Welcome to “Get Work Done,” where we discuss the complexities of efficiently running accounting and bookkeeping firms. This newsletter is brought to you by Financial Cents and delivered to your inbox every 2 weeks.
Small Change, Big Results
Year-end is close. Your clients are asking about tax planning. Next year’s engagement letters still need to go out. And for many of you, the team handling all of it is spread across three time zones.
Remote work has a lot going for it. But here’s what nobody says out loud: a remote team doesn’t build a culture by itself. Culture doesn’t come from the once-a-year retreat. It comes from what happens on a regular Tuesday.
That’s the big idea in our latest Two Cents Magazine feature. Five firm leaders share the small, repeatable habits that keep their remote teams connected. A few worth stealing:
The 15-second standup. At First Steps Financial, each person takes about 15–20 seconds to share yesterday’s win, today’s win, any heads-ups, and whether they’re stuck. The format is simple. Doing it every day is what makes it work.
A “morning lineup,” hotel-style. Tyler Otto of Specialized Accounting borrowed this from his years in five-star hotels. On Tuesdays, one team takes 10 minutes to teach something useful. Thursdays are for a question of the day.
A clear place for every kind of message. Urgent issues, help requests, wins, and GIFs each get their own channel. As Otto puts it, “communicating well in GIF format will help people integrate with the rest of the team.”
Flexibility with guardrails. Total schedule freedom sounds great until no one is online at the same time. Keep the flexibility, but set clear expectations around it.
There’s one more point owners should hear. Otto says, “The only things that make it to your desk are the big problems.” The client wins are happening without you. So build a way for good news to reach you too.
Missed WorkflowCon 2026? All the sessions from November 9–10 are now on replay, and they’re free to watch any time. A good place to start is Keila Hill-Trawick’s keynote, “Build to Enough.” If this issue’s theme hit home, watch “The Out-of-Office Stress Test” next. Dave Kersting, one of the leaders in the feature above, is on that panel, and it covers what broke and what held when firm leaders stepped away.
👉 Watch the WorkflowCon 2026 replays →
Community 🫶
Bookkeeper Breakthrough Summit
If you run a bookkeeping practice, block off tomorrow (Friday, November 13). Michelle Weinstein of The Abundant Accountant is hosting a free virtual day of practical sessions on AI, pricing, organic marketing, scalable systems, and mindset. We’re proud to be the Presenting Sponsor. Join live to network with other practice owners, visit sponsor booths for attendee-only offers, and compete for prizes. Stop by our booth to book a free personalized demo.
H🔥t Today
The IRS just released the 2027 tax numbers
Rev. Proc. 2026-35 is out. Here are the highlights: the standard deduction rises to $33,200 for joint filers and $16,600 for single filers. The annual gift exclusion goes up to $20,000, and the estate exclusion to $15.48 million. The Child Tax Credit maximum rises to $2,300. These are the numbers you’ll use in year-end planning meetings, so update your planning templates now instead of in February.
The AICPA takes another pass at private equity guardrails
The AICPA’s ethics committee voted to re-expose its proposed independence rules for firms with outside investors, including PE-backed structures. The new draft reflects 81 comment letters. It narrows what counts as an “alternative practice structure” and bars attest work for businesses where the investor has significant influence. A 120-day comment period follows. Even if PE money isn’t on your radar, these rules will shape how your competitors, and possible buyers, are set up.
Your pre-2027 fix-it list
This CPA Practice Advisor piece is a useful year-end gut check. It covers how much time you spend chasing client data, the security plan you haven’t touched since you wrote it, and engagement letters sitting unsigned with no follow-up. None of these will fix themselves in January. Choose one and deal with it before the holidays.
Swipe this workflow template
Swipe this 1099 Preparation template by Jami Dorman →
Get more templates from firm owners like you in our community template library.
Meme
Relatable? 😆
Firm Spotl💡ght
How a South Dakota Firm Stopped Juggling Three Tools (and 1,800 Tax Returns)
Mindy Wirkus founded Ledgers, Inc. in Watertown, South Dakota, in 1999. Today the firm has 28 people serving about 330 accounting, bookkeeping, and payroll clients, and it files around 1,800 tax returns a year. Before Financial Cents, tasks lived in one tool, time in another, and tax in a pile of spreadsheets. The obvious replacements didn’t fit either. As Mindy put it, “it seemed like everything that we looked at was designed for a tax firm,” but about 75% of her firm’s revenue comes from client accounting. Now monthly document requests go out automatically, every project has a time budget with a pre-billing check for overruns, and the firm has one clear goal: no off-system work. In Mindy’s words, “It’s crazy the visibility that Financial Cents brings to your firm.”
Check out Mindy’s full story →
Events
📍 Bookkeeper Breakthrough Summit — November 13, 2026 (Virtual)
A free, one-day summit for bookkeeping practice owners, hosted by Michelle Weinstein. Five sessions cover AI, pricing, organic marketing, scalable services, and mindset. It runs from 12:00 to 5:55 PM ET.
📍 Digital CPA (DCPA) — December 6–9, 2026 (San Diego + virtual)
CPA.com’s annual conference on technology, automation, AI, and advisory services. It’s for firm leaders deciding which tech bets to make in 2027. CPE is available.
📍 Ensuring Success — December 9–10, 2026 (Virtual)
CPA Practice Advisor’s free two-day virtual event covers tax, technology, and practice management. Last year’s event offered up to 14 hours of free CPE, which helps if you still need hours before year-end.
Noteworthy
The end of the organizer chase
You know the routine. You send a 10-page PDF organizer, half the questions don’t apply, and you spend February chasing the rest in email threads. Tax Organizers were one of the most talked-about launches at WorkflowCon. Clients only see the questions their earlier answers make relevant. There’s no login and no password, just one secure link, and they can upload W-2s and 1099s right in the form. Reminders go out automatically until the client submits. Everything lands on the client’s project, ready for you to review and mark as verified. Tax Organizers are currently included on every plan, so you can send your first one before the rush starts.
That’s all for now, folks. See you in two weeks. 💚