Deep in returns? Client calls still get answered.
It’s the second week of April and you’re buried in returns when a client calls: the IRS just froze her business account. She gets voicemail, right behind a dozen callers asking if their return is done. Phoneman answers, takes the details you need, and writes up every call.
- Free to start
- Test it before you forward
- Keep your number
The calls you getWhat it handles for accountants.
- IRS and state tax noticesCaptures: Which agency, what the letter says it is about, and any response date printed on it
- Levies, garnishments and frozen accountsCaptures: What happened and when, in the caller’s words
- Payroll problemsCaptures: What is stuck and the day payroll has to run
- Returns, extensions and refund statusCaptures: Which tax year, and what the caller wants to know
The details you need, every time.
- Who is calling and the best number
- Current client or someone new
- What they need: a notice, payroll, a return, bookkeeping or billing
- Any filing, payment or response date they state
- Whether it is for a business or a personal return
“The IRS levied our business checking this morning, and payroll is due Friday.”
- Summary
- Current client says the business checking account was levied this morning. Payroll is due Friday.
- Asked for
- To talk to their CPA today
- Next step
- Call back now
- ImportantIRS letter says last year’s return is under reviewCall back this week
- LowAsking if you prepare nonprofit returnsAnswered from your approved answer
Urgent calls first.
- A levy, garnishment or frozen account that has happened
- A filing, payment or response due today or tomorrow
- Payroll that cannot run when it is due today
- A notice or letter from the IRS or the state
- An audit
- A deadline within two weeks, or payroll due in a few days
- Office hours during tax season
- Which kinds of returns you prepare
It answers. You decide.
- Stop a caller who starts reading out a Social Security or bank number, and leave it out of the notes
- Keep tax notices and payroll problems apart from routine status questions
- Mark a levy or same-day payroll problem Urgent
- Offer to connect a caller to you, if they agree, when you have call transfers turned on
- Say what a client owes or will get back
- Confirm whether a return, extension or payment was filed
- Promise that anything will be filed by a date
- Take tax ID, bank, card or login details
- A caller asks: “Can you file an extension for me?”
- You approve: “For current clients, yes. Send your documents through the client portal and we’ll confirm once it’s filed.”
- Next time: The next client asking about an extension hears how to send documents, and the request still comes to you.
Transfers, with consent. A client says payroll has to run by 5pm today and the bank rejected it. With call transfers on, Phoneman asks first, then rings your desk; outside your transfer hours it takes a message marked Urgent.
Make it yours.
Callers first hear your assistant say it’s the AI assistant; that line can’t be changed. This is what it says next. Replace {business} with your business name.
Thanks for calling {business}. Are you calling about a tax notice, payroll, or your return?
Start where you miss the most calls.
Essentials · $29.99/mo
100 AI minutes a month. Best for after-hours calls. Start free and upgrade when you need to.
Compare plans and estimate your minutesWhat if a client reads out their Social Security number?
It stops them and does not write it down. Numbers like that never appear in your call notes.
Will it tell clients whether their return has been filed?
No. It does not confirm filings, payments or deadlines met. It takes the question so your team can check.
Can it keep up during the April rush?
Yes. It answers the calls your staff can’t get to, puts IRS notices and payroll problems above routine status questions, and writes up every call.
Will it give tax advice?
No. It never says what a caller owes, will get back, or should do. It answers only what you approve, such as hours and the services you offer.
Never miss another call.
Set it up in about 3 minutes, call it yourself, and forward your calls only when you’re happy.