Ellen claims she doesn't treat everyone poorly, only me, but my experience with this CPA has been anything but enjoyable. I reached out at the very beginning of 2023 for her help to sort through some previous issues with my tax filing a previous year and to catch up my taxes for 2021 and 2022 because I was behind. I expressed to her how important it was that I got the finance stuff under control and it was something I needed to take care of ASAP so I could move through 2023 with better tools. She ensured me she would take care of me so I agreed to work with her. Come April, she barely finished my 2021 taxes and said she was filing an extension for my 2022 taxes. Needless to say, my taxes were filed ON October 15th, which she blamed me for, for not signing the paperwork as soon as she finished it at the end of September, but I just wanted to be able to look over what she did before I submitted which I believe is fair. She said she was setting me up with a payment plan, but my payment plan was never submitted even though she told me it was. She also suggested I file as an s-corp and mentioned this multiple times and I said, "ok, just let me know what you need from me." but nothing ever came of that so I'm sure I'm paying more in self-employment taxes than I need to. I owe the government money for multiple tax years and I received a menacing letter from the IRS to which she responded, "It's not a big deal. That's just a scare tactic." But, it very much IS a big deal to me, my bank account, my business, my goals, etc. Also, it took me texting 3 weeks in a row trying to get ahold of her to ask about these letters from the IRS. I finally got fed up and asked if I needed to find a new CPA so she finally responded that she was recovering from surgery so she didn't respond even though the read receipts showed she saw my texts immediately after I sent them. I specifically asked her if she was familiar with Profit First because I wanted to use that model of accounting and she said she did know it well and we should have a zoom meeting that she could charge me for to talk about it. I agreed thinking I would get the information I needed, but when we got on the call, she stated she actually didn't know anything about Profit First, but she did some googling prior to our talk and then just told me things that I already knew from reading the book. I wanted specific information regarding MY business and the way MY books were, but she just told me generic percentages that didn't even work for me. She repeatedly told me how much time she took out of her personal life to try to learn this just for me as if I owed her for doing her job which she actually lied to me about knowing. I also don't think an accountant learning about another form of accounting is something SO crazy for an accountant to do that it should be brought up over and over, but maybe that's just me. When this all finally came to a head with the IRS documents and her refusing to help me sort it out quickly because it was "no big deal," I asked if the way she was treating me was typical and she then told me no, that it was just me and I am one of the most uncooperative clients she has. (I expressed to her early on that my office days are always Mondays so that is when I can catch up to anything I have missed during the week as I'm out in the field most of the week.) So she would send me a text late on a Wednesday and then text repeatedly if I didn't respond immediately. Even though every time I asked for help, she would claim she was way too busy to respond to me. She always said she had SO many clients to help ,she just didn't have time for me and then if she needed a response from me about something, it had to be right that moment or I became the "difficult client." As a small business owner myself, I would NEVER call someone uncooperative because they didn't text me outside of business hours. And in my opinion, her choice to wait ALL YEAR to start my taxes isn't MY FAULT. If she would have been working on them when they were supposed to be done, she wouldn't have had to rush to get them done by October. My advice to you, if you're someone looking for an experienced CPA who cares about their clients and their money, DON'T HIRE ELLEN. You will lose progress you have made and then be even farther up the river without a paddle and you won't have any idea what to do and she won't care. Hire someone else. read more

Ellen is a kind person with a lot of experience. Once she gets going on the work, she is persistent and meticulous with the process. Having now sent in the tax forms, I have comfort that it was the best return I could have filed. Because she is busy, it is important to keep checking in to make sure things are still progressing; perhaps Ellen needs an assistant to help her, but that's beyond my purview. I trust Ellen and that counts for a lot. read more

Completely unprofessional and downright rude. Poor communicator unable to articulate what she actually needs to provide services, and responds to a very simple tax situation with insults and by citing extreme "overwhelm" and "confusion". Provides a level of service that I would not accept from any provider let alone someone with her rates. I would not recommend to anyone who has any more of a need beyond one simple W2 to submit. read more

Doing your own taxes is similar to cutting your own hair. You will miss some spots and it will take someone else to make it right. Ellen has EXPERIENCE few other tax preparers do. She's also a book keeper so she knows the in's and out's of what you can and especially CAN'T deduct. She's given me great advise and I bet she'll do the same for you. You don't know what you don't know until you talk to Ellen. read more

Addressing my tax issues with Ellen Shaffer was a fantastic experience. She was knowledgeable and incredibly patient and helpful, with very reasonable rates. I know I will be requesting her services again during future tax seasons! read more

I had been counting on Turbo Tax for several years and Ellen showed me the LIGHT!!! She saved my family thousands of dollars on this years taxes and then redid the previous year and saved us even more. We are so happy with our service and will be using her from now on!!! Fast, easy, and well worth the reasonable price. Thanks so much, Ellen. It's a pleasure to know you. The Whitneys read more

Ellen was timely and professional in submitting our taxes this year for both home and business purposes. This is the first year we've paid to have a professional submit and it was well with it. We'll be working with her again next year. read more

Ellen is knowledgeable, kind, responsive, and patient. We feel lucky to have found her. Highly recommend!

Ellen came to my home to help me file my taxes. I have Multiple Sclerosis and have become bed ridden, and she helped me complete the required form by a Multiple Sclerosis Advocacy Group. read more

Ellen is not only a phenomenal accountant, she is a wonderful person to know as well. We have our own business, so we have to file and submit both business and personal taxes. She has been with us since the beginning and has always made herself available for the big questions and the small ones. Her comforting demeanor and wide knowledge base have been instrumental in our success. We are grateful and look forward to working with her for many years to come. Thank you, Ellen! read more

I don't remember now how I found Ellen but I'm so very thankful that I did. I'm self employed and not only have complicated taxes but I'd managed to make an even bigger mess trying to do them myself. Ellen untangled my mess and saved me on my IRS bill. Over the last couple of years she has advised me, answered my non stop questions and helped me solve tax puzzles. Now besides my annual taxes she has helped me set up LLCs, my S Corp, quarterly taxes and helps me with bookkeeping. I recommend her to everyone I know. read more

Ellen is hands down the absolute best accountant I have every worked with. She is quick to respond, has a deep understanding of the tax system, gets things done, and does not have heart stopping rates. She was incredibly patient with me ( it took me a while to respond to her, but she was always quick to respond back to me) and helped me out of a tax nightmare. I had so much anxiety and stress weighing on me, but with Ellen's help I am free from that now. With Ellen on your side, you'll win any battle with the IRS. 10/10 recommend giving her a call. You won't regret it. read more

I own several small business and have been using Ellen for general accounting and taxes services. She has a very professional demeanor and responses quickly to any of my requests for help. She guided me through a state tax audit with great success. It's a pleasure working with her and her team. read more

Ellen is a very nice person and I got the impression that she really would like to have helped, but unfortunately the experience was overall disappointing and I was ultimately not able to file my taxes through her this year. I reached out in December 2021 for 2022 tax filing help and she assured me that she would be able to do my taxes, including separate state filings since I had moved during the year. I didn't hear very much after I submitted my paperwork, and though I checked in several times and was assured that all was going according to plan, by the weekend before taxes were due I was informed I'd need to submit for an extension and she seemed to have forgotten about the additional state research that needed to be done to file in other states. At that point Ellen told me that she has over 200 clients and it's difficult to keep a new client's details straight, which was something I would have liked to know when I was deciding to put my confidence in her to get me through tax season this year. I can understand being overwhelmed, but unfortunately it made for exactly the stressful surprise tax season I had been trying to avoid. read more

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