H&R Block is very deceptive about compensation and job duties. You will basically be working in sales starting at minimum wage. They really won't pay an tax preparer both hourly wages and commission, they will either receive only wages and no commission or a reduced amount of hourly wages and a large commission based upon their certification level etc. If a preparer is able to receive both then they will have to cut back on the amount of hours that they work during the slow part of the season. This is because when preparers are not doing tax returns but other office duties, their hourly earnings will reduce the amount of commission that they will receive at the end of the season. If the going gets tough for the company, they will cut back your hourly wage and claim that it is based upon performance instead of politics. This job is seasonal so you will need to work enough hours and earn a certain salary to receive unemployment, which is what everyone at the company draws upon for income when the tax season is over. When I left the company I was under the impression that they were trying to eliminate the number of preparers that drew upon unemployment by limiting their hours and reducing their salaries if they didn't produce enough revenue.They will have you pushing products on to clients that they either don't need or have a limited use for.
Management has a lot of leeway where how their office is run. This can be a good thing or bad depending upon the manager but there should be a company standard about how the individual offices are run and there doesn't appear yo be any. If there is a problem with a preparer working at a particular office it is very hard or them to move to another office because many preparers are extremely territorial about their clients and will become very upset if another tax professional services them. The office management would rather see their office revenue go up rather than down if said employee does not bring their own clients with them from another office. If this doesn't happen then a transfer is most likely refused.
In all it is a very unreliable company to work for where salary is concerned unless you are an employee with a large number of loyal clients and you are able to keep your client retention high and bring in more clients each year. It really seems like and unfair system of compensation because your commission or bonus is based upon the cost of the tax return completed and a preparers level of tax certification, but as a preparer you may never see it, I know I didn't at least. The lowest return is about $100 and depending upon the complexity of the return it can go much higher. A preparer can earn a commission but if they need to work full time week after week they may not be able to reduce the number of hours that they work during the slow part of the season to prevent their wages from offsetting their commission. Even then they have to know how the system works and the company in not even about to tell you. So an preparer makes xyz amount for the company, earns $0 in commission and may have their hourly wage cut back. The only good thing about working there is that if you reapply for the next tax season you most likely will be rehired and thus maintain your employment year after year. So if you don't have anything else lined up you can look forward to working there.