H&R Block continues its commitment to small business by providing seamless solutions

By Ian Hardman

During my first six months at H&R Block, I have been on the frontlines of small business finances and have seen first-hand that as COVID-19 has progressed, the needs of small business owners have increased.

New data from our Small Business Recovery Series study revealed that more than half (53%) of business owners do not feel optimistic about their business’ prospects for success in 2021. In fact, a mere 28% of small business owners indicated they feel confident that they understand the financial implications of receiving aid for COVID-19.

Business owners who have built their businesses from the ground up now find themselves backed into a corner, using personal funds and stimulus payments to stay afloat. Their struggles paint a picture of the unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and stress the need for financial assistance.

At H&R Block, we’re developing new technologies and services to mitigate these struggles and ultimately, make small business finances more manageable and seamless.

Today, we’re announcing a new integration with Wave, a leading provider of software solutions built for small businesses, that H&R Block acquired in 2019. This integration will save business owners time and alleviate stress during tax season. Our new Tax Service Integration is a capability for small businesses that use Wave to track and manage their finances and are looking to engage our Block Advisors tax pros during tax season. For self-employed filers, accounting data from Wave is automatically transferred to Block Advisors small business certified tax professionals. In doing this, small business owners don’t have to worry about tracking down bookkeeping and accounting documents saving them a great deal of time and effort so they can focus on more pressing business needs.

This integration was built to simplify an increasingly complex tax season for many small business owners. To eliminate the time sink and stress of data management and integration as well as overall organization, the service will automatically import business income and expense records so Block Advisors tax professionals are able to easily access records and begin preparing and filing tax documents for the business. For small business owners choosing to do their own taxes, the new feature imports directly into Block Advisors online DIY software and classifies them based on corresponding IRS categories.

Business owners didn’t start their businesses to do bookkeeping. They did it to pursue their passions. H&R Block, however, was created to do just this. It was built – 66 years ago – on the foundation of tax preparation and financial assistance. Block Advisors, a team within H&R Block, is dedicating to serving our small business clients.  Our small business certified tax pros have undergone specialized training from Block Advisors to provide small business owners with tools they need not only to survive, but thrive.

The new Tax Services Integration is the first of many future strategic offerings from H&R Block and Wave, and I look forward to continuing to deliver on our vision of creating a best-in-class accounting to tax experience.

About the Author

Ian Hardman serves as vice president and general manager, small business at H&R Block.  Prior to joining H&R Block, Ian served as chief strategy officer at 1-800Flowers.com as well as led P&Ls at Fab, GE, and Reebok International.  With deep experience in commercializing new operating models and driving impressive growth results across numerous platforms, Ian brings a passion for building businesses to reach their full potential. He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Howard University and an MBA from Harvard University.