Jackson Hewitt creates hub in Moses Lake office

General manager foresees 'astronomical growth'

MOSES LAKE - Bill Harper hopes business at least doubles in the second year his new office is open.

The Moses Lake office of Jackson Hewitt Tax Services opened Jan. 1 at 2207 W. Broadway Ave., Suite C, Harper, the general manager, said.

"The second year, hopefully you're going to at least double because when you get into an area, and you've had tax returns prepared, people talk," he explained. "They talk bad and they talk good. We've had good response from some of the people, and we already had a few people up here."

It's the company's first location in Moses Lake.

"We have contracts with Wal-Marts in Othello and Ephrata, and we also have a storefront in Mattawa," he said. "So I make this trip up on a weekly basis, and the owner of the company decided this year to create Moses Lake as more or less of a hub for the other part."

The owner is Harper's son Randy, who has owned the other locations for about four years.

"Quincy is growing by leaps and bounds out there, and in order for us to be here, it offers the community, we feel, a good service," Harper explained.

The company franchises by population within a certain Zip code, he explained.

"So if you have 100,000 people within a certain Zip code, you get to buy that franchise," he said. "By doing it that way, I think Moses Lake ties in with Quincy, so Quincy is still an option down the road. And then Othello would maybe tie in with Sunnyside."

Jackson Hewitt Tax Services was formed in 1982 and changed to its present name from Mel Jackson Tax Service in 1988 in Parsippany, N.J. It has now grown to more than 9,000 offices nationwide, Harper said.

"As far as I know, all of the offices are franchised by individuals," he said. "This particular franchise has 16 offices."

Other locations in the franchise owned by Randy Harper include Sunnyside, Selah, Yakima, Prosser, Grandview, Toppenish and Wapato. Bill Harper is primarily based out of the West Valley office in Yakima.

"Every Wednesday I come up here in case there happens to be something a little bit maybe beyond their expertise until they're all up and running," he said. "And besides that, it gets me out of the office."

Response to the Moses Lake location has been positive, Harper said.

"I think where we're at here on Broadway is more a new area," he said. "It's a growing area of Moses Lake as we see it."

The company's tax services include work on 1040 tax forms, rentals and sole proprietorships of businesses. The Moses Lake office doesn't do corporate returns, Harper said, but he does some of the work at his home office.

The Moses Lake office will employ four people this year, and as it grows, that number will increase. The Grant County offices employ between 20 and 25 people, Harper added.

Moses Lake has been under consideration for a location for about three years, due to constant growth.

"I see an astronomical growth for the future," he said. "That's why we wanted Moses Lake to be our hub in this particular area: So you can say, all right, you have Moses Lake, now you've got Quincy, Ephrata, Othello and Mattawa would actually be a long spoke out there."

The office is open Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.

For more information, call 509-764-8510.