So, how did busy season go for you and your firm? Did you go home (close to) on time most every day? Or were you stuck at the office working 80-hour weeks?
If you fall into the latter category, we’re sorry to hear it. Because lots of tax and accounting firms had staff members who didn’t work late…and didn’t have to work weekends. Their staff got to—wait for it—enjoy busy season.
While you may be thinking that they either hired an army of seasonal staff or outsourced their work, that’s not the case. So, how did they get it done? Automation and a consolidated tech stack.
These practices processed more returns without needing to burn the midnight oil. Their staff enjoyed more reasonable hours, and clients received faster service, which created opportunities for higher-value advisory work. Sounds pretty great, right? You probably want in, right?
Well, you can throw that FOMO out the door, because the good news is that the next busy season is still months away, giving you the perfect opportunity to join those other firms in reviewing your processes and tech stack, training your team, and preparing for the upcoming tax season.
Why Your Busy Season Feels Busier
If you’re like many accounting firms, you may have unintentionally fallen victim to shiny object syndrome. (But don’t fret; it happens to all of us.) And this means there’s a good chance that your tech stack has grown piecemeal over the years (i.e., app sprawl). When a new software or application hits the market, it typically promises to be better and faster than its predecessors. And you may be tempted to jump on board and get the latest and greatest. But then you end up with an unwieldy tech stack full of tools requiring separate logins (and passwords!) that don’t talk to each other.
Think about your typical workflow during busy season:
- Client document exchange solution.
- A separate system for tax preparation.
- Yet another platform for eSignatures.
- Email for client communications.
- Spreadsheets to track everything.
Each system requires different logins, workflows, and training. And every transition between platforms creates a potential bottleneck where work stalls and errors can creep in. The need for integration is obvious.
The result? Your staff spends time switching between applications (and possibly entering the same data in multiple places) rather than focusing on client work. It also leads to tasks becoming more time-consuming, which can lead to staff burnout. And you’ll find nary a client who wants to (and is going to) log into several apps just to get you the information you need.
But there’s something you can do. Two things, actually: Automate processes and consolidate your tech stack.
Reimagining the Front End of the Tax Process
The document gathering phase—perhaps the very worst pain point for tax and accounting professoinals— is where efficiency during busy seasons goes to die. Think about the hours your team wasted this year on:
- Writing the same document request emails over and over (hopefully, at least using ‘copy and paste’).
- Playing detective to figure out what exactly those poorly named documents contain.
- Explaining to clients for the umpteenth time which documents you still need.
- Manually renaming a random PDF into something useful.
- Creating elaborate tracking spreadsheets that no one remembers to update.
Consider for a moment how much time (and sanity) you’d save if you let AI handle most of this grunt work. Tech-forward accounting firms are implementing all-in-one solutions that:
- Automatically generate tailored document request lists based on prior year returns.
- Recognize and correctly categorize documents even when clients name them “TaxStuff2024.pdf.”
- Digital, fillable organizers.
- Show real-time dashboards of what’s been received versus what’s still missing.
- Send automated reminders about outstanding items without staff needing to get involved.
The impact is substantial. Your staff no longer spends time chasing down clients for missing documents, clients can easily upload the documents you need, and everyone can track progress in an easy-to-use dashboard. What does that mean for your firm? It means reclaiming thousands of hours that can be redirected to higher-value advisory work, reducing staff frustration, and creating a better experience for your clients.
Making Document Exchange Secure and Simplified
If we’ve all kept up with our security awareness training, we know that email isn’t secure enough for sensitive financial documents. Yet many firms rely on it, even when the FBI warns that business email compromise (BEC) is one of the most financially damaging online crimes. And we don’t have to tell you that your firm holds a lot of personally identifiable information (PII) that many cyberhackers would love to get their hands on!
That’s why tech-savvy accounting firms use secure document exchange. It’s safer and easier to use, for your staff and clients alike. These document exchange solutions boast the following features:
- No more creating (and having to remember) yet another password.
- No file size limitations (goodbye multiple emails with zipped files).
- Complete audit trails that show who accessed what and when.
- Simple drop boxes that clients can use without creating accounts.
- Encrypted messaging for sensitive information (no files required).
Best-in-class solutions also allow you to create unique links for clients to share files, foldering options that help make document organization simple, and the ability to control who has access to documents for added security.
Rethinking How You Gather Signatures
Chasing clients for signatures may feel like your own busy season version of H-E-double-hockey-sticks. Stop us when you get to a scenario you didn’t see play out during this last tax season:
- Tracking which clients signed which documents.
- Crafting increasingly desperate reminder emails (i.e., “Just checking in…again!”).
- Downloading signed documents and manually updating your tracking system.
- Explaining to clients how to sign electronically (for the dozenth time).
The best eSignature solutions do more than just collect those digital John Hancocks. They also:
- Send hundreds of engagement letters simultaneously with batch processing.
- Provide the ability to sign anything digitally.
- Route documents to multiple signers in the correct sequence automatically.
- Offer in-office signing options for clients who are a bit more traditional.
- Show real-time dashboards of signature status across your entire client base.
By automating your entire signature workflow—from initial request to final confirmation—you can eliminate countless follow-up hours and focus your team’s energy where it truly matters: serving clients (not chasing signatures).
Automating Tax Return Assembly and Delivery
That final mile of tax return delivery? Oof. It can feel like a marathon when everything is manual. It’s not just time-consuming; it’s a breeding ground for human error that can damage client relationships and trigger costly amendments. Think about how much time your team spends:
- Printing returns that were prepared digitally, only to be scanned back in later.
- Creating cover letters and assembly instructions.
- Triple-checking that every page made it into the right envelope.
- Tracking which returns have been delivered.
- Managing the logistics nightmare of K-1 distributions.
Every manual touchpoint introduces the possibility of human error—a misplaced page, a return delivered to the wrong client, or a missed signature line that creates hours of rework and not-so-fun client conversations.
Automation can take this hours-long process and reduce it to minutes (some solutions down to even 3 to 4 minutes!), while dramatically reducing the opportunity for human error:
- Returns assembled digitally (in the correct order), with all required forms.
- Electronic delivery with the appropriate (and compliant) security measures.
- Real-time tracking of client access and review.
- K-1s distributed to partners with a few clicks.
- Payment vouchers generated and managed electronically.
- Automated alerts and reminders for signing e-file forms, payment, and estimated payment due dates.
Beyond time savings and reducing the chance for human error, automated assembly and delivery provides enhanced security for your clients’ most sensitive financial information. Digital delivery with proper encryption ensures that only the intended recipients can access their tax returns. Oh, and with the right solution, firms can save 15 minutes on every tax return and save $12,000 per every 1,000 returns. (That ain’t bad.)
Considering Consolidation Over Confusion
App sprawl isn’t just a busy season headache—it’s a year-round productivity killer. Many accounting firms have created a patchwork of specialized tools over time that causes confusion for staff who have to constantly switch between platforms, frustration for clients who need multiple logins, siloed data when applications don’t speak to each other, versional control nightmares when you’re not sure which system is the most current, and security vulnerabilities from maintaining multiple access points. But that’s not all. Each solution in your tech stack requires:
- Another monthly (or annual) subscription fee.
- More implementation time.
- Additional staff training.
- Extra IT support.
- Separate security monitoring.
All those apps add up and become costly (in both time and money) pretty quickly. And there’s a chance many of the apps aren’t being used to their full potential…or being used at all. In companies (accounting firms included) under 500 employees, 37% of licenses go unused. That can translate to thousands of dollars wasted every year.
Saving money isn’t the only benefit to consolidating your tech stack. There are several, including:
- A consistent user experience for both staff and clients.
- Streamlined workflows that eliminate data re-entry and manual transfers.
- A single source of truth for client and return data.
- Improved security with fewer access points to monitor and protect.
- Reduced training requirements since staff only need to learn one end-to-end workflow solution.
When all your processes—from client onboarding to document collection to return delivery—live within a unified platform, you eliminate unnecessary friction where work typically bottlenecks or stalls. Information flows seamlessly from one step to the next, which, in turn, creates a smooth, efficient process for your team and your clients. A seamless workflow during busy season? Who doesn’t want that?
Creating the Ideal Client Experience
Let’s get real. Clients want things to be quick and simple. They don’t want to juggle multiple logins any more than you do. They want their client experience to include:
- One secure place for all their tax-related activities.
- A user-friendly portal that’s easy to navigate.
- Clear visibility into what they need to do and when.
- Easy access to all their documents.
- Options for making payments online.
- Simple, guided processes for providing information.
A consolidated client experience doesn’t just make clients happier, it creates an unrivaled relationship with your firm. When clients can easily navigate every aspect of their tax engagement through a single interface, they spend less time confused and frustrated and more time appreciating the value you provide.
Enough FOMO—It’s Time for Action
As you look back on this past busy season, take a moment to imagine what could be different next time:
- Staff focusing on client relationships instead of chasing them for documents and signatures.
- Tax preparers doing high-value review work instead of manual return assembly.
- Clients raving about how easy it was to work with your firm.
- Your team heading home at reasonable hours (yes, during busy season).
The firms that excel next busy season won’t be the ones with the most staff or those working 80-hour weeks. They’ll be the ones that embrace automation and tech-stack consolidation now, while there’s still time to implement and train.
The best part? You don’t have to wait until January to start. The time to evaluate your tech stack is now, when busy season pain points are fresh in your mind.
Don’t let another tax season go by wondering if there’s a better way. There is—and the firms that find it will be living it. And those who don’t? They’ll be ordering pizza for their teams at midnight…again.