Protection Plus: Peace of mind for notice resolutions

Filing taxes is a prospect that can make any taxpayer uncomfortable. Even with an accountant to help them, the possibility of hearing from the IRS audit can set anyone on edge.

That’s why David K. Boatswain invested in Intuit® ProConnect’s Protection Plus three years ago. 

“A small upfront price can potentially save a lot of money in the future,” said David. “The cost of peace of mind is invaluable.”

Boatswain CPA, PLLC, is a small accounting, audit, and tax firm nestled into the second floor of the Pioneer Building in Brooklyn, NY. With five employees, the firm found Protection Plus to be a smart way to outsource a time-consuming service, while giving the firm an advantage over competitors.

“I use it to provide IRS and state notices review, and response services, as well as audit protection,” said David. “Protection Plus has helped my practice by saving us time responding to client notices and providing an edge to make us more marketable. Clients gain invaluable peace of mind when they know that their 1040 is defended by Protection Plus.”

How Protection Plus works

How much is your time worth? Wouldn’t you rather spend it working with your clients than on endless calls to federal and state agencies?

David would. He and his team work directly with their clients on a variety of business and individual tax matters, as well as offering advisory services. Outsourcing something as time consuming as contacting the IRS or any similar agency enables him to spend more energy and time with his clients.

Protection Plus is simple. The CPAs and enrolled agents (EAs) who represent Protection Plus will stick with an open case for as long as it takes. It does not matter how many calls you for your clients are put on hold for, or how long it takes to resolve an issue. The service is easily available as an add-on service for Intuit ProConnect™ Tax, Lacerte® Tax, and ProSeries® Tax for just $10 per 1040 filing for your whole firm.

If a 1040 tax filing is flagged by the IRS or a state tax agency, a firm can tap in the Protection Plus team of CPAs and EAs to handle correspondence, give guidance, and resolve issues with tax forms.

The timesaving benefits of Protection Plus are really attractive to David and his firm.

“Protection Plus saves us a significant amount of time by not spending hours organizing clients’ documents and responding to taxing authorities,” he said. “That translates to saving money.”

How Protection Plus worked with a client

With Protection Plus, a firm can choose to facilitate the issue on behalf of a client and/or give the client the information on how to contact the Protection Plus team directly. David emphasizes how simple the process is and one phone call is all it takes. No waiting on hold or endless games of telephone tag.

Most of the time, David provides the information to his clients and has them work directly with the team. However, in one case involving a client, David called in the Protection Plus team for backup when the IRS sent a notice requesting additional documentation. He was truly grateful for Protection Plus’ services.

“A client in the film production industry was requested to produce supporting documentation for the IRS,” he said. “We used Protection Plus to respond to the IRS, and they provided a thorough and organized response that included all the related invoices. The presentation was very professional and even had exhibits. It was an outstanding client experience.”

Protection Plus also provides identity theft services to the firm’s clients, including 24/7 access to identity theft restoration advocates, credit monitoring, and fraud alerts. Protection Plus is a service David and his colleagues see as a necessity, not a luxury.

Provide your clients an outstanding tax experience

If you’d like to learn more about adding Protection Plus to give your clients peace of mind with their returns and save your firm valuable time, schedule a 15-minute consultation with the Intuit team.