In accounting offices, certain periods of the year feel different from the rest. There is more work, the phone rings more often, and staff handle several clients' files at the same time. Part of the pressure in these periods comes from the work itself, and part comes from small organisational questions that were not settled before the period began.
This article is about the office's internal preparation: who holds which work, where the documents are, how to talk with clients, how data is protected and how the final check is done. Official deadlines, return types and obligations vary and are not the subject of this article; what matters here is only the office's own organisation.
⚡ Example scenario: Let's imagine an accounting office with a few employees. In the first week of the busy season, a client calls the office and asks about the status of their file. The employee who answers does not know who has the file, and the employee handling it is out that day. The client is told "we'll get back to you", the note is written on a piece of paper and gets lost among other tasks during the day.
Why the Busy Season Strains the Office
In the busy season there is more work, but the office's way of working often stays the same. Habits that get by in the daily flow, such as keeping tasks in employees' heads or client questions reaching everyone separately, start to struggle when the workload grows.
That is why most of the preparation is not about adding new work but about reviewing the existing organisation before the period starts. The headings below follow the order of that review.
Clarifying Task Allocation for the Period in Advance
Deciding in writing, before the period starts, who will handle each client's file can reduce the "who has this" questions during the period. When the allocation sits in a list everyone can see rather than in one employee's head, the person who answers the phone can direct the client to the right person.
A responsible person for each client
A responsible employee can be assigned to each client. The responsible employee is the person who knows the status of that client's file and will answer questions. This does not mean that only this person does the work; it only means that the file has a clear owner.
A backup responsible person
Who the file passes to when the responsible employee is not in the office can also be written down in advance. When the backup person knows where the file is and its latest status, this can help keep the work from depending on a single person.
The accountant's approval order
If the final check and approval rest with the head accountant, the order in which files reach them can also be discussed. Interim handover points can be added to the allocation plan so that files coming for approval do not pile up in the last days.
Seeing Each Client's Document Status in One Place
Before the period, seeing in a single list which stage each client's documents are at can be one of the most useful preparation steps. We covered how to collect documents from clients separately in the article How Can Client Documents Be Collected on Time?; here the focus is on how incoming documents are tracked inside the office.
In such a list, each client's status is written next to their name: documents complete, something missing or nothing received yet. When the responsible employee's name is on the same row, the accountant can see where the period stands without asking each employee. The setup we describe on our CRM and customer tracking systems page can also be used to keep client records, the responsible person and file status on one screen.
Bringing Client Communication Into One Routine
In the busy season, clients send more questions. When each question arrives through a different channel and to a different employee, answers can be delayed and the same question can be answered several times.
Ready answers for frequent questions
Answers to the questions that come up often during the period can be written in advance: where to send documents, the office's internal submission day, how to find out the status of a file. A ready answer can help every employee give the same information in the same way.
Keeping follow-up notes in one place
For every call where the client was told "we'll get back to you", a short note can be written in a shared place together with the responsible employee's name. A note written on paper or on a personal phone can get lost in the rush of the period; a note in a shared list is also visible to the next person.
Backups and Access Checks
In the busy season, a computer failure or a file deleted by mistake can tighten an already crowded schedule even further. The time before the period is a suitable moment to check that data is being backed up and that it can be restored from the backup.
Testing the backup
Taking a backup does not mean that it can be restored. Trying to restore a file from the backup before the period is the most direct way to see that the backup actually works.
Access and passwords
Whether employees have access to the programs and folders they need can be checked before the period. If a former employee's access is still open, it can be closed, and a new employee's access can be opened before the period starts. For regular maintenance of computers and backups, you can see our maintenance and support page.
Final Checklist Before the Period
The table below lists items that can be reviewed inside the office before the period starts and why each one helps. The list can be extended to suit each office's own organisation.
| Checklist item | What it can provide |
|---|---|
| Is each client's responsible person and backup written down | A client question can be directed to the right person |
| Is document status visible in one list | A client with missing items can be noticed at the start of the period |
| Are answers to frequent questions ready | The same information can come from every employee in the same way |
| Are follow-up notes in a shared place | A promise given is visible to another employee too |
| Has restoring from the backup been tried | The steps to follow in case of a failure are known |
| Are employee access rights up to date | The chance of access problems during the period can go down |
A Short Review After the Period
A short review once the period is over can make preparation for the next period easier. Which clients' documents were left until the last day, which questions came most often and at which step things got stuck can be noted in a few lines.
These notes are added to the next period's checklist. That way preparation does not start from scratch each period but builds on the experience of the previous one.
Summary
Part of the pressure in the busy season comes from organisational questions that could be settled before the period. Assigning each client a responsible person and a backup, seeing document status in one list, organising client communication with ready answers and shared notes, testing restore from backup and checking access can be the main steps of this preparation. A short review after the period can make the next preparation easier. Official deadlines and obligations are not the subject of this article; what is described here is only the office's own internal organisation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should the office do first before the busy season
Deciding in writing who will handle each client's file and who it passes to when that person is away can be a good start. When the allocation sits in a list everyone can see, the "who has this" questions during the period can decrease.
How can document status be tracked
Each client's document status and responsible employee can be kept in a single list: documents complete, something missing or nothing received yet. Such a list can help the accountant see where the period stands without asking the employees.
How can client questions be organised
Answers to frequent questions can be written in advance, and a short note can be kept in a shared place for every call where the client was told "we'll get back to you". This way the same information can come from every employee in the same way, and the chance of a promise being forgotten can go down.
Why should the backup be checked before the period
A failure during the busy season can tighten the schedule even further. Trying to restore a file from the backup before the period is a direct way to see that the backup actually works.
Does this list cover official deadlines too
No. Official deadlines, return types and obligations vary and are not the subject of this article. The list here concerns only the office's internal organisation.
Period preparation can sit on one screen
When task allocation, document status and client notes are in one place, the busy season can become more predictable. Talking together about the approach that suits your office's organisation can be the first step.
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