- What is the process?
- Who and where is OTS?
- How do I contact OTS?
- Is OTS open year-round?
- What documentation do I need to submit?
- How should I submit my documentation?
- How do I upload documents to ShareFile?
- How will I receive my tax return?
- How do I pay OTS?
- Do you give general financial advice?
- Do you do business taxes as well?
- Do you do taxes for military personnel overseas?
- Technical Issues (Help with downloading, scanning, uploading, and faxing)
What is the process?
- Make contact with OTS. Email info@gollobcpa.com.
- If we are able to accept you as a client, OTS will email you back to confirm, and will create an online account for you.
- Complete a questionnaire.
- Upload or fax questionnaire and all financial paperwork to OTS.
- Email OTS to tell us you’re ready for processing.
- Answer questions via e-mail about your tax situation.
- Receive, review, sign, and return firm contract with price quote.
- Receive and review your tax return.
- Sign and mail if filing a paper copy. Sign and return approval form if e-filing.
- Pay OTS for its services.
Who and where is OTS?
OTS is operated by Michael Gollob, CPA.
How do I contact OTS?
- Email is by far the best way to reach us. Email us and we will respond as quickly as possible.
- Telephone: If you wish to speak by phone, please set up a time via email first. The US phone number is +1-908-321-1040. Please note the time zone! We are on the East Coast of the US.
- Fax: Our fax number is also a US number, +1-732-920-3756.
Is OTS open year-round?
Yes, we are open throughout the year.
What documentation do I need to submit?
Once you have established initial contact with OTS and been accepted as a client, we will ask you to fill out a questionnaire in order to gain a complete picture of your tax situation. If you are filing jointly with a spouse, only one questionnaire needs to be completed for the couple. In addition to this questionnaire, you will also need to submit copies of your supporting financial information (W-2 or income statements, 1099’s, 1098’s, 1095’s, K-1’s, etc.). New clients need to submit a copy of their prior year’s tax return as well. Do not submit receipts for any deductible expenses (charitable contributions, rental property expenses, business travel, etc.). Keep them for your records, but just submit a statement with totals for each category of expense. The questionnaire will walk you through this.
How should I submit my documentation?
OTS relies on the Internet for the transfer of all documentation. International mail is often slow and unreliable. You can upload your documentation securely to your Onvio account on our website. Alternatively, you can fax it to us at our US fax number. See Technical Issues below for help and suggestions on best ways of submitting your paperwork. If you have thick stacks of paper to submit which are very difficult to fax or scan, contact OTS to discuss where and how to submit them. If you do end up mailing anything, make sure you send copies, not originals!
How do I upload documents to my Onvio account?
Once you have an account, you can start uploading files to your Onvio folder. If you haven’t updated your password recently, Onvio may require you to do so before allowing you to log in. Logging in will take you to your folders, which will later display a list of all documents you have uploaded or which OTS has uploaded for you to retrieve. To upload a file:
- Click on the folder with your name.
- Then click on the folder called “Tax Year 2021 Files.”
- Hover on the blue circle with the plus-sign and then click “Upload.”
- In the next screen, you can either click “Browse files,” or simply drag your files into the area that says “Drag files here.” (You can upload multiple files at once.) Then click the blue “Upload” button. Depending on the size of the files and the speed of your internet connection, this process can take just a moment or quite a long time. If it is taking too long, you may wish to upload files one at a time.
- When the files have finished uploading, you will be taken back to the “Tax Year 2021 Files” folder and the list will display all of your uploaded files.
- You can view, download, or delete the files in your folder at your convenience.
- When you have uploaded all the documentation you think we need, you must email us to let us know that your files are ready for us to review. There is an email link you can use for this purpose on the Login page
How will I receive my tax return?
You will receive a copy of your tax return as a PDF computer file to download from your Onvio folder. It will be saved in the folder called “Tax Year 2021 Files FROM OTS.” If possible, and with your agreement, your actual return will be filed electronically with the IRS and the appropriate state tax office (if applicable). If your return cannot be filed electronically for some reason, you will need to print and sign the PDF file and mail it to the appropriate tax office. Instructions will be provided.
How do I pay OTS?
OTS accepts payment by Venmo, Paypal, or Check.
Do you give general financial advice?
No. OTS is a tax preparation and planning firm only. We do not offer financial or investment advice. We do, however, have colleagues we can recommend in this field if you are interested.
Do you do business taxes as well?
Yes.
Do you do taxes for military personnel overseas?
No. We regret that military personnel have their own particular set of special rules and requirements, which are not currently the focus of OTS.
Technical Issues (Help with downloading, scanning, uploading, and faxing)
- Downloading files from OTS: The questionnaires are currently available as Microsoft Excel files. Your completed tax return will be sent to you as a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader version 7 or higher, which you can download for free from here, although in most cases this program is already on your computer.
- Troubleshooting: If, when you click on the questionnaire, it opens within your browser window, rather than downloading, click on the little disk icon near the upper left to save the file onto your computer.
- Scanning: Scanners can be quirky, and vary in features and methods of use, but here are some tips:
- Don’t use the very lowest resolution. Financial documents often have very small print; numbers may be blurry or unreadable if your resolution is too low. A resolution of 300dpi should be fine.
- Don’t use excessively high resolution. This will just make your file sizes unnecessarily large, which may cause problems in uploading your files to your account.
- If your scanner can scan and save multi-page documents, feel free to send multiple pages in one file.
- File types: Don’t worry too much about what file type to save in. We have access to both PC and Mac computers, and can probably read whatever default format your scanner uses. Popular formats are .PDF, .TIF, .JPG, and .MDI, all of which are fine. There is no need to paste the files into a Microsoft Word document, as this often causes more problems than it solves.
- Before sending to OTS, open the files on your computer to see that they look clear and have scanned completely.
- Name your files logically. e.g. “Smith questionnaire” is more helpful than “scan1”.
- Uploading: Be sure to email us once all of your documentation and the completed questionnaire have been uploaded. We won’t know you’re ready for processing unless you tell us!
- Faxing: Fax machines are even quirkier than scanners, and the quality is often less than desirable. Scanning and uploading is preferable, but if you must fax:
- Use the highest quality setting on your fax machine
- State on the cover sheet the total number of pages being faxed
- Number each page
- Email a list of what was included on each page of the fax. Often one or more pages don’t go through. If we don’t know what was supposed to be there, we won’t know that something is missing.
We will email you a confirmation soon after receiving your documentation, whether you upload it or fax it. If you don’t receive confirmation within a few days, please email us to be sure we’ve received it.
