What you get after the call.

Sample plan: Alder Street Tax and Bookkeeping (made up)

Tax preparation and monthly bookkeeping, Boise, Idaho. 9 people. For Carla, owner. [04:10] is the time in our call.

The short version

• What you asked for: less chasing and fewer "is my return done?" emails, so Nina can get back to the books [00:55].
• What we found: three fixes, all in tools you already pay for: two in your TaxDome plan, one in Microsoft 365, nothing extra to buy. Soramis takes no commissions or referral fees from TaxDome, Microsoft or any tool maker.
• Why no custom build here: for Alder Street, the best answer was tools you already pay for, set up properly. Other plans end in a custom tool we build or work we run for you.
• Estimated hours back: about 5.7 hours a week. An estimate from the numbers you and Nina gave, not a measured saving.

What we heard (made-up quotes)

• "Nina sends thirty emails a week asking for missing documents. Three hours." Carla [04:10]
• "New clients email a PDF intake form and I type it into TaxDome. Six a week, fifteen minutes each." Nina [07:25]
• "Twenty review meetings a week, four or five emails each. Six minutes." Carla [10:40]
• "Thirty 'is my return done?' emails or calls a week. Four minutes each." Nina [13:15]
• "Month end I email forty clients for statements, then chase half. An hour a week, averaged." Nina [16:50]

Your rule [18:30]: reminders and status notes can go out on their own; anything with a fee or tax figure is read by Carla or Priya first. Four of you prepare returns and hold reviews. You use TaxDome Pro (9 seats, 1-year term) and Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot (9 users, paid yearly).

Client records: fixes 1 and 3 touch client documents in TaxDome; fix 2 holds client contact details in Microsoft 365. Before each goes on, check that your agreements with both, and your written security plan, cover it. This plan needed no access to your systems or files.

The plan

Ranked by impact (hours at stake) against effort. All hours are estimates.

1. Let the portal chase documents and take intake

• Problem: 30 chase emails and 6 retyped intakes a week [04:10] [07:25].
• Fix and tool: send document requests as TaxDome client requests and intake as an organizer, with reminders that stop "When the client completes the action" (TaxDome reminders help page, checked 2026-09-28). Nina reviews the answers and syncs them to the client record instead of retyping them (TaxDome organizer sync help page, checked 2026-09-28). It beat Content Snare (below): your clients already use TaxDome.
• Price: $0 extra; "Client requests", organizers and "Automated reminders" are in all plans. TaxDome pricing page, checked 2026-09-28. Compared: Content Snare Plus is $71 a month billed annually, 5 users. Content Snare pricing page, checked 2026-09-28.
• Effort: medium, about 4 hours. Hours back: about 2.7 a week. Chasing: 3 hours; reminders make the repeat asks, Nina still answers replies, so we count half = 1.5. Intake: 6 forms x (15 minutes typed less 3 to check and sync) = 72 minutes = 1.2.
• First step: Nina builds the request and organizer and sends both to a test client.
• Test: today 30 chase emails and 6 intakes typed a week. Target: none typed, under 10 chase emails. Check: 60 days after go-live.

2. Let clients book their own review meetings

• Problem: 20 meetings a week, 4 or 5 emails each [10:40].
• Fix and tool: Microsoft Bookings, already in your Microsoft 365 plan: one "return review" page on the preparers' Outlook calendars that helps "customers quickly find available times and avoid double-booking" (Microsoft Bookings page, checked 2026-09-28). The form asks only name, email and phone. It beat Calendly (below), which costs extra.
• Price: $0 extra; Bookings is listed in Business Standard with Copilot, "$23.50 user/month, paid yearly". Microsoft 365 business plans page, checked 2026-09-28. Compared: Calendly Standard is $10 per seat a month billed yearly ($12 monthly), so $40 a month for 4 preparers. Calendly pricing page, checked 2026-09-28.
• Effort: low, about 2 hours. Hours back: about 1.5 a week. 20 meetings x 6 minutes = 2 hours; some clients will still email, so we count 75%.
• First step: Carla sets it up on 4 preparers' calendars and books a test.
• Test: today about 20 meetings a week booked by email. Target: 3 in 4 booked through the page. Check: 30 days after go-live.

3. Send status notes and month-end requests on their own

• Problem: 30 status questions a week; month-end requests to 40 clients sent by hand [13:15] [16:50].
• Fix and tool: messages at four TaxDome pipeline stages, naming the stage, never a fee or figure, and a monthly job per bookkeeping client requesting statements. TaxDome lists "automated emails and messages to proactively keep clients up-to-date" (TaxDome workflow page, checked 2026-09-28) and a monthly job that sends a "message to request bank statements" (TaxDome blog post, checked 2026-09-28). It beat a shared status spreadsheet, which someone must update.
• Price: $0 extra; "Customizable workflow processes" and "Dependencies and workflow automation" are in all plans. TaxDome pricing page, checked 2026-09-28.
• Effort: medium, about 5 hours. Hours back: about 1.5 a week. Status: 30 x 4 minutes = 2 hours; some clients will still ask, so we count half = 1. Month end: 1 hour; Nina still handles replies, so we count half = 0.5.
• First step: Carla and Nina write 4 messages and move a test client through each stage.
• Test: today 30 status questions a week; 40 month-end emails by hand. Target: fewer than 10 questions; all 40 requests sent automatically by the 5th. Check: 60 days after go-live.

Total: 2.7 + 1.5 + 1.5 = about 5.7 hours a week (estimate).

What we did not recommend and why

• TaxDome Business: $1,200 vs $1,000 per seat a year on a 1-year term, $1,800 a year more for 9 seats (TaxDome pricing page, checked 2026-09-28). Nothing on the call needs its extras.
• Not yet: an AI tool that reads client uploads. It works on client tax records, so your data terms and security plan come first. Revisit once fixes 1 to 3 pass their tests.

Next steps

We go through this together on the review. Then you choose what fits:

• Run it yourself. Fix 1 this week, 2 next week, 3 the week after. It is written so Carla and Nina can do it without us.
• Or have Soramis set it up for your team. We set it up, agree up front how we will both know it works, and keep it working. Any access to your accounts is on your terms, in writing. The price is in writing before we start, and you can say no.
• Or have Soramis run it for you. We do the work and send you the result each month, with the numbers so you can check it. The price is in writing before we start.