Tax season is here and with it come the joys of late nights, long hours, high levels of stress, and a lot of takeout. While this time of year is when accounting firms and CPAs tend to turn a great profit, it's a taxing time, in every sense of the word. Learning how to make it through tax season with as little trauma as possible is critical to any accountant.
But how exactly do you do that?
Recently, I've read a number of articles warning about the problems that come a-crop when accountants rely too heavily on automation and artificial intelligence (AI). For instance, Bruce Wiley's Accounting Today article warns that the "profession's seemingly blind acceptance of AI as a fix-all is actually hurting [the industry's] ability to attract and keep talented young professionals". What Wiley and others warn of is an over-reliance on tools which distracts from investment in human resources. While this can be detrimental to be sure, a failure to keep up with the latest tech can mean that your busy season remains supremely stressful when it needn't be.
Ultimately, your firm doesn't need to choose between people and software. You'd like to make the most of both these resources. In this article, I'll unpack a few ways in which software can help lessen the load, as well as a few other tips and tricks you can implement to avoid burnout this tax season.
Consider the place of AI and automation 🤖
Following the pandemic, there are a lot of challenges that accountants and accounting firms are facing. From staff shortages to changing client expectations, you've likely got your hands full. With these recent and unavoidable developments, it may be time to turn to the tech that you perhaps avoided or discounted in the past.
Perhaps you are hesitant to try new tech. I don't blame you. Getting up and running on a new system can take time and it's not always clear if it's worth it.
Then, there's the added annoyance that everyone and their uncle seems to be claiming that AI will replace human jobs... I've heard a few too many jokes about how ChatGPT will replace me as a writer. It's uncomfortable to hear, but, as I've argued time and again, we needn't be afraid of technology - as writers or accountants. Really, AI and automation are here to help us, not replace us.
Take control with the right tech 🔨
The first step to improving tax season, is to take control of your approach. If you want the season to be different this year, you have to be different too. Consider your firm's business model, the ways in which you drive progress and define your organization's culture. To take control of your approach, there are four key areas you might want to consider, namely:
How you gather your documents: Do you wait for clients to drop off physical documents or send you emails? If so, you could save a lot of time by asking them to scan and upload documents for you using tax automation software. This helps you to act proactively so that all the necessary documents aren't suddenly coming in as tax season begins.
How you organize and prepare tax returns: Do you have an easy way to get hold of last year's data? A number of tools can help automate the tax return process by bookmarking and organizing tax documents.
How you review your tax returns: Do you review all tax returns manually? Once again, you could be using software to speed up the process.
How you deliver returns: Do you manually submit returns? If you incorporate tech into this part of your process, it can be a lot quicker and simpler.
If you're still using spreadsheets for everything, you may want to reconsider. While we all love a good spreadsheet, there are a number of tools that require a lot less human input that can assist with tax work.
Pro tip 💡: Using cloud accounting software helps you to ensure that you have all the files you need whether your client is present or not. Plus, cloud software keeps your files secure.
Other areas where automation can help 💪
One of the reasons that I don't think accountants are about to be replaced by AI or automation is that what software is particularly good at is those humdrum, repetitive tasks that we loathe doing. When it comes to the nitty-gritty details, talking to clients, and having effective meetings, the human element is still vital.
But hey, if tech is good at repetitive tasks, why not give it those tasks so that you don't have to spend so much time on them?
You can easily automate repeated tasks such as sending engagement letters, "welcome to tax season" emails, or reminders for clients to send you documents with automation tools. Plus, it's a lot easier and cheaper to use software for this than to hire extra staff just for tax season.
Software designed for accounting firms can relieve a lot of stress by transforming your workflow, improving efficiency, and freeing up your time so that you can focus your energy on more strategic tax work. What's more, this tech can help you to be proactive about meeting the needs of your clients.
Beyond tax automation 🚀
Over and above tax automation software, there are a number of other useful tools that you can implement at work to help reduce those tax season headaches. Tools such as Notion and Asana can help you to keep track of your to-dos and tag members of your team to help keep them in the loop.
It's also worth noting that a big part of the horror of tax season isn't just the workload; it's the lack of time dedicated to both mental and physical health as a result of this workload. When it comes to surviving tax season, you need to be able to find time to prioritize your health. A few ways in which you can do this include the following:
Stocking your refrigerator with ready-made or easy-to-assemble meals (and trying to keep these as balanced and healthy as possible);
Setting aside 15 minutes a day that are dedicated just to you, whether this be to listen to music, meditate, or just read the paper;
Fitting in bursts of exercise (even just a quick walk will do);
Taking time to communicate what's expected of your staff;
Setting and reviewing daily goals and benchmarks; and
Planning in advance.
Moreover, to maintain a healthy state of mind, it's important that you set aside some time to decompress before sleeping. Often, if you are stressed and have had a busy day, you mind is whirring when you get into bed, making it difficult to fall asleep. Listening to white or brown noise can help soothe you into sleep.
It's also a good idea not to bring your work with you to bed - keep that laptop away. Sleep therapists recommend reserving your bed for sleep and relaxation so as to maintain good sleep hygiene. Furthermore, the CDC notes that ensuring that your bedroom is quiet, dark, relaxing, and at a comfortable temperature can help you to sleep better.
Pro tip 💡: For more information on wellbeing in the workplace, take a look at our article here.
Set boundaries ❌
Needless to say, you need to be able to concentrate consistently on your work during tax season in order to get through everything. If you're busy answering emails and phone calls or trying to solve additional problems simultaneously, this focus is interrupted and can set you back several hours. The best way to prevent distractions is to make it abundantly clear to your clients, friends, and family that now is not a good time to contact you regarding other issues.
It's time to put some clear boundaries in place.
Where possible, cut down on social contacts during the tax busy season and plan professional communication to limit distracting calls and meetings. This may mean scheduling an email to send to all your clients to advise them that busy season is coming up - or in progress - or blocking out time in your calendar to prevent anyone from booking meetings with you when you do not have time for them.
The future of busy season is brighter ☀️
While there's no getting around the added stresses of tax season, the latest tech really can help lessen the load. This, coupled with setting boundaries and focusing on your health means that the future of tax season is likely to improve.
Furthermore, thanks to the cloud, you can just as easily spend tax season working from home as anywhere else. As Richard L. Craig from 415 Group says in an article from Firm of the Future:
"Over the 20+ years that I have been in public accounting, “tax season” was always a 3 ½ month period of time where you spent significantly more time with your co-workers than you did with your family – weekends included. However, over the past 3-4 years, the improvement of technology, auto scanning and a good paperless system now lets me be just as efficient at home as I am at the office."
Rather than spend nights working at the office, Richard Craig is able to eat dinner with his family and then return to work afterwards in his home office. As he says, "I have the same access to every workpaper, prior year return and program that I need and was able to do it without any interruptions." This is the beauty of cloud accounting software.
Light at the end of the tunnel 💡
Tax season no longer means you have to be totally separated from your loved ones, even if it does mean you need to put stringent boundaries in place. With tax automation and the abundance of other tools out there, you can take control of the busy season rather than letting it control you. Here's wishing you a manageable tax season!