checklist: leverage tax season to increase income, productivity, and profits.
by ed mendlowitz
call me before you do anything: the art of accounting
tax season creates many opportunities for an accounting firm. one main reason is the compression of sometimes an almost unbearable amount of work into a short period with tight deadlines.
more: 14 simple, easy tips for a better tax season | you’re not just taxes | granting unconventional request pays off | 20 best practices for staff training and retention | what does the client want to see? | 6 ways to increase your fees … if you dare | the clients that got away | upselling made painless | boosting a fixed fee substantially
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but it also creates opportunities to benefit immediately from small changes in your system or in a reaction to your awareness. an on-the-spot investment in making the extra effort or change will pay dividends many times over the rest of tax season and thereafter.
here are 50 ways to make more money. for the ones that are obvious – do it! for the not-so-evident, try it!
here are 50 ways to make more money during tax season, including increasing and improving productivity.
general business
1. more sales
2. more referrals from current clients
3. better clients
4. cross-sell services that clients should have, more effectively (get more business from existing clients)
5. lower overall costs
6. greater output per person
7. better pricing
8. faster billing
9. faster payments by clients
10. fewer price reductions
11. lower bad debts
resources
12. better use of current technology
13. get better and more current technology
14. have up-to-date resources
15. have admin and support staff trained and ready for tax season
16. better matching of staff with work
17. better scheduling of work
18. better planning
management
19. frequent and effective oversight by managers and partners
20. better coordination of staff scheduling and client appointments
21. more realistic deadline commitments that will reduce calls, followups, pressure and client annoyance
22. meet deadlines and meet them more consistently
23. quicker turnaround of returns
24. better hiring procedures
25. improve intra-office communications
26. quicker feedback to preparers from supervisors and reviewers
staff
27. better delegation
28. delegation training
29. assign work to lowest level of qualified staff
30. effective teamwork
31. greater staff empowerment
32. staff accountability (and define what “accountability” means to each staff person for each project)
clients
33. more responsive clients who provide data all at once, or reasonably quickly when additional information is needed
preparation process
34. looking over data submitted by the client to make sure there aren’t glaring omissions before return is put into process
35. more frequent followups for requested info will reduce delays in completing return
36. fewer “touches”
37. fewer staff reassignments
38. fewer errors and rejects
39. eliminate repetitive errors
40. reduce staff changes on returns, especially on re-do’s and delays in having preparer make corrections
41. better and more applicable staff training, including immediate on-the-job training
42. greater and more focused supervision
reviewing returns
43. quicker turnaround from reviewers – monitor backup or backlog
44. better reviewer training including return-flow management
45. reduce backup at reviewers
46. oversight on preparers while they are working on returns
big musts!
47. stop settling and start expecting – and communicate this to your staff
48. culture of excellence and stupendous client service
49. leadership and management by partners
50. create “excitement”