What is a Service Bureau?
What is a Service Bureau?
The service bureau business model is one of the little known secrets in the Tax Industry. Very few people openly talk about what the benefits of being your own service bureau are and what it actually is.
To put it simply a service bureau provides tax software to tax professionals. If you already own a tax office or are in the tax industry, creating your own Service Bureau brand is one of the most lucrative business models in the industry. However you want to be more than just a “tax software” provider.
How you will make a difference is by creating your own Unique Selling Proposition that will separate you from the average software reseller in the market.
Benefits of Becoming a Service Bureau?
As a Service Bureau you get to take advantage of multiple benefits. Your own branded tax software to not only market and sell as you please, but to also build more authority with you and your brand. Think about it would you rather have your tax preparers seeing Crosslink, Taxwise, Drake or Tax Slayer on their computers every day? Or would you rather them see your Company name and logo as your own brand.
Increase your revenue in the off season! One of the little known secrets of a service bureau is the incredible revenue potential you have as it grows. As you know tax season has its ups and downs and the past few have been harder for the average brick and mortar tax office. However if you had a service bureau, the revenue generated from all of your sub sites (clients you provide tax software to) could have easily replaced the income you make in your tax office…without actually having to do more returns yourself!
Leverage your network! If you have been in the tax industry for atleast a couple of years I am sure you have had people reach out to you and ask you “Can you show me how to do what you do?” Think about how many friends, colleagues, even clients have asked or have even started their own tax business. This is a great opportunity for you as a Service Bureau to not only create programs leveraging your experience in the industry but also provide them with YOUR tax software. Stop worrying about competition, as a service bureau you generate revenue off of every bank product return funded.
How do Service Bureaus make money?
There are multiple revenue sources that Service Bureaus can tap into within the tax industry. We have seen it all and we see where the opportunity is. To put it simply, Service Bureaus typically generate revenue off of each bank product funded within their Service Bureau.
You may have software currently through a service bureau or have seen a line item in your software for Service Bureau Fees. That is where a service bureau can enter a value that they want to be paid for each bank product that funds from your office.
There are also other options such as Transmission Addon Fees. As a service bureau with your own branded tax software you can also determine what you want to set as an add-on to all of your subsites for an additional revenue source.
Another great revenue source for Service Bureaus are the volume rebates. Once you have grown to certain volume tiers you will get additional rebates aside from what you add-on or your service bureau fees as an added incentive.
When you partner with Service Bureau Accelerator we break down the best ways to leverage these different revenue streams as well as show you new and innovative ways to package your service bureau offering so that you stand out from the competition and actually grow your business!
How Should I Market My Service Bureau?
There are many ways to market your service bureau. However one thing you should definitely stay away from is just being another Tax Software on the market.
With the Service Bureau Accelerator not only do you get the best software and support in the industry however you get to take advantage of the team behind some of the industries fastest growing marketing programs as well.
The Service Bureau Accelerator walks you through everything you need to know to get infront of tax offices and tax professionals or recruit and bring in new preparers into the industry.
The old way of just calling down the tax preparer list is gone
Learn how to create your own Unique Selling Proposition
to hit the ground running with your offers
Our goal is to show you how to actually build and grow your existing service bureau or new one. Not just give you branded software and wish you good luck.
We have spent the better part of 5 years growing our service bureau and can share with you the ins and outs of what it takes to not only get in front of your ideal client, but how to actually sell and convert them.
- Full on brand guide and social media templates
- Sales presentation templates and contract templates
- Sales processes, calendar integration, pipeline management and much more
Supporting Service Bureau Clients
One of the hardest parts of growing your service bureau will be providing support. When you go directly to tax softwares to become a service bureau they require you not only to pay them yearly for licenses, but they also require you to support your users!
This was one of the biggest challenges we had as we grew our service bureau the first two seasons.
However since then we have contracted with 2 of the biggest companies in the industry to provide all of our technical support. Because of this all of our Service Bureau Partners will be able to leverage our systems and support so you can focus on what you do best.
Service Bureau Accelerator and Tax Nitro Partnership
Our goal again is not just provide you with your own branded tax software like some of the other companies out there. We want to make sure you have the tools and training you need to grow. So with that we have partnered with Tax Nitro and developed the only service bureau marketing campaigns in the industry for you to leverage.
Landing Pages
Landing Pages and funnels for your Service Bureau and Tax Software business to generate leads and actual appointments on your calendar.
Marketing Campaigns
Marketing campaigns for you to deploy to your existing lists designed to get your more sales and sign ups for your service bureau and tax software.
Website Templates
Service Bureau website templates so you don’t need to hire someone to create your brand online it’s already done for you. Simply fill in your content and you’re done!
Bank Enrollment
Bank Enrollment automations so you don’t have to collect all the information by hand to enroll your subsites
Software Integration
Integration with your tax software so you now can promote that your tax software has a Tax Nitro Integration!
And so much more...
Tax Nitro is the industry leading marketing automation tool for tax offices. We leverage all aspects of it to make sure our Service Bureau Partners have everything they need to grow!
If you are thinking of joining a tax franchise as a franchisee or area developer instead of starting your OWN Service Bureau here are some things to consider
Having been involved with many franchises, I do not recommend the model if you truly want to a successful business owner. The tag lines all of these franchise companies use such as “Be in Business For Yourself NOT by yourself” could not be further from the truth as there are many limitations on joining a franchise.
Why you should NOT join a tax franchise
- Franchise Fee and Startup costs are much higher than just opening up your own business.
- Area Development fees can be in the hundreds of thousands or more
- Limited Territory – You can only work within a limited geographical area, in many cases the population in those territories cannot support business expansion
- Marketing/Advertising Fees – Most franchisors have dated marketing methods and do not actually help you find clients or grow your business, you are on your own but are still having to pay their mandatory fees
- Long Term Contracts – You are committed to a one sided agreement and it can cost you tens of thousands of dollars to exit if you are not happy with the Franchise.
- No Guarantees of success – As with anything no one can guarantee success however its much harder to grow if you are limited to geography and what kind of marketing you can do.
- Building Their Company – Bottom line is all of your energy and effort is going to build a company you do not even own, why build someone else’s brand when you can build your own.
Why Start Your OWN Service Bureau Instead
- Actually Be Your Own Boss, you are not limited and do not need approvals from another company to market and grow your business.
- No Territory Restrictions – Sell all over the country or all over the world
- Create Your Own Reseller Programs – You can have multiple people reselling your Service Bureau Software and Services instead of you growing your franchisors business
- No Mandatory Fees – No royalties, No Marketing/Advertising fees, no yearly minimums. Grow at your own pace
- No Long Term Contracts – It is your business, your software, your service bureau. You are not obligated to hit performance goals such as franchises require
- Control Your Brand – Again you own your brand, you control your business no need for approvals from people who do not know your market or sometimes barely even have industry experience.
Join The Service Bureau Accelerator Today
If you have not had a chance to book a call or join one of our presentations you can do so by going to https://servicebureauaccelerator.com/
In the meantime let me break down a bit more in-depth what is included when you join the service bureau accelerator and partner with us to grow your tax software business.
Service Bureau Training
- How to Maximize Revenue with your Service Bureau
- Recruiting Tax Offices & Tax Preparers
- Marketing Your Service Bureau
- Systems and process and templates on how to actually effectively market and grow your business
- How to Create Your Service Bureau Offers
- Service Bureau Sales Presentation
- Increasing Retention With Subsites
- Coaching Calls
- Ongoing Strategy & Support
Service Bureau Operations Training
- Enrolling New Offices
- Setting up software licenses for your subsites
- Addon Fees Training
- Service Bureau Fees Training
- Best Practices
Branding Package
- Logo Creation or Logo Updates
- Service Bureau Brand Guide
- Branded Social Media Templates
Tax Nitro Partnership
- Pre- Built Landing Pages
- Service Bureau Website Templates
- Bank Enrollment Automations
- Marketing Campaigns
- Two-Way SMS, Email & Website Chat
- Unlimited Training Portals for your Service Bureau
- Preferred Partnership with Tax Nitro For Your Subsites
- Tax Nitro Integration with your Tax Software
Branded Tax Software
- Your Own Custom Branded Tax Software
- Tax Software Training Resources
- Tax Software Tech Support (For You and Your Sub-sites)
- Unlimited Sub-sites
- Unlimited Reseller Packages
- Custom Branded Mobile App For your Tax Offices
- Customer Portal for your Tax Offices
- Paperless Office
- Conversion Utilities
And Best of All…
- No Yearly Fees (It’s Yours for Life)
- Keep 100% of your Add-On Fees
- Keep 100% of your Service Bureau Fees
- Additional Volume Rebate Incentives
To Learn More and to see if this is the right fit for you and your business schedule a call or attend a Live Demo here:
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