My Enrolled Agent Career

Episode 42: In this episode, Timalyn discusses some best practices for after the tax extension season is over.Things discussed in this episode:- Tax season is never really over- Closing out client files- Firing problem clients- Improving systems- Renewing your PTIN- Update your WISP- Get your continuing education and plan for next yearGet your ticket for virtual access to this year's Enrolled Agent Firm Bootcamp here: https://www.americasfavoriteea.com/event-details/enrolled-agent-firm-bootcamp-2026-virtualIf you're interested in connecting with Timalyn on LinkedIn, her page is ⁠Timalyn Bowens, EA⁠.Let us know your favorite part of the episode in the comments!

Episode 41: In this episode, Timalyn welcomes Roslyn Haynie Banks, EA, to the podcast.

Roslyn is the owner of Adelaide Rose, LLC - an Enrolled Agent Firm, as well as the author of two children's books.

Before becoming an Enrolled Agent, Roslyn grew up in the world of agriculture. With dreams of becoming a CFO, Roslyn's career path didn't go exactly the way she thought it would be; she shares what it looked like with us in the podcast episode.

During this conversation, Roslyn shares:

- Her introduction to the EA credential

- Why she chose to become an EA after dreaming of being a CFO

- Her experience growing up surrounded by agriculture

- How becoming an Enrolled Agent made sense as a military spouse at the time

- What inspired her to write 2 children's books with her daughters

For more information about Roslyn's children's books you can visit her author page on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B09BB4KRPB/allbooks?ingress=0&visitId=5e8c8b47-1524-446e-b826-4cecc5911e44&ref_=aufs_ap_ahdr_dsk_aa&ccs_id=f8a4360f-6f95-408b-8477-a34eaca08512

If you'd like to connect with Roslyn online you can find her on LinkedIn at: Roslyn (Haynie) Banks, EA and on Instagram at: @prodigaldaughterinfo

Let us know your favorite part of the episode in the comments!

Special thanks to Roslyn for sharing her story and insights with us in this episode.

Episode 40: In this episode, Timalyn welcomes Tom Norton, EA, CPA⁠ to the podcast.

Tom Norton is no stranger to the Enrolled Agent Hub platform. This is his first appearance on the podcast. Tom is the creator of the YouTube Channel EA Tax Training.

Before creating this program, he was a career CPA and then later decided to take the Enrolled Agent Exam. During this conversation, Tom shares:

- His introduction to the EA credential

- Why he decided to take the Enrolled Agent exam even though he was a career CPA

- Advice on when to quit your job if you're starting your own Enrolled Firm.

- Why he started the EA Tax Training program

- Why he decided to keep the EA Tax Training Program free

- Tips for studying for the Enrolled Agent exam.

For more information about the EA Tax Training Special Enrollment Exam prep course, you can visit the YouTube page  ⁨@EAtaxtraining⁩  or https://eataxtraining.com/ .

Let us know your favorite part of the episode in the comments!

Special thanks to Tom for sharing his story and insights with us in this episode.

Episode 39: In this episode, Timalyn wraps up her Enrolled Agent Firm practice management series to talk about the 2026 Enrolled Agent Firm Bootcamp.

Things discussed in this episode:

What is the Enrolled Agent Firm Bootcamp?

Why was the Enrolled Agent Firm Bootcamp created?

Who is the Enrolled Agent Firm Bootcamp for?

What topics will be discussed at this year's Bootcamp?

How to purchase a ticket for the Bootcamp.

During this episode, Timalyn mentioned her paid community. If you are interested in joining, you can find the information here: https://www.americasfavoriteea.com/pr...

Let us know your favorite part of the episode in the comments!

Purchase your ticket to the 2026 Enrolled Agent Firm Bootcamp:

https://www.americasfavoriteea.com/event-details/enrolled-agent-firm-bootcamp-2026

Episode 38: In this episode, Timalyn continues her Enrolled Agent Firm practice management series.

This week, she talks about AI in Enrolled Agent Firms. Timalyn is often met with the question, "Will AI replace Enrolled Agents?"

In this episode, Timalyn confirms that her answer is absolutely not, and shares why.

Timalyn urges listeners to use AI responsibly in Enrolled Agent firms.

Allowing it to enhance the services they already offer, not relying solely on AI to do the technical work. She also warns that if you put client data into AI, you must include it in your WISP, and you must disclose it to the client under section 7216.

Things discussed in this episode:

• Will AI Replace Enrolled Agents?

• How to use AI responsibly in your Enrolled Agent firm?
• Adding the use of AI to your WISP

• Disclosing to clients that you are using AI

• Not using AI in tax preparation or tax representation if you don't know how to do the work without AI

• Different administrative tasks where you can use AI

If you're interested in connecting with Timalyn on LinkedIn, her page is ⁠Timalyn Bowens, EA⁠.

During this episode, Timalyn mentioned her paid community. If you are interested in joining, you can find the information here: https://www.americasfavoriteea.com/pr...

Let us know your favorite part of the episode in the comments!

Purchase your ticket to the 2026 Enrolled Agent Firm Bootcamp: https://www.americasfavoriteea.com/ev...

Check out the 2026 Enrolled Agent Firm Bootcamp Itinerary:https://www.americasfavoriteea.com/po...

Episode 37: In this episode, Timalyn continues her Enrolled Agent Firm practice management series.

This week she shares a sample workflow for Enrolled Agents and other Circular 230 professionals who offer tax representation.

Tax representation is when a tax professional steps into the shoes of the taxpayer to handle their tax situation. This includes but is not limited to tax examinations, appeals, installment agreements, offers in compromise, and penalty abatement.

Timalyn shares how this workflow is not something that she googled. This is a workflow that she has implemented in her own firm. In this podcast, she is giving an overview, but there is a paid article in her article subscription that walks you through the process step by step, labeling the responsibilities of you as the Enrolled Agent and those of the taxpayer. You can find it here: Tax Representation Workflow

The workflow Timalyn reviews in this episode is as follows:

- Prospect Intake

- Prospect Call

- Onboarding: Engagement Letter, 2848, 7216, Invoice

- Compliance Check

- Addendum to Engagement Letter/New Engagement

- New Invoice/Payment Arrangement

- Prepare compliance work

- Financial Analysis

- Negotiation

- Offboard

Timalyn emphasizes that this is not a workflow she googled. She implemented and tweaked this system for her own firm.

If you have never conducted a compliance check or done a transcript investigation, Timalyn has an article that walks you through the process: How to Conduct a Transcript Investigation

If you're interested in connecting with Timalyn on LinkedIn, her page is ⁠Timalyn Bowens, EA⁠.

During this episode, Timalyn mentioned her paid community. If you are interested in joining, you can find the information here: https://www.americasfavoriteea.com/pricing-plans/taxrepjourney

Let us know your favorite part of the episode in the comments!

Purchase your ticket to the 2026 Enrolled Agent Firm Bootcamp: https://www.americasfavoriteea.com/ev...

Check out the 2026 Enrolled Agent Firm Bootcamp Itinerary:https://www.americasfavoriteea.com/po...

Episode 36: In this episode, Timalyn continues the series on starting an Enrolled Agent Firm.This week she gives a sample workflow for tax preparation. This workflow does not get into the nitty-gritty of preparing the return. Instead, it takes you from the prospect intake to client offboarding. If you're new to the podcast, Timalyn also shares her heart behind the podcast and the resources she has provided for other tax professionals. Timalyn went over 8 steps but only called out 7. The workflow she went over in this episode is:1 - Prospect Intake2 - Initial Call (15 -20 minutes)3 - Onboarding Process4 - Document Collection and Review5 - Tax Return Preparation6 - Payment and Client Review7 - E-file Submission and Confirmation8 - Client Offboarding and Follow - Up Timalyn references Episode 35, The Enrolled Agent Firm Tech Stack, for the software she uses to implement this workflow. You can also check out the article covering it here: Enrolled Agent Firm Tech StackTimalyn also encourages listeners to check out her article: Requirements for Tax Professionals Accepting Electronic Signatures on IRS Tax Forms If you're interested in connecting with Timalyn on LinkedIn, her page is ⁠Timalyn Bowens, EA⁠.During this episode, Timalyn mentioned her paid article subscription. If you are interested in joining, you can find the information here: https://www.americasfavoriteea.com/pricing-plans/taxrepjourneyIf you are interested in a paid individual tax preparation course, let us know in the comments! Purchase your ticket to the 2026 Enrolled Agent Firm Bootcamp:https://www.americasfavoriteea.com/ev...Check out the 2026 Enrolled Agent Firm Bootcamp Itinerary:https://www.americasfavoriteea.com/po...

Purchase your ticket to the 2026 Enrolled Agent Firm Bootcamp: https://www.americasfavoriteea.com/ev...

Check out the 2026 Enrolled Agent Firm Bootcamp Itinerary:https://www.americasfavoriteea.com/po...

Episode 35: In this episode, Timalyn continues the series she began 2 weeks ago on starting an Enrolled Agent Firm. Last week she shared how you can create systems in your Enrolled Agent Firm after laying the foundation for a successful firm.

This week she shares the tech stack that she uses in her own firm, Bowens Tax Solutions.

Timalyn shares how you can put some of the systems that you created in the software that she shares. She also gives examples of how they work together and why she would recommend some, even though she no longer uses them.

Timalyn also shared that she does have affiliate codes for some of the software that she shared. She'll receive a commission, and you will receive a discount if you use one of her links.

The software mentioned today was:

- Acuity Scheduling (https://referral.acuityscheduling.com/nf0klh49x8al )-Canopy Tax (https://referrals.getcanopy.com/l/1TIMALYNBOW61/)- Docusign (Discontinued)

- Drake Tax Software

- Microsoft Office Business 365

- QuickBooks & QuickBooks Payments

- Ping Assistant ( TIMALYN - BOWENS)

- Pitbull Tax Software (GGXGXS or https://www.pitbulltax.com/pricing.html?affiliate_id=360)

- Stripe

- Wix

-Verito (https://support.verito.com/aff.php?aff=93 )

- Zoom ( https://us02web.zoom.us/refer?refCode=XlvyrokZMwmLdEAicQUFWEC28zKEb8UTpCt0OQ8bZzM%3D)To find out more about how Timalyn uses these in her firm or to get more resources about how to use them, check out the article: https://www.americasfavoriteea.com/post/my-enrolled-agent-firm-tech-stack

If you're interested in connecting with Timalyn on LinkedIn, her page is ⁠Timalyn Bowens, EA⁠.

If you'd like to join the paid community, you can do so here: https://www.americasfavoriteea.com/pricing-plans/taxrepjourney

Let us know your favorite part of the episode in the comments!

Purchase your ticket to the 2026 Enrolled Agent Firm Bootcamp: https://www.americasfavoriteea.com/ev...

Check out the 2026 Enrolled Agent Firm Bootcamp Itinerary:https://www.americasfavoriteea.com/po...

Episode 34: In this episode, Timalyn continues the series she began last week on starting an Enrolled Agent Firm. Last week she shared 10 essential things for the foundation of a successful Enrolled Agent Firm.

This week she shares how to build systems in your Enrolled Agent Firm.

If you're new to the podcast, Timalyn also shares her heart behind the podcast and the resources she has provided for other tax professionals.

When people hear "system," they automatically think "software".

Timalyn talks about how you can create systems and get your business off the ground without a bunch of software when you are first starting out.

A system is simply "a set of connected parts that work together to form a single organized whole."

You need a manual system that works before putting it into software to make it more efficient.

A system is needed for each part of your business. In this episode, Timalyn discusses systems for the following things:

- Booking calls

- Marketing

- Getting Paid

Timalyn also says that a system for doing the work is simply the workflow for that thing. She also discusses systems for:

- Onboarding clients

- Offboarding clients

- Tax Representation

- Tax Preparation

- Tax Planning

Timalyn emphasizes that you need to create a system and workflow for these services before investing in Pitbull Tax Software or Canopy.

Timalyn will be sharing her tech stack in next week's episode, but if you're interested in checking out the article that covers it, you can find it here: https://www.americasfavoriteea.com/post/my-enrolled-agent-firm-tech-stack

If you're interested in connecting with Timalyn on LinkedIn, her page is ⁠Timalyn Bowens, EA⁠.

During this episode, Timalyn mentioned her paid community. If you are interested in joining, you can find the information here: https://www.americasfavoriteea.com/pricing-plans/taxrepjourneyLet us know your favorite part of the episode in the comments!

Purchase your ticket to the 2026 Enrolled Agent Firm Bootcamp:

https://www.americasfavoriteea.com/event-details/enrolled-agent-firm-bootcamp-2026

Check out the 2026 Enrolled Agent Firm Bootcamp Itinerary:

https://www.americasfavoriteea.com/post/2026-enrolled-agent-firm-bootcamp

Episode 33: In this episode, Timalyn flies solo and introduces a new series on the fundamental building blocks of starting a successful Enrolled Agent Firm.

If you're new to the podcast, Timalyn also shares her heart behind the podcast and the resources she has provided for other tax professionals.

Timalyn references an article she wrote a few years ago that goes into more detail about the things she goes over in this episode. You can find it available for free here:

https://www.americasfavoriteea.com/post/10-key-steps-to-establishing-a-successful-enrolled-agent-firm

During this episode, Timalyn shares the following 10 things as a necessity for starting a successful Enrolled Agent Firm:

- Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN)

- Single-Member LLC for Your Enrolled Agent Firm

- Insurance

- Written Information Security Plan (WISP)

- Electronic Filing Identification Number (EFIN)

- Electronic Return Originator (ERO)

- Tax Pro Account

- CAF Number

- Mission & Vision

- Mentor & Community

If you're interested in connecting with Timalyn on LinkedIn, her page is Timalyn Bowens, EA.

During this episode, Timalyn also made an invitation to listeners to join her free community: How to Start an Enrolled Agent Firm. You can join here - https://www.americasfavoriteea.com/groups or join the paid community.

Let us know your favorite part of the episode in the comments!