When a national emergency was declared March 13, 2020, for the COVID-19 pandemic, schools and non-essential businesses closed. The Iola Tax Place staff sought the safety of working from home. Half of their clients had not yet submitted their tax documents for processing, so adjustments needed to be made to safely get those returns prepared, reviewed by phone and electronically filed.

“We scrambled to get our staff connected remotely to our tax software server,” said Mary Olson, regional manager of The Iola Tax Place. “Our clients really appreciated avoiding face-to-face contact and being able to review their completed tax return over the phone from the safety of their home.”

The Iola Tax Place has made the decision to totally convert to a virtual office and vacated their office on Pine Crest Lane in Iola.

“The health and safety of our clients and staff is of the utmost concern,” said Olson. “We have several options for clients to get their documents to us. They can upload items to our secure portal, send by mail, or drop off. This year we added a locked drop box on my front porch for safety and convenience.”

Once a tax return is done, Olson will notify the client via email or phone and arrange a convenient time to review the return over the phone before it is electronically filed.

“We have clients from throughout the U.S., so we were already doing phone reviews before the pandemic hit,” said Olson. “We just needed to help the rest of our clients overcome challenges with computer access and navigation issues, but they were very appreciative to be able to stay home and get their taxes done.”

The Iola Tax Place can be reached at 715-445-4829 or through www.theiolataxplace.com and Facebook.