How can automation help my firm get through tax season?
Tax season tests every process a firm has. Automation removes the admin that crowds out the actual work.
- How do we survive March and April?
- Where does the time go in tax season?
- Can we take more clients without more staff?
Automation helps by removing the admin around each return: document requests and reminders, status updates, appointment booking, e-signature and payment requests. It also gives you a live view of which files are waiting on clients and which are waiting on staff, so you can plan capacity. The actual preparation and review stay with your team.
Where automation saves time in season
| Admin task | Automated replacement |
|---|---|
| Chasing documents | Portal checklists and reminders |
| Status calls and emails | Automatic status updates by stage |
| Booking drop-offs and meetings | Online booking with set slots |
| Getting signatures | E-signature with reminders |
| Collecting payment | Payment link sent with the return |
Plan capacity with data
A pipeline view of files by stage, waiting on client, in preparation, in review or ready to sign, shows bottlenecks early. You can see in February whether April will overflow.
Keep deadlines separate
Canadian and US deadlines and rules differ. If you serve both, run separate workflows and reminders for each, never one combined calendar.
How we look at it at ShoutEx
We set up season workflows in your practice software and test them in the fall. See what to set up before the season. Our tax season marketing guide covers the marketing side.
- Status updates by phone only.
- No view of files by stage.
- Canadian and US deadlines mixed in one calendar.
- Payment chased after the return is filed.
- Automatic status updates.
- A pipeline view of files.
- Separate workflows by jurisdiction.
- Payment requested with signature.
What accountants and regulators say
Here is what practitioners say about busy season.
Preparers describe their busiest weeks and the workflow changes that helped most.
Browse the threads →Accountants discuss busy season hours and what firms did to reduce them.
Browse the threads →CPA Canada's resources look at how automation changes accounting workloads.
Read CPA Canada's resource →Community summaries describe recurring themes in public threads, not individual posts. Vendor pages describe vendor claims, so test them on your own calls.
Read next
Go deeper in the ShoutEx guides, or check the sources behind this answer.
We'll set up season workflows in your software before the rush.
Book a call →Follow-up questions
Can we take more clients with automation?
Often, if admin was the bottleneck. Review capacity still sets the limit.
Should status updates be automatic?
Yes, by stage. Clients get updates and your team gets fewer calls.
When should we start setup?
After the season ends, so it's tested by the fall.