Phil Larson didn’t set out to modernize the family business. When he started working alongside his father at Foresight Tax Services in 2005, Stamps.com was already part of the daily routine. The Bloomington, Minnesota-based tax preparation firm had been using the platform for years by then—long enough that Larson can barely remember the old way of doing things.
But his father could. Before Stamps.com, tax season mailing meant printing addresses on Word document labels, affixing postage by hand, and making regular trips to the local post office. For a solo practitioner juggling every aspect of a tax preparation business, those trips added up fast.
Foresight Tax Services has been in operation since 1986. Larson bought the business from his father in 2020, inheriting not just a client base but a set of tools and workflows refined over decades. Stamps.com—now in its 23rd year as part of the operation—was one of them.
“He liked that it makes things so much simpler and easier,” Larson said of his father’s experience with the platform.
That continuity matters. In an industry built on precision and trust, tax professionals don’t stick with a tool for more than 23 years unless it consistently delivers. For Foresight Tax Services, Stamps.com has been a quiet constant through ownership changes, evolving tax codes, and shifting client expectations—simplifying tax season mailing year after year.
The Stamps.com group is always answering the phone right away, or whenever there’s a problem with the program, they get it fixed right away.
Phil Larson, Owner, Foresight Tax Services
When Larson took over, he also discovered a new benefit: UPS access through the same platform. Between UPS and USPS, he now compares rates and chooses the most cost-effective option for every piece of mail and every package—all without leaving his desk or opening a second application.
As a one-person operation, Larson wears every hat. He’s the tax preparer, the financial advisor, the receptionist, and the mailroom. During tax season—roughly mid-January through April—he mails 15 to 20 pieces per week, totaling an estimated 250 pieces before the filing deadline hits.
Without Stamps.com, each of those pieces would mean stepping away from client work for a trip to the post office.
“Waiting in line, it could be up to a half hour,” Larson said.
That half hour, multiplied across weeks of tax season mailing, represents time Larson simply can’t afford to lose. With Stamps.com, he prints postage and addresses from his desk, pulls up client information from his saved address book, and gets mail out the door without breaking his workflow. For a solo practitioner in the middle of filing season, those recovered minutes go straight back into billable work.
“It’s the ease of use,” Larson said. “It’s just the convenience of having everything there and being able to print the labels and the postage all in one program.”
Tax returns contain some of the most sensitive personal and financial information a person has. When Larson drops a client’s completed return in the mail, he needs to know where it is and when it arrives.
“I definitely use the tracking on Stamps.com,” Larson said. “When I have a client’s tax return, there’s a lot of sensitive information there. I want to make sure I can track it and find out where it is.”
Larson sees tracking as essential to the client experience. Tax season mailing with built-in tracking gives both him and his clients confidence that documents are accounted for from the moment they leave his office.
“It gives them peace of mind knowing that this stuff is trackable,” he said. “It gives them an idea of when it’s being delivered.”
For a practice built on long-term client relationships, that peace of mind is part of the service.
mailings per tax season with postage printed, addressed, and tracked in one platform
minutes saved per day by eliminating post office trips during peak filing season
years as a Stamps.com customer across two generations of business ownership
When asked what he’d miss if Stamps.com disappeared tomorrow, Larson didn’t hesitate: the address book and the ability to quickly print postage. It’s not a flashy answer, but it’s a telling one. After more than 23 years, the platform has become so embedded in Foresight Tax Services’ operations that its absence would fundamentally disrupt the workflow.
And when asked what he’d tell a skeptical colleague? Larson kept it simple:
“It’s the ease of use—being able to keep that address book in there and automatically print the postage.”
Two generations of Larsons have trusted Stamps.com to keep Foresight Tax Services running smoothly through more than 23 tax seasons—and counting. For tax professionals looking to simplify tax season mailing, that kind of track record speaks for itself.
Ready to simplify your mailing routine?
Like Foresight Tax Services, you can print postage, track mailings, and manage client addresses from your desk—so you can focus on what matters most during filing season. Start your free trial today and see how Stamps.com can simplify your tax season mailing.
