Say who the work is for. Then say what you do not do.

The first screen is a filter

Tax preparation, monthly bookkeeping, and advisory work are different engagements. A firm can do all three. The first screen still has to say who it is for: owners, a profession, a size of business, or individuals. What you do not take belongs there too. A visitor who needs something you refuse should leave in one sentence, which saves both of you the call.

Credentials belong on the page when they are real and you can point at the issuing body. A designation you do not hold, a year you rounded up, or a client result you cannot show are not copy. This page will not supply any of those. Neither will the site I build. If a license number is how your profession expects to be identified, put the real one where a client can read it. If it is not, do not invent a badge.

The practical next step is usually a document, not a slogan. Say how a client sends last year's return or a month of statements, and what happens after they do. A form that asks for a name and then goes quiet is worse than a phone number. The phone, if you publish one, has to be a link.

The listing has a calendar problem

Many firms add Saturday hours in tax season and drop them in May. The Google listing does not drop them for you. If it still says Saturday after you have stopped, you advertised a locked door. The website should name the seasonal hours in the same words, including how to send a file when nobody is at the desk.

The category should match the work: accountant, tax preparation, bookkeeper, or financial planner are not interchangeable. An advisor who is not taking tax clients should not wear the tax category because it has more searches. You will get the searches, and then you will turn them away.

Where this sits next to the other guides

Cost ranges for this kind of site are on the accountant cost guide and the advisor cost guide. Where software actually removes busywork is the accountant playbook and the advisor playbook. The build itself is the websites service. Firms that also want the books kept, not just the site, can read finance and back office. That is a different engagement from a marketing page.

If the current site and listing are the question, send them through the free website and Google audit. I reply once about the page and the public listing. I do not ask for a password, and I do not promise a ranking or a number of clients. The $650 setup is the paid profile job, separate from the free reply. BuiltBySam is based in Morton Grove, with no street address published, and the phone is (847) 387-0244.

Straight answers

Common questions

What should an accounting site say in the first screen?

Who the work is for, what you do, and what you do not do. Tax preparation, bookkeeping, and advisory are different jobs. A visitor should not have to guess which one the firm takes. The phone or the way to send a document should be obvious before the scroll.

How should hours work on the listing in tax season?

If Saturday hours exist only in March and April, the listing has to change when those Saturdays stop. A listing that still says open sends people to a locked door. The website should say the same hours, including how a client sends documents when the office is closed.

Will the page invent credentials or results?

No. Licenses, designations, and years in practice belong on the site only when they are yours and you can point at them. This page does not invent a client, a savings figure, or a ranking. Neither should your site.

Where do I start if I am not ready to rebuild?

Send the current site, the firm name, and the city through the free website and Google audit. The reply is one email within one business day. It is not a crawl of every page, and it does not ask for a Google password.

Ready? Send the page and the business name through the free website and Google audit, or text them to (847) 387-0244.