Founded in 1955, H&R Block is one of the biggest names in tax-prep assistance. The brand has changed with new technology and customer expectations, managing to successfully cater to both businesses and private citizens. The company offers programs for everyone from students to self-employed small business starters. Although it only gets attention in the first three months of the year, when taxes are due, the company works hard throughout the rest of the nine months preparing documents for larger customers and providing on-demand support for subscribers. The company may be best known for extending tax refund advances to its clients. H&R Block is also developing new software and financial tools to keep pace with the competition.