Prasko’s Accounting Firm – Professional Service with a Personal Touch

Prasko’s Accounting Firm started as a one person operation in 1973 in the spare bedroom of my home.  I had one client, who, I am pleased to say, is still a tax client, even though they sold their business years ago.

Several years after hanging my shingle, I moved the office to the living room and hired my first employee, and within a few years, there were three of us working out of my old living room. In the mid-1980’s, we remolded the garage and moved the office there, and I got my living room back . . . for a time, at least. By then there were five of us, and it wasn’t long before necessity forced us to cut a door in the wall and take the living room back over; it became my private office and still is to this day.

But that wasn’t the end of our expansion. In the early 90’s, we added a second story onto the office with a lunch room and restroom, and finally my family no longer had to share their kitchen table or bathroom with my wonderful staff.

In 2000, my niece Melinda joined my staff.  She has her accounting degree and has made it possible for me to lighten my load.  Also, since neither of my children is interested in continuing my business, she has given me someone to take over when I am ready to retire.  With her terrific accounting and people skills, she is the perfect fit. 

Over the years, my office has grown from one 120 square foot room to two and a half floors (1,800 square feet). The staff has expanded from just me to three accountants, six junior accountants, and up to ten additional support staff during tax season.  We now serve approximately 2000 clients, about forty percent of which are business clients.  We serve many sole proprietorships, some farms, partnerships, corporations, fiduciaries, nonprofits, and a lot of LLC’s. 

We have been successful through the years, I think, because our goal is to be of service to our client.  We use the motto “Professional Service with a personal touch.” For example, this year we began calling our clients on their birthdays, and one client said that that was the nicest thing anyone ever did for him. Drake Software has helped us grow our business while still maintaining a personal connection with our clients, and for that, we are grateful.

We came to work with Drake purely by chance when the software company we had been using sold out to them in 1996.  I really liked the old company;   however, we were on the phone for hours just trying to get through.   Drake, on the other hand, has just been the best. I love their service - no busy signals, always a live voice, and all the technicians are so pleasant and helpful.  My experience with Drake has been a dream come true.

Each year, I take half my staff to the Drake Tax Seminar. The seminar is so professionally done and gives the staff tips on using the software.  It’s just the right mix of tax laws and new ideas, and it’s a great opportunity to find out what’s going on in the industry.  It is also a wonderful chance for the staff to be together out of the office and have some “us” time.

Two years ago I met the Drake Advisory Group at the Drake Tax Seminar in Baltimore, and they have been able to add another element to my office.  In the past, we had lost a few clients because they thought we should be able to help them with their investments.  Now we have that capability. Drake Advisory Group has also helped me develop a cessation plan for retirement.  They have helped my clients find low load plans to preserve and protect their assets and still have funds coming in to preserve their lifestyle.

Just like the staff at Drake Software, I have found the Drake Advisory Group to be very professional, friendly, knowledgeable, and creative.  Basically, they’re everything you would expect from someone affiliated with Drake. 

With the help of Drake Software, everyone is our office is looking forward to big things in the future. Last summer, we upgraded our server, and now we have a term server where our clients can keep their data, so we both have access to it 24/7. Adding Drake Advisory Group, as well as the ability to host some of our clients, is taking our office to a whole new dimension.

This summer we will be implementing the accounting software which Drake developed a few years ago. I am looking forward to being able to use the accounting software, as well as the term server, with our clients.  And while the new tax preparer registration is making some firms nervous, we see it as an opportunity to grow. One firm in our area closed in anticipation, but not us. We hired a new accountant and are looking forward to the growth!