Discussion:Jackson Hewitt, Block or Liberty???
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Discussion Forum Index --> Test Area --> Jackson Hewitt, Block or Liberty???
| 19 November 2006 | |
| I am looking for part time tax work this season,
Have you worked for any of these firms before? What did you think. Thanks. | |
Www.cpa1.biz (talk|edits) said: | 8 January 2007 |
| go with H&R. You will probably get the most work..right... | |
Bottom Line (talk|edits) said: | 9 January 2007 |
| Most of these firms pay minimum wage and a percentage of the fees generated. The people that make the most money are the ones that do the super-simple returns with EIC and RAL's. | |
LatinoTaxMarketing (talk|edits) said: | 8 April 2007 |
| Definitely go with H&R Block! | |
Ed martinez (talk|edits) said: | 8 April 2007 |
| HR Block pays a salary for first year preparers, after which they pay a commission. | |
| 8 April 2007 | |
| I currently work for Jackson Hewitt and they pay their 1st year preparers salary plus bonus. I have been with the company for 5 years and my bonuses (our franchise pays 3 separate bonuses) have paid up to and above 2500.00 per yr on top of an hourly wage. Not bad for four months out of the year. Each year the bonus percent increases as well as the hourly wage. I am not sure that all areas offer the same type of compensation though. | |
| 8 April 2007 | |
| By the way... The guy who now owns Liberty was the original JH owner. Designed the software we use and it is great. | |
Thegetupkidjeff (talk|edits) said: | November 7, 2008 |
| I just added into this forum, so please forgive any incorrect catagorization in advance.
I was just wondering... I recently finished my H & R Block Basic Building Blocks class and there is a decent chance of me being hired as a tax preparer. First off, if there is any advise anybody wants to give me I'd love to hear it. What I really want to know (without asking my new potential supervisor, is how exactly are new people paid? Is this a minimum plus commission deal? Are we independent contractors? Commission only? Any answers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. BTW, I would be working in Washington state. | |
Brenda1028 (talk|edits) said: | 8 November 2009 |
| 2009 update, Jackson Hewitt has won a 5 year contract to have sites in WalMart stores, no more HRB. They also had to agree to considerably lower the prices from what HRB charged. There should be lots of traffic from lower-income/simple prep customers who want that quick refund. Locally JH is paying preparers much less hourly than HRB (almost $3 an hour less) At JH a very small commission is paid, based on the fee charged to the taxpayer. JH's required class is free, books cost $49. Successful completion may result in full or part time employment. HRB has a timed online test you can take to "test out" of having to take their course. JH requires taking their own course, which is heavily sef-taught online plus some class time. The course is quite intensive, you must also pass quizzes and a final exam. They expect you to know the material despite using software for prep. Using software might sound as though it makes the process brainless but that's ridiculous, you still have to know what you're doing. It does reduce time needed, and reduces math errors, which is one of the most valuable aspects, not to mention offering prompts for questions you might forget/ be distracted from asking by shopping carts, noise and screaming babies. Rather than making the prep brainless, that software protects both the preparer and the taxpayer from errors in either direction.
JH does not allow/require their preparers to "upsell" anything or get a commission on rapid refunds, unlike HRB who pressured them to upsell additional services/products and rewarded with bonuses on those sales. My guess is that people with a history with HRB may just return, no matter that the location will not be where it was in the past. They are likely to get a coupon for discounted services mailed to them very early, so they dont switch. All W-M employees get a substantial discount; they will likely have theirs done by JH. As for everyone else, who knows. Both JH and HRB will be doing very heavy advertising & marketing this year, running "specials" on pricing. HRB to try to keep customers and somehow make up for the huge loss; and JH to become more visible, win new customers away from HRB and play up their convenient new locations ( how many towns DON'T have a WalMart!) New preparers would have a better chance getting hired by JH altho with less locations they may also be hiring the ex-HRB preparers. Time will tell whether the minimum wage pay is worth bothering with......it will all rest upon how the commissions fall out in the end.... And the questions you have not asked your potential supv are ones anyone should ask, why are you hesitant to do so? They know/do not expect you are not doing it as a hobby - they aren't either. | |
| 8 November 2009 | |
| Both Jackson Hewitt and Liberty Tax have bad reputations. HRB has the best reputation of the chains. As someone wrote above, Jackson Hewitt and Liberty were both started by John Hewitt. I wonder if there is any connection with that and the fact that there are such ethical problems with those two chains? Apples don't tend to fall far from the tree, you know. The 'corporate culture' at HRB is much more professional, and that filters all the way down to the individual offices, both company owned and franchised.
As for the price of their basic tax prep classes, each firm knows what their education is worth. You generally get what you pay for. | |
| 8 November 2009 | |
| I'm going to have to correct some of Brenda1028's information above. I'm a HRB EA.
HRB has several entry points into working as a tax pro for the company. For anyone without a lot of prior experience (defined by the local management of the area) they take an intense, in class course and are also mentored and certified before they attempt a return with an actual client. While there is a little bit of online content in the class on EITC due diligence, all the tax return training is done via in class and homework and taught by an instructor, not online. Our commission structure also doesn't give the preparer any financial incentive for RAL or any other loan products. We do receive an amount for each "Peace of Mind" audit representation plan the client accepts. We also receive fixed rate compensation for review of other companies tax preparation (Second Look). The wal-mart kiosks didn't provide significant revenue to HRB in the past, which is part of the reason why the agreement wasn't renewed. Some areas had special compensation plans to the preparers to make up for the lower volume of clients than a traditional office. And HRB has announced that pricing on the same forms/schedules will not increase this year. There will be some test areas using different pricing models for testing this season. | |
