It’s Not Too Early to Get Ready for 2016 Busy Season!

So, you’ve got another busy season behind you. How did it go? Better than in the past? About the same? A new level of disaster? While your busy season is fresh in your mind, this is the time to reassess as we take a breather and recap the past few months.

Here are some questions to address with your co-workers, and don’t forget that your family should have a say in some of these issues – like the very first one.

• Hours – Did you work more hours this spring than in past busy seasons, fewer, or about the same? More importantly, are you content with the number of hours that were logged since January 1? If not, start on a plan now to make changes that will impact the number of hours spent in the early months of 2016.
• Software – Is your tax software up to the task of helping you work as efficiently as possible? Check out this month’s tax preparation software reviews if you are thinking of making a change before next year.
• Document Management – How are you processing all of the paperwork that comes through the office during tax season? Scanners? Portals? Document management software? Are you using the best process for the money you are spending? Could you be more efficient with a better system? Now is the time to retrace your document footsteps and think about how you can improve the process. Our reviews of document storage and document management systems should help point you in the right direction.
• Client Services – Are you providing the right services to your clients? Think about that for a minute. Maybe you’re going through the motions of doing the same thing for your clients that you’ve been doing for a decade or more. Is it time to restructure your service offerings so that your clients know what services you have to offer, what they will cost, and how they will provide benefit?
• Client Communication – What is the best way for you and your clients to communicate? You need to set the rules for how information will transfer between your team and your clients, keeping in mind what will be easiest and least off-putting for your clients. In a world of new technology, you might find yourself communicating with clients through email, social media, web chat, and text messages. It’s imperative that you have a procedure in place whereby you can document and save important client communications.
• Health, Hygiene, Appearance – I’m not kidding – these are important too. Did you start to slack off on these key elements as the busy season days turned into weeks and months? Start working out a plan now for your whole team to make sure everyone is in top shape before, during, and after next year’s busy season. And get busy now getting back to your best form!