3 Tactics to Reduce Tax Season Stress

Tired of 80-hour work weeks? Frustrated that your staff doesn’t want to be held accountable? Stressed about stressing next tax season? As part 1 of a series on “Building your Tax Season,” I wanted to share with you a couple of steps you can take today (AKA before January 2016) to ensure manageable stress levels during tax season.

1. Identify the Issue that stressed you out the most last year – Take 20 minutes by yourself. Close the door to your office, go for a walk, or sit outside with a pen in hand. Think back to 6-8 months ago, and ask yourself a few questions: “What stressed me out? What projects, tasks, staff, technology, or process made me want to rip my hair out? What issue or project made me miss my kids’ or grandkids’ events?” Make a list of the top 3 issues. Now ask yourself why it stressed you out? What is the root cause? Was it something you could have taken care of earlier? Or was it something that surprised you during tax season? Lastly, write down what will make this issue go away, and include a due date to make yourself accountable to reach a resolution before January 2016.
2. Schedule meetings with your difficult clients – Most firm owners have at least one difficult client (if not a few). Someone drops off source docs late, their information is a mess, or the client is just annoyed by the tax liability along with fees that your firm charges. List out these “Not-top 10” clients now and start calling them. You don’t have to schedule in-person meetings, a phone call is enough—the goal is to get ahead of the problem. If your problem clients typically provide information late, give them a deadline to ensure filing by 4/15.Then explain that if the deadline is not met, it means an automatic extension. If you have other clients that always nag you about their tax liability, offer an approximate liability early so that they are prepared..
3. Define your 2016 schedule – Unfortunately, none of us have the ability to conjure extra hours in the day, so we are limited on the amount of work we can reasonably complete. Update your calendar with important events that you want to attend between January and April 2016. Cordon off times to attend these events, and schedule work around these priority engagements. If you find that there is not enough time to complete all the work that will be placed on your desk, identify opportunities today to leverage technology, delegate work, or change your clients’ expectations as to when they will receive final products.

By taking a few proactive steps today, you can reduce stress during tax season. If you are working within a high-tension environment, you can’t expect to best serve your clients. So take time now to make sure that you take care of YOU.