Someone looking for tax preparation needs to know whether your office handles the work they have. A contact form should make that question easy to ask.
Explain the services your office accepts and how a request begins. Keep instructions for speaking with the preparer clear beside any directions about providing documents.
What a tax preparation customer looks for
Give the reader a plain description of the work your office handles. Identify the preparer using the names and qualifications your business has approved.
The Internal Revenue Service's tax professional guide explains how to check preparer credentials. Keep your own published qualifications tied to the records your office supplies.
The things the site must show
The preparation work your office accepts
Use service descriptions the preparer has checked. Explain what someone can ask about without requiring them to identify a tax form they do not recognize.
Leave space for the reader to describe why they are contacting the office. The preparer can decide which questions are needed to understand that request.
Read the service list beside the contact form. Its choices should match the work described and leave room for a question when the reader is unsure.
Office details beside the request
Put the office contact instructions where someone can find them while reading about the service. Explain how your business receives a new preparation inquiry.
Keep office details consistent across the service and contact pages. If the practice changes its arrangements, check each place where those instructions appear.
Use the preparer's approved explanation of the appointment process. The website should make clear what the customer requests and what the office confirms.
Document instructions with a clear purpose
Keep a general question distinguishable from a document submission. Use the preparer's own instructions to explain when and how the office accepts records.
If the site has a document link, check its label and destination. The reader should understand what that route is for before opening it.
Keep the phone number within reach for questions about the instructions. Confirm that the receiving person can identify the request and the reason for it.
The mistake to check for
Look for a page that gives document instructions without explaining how a new customer contacts the preparer. A person asking about service still needs a clear starting point.
Follow the page with a question about the work accepted. Check that the contact route lets the reader ask it without sending records.
What that gap can cost you
Unclear instructions can leave the office with documents and no explanation of the requested work. They can also leave a prospective customer unsure where to ask.
A clear inquiry route gives the preparer the reason for the conversation before further records are discussed.
The next step
Open your tax preparation page on a phone. Find the accepted services, preparer details and contact instructions, then compare the document route separately.
Related: Tax preparation websites
If you want an outside look at how preparation requests reach your office, start with the free check.