ROS is starting to creak

Because its the deadline and a lot of people are trying to access the system at the same time. This can cause websites to crash or in this case data portals to crash.
 
Hi clique

Thanks for explaining that to me.

Can you explain why they didn’t submit their returns well before the deadline when ROS was working well? Wouldn’t that have been smarter?
 
It must be great to be in a position to be able to tell all your clients that if they don't bring the info in to you by September then you're not going to do the return and they can go elsewhere. Please tell us all how you are able to do that Brendan. Just be sure and shout loud so we can all hear you while you're up there on your high horse.
 
DB74 said:
It must be great to be in a position to be able to tell all your clients that if they don't bring the info in to you by September then you're not going to do the return and they can go elsewhere. Please tell us all how you are able to do that Brendan. Just be sure and shout loud so we can all hear you while you're up there on your high horse.
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Here is an idea: you could warn them that failure to provide data on time could mean that they will miss the deadline, that way you would not be the one with egg on their face.
 
HI DB

I don't submit returns on behalf of anyone other than myself.

This time of year I get asked by people to recommend an accountant to do their tax returns. I refuse to recommend anyone saying that accountants are too busy.

But agree totally with Jim. Accountants could help themselves by setting a deadline at least two months before the Revenue deadline.

Brendan
 
DB74 said:
It must be great to be in a position to be able to tell all your clients that if they don't bring the info in to you by September then you're not going to do the return and they can go elsewhere. Please tell us all how you are able to do that Brendan. Just be sure and shout loud so we can all hear you while you're up there on your high horse.
Click to expand...
My accountant went on holiday last weekend. He tells me well in advance to submit everything to him and sends me a couple of reminders if I don't. It's my fault if I don't get it in time for him to submit it. Every year on AAM we get a whole bunch of new posters and some old, asking in the last month if they need to do some thing for the tax man. Only last week we discussed with one landlord on here that it was too late to be asking an accountant to sort out his back dated mess of 6 or 7 years.

You're forgetting something DB, yes you should set deadlines, and warn your clients, there is no way they will go elsewhere because:
a) it's a pain in the neck
b) one is normally happy with one's accountant
c) other accountants are too busy if you arrive into them in October.
d) you'll be charged double, for work already done, for new accountant to meet/greet/sign you up, and then do your returns.
 
Well that's all wonderful advice from those who don't work in practice so thanks for that

The reality is the most accountancy practices will have been starting to chase up IT stuff from sometime in August and will probably have 55-60% of the returns completed and submitted by the 31-Oct mini-deadline with a further 30%+ completed by last Friday

That still leaves approx 10% maybe who consistently leave it to the last minute year-after-year to bring in the info and/or are chasing up mortgage interest certs or medical expenses or whatever else is needed to get the return sorted. It's just human nature to some people to leave it until the last minute. What do you think practices are expected to do? Tell these people (existing clients) that you're not doing your return because you don't want to be busy or deliberately submit it late to "teach them a lesson"? How long do you think accountancy practices will last in business with that approach?
 
You give them a final deadline and tell them after that if they don't submit the documents that their return will be late. It's nothing to do with teaching people a lesson.

And clients should have their mortgage interest certs from way earlier in the year, if they don't you just ring up the bank and it takes a couple of days to get it. You can even ask them the amount over the phone so that solves that. I know nothing about medical receipts. Can't they just do the ones they have and leave the others into next year. Would it be a mega deal if they did put them in the wrong tax year.
 
DB74 said:
That still leaves approx 10% maybe who consistently leave it to the last minute year-after-year to bring in the info
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You've my full sympathy. My parents were self employed, and 31st October was always a deadline they worked towards, and always just met. Then their accountant made the mistake of telling them the deadline was 14th November... The following year, they just met 14th November deadline.
 
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