A front desk that knows which questions belong to a preparer.
Avery is one assistant on Decker’s phone line and website. It answers office questions and general tax questions, such as deadlines, forms and what a notice generally means. Anything about a client’s own return, documents or numbers goes to a preparer, with the client’s details already taken down. The day before a booked appointment, Avery calls the client to confirm.
Try Avery in the corner of this page. Ask anything, or copy one of the questions to try.
Avery is a placeholder name for this preview. If Avery says it is having trouble responding, the preview assistant has not been switched on yet.
Who answers what
Every question that reaches the front desk lands on one side of this line.
Front desk questions
Avery answers
Avery hands to staff
- Office hours
- Where the office is
- Services the firm offers
- What to bring to an appointment
- How to book
- Client portal login help
- General tax questions, such as deadlines, forms and what a notice generally means General information, the same for every caller.
- Anything about the caller’s own taxes
- “Is my expense deductible?”
- “What does my letter mean for me?”
- “What will I owe or get back?”
- “Which entity should I choose?”
- IRS letters about the caller’s own account
- “Is my return done?”
- Return pricing quotes
- Anything Avery does not know
Avery takes down the caller’s name, number and question, so the preparer starts with the details.
Two things Avery stops
Anyone who starts reading out a Social Security number or an account number.
Any request about hiding income. Avery declines it.
Questions to try
The chat runs in its own window, so these are here to copy. Paste one in and see which side of the line it lands on.
Avery should answer these
Avery should hand these to staff
Avery should stop these
The phone number stays the same
Clients keep calling the number they already have.
316.722.8412
Decker’s office number
Office open and a line free
Decker’s staff answers, as today.
After hours, or every line busy
The call forwards to Avery.
A dedicated line for Avery is set up during onboarding, and the office number forwards to it.
The day before a booked appointment, Avery calls the client to confirm it. If the client needs a different time, the office gets the message.
What the office sees
Everything comes to the office by email.
- 7:00 AM
- Morning brief. Today’s appointments, whether each client confirmed, and how many conversations are still waiting on a person.
- 5:30 PM
- Evening summary. What needs a person, new leads, the next appointments and any client Avery could not reach to confirm.
- Each lead
- Lead email. One email per lead with the conversation in it, so whoever picks it up can see what was said.
Today: 5 appointments for Decker Tax & Accounting
Good morning. Here is Tuesday, Feb 16 for Decker Tax & Accounting.
Today’s appointments
- 9 to 9:30 AM, Dana WhitfieldIndividual return, confirmed
- 10 to 11 AM, Marcus and Joy BellIndividual return, not confirmed yet
- 11:30 AM to 12 PM, Ruth KesslerDocument drop-off, confirmed
- 1:30 to 2:30 PM, Tom LindqvistBusiness return, wants a change
- 3 to 3:30 PM, Priya RamanReview and sign, confirmed
Still open
- 2 conversations since the last summary still waiting on a person.
Through the tax year
Filing season
Late January to April 15
Avery picks up after hours and whenever every line is busy, and takes appointment requests.
Extension season
April 16 to October 15
The same coverage while extended returns are finished. Questions about a client’s own extension go to the preparer.
Off season
October 16 to late January
Avery covers evenings and weekends.
Getting started
Setup takes about three weeks.
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The firm’s FAQ and hours
Decker sends its FAQ and office hours, and Avery answers office questions from them.
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Phone forwarding
Decker’s phone carrier sets 316.722.8412 to forward to Avery’s line after hours and when every line is busy.
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A trial period
The office reviews what Avery would have said to callers.
Pricing
Ask James.
Questions about this preview
James SandwellApex Technology LLC
(316) 640-0262
james@apextechnologyllc.com