29):
financial freedom. Today, I'mjoined by an incredible guest
who is blazing a trail instrategic tax planning and
advisory services, Doctor.Jackie Myers. Jackie is a
certified financial planner,enrolled agent, and a nationally
recognized leader in taxadvisory.
He is the founder of Tax PlanIQ, which is a revolutionary
(00:53):
SaaS platform that helps CPAsand financial professionals
deliver high value, proactivetax planning for their clients
as well. As a CPA practiceadvisor, forty under 40 honoree
from 2018 through 2022, Jackiehas dedicated her career to
advancing financial literacy,promoting work life balance, and
(01:16):
addressing cultural issues likeburnout in the accounting
industry. She has developed hersignature ROI method of value
pricing, aligning pricing withclient value and transforming
how firms deliver results. Herinfluence extends way beyond tax
strategy. Jackie is a dynamicspeaker, an author, an
(01:38):
entrepreneur, and she inspiresprofessionals to lead with
purpose, embrace technology, andachieve both personal and
professional fulfillment.
Today's episode, we're gonnadive into this intersection of
proactive tax planning,strategic advisory, and the
power of aligning your businesswith your personal why. Let's
(01:59):
welcome Jackie to the show. Ihope you're impressed. She is a
phenomenal person and a truedisruptor in the accounting
industry.
Dr.Meyer (02:07):
Hi, Jackie. You have had such an incredible journey
from founding an award winningCPA firm, then leading Tax Plan
IQ, which is such an amazingplatform. I would love to start
with just hearing what inspiredyou to start this
entrepreneurial path that you'vebeen on and how your early
experiences shaped yourapproach.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Okay. Wow. Well, Heidi, thanks for having me.
That's that's a loaded question.
Dr.Meyer (02:32):
Yeah. Let's diving right in.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
Yeah. Diving right in. Okay. So inspiration. My
inspiration kinda comes frompain, so it kinda reminds me of
Simon Sonnette.
If you've seen his start with ay, and he had some pain. He had
some depression, anxiety aroundwhat he was doing for a living.
Mine stemmed from having kidsand trying to run my own CPA
(02:55):
firm and just how there'sliterally zero balance that you
can get in that endeavor. And somy body started rejecting
working nights and weekends andall the time, and I had some
health problems. And so I wentdown this crazy path of like,
how do I change my firm, or do Ijust am I completely burned out
(03:19):
and I need to get out of thisprofession?
Right? And I did that about sixyears into my firm. My firm
started at 10, 20 16 afterhaving my second kid is when I
was finally like, okay, enough'senough. I went out, I found a
business coach. His name's ChuckBauer who I ended up doing
coaching with him.
He's a great friend. I was like,hey, I need help. I need to just
(03:41):
change something in my practiceor else I'm done with this. And
he simply asked me who I likeworking with and why out of my
clientele. And from there, Ideveloped tax advisory packages
around high net wealthexecutives and completely
transformed my firm.
Eventually got my hours down tofour hours a week like Tim
(04:01):
Ferriss. Wow. Yeah. And tripledmy revenue. So it was quite the
story.
And so that's what inspired mewas like my personal pain. And
then I always had this like urgeto help others. And I actually
wanted to be a counselor growingup, but because of personal
(04:21):
issues in my own life orcounselors I knew that ended up
being a little cray cray, Idecided no, I'm gonna go down
the business path. I don't wantanything to do with this
emotional stuff. Still need tohelp others.
And so by discovering how Icould transform my own firm, I
found a way or that path forothers. And so I developed a
whole pricing methodology aroundit. I started coaching other
(04:42):
accountants. And then, you know,the rest is history. I created
Tax Plan IQ, the tax advisorysoftware for tax advisors.
And we're helping a lot ofpeople now. So it is kind of
Dr.Meyer (04:53):
a dream come true. It is amazing. So just as
background, you know, we had theintro about your you know,
really what you've built, yourfirm, and we're gonna dive into
Tax Plan IQ, this platform aboutthe industry, what's happening
in accounting and the CPA space,because I think what you did is
probably the epitome of of whatmany accountants want to do but
(05:14):
don't see a path through. Andthen one personal reason I was
real well, two reasons.Obviously.
I was really excited to have youon the show is, one, I I have so
much respect for what you'vedone professionally and the
innovation with building thisplatform. But, also, this
podcast was very much when Istarted this, it was totally a
passion project. It was one ofthose where I think you get to a
(05:37):
point in your life where yourecognize that I'm willing to be
really vulnerable even if peopledon't like it. And so for me,
the healthy, wealthy wise, thebalance and finding how to
create that in life while wetake care of ourselves
physically and mentally and wetake time for our families and
we can still be successful hasbeen a major passion of mine.
(06:00):
Working in the CPA world made meso sad because I saw so many
people.
I've seen so many people whohaven't been able to find that
balance. And so that's somethingI wanna dive into before we
start to dig into actually thethe platform of what you've
built. But I hear you're writinga book called The Balance Sheet
of Life. Is that right?
Speaker 3 (06:20):
Yes. Yes. I I think I actually might be evolving the
title. The Balance Sheet of Lifetends to scare people because as
soon as you're a balance sheet,you're like, I want nothing to
do with this. So I think I'mthinking it's gonna be more like
the balanced millionaire.
And so I'll have kind of anaccountant edition where we deep
dive into how accountants can dothat. And then a more kinda
(06:43):
general edition where everyonehas these like, this weird love
hate relationship with the wordbalance too.
Dr.Meyer (06:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Some people say like there isn't work life balance,
there's only harmony and thingslike that. And I totally get
that. But we I think that youstill need to measure and
optimize what you can in yourlife, what you care about, and
that's what this concept is allabout.
Dr.Meyer (07:06):
I think it's amazing. And, you know, your CEO, I
believe, Dave Lucas was on theshow, And he shared that, you
know, that it's more aboutharmony versus that, quote,
unquote, work life balance. AndI love that. That was one of the
things I wrote down as he and Iwere talking because it's like,
yeah. You you do have to createsome sacrifice.
(07:26):
I think we know I was a parentas well when I was starting my
career, and I made a lot ofsacrifices. There were lots of
games and dance recitals andthings that I missed because I
had to be at certain events or Ihad to do certain things. So
there are sacrifices to be made.But in accounting, specifically
in tax, I mean, it can be sodemanding with tax deadlines,
(07:48):
and burnout is a huge issue. Ithink it's also why the industry
is struggling to actually addnew professionals to the space.
So looking to create morebalance in their lives while
still, like, growing a practice,what are some of the things that
you're really honing in on totry to to advise people on?
Speaker 3 (08:07):
Well, there's several layers to that. First of all,
you need to kind of reevaluateevery aspect of your firm,
starting with pricing. When areyou doing pricing? How are you
pricing? Are you making a lotharder on yourself?
So there's really practicalthings like that. I advocate for
value pricing and then createdthis ROI method of value
(08:30):
pricing, which is just aproposal that you give the
client visualizing tax savingsand their return on investment
in you. Right? It's not thelike, it's not that
revolutionary. It's prettysimple.
It's pretty straightforward.People just, for some reason,
aren't doing it. So it'simportant to really reevaluate
those different processes inyour firm and figure out how to
(08:52):
make those easier. But thesecond component that is a lot
harder for most people isliterally just boundaries. Being
able to say no.
Being able to tell a clientyou're not the best fit for
them. Because you're probablynot. In a lot of cases, I see
accounts just taking on any andevery work thinking, oh, I feel
(09:12):
so bad for them. Or they calledme up on 414 and they're in a
bad situation. Well, guess what?
Got them in that bad situation.Themselves. Yeah. And so you're
gonna by irritating this, andthen you working all night the
night before a deadline, or youmaking your team work all night
(09:33):
the night before a deadline,because someone else didn't have
an appropriate boundary. So youreally need to strengthen that
that that boundary trait, so tospeak.
And a favorite book of mine thatI think is really great about
that is called boundaries bydoctor Henry Cloud. So I'd
highly recommend that toeverybody.
Dr.Meyer (09:53):
Love it. I will put that in the show notes as well
because that and the the startwith why, that I love that book.
It's so it's so simple, but sopowerful. And I think you're
right. But with boundaries, it'sinteresting because I think with
when we set boundaries, you youyou know, people are afraid, and
I think many accountants tend tobe a little introverted.
(10:15):
And, you know, they're they'renot that strong. But the
interesting thing is oftentimespeople respect it more on the
other side. So For sure. Youknow, if they decide not to work
with you, it's probably not abad thing because a lot of
people actually will end updisrespecting someone who will
bend over backwards and work allnight to finish something, and
then they think they can do itall the time. So it's a great
(10:37):
point with boundaries.
I mean, that's all things withlife. Right? Even kids.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Yeah. For sure. Right before this, I was teaching a
webinar on four steps to, like,tripling your profitability
during tax busy season. Andthere were a lot of things we
kinda deep dived around whatwe're talking about here in that
session. But it was it was neat.
There were a lot of like reallyhopeful people there. Whether
you can do, you know, do atransition in the middle of busy
(11:03):
season or wait until post busyseason, that's up to you. But
think it's important to givepeople hope no matter what time
of year it is that there thereare a lot of resources out there
Dr.Meyer (11:12):
to help them. I love that. So let's let's back up a
little bit and dig into, firstoff, strategic tax planning and
then into Tax Plan IQ, and thenthe ROI pricing model, because I
I think it kind of segues allwith how it flows. But this
whole shift in the accountingindustry, what you've done with
Tax Plan IQ, in creating a wayfor accountants to more easily
(11:36):
create a strategic tax plan. Imean, it is I've seen more
discussion, more disruption,more change, I think, in the
last two to three years thanI've ever seen in the last
twenty plus years in thisindustry.
What do you think is drivingthat shift?
Speaker 3 (11:53):
Oh, I think that COVID was a huge wake up call
across air every area of ourlives. People were thinking, do
I really have to do put up withall this nonsense anymore?
Right? And so I think thecombination of that and the
progress we're seeing with AI,chat GPT, large language models,
(12:15):
the writing I mean, there's afear factor and there's a hope
factor of like, oh, I can findsomething better but I also
could be out of a job if I stickwith just compliance work.
Right?
So I think that combination ofsqueeze is like what's moving
most people. And I'm okay withthat because that's my literally
my mission which I don't knowwhy I care so much to help other
(12:37):
people move into this. I'm gonnago through all the bad things I
went through in the profession.Right? Because it it it can be
really rewarding.
And so, you know, that's that'swhy I advocate for it. But it's
my personal mission to move asmany people as possible into tax
advisory because I think itsolves all our problems.
Dr.Meyer (12:53):
Yeah. I I I it certainly looks that way. What
do you think? I mean, you kindof you talk you touched on it a
little bit, but what ultimatelyis holding firms back from
jumping into more of a strategictax planning versus just
strictly compliance?
Speaker 3 (13:07):
Too busy, confidence in not understanding tax
advisory, fear aroundregulations. Gosh. The list goes
on and on. There's so manydifferent things. You know,
people ask me all the time,what's the one biggest reason to
hold someone back?
There isn't one reason. There'slike five or six that are pretty
evenly spread across firms.Whether you have the technical
(13:28):
knowledge, you don't know how todo the sale. I mean, there's a
lot of stuff involved there. Sowhat we've done, I might be
jumping ahead here, but at TaxOne IQ last summer, we
identified like, a softwarealone isn't enough.
People need that confidence andsupport and accountability from
others. And so we actuallycreated an entirely new
(13:50):
subscription tier where we offertons of CPE. We walk you through
exactly how to do every step ofthe process. We have over a 30
tax strategies in our library,but we deep dive into them to
help, like, hold your handthrough it versus making you
have to do it on your own. Andso we've really tried to address
(14:12):
all of those reasons why peoplecan't move into tax advisory,
and it's working really well.
Dr.Meyer (14:17):
Yeah. So so let's dig in to, like, backing up,
assuming that our listeners arenot familiar with Tax Plan IQ.
Yeah. Dive in a little bit aboutwhat exactly have you built, and
how are you helping taxprofessionals be able to shift
their business? How does thisplatform essentially help them?
Speaker 3 (14:37):
Yeah. So TaxiQ, I kinda say is like a a blue
ocean, new type software. Itdoesn't do really anything other
softwares do. We don't do justdo tax projections, for example.
It's all about visualizing thesales process and automating the
tax plan.
(14:57):
And then automating and makingmore efficient implementation of
planning and managing thatclient relationship. So it's a
lot of like different productsinto one, but I was actually
just putting together a casestudy of like how much time it
saves through the differentsteps involved. So a quick
example, if you're not quitefollowing me yet as to what it
(15:18):
does, you upload a client's lastfile ten forty. It'll
automatically identify withinabout thirty seconds now over 50
tax strategy suggestions andamounts. You spend another ten,
fifteen minutes maybe like finetuning those results.
You create an automated proposalfor the client using the ROI
method to visualize the taxsavings, visualize the
(15:40):
investment in you. Itautomatically creates a
PowerPoint presentation to showthe client because most people
are visual learners. They're notnecessarily huge number
crunchers like we are. And itautomatically produces a full
tax plan report where each pageis going through each strategy,
how to implement it, what aretheir to dos and tasks. You can
(16:01):
assign those out in the softwareand whatnot.
So I don't know, Heidi, if youhave a better way of describing
it. But to me, a lot of peopleare like, I don't get it, what
it does, because it's not a taxprojector. And so that's how I'm
trying to kinda fill in thegaps.
Dr.Meyer (16:16):
Yeah. No. I think that's a great explanation. Can
you provide a few, like,examples and insights of what
might someone might expect fromwhat is reported in the in the
report? Now I'll preface thatwith the fact that you you said
how many 30, I think is what yousaid, are opportunities that
it's identifying.
You know, I'm always the devil'sdevil's advocate here. You know?
(16:38):
I had a conversation with theCPA, they're like, oh, you know,
I mean, this is just like itsays we should just apply the
Augusta rule. I mean, you know,this is just small stuff. This
is not what I'm interested in.
So defend that because Yeah.Yeah. I've looked at it. I'm
using the platform, and I thinkit's just amazing. I'm your
biggest reporter.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
You. I mean, I it's like this has never been done
before. Like, I literally wentone by one, like, analyzing
someone's ten forty, figuringout what that formula is, what
numbers to pull, and then how tosuggest, like, how does it
suggest if someone needs mealsand entertainment deduction on a
schedule c? Right? Yep.
So there's, you know, there's alot of estimation in that
(17:20):
process. But to me, the simplestuff is just as important as
the big stuff. If I'm going tobring a tax plan to the table
for somebody, I'm gonna realizethat I looked at it from a
complete holistic perspective.And we're gonna get the home
office deduction, Augusta rule,some of that basic stuff out of
(17:40):
the way, alongside any othermore advanced planning that we
do. And it's up to the taxadvisor how advanced they wanna
be.
I mean, they could literallyjust hone in on those super big
ones, you know, saving hundredsof thousands of dollars a year.
Or they could be more holisticand provide, like, three to five
strategies that have a good mixof both so that you're not
overlooking the smaller thingsfor the client. I think it's a
(18:03):
disservice to overlook thosethings.
Dr.Meyer (18:07):
Yeah. I mean, being in specialty tax. Yeah. That that's
preaching to the choir becauseone of the, you know, one of the
struggles we have and I I tellthis all the time. Like, we'll
work on a a a project for aclient.
They'll be thrilled, and they'llsay, wow. This was amazing. I
saved so much money. How did Inever know about this? What else
should we be doing?
Else can we be looking at? Andwe are not a tax compliance
(18:29):
firm, so we're working with ourCPA partners. We want to manage
those relationships. And so it'sdifficult when clients are
begging for those opportunities.They are looking for strategy.
And I know it's difficultbecause it's a timing issue.
Right? So when we look at that,I mean, the fact that this
(18:50):
creates a PowerPoint, it reallyis phenomenal because the way
that it represents the benefitand the opportunity is pretty
dramatic.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
Uh-huh.
Dr.Meyer (19:00):
How are you seeing this help firms increase their
revenue? And I'll then alsopreface that question with the
fear of people feeling likethey're price gouging or they're
selling. And, you know, there'sthis kind of fear, I think, with
many CPAs. Well, I don't want myclient to feel like I'm trying
to sell them other things justso that I can get more money.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
For sure. Yeah. So that's what's so cool about tax
advisory is it sells itself, inmy humble I mean, when you're
able to quantify the estimatedtax savings, you're obviously
not guaranteeing the tax savingswith a proposal upfront. Right?
I mean, but you can guaranteethe client satisfaction and your
(19:41):
engagement.
There's other ways you can makesure that you're taking care of
that relationship. But yeah, Imean, value pricing upfront,
especially with utilizingtangible tax savings and then
looking at a few otherintangible factors like the
complexity of the work and stufflike that. It just makes it all
really, really easy and it's winwin. I mean, the client gets at
(20:04):
least three times more savingsthan they did before. You
naturally are getting paid atleast three times more.
And the client's netting more intheir pocket. So no one loses
here. And, I mean, it it's allabout the end result is all
about the bottom line thatyou're getting the client. If
the cost benefit's not there,don't propose the work. You
(20:25):
know?
Yeah. Yeah. It it really is.It's incredible. One piece of
this that you've developed, oneof
Dr.Meyer (20:31):
the most surprising things, actually, was this ROI
method of value pricing. So youhave created and and I think
you've termed that phrase ROImethod of value And it's so
interesting because we've gotcontingency rules within the CPA
industry where there's a lot ofconcern about charging a
(20:53):
percentage of savings or havingour Circular two thirty
compliance issues and how do wework around that or we're not
allowed to do this or whatnot.You've developed this really
interesting pricing model. Canyou dig into that and kinda
share how I mean, I'm, first offreally interested actually in
how you developed it, and thenreally how you've been able to
(21:15):
implement that into theplatform.
Speaker 3 (21:17):
Yeah. So let's start with how I developed it. I
developed it because I wasfrustrated that I kept hearing
over and over again how I needto be pricing upfront and I need
to be value pricing. But it wasso theoretical. It was always so
theoretical.
Like, what does that even mean?How do I standardize that? How
do I make that fair across theboard for all my clients? How do
(21:39):
I make it to where my team canquote the same way that I would
quote something? And then Ikinda worked backwards with what
can and can't we do as CPAs.
Because, yeah, we can't chargecontingent fees. And so what
does that mean? Well, acontingent fee is charging on
the back end for exactly thepercentage savings you find on
(22:00):
someone's tax return. Okay? Soalright.
Well, can't do that. Although, Ithink it's a pretty silly thing.
I think that and they'reactually doubling down on the
contingent fee regulations nowwhen attorneys and other types
of engagements are just fine touse contingent fees. But okay,
fine. We won't do them.
So then it's like, okay, well,what is value pricing? And how
(22:25):
does someone assess a value ofsomething? Well, some people
will say, you can never assess avalue on a value price. Right?
Engagement.
I disagree. Because we have taxsavings involved. Right? Mhmm.
So I can figure out an estimateof a hundred thousand dollars of
tax savings that I think I canget you.
(22:46):
Again, I'm not guaranteeing it.I'm charging up front based on
those proposed results. And I'madjusting the price on the back
end like a contingent fee would.And what's really neat is that
the AICPA is actually on boardwith this method and they're
mass releasing it to theirmembers this year. It was
supposed to happen last year,but hey, you know how
(23:08):
bureaucracy is.
So I'm just kinda waitingaround. I'm so thankful that
they're embracing thismethodology and that they're
getting it out there. But I havea completely free workbook,
Excel workbook that I spenthundreds of hours put my heart
and soul into for anybody to usewhether you wanna use Tax Plan
IQ or not to use the ROI method.So I'd be happy to share that
(23:30):
with your listeners. They canactually just go to
taxplaniq.com/ROI dash method,and you can download the
workbook and give it a go.
And I think people will reallybe like, wow, this just makes
sense.
Dr.Meyer (23:44):
That's an I I downloaded the spreadsheet, and
I have to say, I was actuallyreally surprised. Like, I can't
believe they just gave this tome. There is because there
really is
Speaker 3 (23:52):
so Well, I've been I've been told maybe not to give
it away for free. I didn't Idon't care. I I want it to be a
gift to the profession. I wannahelp people, and I want to
alleviate any you know, one ofthose many problems they might
have to moving to tax advisory,and I think this is one way
forward. So Yeah.
There you go. You're welcome,everyone.
Dr.Meyer (24:10):
Well, it is I mean, I say that from the sense of it
being so generous because itreally does have so much in
there. And it clearly it was itwas a project that that took a
lot of time to develop. Sothat's why I say that is that,
you know, it it is a gift. And Ithink that's amazing that you
guys are that you personally areworking with AICPA and really
(24:32):
creating more of that awarenessand encouraging firms to do
that. One issue with thencreating a tax plan is what
happens when you create thiscool tax plan and there's these
15 things you recommend?
Now the CPA actually has to dothat or help their client set it
up. How do you typicallyapproach that? And how would you
(24:52):
also then respond to a CPA whosays, look, I just don't have
time to do this. And now I havea plan. This is gonna create
more work for me.
Speaker 3 (25:00):
Right. So it's up to the advisor what services they
wanna offer. I have some of ourtop users of Taxman IQ actually
charge a flat fee like $4,500just to hand them the tax plan
report that Taxman IQ produces.Mhmm. And then they don't
implement for the client.
(25:21):
They say, you know, look, here'swhat I'm recommending. Take this
to, you know, your tax preparer,whatever, and someone else can
help you kinda thing. That'sfine. I mean, it's it's super
profitable. I personallypreferred to do the
implementation myself so thateverything was done at a really
high level, like what I callconcierge level of service for
my clientele.
And it's gosh. It's soprofitable too because it is the
(25:47):
hardest part knowing how to dothings. Although it is all in
your learning. So the first timeyou implement a plan, it
probably takes you twenty hours.The second time maybe takes you
ten.
The third time I mean, by thedozen time you implement these
plans with similar typestrategies for similar types of
clients, I mean, it's it's notthat much work. It's a few hours
(26:09):
of work and you're looking at, Imean, fees of tens of thousands
you can charge for this becauseother people can't or won't do
it. So just know that you havethat choice. You can charge a
one time planning fee. You cancharge ongoing subscription fees
or you can do both.
And we did both at Meier Tax andwe were very successful with it.
Dr.Meyer (26:30):
Yeah. Amazing. Have you guys used AI in the
automation of the platform? Isthat part of of, you know,
what's powering it?
Speaker 3 (26:39):
We have. Yeah. So interesting enough, you know, AI
is so new. We were really likean early adopter when it came to
figuring out how it worked, butI knew there was opportunity
there. And I'm an avid chat GPTuser.
Like, it's my BFF. I just sawdeep research came out in the,
like, twenty dollar a monthversion this morning. And I had
(27:00):
it, like, review 78 PowerPointslides for me and help me figure
out the script of exactly whatto put on every single slide. It
was So imagine what AI can do ifyou if you tell it what to do
with a tax return. Right?
So that's the method that wetook. We first went like full on
(27:23):
large language model typelearning with it and with the
suggestion of strategies. Thenwe actually paired it back
because at the end of the day,it's more these logical
assumptions or what we call thedeterministic approach of
programming that is better whenit comes to suggesting tax
planning ideas off of someone'sten forty. So we have a chatbot
(27:47):
named Jane, j a I n e. She'slike a really smart tax manager
in Tax One IQ that you caninteract with.
She'll help you come up withideas and whatnot. But our
strategy suggestions tool isactually more just programming
than logic. And we found thatthat's a lot more reliable than,
you know, the the LLMs canprovide at the moment.
Dr.Meyer (28:10):
Got it. That's so it's so interesting. I mean, the the
inception of AI in our world hasbeen unbelievable, and the speed
with which it's moving
Speaker 3 (28:19):
Yeah.
Dr.Meyer (28:19):
Is just incredible. I, like you, it has become my best
friend.
Speaker 3 (28:23):
Yeah.
Dr.Meyer (28:24):
And it's actually shocking to me how helpful it
can be. So I love that. Can youhave or do you have any success
stories? I would love to hear ofa couple stories of some CPA
firms that you've worked withYeah. That have seen really
transformational results.
Speaker 3 (28:39):
For sure. Yeah. I mean, I could I could pull up a
list of things, but just off thetop of my head, we had a first
time tax adviser sell their veryfirst tax plan that was saving
the client a million dollars andthey charged $70,000 for that
(29:00):
plan. Do you think the client'supset with it? Heck no.
The client is thrilled Causethey just netted 930 k in their
pocket. Right? That's more thanI ever charged for a tax plan.
The biggest tax plan I ever soldat MyerTax being the what
someone said, the goat the otherday of this. There's so many
(29:21):
other goats by the way.
Like, we all learn from oneanother over the years. But, you
know, the biggest tax one I eversold was like about $50,000. So
I was over the moon excited forthat Tax Fund IQ user. They were
super excited. Their client wassuper excited.
That's the kind of results thatwe wanna see. And but it doesn't
have to be that big. I mean, wehave people that are selling tax
(29:45):
plans for $5,000. But beforethat, they were selling $500
annual tax return engagements.Right?
So they've increased theengagement by $4,500. Let's
apply that to maybe 50 clientsthat you can up sell into a tax
planning engagement. That's, Ibelieve, over $200,000 that you
(30:07):
can add to your firm just fromadding that offering into
things. So it adds up very, veryquickly.
Dr.Meyer (30:16):
Wow. It's it is incredible. We work with, as I
said, a lot of CPAs, but a lotof tax advisers as well. And it
is really incredible to see someof the results and how thrilled
clients are. And this platformreally has been so instrumental
with that from what I've beenseeing, but it's so interesting.
So a shift away from theplatform itself and back to you
(30:36):
being the amazing human that youare and successful entrepreneur
and doing all the things. Whatare what are next plans for you?
Where are you going with this?Are you focusing primarily on
Tax Plan IQ? Or what are youwhat are your goals in the
company and going forward?
Speaker 3 (30:52):
Yeah. Thank you for asking that. I don't get asked a
lot about kind of my my personalplan in life, and I've got so
many goals. Like, I'm sure youunderstand, Heidi, because I
think you're a lot like me, butI know I had you on my podcast,
The Concert of CPA, and we justlike instantly jived. But I did
write a book.
I wrote a second bookspecifically for accountants on
(31:16):
growing a 7 figure firm down tofour hours a week. I wanna get
that one out, I think first,because I think there's so many
more people within ourprofession and industry that I
can still reach before I gooutside of that to any
entrepreneur about this kind ofbalance of life concepts.
Dr.Meyer (31:35):
Mhmm.
Speaker 3 (31:36):
I'm kinda doubling down this year. We are trying to
double Tax Plan IQ. We havealmost 500 firms that are on it.
We wanna double that before yearend. We are having tremendous
success, which is like, youknow, mind blowing.
You can't even fathom howamazing it is to create and run
and grow a SaaS software. So ifanyone's thinking out there
(31:57):
doing it, yes, please do. It'svery, very rewarding and it's a
lot of fun. And then, yeah, nextyear, I think I'm gonna really
hone in on kind of helping allentrepreneurs a little bit more
and speaking at maybe eventsoutside of my industry, but
still, of course, guiding theaccountant and helping them. But
(32:19):
I just reach as many people as Ican with this messaging because
I really think it will helpthem.
Dr.Meyer (32:23):
Yeah. Absolutely. And what what are some of your
biggest you know, whether it'stakeaways or, I guess, advice
for any business? I mean, yes,CPAs, because I think we've both
been in this industry for a longtime, and we see and have a
passion for wanting to see achange. But for any business
owner, for and, you know, not tonot to exclude anyone, but
(32:46):
women, particularly.
You know? And well, now I'mgetting on a tangent. But, you
know, one of the things I'veactually struggled with is
finding other women in my spacethat are really career focused
and really wanting to aim forsuccess and shoot for the stars
and and really do all of thatwhile they're still they have a
(33:07):
family, and maybe they'reraising children and going
through all of those things. Sowhat are some of the biggest
things? There's a loadedquestion.
But in your life, what have youlearned that you would share
with people on what matters andhow to how to find the harmony
since we're using that insteadof balance?
Speaker 3 (33:26):
Yeah. Yeah. Oh gosh. Well, I'll tell you what I think
about for women in particular.Like, I'm a huge advocate for
women.
I try not to exclude anyone inlessons learned because they do
apply to everybody. So I try toteach everyone. And then really
(33:48):
lift up women while I'm at it.Right? Because there are some
things that are stacked againstus and it just is what it is.
So I would say like, find yourpeople. Find that like inner
circle of people and then havean outer circle of people. Our
team's actually reading thisbook, John Maxwell's twenty one
(34:11):
Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.And he talks about having like
an inner circle of people thatyou interact with every day and
then an outer circle of morelike visionaries that you can
brainstorm with, bounce ideasaround with. And sometimes that
outer circle becomes your innercircle.
I was just complaining myself,Heidi, last week to a business
(34:33):
group that I didn't have a lotof, you know, entrepreneurial
women that I could, you know,rub elbows with either. So I
think that this is a a commonthing for us and we need to band
together, figure out how to, youknow, how to get together more
often with people that we dojive with and really just go for
(34:54):
it. But a grander like lifeguide that I always have in my
mind is literally just do it.Stop overthinking. Start doing.
And that's who's gonna actually,like, be successful. If you
don't try, you're you're nevergonna be able to do anything.
Dr.Meyer (35:13):
That is awesome. You know, the old Nike slogan, just
do it. But
Speaker 3 (35:18):
You should have changed. Because I saw in the
Super Bowl, it was somethingtotally new. And I'm like, I'm
the old one. But okay. Whatever.
Wait. Go back. Like, that'sthat's forever.
Dr.Meyer (35:27):
Yeah. Well, and and Dave and I Dave Lucas, when we
were talking too, he was talkingabout, you know, the principle
of just making small changes andsmall incremental improvements.
That, along with just makingprogress and taking steps, it's
especially with accountingminded, I know it's always been
one of my biggest struggles isto overthink things and
(35:49):
overprocess. And then you getanalysis paralysis. So I love
that.
I love that principle of just doit and take the leap. So that is
very cool. How can listenersconnect with you to learn about
Tax Plan IQ? We do have adiscount link actually for
listeners, which is You guyswere so great to extend that to
(36:10):
us. So we'll put that in theshow notes.
But how can they stay connectedwith you and stay updated on
your upcoming book?
Speaker 3 (36:17):
Well, thank you for that. I would say LinkedIn is
where I'm spending a lot of timethese days. So if you find me,
doctor Jackie Meyer, CPA onLinkedIn, I'm starting to do
some videos, which has been ahard thing for me. I love
interviewing people on mypodcast and being on other
podcasts and just kindashooting, you know what? But
(36:38):
when it comes to staring at acamera and trying to give
advice, that's a whole anotherstory.
Right? So I'm trying hardbecause I do wanna help, and I
think that's probably one of thebest ways to do it. So yeah,
LinkedIn is a great spot.Facebook, I do have a group of
about 8,000 accountants calledAccounting Firm Influencers. So
you can join us over there, oryou can email me.
So it's Jackie, j a c k I e attax plan I q dot com. And
(37:03):
definitely would love to hearfrom anyone that I've, you know,
inspired or made someone givepause today and be like, I have
more questions. I'd love to helpyou out.
Dr.Meyer (37:13):
That is so amazing. Thank you so much for sharing
all of those details. We'll addall of that into the show notes
as well as links to some of thebooks you mentioned because a
couple of them are some of myfavorites, but I have not read
the 21 laws of leadership. Ilove that. And, again, thank you
so much for being our guest.
I really appreciate it. And Ihave just been it's been amazing
(37:33):
connecting with you and gettingto meet you. So I hope that we
can collaborate more in thefuture.
Speaker 3 (37:38):
For sure. Thank you, Heidi. I really appreciate it.
Thanks for having me on.Absolutely.
Bye bye.
Heidi (37:44):
Well, I hope you enjoyed this episode of SlashTax with
doctor Jackie Meyer, founder ofTax Plan IQ. We discussed how
strategic tax planning cantransform both client outcomes
and a firm's success for CPAs.And then we talked about
Jackie's innovative ROI methodof value pricing, her journey as
a leading voice in the taxadvisory and tax strategy space,
(38:07):
and how technologies like TaxPlan IQ empower CPAs and
financial professionals todeliver proactive, high value
services. Listeners can gaininsights into aligning business
with personal purpose, embracingchange in the accounting
industry and leveragingstrategic tax planning to slash
taxes, and to unlock wealthbuilding opportunities. If you
(38:29):
have questions on how you canuse this either directly as a
CPA or if you would like yourCPA to have information on this
platform to potentially look atthose alternatives for you, you
can either reach out to medirectly, click the link in our
show notes, and I'd be happy toshare information for you or
even discuss a strategic taxplan.
(38:49):
Thank you so much for listening.Remember, please subscribe,
follow. Remember, FlashTax ishere to bring you the tools and
strategies to cut your tax bill,build wealth, and invest
smarter. Make sure to subscribe,leave a review, and share this
episode with someone who mayneed to hear it. And until next
time.
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