I work for H & R Block. We have a large office. We are open 9 - 9 Mon to Fri, 9 - 6 on Sat, 9 - 5 on Sun. Breaks are staggered. Appts are 30 - 60min. Walkins always welcome.

Brooke, it really does not matter what we do, it is what works for you. All practices are different.

Helen, EA in PA

If you have a Sunday appt, you are indeed a special client.

Appts are an hour long, whether we need it or not.

I take lunch when I can.

I don't remember the rest of the questions - but we do preschedule and I work probably 12-14 hours a day except for wing night, we close at 6.

Hope this helps! :)

YAY for tax season approaching :)

I work 7 days a week even non tax season as I do full service accounting so there is always someone who needs something done, tax planning, bookkeeping, payroll returns, sales tax returns, assistance with failure to pay taxes, etc so in tax season it matters not that then I have all my other returns to do but also continue to do these other things.

I come in depending on appointments outside my office (schedule them in the mornings when at all possible) and then stay sometimes to way after dark.

I prefer calling for an appointment but some of my clients just don't get it and stop in whenever they feel like it, along with their children, dogs, etc. UUGGHH.

Only in an emergency will I see a client on Sunday. Primarily this is my day to get caught up.

Eating lunch? Holy cow miss dinner quite a bit as well during busy times but occasionally will go to lunch with a client or peer.

Appointments last as long as they need to. I can't place these people in a "box", so one may take 10 minutes, one may take 1 1/2 hours. If they complete the organizer and have all their documents and their signed engagement letter, then doesn't take as long.

1. office is open 8am to 9 pm.

2. Not at the main office, at home to get caught up, yes.

3. We take appointments until 7, try to leave by 9 pm. I would prefer to cut this down, I feel most mistakes happen after 6 pm.

4. Office open at 8, first appointment at 9.

5. Lunch is always at the office, and often supper also.

6. Close at 5 on Friday and never open on Sunday.

7. Schedule appointments every hour on the hour, unless one is known to take longer or very easy, then might adjust. Book will be full before first of March.

8. None

9. We try to schedule one day a week with no appointments and if can not do that take two mornings to catch up.

10. Three quarters of our returns are "drop-offs" that are put in a stack in order and we get to them asap. Usually try to have done in a week, tell them 7 to 10 days when busy. If there is a rush we will move them up. There is no set time to drop off. I much prefer these returns, can get several more done an hour this way.

I also have a smaller business at home that is an hour away from the office, so I am always working whenever I can to keep up there. But I still will not do appointments on Sunday at home, but will allow a client to pickup if they need to. 99% of my home business is drop offs.

1. 7:30am - 7:30pm with 1 - 2 hour break for lunch, dinner, coffee, etc.;
2. If necessary but typically no more than both Sundays prior to 4/15;
3. If information is not in by 4/8 - 4/10, it is extended, unless "extraordinary" circumstances exist;
4. Doesn't start getting "busy" until the 1st week of February to the middle, or even the end of February, depending on when Form 1099Bs are received from investment houses.
5. Yes, but sometimes will go out for 1/2 hour break.
6. 7:30pm plus or minus
7. One to 2 1/2 hours or longer. Complex returns can run four.
8. 1/2 hour to an hour.
9. Not really
10. Walk-ins, or non-appointments are typically always welcome anytime.

As you can probably tell, I probably have a non-traditional practice, but I also do not allow myself to get stressed-out! "It is, what it is", and this business does not involve "performing life or death surgery"!

1. Work from home nowadays, but work 6am-8pm M-F, 8am-4pm Sat, Sunday 6-8 hrs "whenever." But I tell clients my office hours (NOT the same as appointment availability) are 9-7 M-F and 9-1 Sat.
2. Never ever ever see a client on a Sunday. Ever.
3. Will work until midnight if I have to, but rarely do I work past 9pm.
4. Will start at 5am if necessary, but not often.
5. My office is at home, so yes!
6. I am "closed" outside of the office hours I listed in #1.
7. Appointments are 1 hour. I see clients every hour, on the quarter hour 1:15-7:15, six clients/day Mon-Tue-Thur. I see clients every hour, on the hour 9-1, four clients/day, Fri-Sat. Wednesday is for catchup/investment planning. Works pretty well for me. I am strict about these days/times. Clients always find a way to fit in.
8. None. I go one after another.
9. Wed and Sunday. Fri/Sat afternoons.
10. No walk-ins.

1.Tax Season Office Hours - 9-7 Monday through Thursday, 9-5 on Friday, Principals work Saturdays either from home or in the office at their discretion, staff is usually not needed on Saturdays.

2.Do you have Sunday hours? Not really, but sort of - Sunday is the day I do family returns at my house. I try to use Sundays as the day I get my freebies (close friends & family). They bring their tax stuff AND DINNER.

3.How late do you go? As late as I need to - 8 or 9 most nights, but sometimes later.

4.How early? I get up at 7AM, exercise and have breakfast. Then check my e-mail and voice mail from home so I can return calls during my 1-hour commute so my work day usually starts around 8:00AM. My first appointment in the office is at 10:00 AM.

5.Do you take lunch in the office? WE provide lunch IF you eat at your desk and keep working. We have a small kitchen - fridge, microwave, toaster oven & small pantry - we keep stocked with lunchmeat, cheese, bread, condiments, snacks, coffee, hot chocolate, mac & cheese, soup, fresh fruit and other stuff. If you like something specific and it isn't to expensive, we'll stock it in for you.

6.When are you closed? Any appointment AFTER 7:00PM has to be cleared by a principal.

7.How long are appointments? We schedule 1.5 hours, most take about 1 hour. This allows time if it goes over or time for a bathroom or stretch break.

8.How much time between appointments? Normally, none - BUT - typically we'll have mail ins and drop offs interspersed with the live ones.

9.Are there any no-appointment days or catch-up days? Sometimes, but not too many. Mail ins and drop offs get schedule on the calendar just like live appointments BUT they can be moved if someone wants to come in live at that time. So sometimes the mails in and drop offs get a bit backed up. Internally we do our very best to make sure that everythings get OUT within 10-Days (providing we have all the info) so when client info starts to get stale we ramp up. But again, since we try to hold to a 10-day turnaround it usually means we work a few extra hours rather than scheduling a no-appointment day.

10.Do you take walk-ins and if so, can they come in any time or do you have specific walk-in times? We specialize in complicated, higher end returns. I've never heard of one of these just walking in, though if they did I might accomodate them under the right circumstances. Our front door is posted with a "By Appointment Only" sign and we're not in a retail center like a mall so there isn't much foot or drive by traffic. If you aren't looking for us, you're looking for the attorneys downstairs - nobody comes to our office just shopping.

What you didn't ask -

We have 2 Principal & 1 full time assistant;

We prepare about 500 returns annually - 375 1040s; 100 1120/1120S/1065; 25 990s, 1041s, 706/709.

I check my e-mail and voice mail from home and return calls on my drive in. I do NOT check my e-mail again till early afternoon, around 3PM (and I LIVE for e-mail).

I do NOT take unscheduled calls during the day in tax season. Unscheduled callers need to tell my assistant what they want and she will schedule a call back for the afternoon. This way I can be ready to talk to them when I call them back and I don't have to deal with the "I need a copy of my return or an appointment" stuff, that's the assistant's job.

I schedule a Date Night with my wife every week, usually either Wednesday or Thursday and I leave the office that day by 5:00PM.

Our office adheres to the Local School Closing Schedule for foul weather. If the local schools are closed then our offices are deemed close and all schedule appointments are rescheduled. We notify all clients of this UP FRONT - it is way better than trying to fight the snow to get to the office for an appointment only to find out that the client can't get in AND it means that we don't have to worry about trying to notify clients at 6AM about a day's activities.

Principals can take work home and/or login remotely to work from home if they need to for any reason.

Everyone is encouraged to STAY HOME IF SICK. If you're an employee you'll have a chance to make up the time, if your a client we'll reschedule. Please do NOT come to the office and make ALL of us sick.

If it isn't out the door by 03/01 - 04/01 - 05/01 then it gets extended automatically if we did your return last year.

We close at 12:00 NOON SHARP on April 15 and we take the office to a nice sit down restaurant - no fast food.

April 16 is a paid holiday in our office for all staffers.