Turn the information your practice already collects into practical improvements for the next filing season
Once filing-season deadlines have passed, tax professionals often know which parts of the season felt difficult. The harder question is why.
Was the team handling more complex returns? Did incomplete client submissions slow preparation? Were reviewers receiving too much work at once? Did certain services require more staff time than anticipated?
Your practice data can help you move beyond general impressions and identify what contributed to those challenges. You do not need to track every possible metric. A focused review of the information your firm already generates can reveal where to concentrate your attention.
Here is one way to conduct a practical data review.
Reconstruct the filing season
Begin by creating a simple timeline of the season. Instead of reviewing only the total number of completed returns, look at when work entered and moved through the practice.
Consider:
- How many returns arrived each week?
- When did preparation volume reach its highest point?
- When did the review queue begin to grow?
- How many returns remained incomplete near major deadlines?
- Which weeks required the most overtime or additional support?
- Did returns arrive earlier or later than expected?
This timeline can help you determine whether the firm’s busiest periods resulted from overall volume, the timing of client submissions, internal workflow constraints, or a combination of factors.
For example, a firm may discover that clients submitted documents throughout the season, but a high percentage of returns became ready for review during the same short period. That finding points to a different solution than simply concluding that the firm had too much work.
Examine what created additional work
Not every return follows a direct path from intake to filing. Some require repeated client follow-up, corrections, reassignment, or additional review.
These extra steps can consume significant time without appearing in a completed-return total. Review the work that required more attention and identify the reason.
Possible sources of additional work include:
- Missing or incomplete client documents
- Information submitted through multiple channels
- Data-entry corrections
- Unclear staff assignments
- Returns sent back for additional preparation
- Delays obtaining signatures or payments
- Frequent client requests for status updates
The purpose is not to place blame. It is to identify recurring work that the firm may be able to reduce.
If missing documents created repeated delays, the firm might revise its intake checklist or schedule reminders earlier. If clients frequently requested status updates, clearer communication or better access to return-status information may help. If certain returns regularly moved back and forth between preparation and review, staff training or standardized review procedures may be worth examining.
Compare effort across different engagements
Return volume provides only a partial view of firm capacity. The time and resources required can vary considerably by client, return type, and service.
Group similar engagements and compare the effort required to complete them. You might consider preparation time, review time, number of client contacts, frequency of missing information, and additional services provided.
This review may reveal that one category of work routinely requires more attention than expected. It could also show that a service considered time-consuming is being delivered more efficiently than assumed.
Use those findings to support decisions about:
- Staff assignments
- Scheduling
- Pricing
- Client onboarding
- Training priorities
- Services the firm may want to expand or reevaluate
Data should inform these conversations without replacing professional judgment. Client relationships, specialization, long-term growth, and the firm’s strategic direction remain important considerations.
Review what clients needed from your firm
Client interactions can offer another useful source of information.
Look at the questions and requests your team received during the year. Were clients frequently asking about estimated tax payments, business planning, IRS notices, extensions, or additional advisory services? Did certain questions arise repeatedly among a particular group of clients?
Recurring requests may indicate:
- A topic that requires clearer client education
- A communication that should be sent earlier
- An opportunity to develop an additional service
- A process clients find confusing
- A need for more proactive year-round contact
Tracking these interactions can help the practice distinguish between isolated requests and a developing client need.
Choose one improvement to test
A data review may produce several potential projects. Trying to address every issue at once can make meaningful change difficult.
Instead, select one finding that affected staff time, turnaround, or client service. Define the change you want to make and decide how you will evaluate it.
For example:
Finding: Many returns were delayed by incomplete submissions.
Change: Introduce a revised client document checklist and an earlier reminder schedule.
Measure: Compare the percentage of complete submissions before and after the change.
Or:
Finding: Staff spent considerable time answering return-status questions.
Change: Establish proactive status communications at key workflow stages.
Measure: Track whether status-related calls and emails decrease.
Testing a specific change gives the firm an opportunity to learn what works before applying it more broadly.
Build data review into your routine
Becoming a more data-driven tax practice does not require an extensive reporting system. Start with information connected to a decision your firm needs to make.
Set aside time after major deadlines or at regular points during the year to examine what happened, determine what requires attention, and select the next improvement. Over time, these reviews can help your practice plan capacity, refine workflows, respond to changing client needs, and prepare more intentionally for the next filing season.
Take the Next Step
Not sure which areas of your practice to examine first?
Want to understand how to continue to grow your firm? Read our article about Practice Management.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and not legal or financial advice.
