Discussion:What do you pay for seasonal help?
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Discussion Forum Index --> Business Growth Community --> What do you pay for seasonal help?
| 26 September 2009 | |
| I have one season preparing higher-end individual return at a 20+ employee CPA firm. (See my profile). Returns had a median of $375 - $400 with quite a few $600 returns and a handful of $900 returns.
I live in an expensive area FL - (maximum per diem rate on par with Manhattan) with lots of well to do retirees with high incomes. Planning to take the EA Part I exam in two weeks and Part III by Nov with substantial study towards Part II before I start the season. The expectation at the old firm is for me to work on corp/partnership returns to the extent possible in addition to individual returns. What’s a typical hourly range? | |
| 26 September 2009 | |
| how many hours does it take for you to complete a $400 return by yourself?
To what extent do the partner's help you and review your work? | |
| 26 September 2009 | |
| Depending on the records & issues.....
1.75 hours minimum, 2.5 hours typical. That would include documenting issues on the PDF of scanned documents and a 15 min phone call to the client. A manager would review for 1/2 hour, partner signs off with a 10 min review. | |
| 3 October 2009 | |
| Based on your example return, your function would be worth $75 to $125 to me, including payroll taxes. Divide that by 2.5 hours and that's the compensation I would pay - but that might not be an hourly wage - it might consist of a smaller hourly wage of $15 - $25 plus a bonus at the end of tax season. Because I bet there are some hours of training and downtime that I'd have to pay for also.
Take a look at your total production (billed and collected) and multiply that by 33.33% and you get the max that the function is worth. Then multiply that by your portion of the time on the returns (let's say 85%) to total staff time on these returns. Then subtract payroll taxes (approx 10%) and any other benefits. So, for example, if you produce $85,000 in collections, x 33.33% x 85% x another 90%, that would be the max that you are worth to a professional tax office. Obviously less if there is a lot of hand-holding and training, but your example doesn't indicate that this is necessary. | |
| 12 October 2009 | |
| I would say that you should get 20-35% of the fee. Based on what you mentioned (2 levels of reviewers) it would be probably closer to 25%. This is how some empoloyers would think in terms of controlling the labor costs to a manageable level. So, it really depends on the employer too -- do they care about the bottom line (i.e. your production) or how much you make an hour? I belong to the former catagory but know that some that belong to the latter.
The number of hours and therefore, the rate per hour is your problem. | |
| 13 October 2009 | |
| My consultants tell me the firm can't thrive unless it gets 5x on staff, I grew up on Kevin's 3x example, but after paying the bills this year I really see the difference between survive and thrive. | |
| 23 October 2009 | |
| Any suggestions on how to find good dependable honest help?
I thought of using an employment agency, but not sure. Suggestions? | |
| 23 October 2009 | |
| Nanc, maybe the above is like the joke
Fast, Inexpensive, Quality
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