If you’re expecting a tax refund for your therapy practice, there’s no better use for the cash than to reinvest it in your business. 

‍

After all, a tax refund is income you’ve already earned. The IRS was just holding onto it for a while because you overpaid your taxes. Unless you’re urgently in need of the funds to cover personal expenses, you should consider using them to give your practice a boost.

‍

These are five of the most impactful ways you can reinvest your tax refund in your practice.

1. Experiment with new marketing channels
‍

Expanding your marketing efforts to include new channels can fill out your client list now and keep new business coming your way in the future. 

‍

Consider putting your tax refund towards:

‍

• A website redesign
• Practice branding (logos, typeface, palette)
• Professional headshots
• Online ad buys
• Sponsored social posts
• A monthly newsletter
• Local print ads

‍

It’s important to track your return on investment (ROI)—that is, how much new business your marketing attracts relative to the amount you invest in it.

‍

While large companies use customer relationship management (CRM) software and complex marketing dashboards to track ROI, you can measure it:

‍

• With an intake questionnaire. Ask new clients how they found out about your practice, and what made them choose you. 
• With Google Analytics. Measure traffic to your practice’s website—how many visitors you get, how they use your site, and where they come from.
• Advertising dashboards. Social media ad platforms like Meta let you measure the exposure and click-through rate of paid ads and sponsored posts.

‍

2. Create (or grow) an emergency fund
‍

If you don’t already have an emergency fund for your therapy practice, now is the time to create one.

‍

An emergency fund helps you cover operating expenses in event your revenue drops or you need to cover unexpected expenses. That could happen because of:

‍

• Seasonal fluctuations (eg. fewer clients in summer)
• Sick leave or an injury that prevents you from practicing
• Family emergencies
• Accidents or natural disasters that shut down your office
• Tech failure, like a work laptop that bites the dust
• IRS penalties for late filing or payment
• Accounting errors that leave you holding a tax bill

‍

Even a deposit of a few hundred dollars is enough to start a savings account. Once you’ve opened an account, create a plan to set aside a portion of your income each month. Check out How to Build an Emergency Fund as a Therapist for a step-by-step guide.

‍

3. Expand into a new niche

‍

Serving a particular niche can help you stand out from other therapy practices and attract a steady stream of good clients. 

‍

Your niche is not a fixed quality. Even if you have already carved one out, you can expand into new niches—and attract a new clientele—through continuing education. 

‍

That could mean planning the continuing ed necessary to maintain your license so you focus on new areas. It could also mean investing funds—including your tax refund—in training that goes above and beyond what your license requires.

‍

Training in new conditions, modalities, and treatment styles makes your practice more resilient overall. It could also be the key that unlocks a full client list.

‍

4. Sign up for an AI scribe

An AI scribe records either: 

‍

• A therapy session with a client, or 
• Your dictated notes once the session is over. 

‍

It then uses AI to transcribe the audio and generate notes that comply with clinical formatting.

‍

AI scribe tools are new, but even conservative studies of their effectiveness show that using them can reduce by 20% to 30% the amount of time a healthcare professional spends on documentation.

‍

That’s time you could invest in treating more clients, tackling backoffice admin, or even getting some much-needed R&R.

‍

There are many AI scribe tools on the market, and many EHR platforms that now integrate AI scribe functionality. A few things to keep in mind before you use one:

‍

• Ensure that any tool you use is HIPAA compliant. To be compliant, the platform must sign a business associate agreement (BAA) with you.
• Carefully review both the BAA and terms of service agreement (TOS). These documents explain how the tool collects and uses anonymized client data.
• Get consent from clients. Educate your clients in how you will use an AI scribe, how it works, and how their data may be shared.

‍

For a comprehensive introduction, including best practices recommended for clinicians, check out AI Scribes for Therapists.

5. Make next year's tax season earlier

For many therapists, tax season is the most stressful time of the year. They may spend it:

‍

• Tracking down receipts
• Catching up on bookkeeping
• Correcting bookkeeping errors
• Struggling to calculate deductions and credits
• Poring over pages of IRS instructions for complicated tax forms

‍

If that sounds like you, use your tax refund this year to set yourself up for a success next tax season.

‍

If your income grew this year and your quarterly estimates didn't keep up, you may have felt that gap in April. A bookkeeper or accountant can help you calibrate those payments so next year looks different. That could mean purchasing do-it-yourself accounting software or earmarking the funds to hire an accountant next year. Or it could mean signing up for Heard.

‍

Heard is the complete done-for-you financial platform for therapists. Our team of remote professionals does your bookkeeping, creates financial reports, and files your state and federal taxes for you. 

‍

If you’re still not sure how to spend your tax refund, have a look at our annual plans for therapists.

‍

— 

‍

Looking for more ways to smooth out your tax filing and save your practice money? Check out How to Maximize Tax Season.

‍