ZD: If you are going into the tax business, you can charge $125 or more for both Federal and state returns. Also if you want to make money you have to do all the work, although you can have a simple answering service to arrange appointments. The software you have may allow you to do up to 5 simple returns and may not include state and local returns. Or even if it includes the state return it’s limited to one state People using the service either have complex returns or they are scared to do it themselves. Professional software cost between $500 – $2,000 but includes any type of situation and unlimited tax returns for all states.
Daas Yochid : I am not a fan of franchises. If you know the business than you really don’t need the franchise’s helping hand. You can save thousands of dollars a year in franchise fees beside your initial start up cost. This is why I think you should work in the business for at least 6 months to understand the business and know what you are getting into. The vast majority of new businesses fail within the first three years because they thought they could get rich quick without hard work and long hours.