You’ve worked hard this season Tax Pros. April 18th, 2023, marks the last day you can submit tax returns or extensions to the IRS. The tax season would usually end on April 15th, however, the 15th falls on a weekend which means the deadline is pushed back to the next weekday. Monday, April 17th is the District of Columbia’s Emancipation Day, pushing the official end of the 2022 tax season to April 18th. Taxpayers who request an extension will have until October 16th, 2023, to file their return.
What’s Next?
With the end of the tax season less than a week away you may be starting to consider what you should be doing after the tax season? In order to have a better grasp of what steps you need to take moving forward ask yourself three simple questions.
- What did my firm do right this tax season?
- What did my firm do wrong?
- What can be improved for next year?
Knowing the answers to these questions will set your tax office up for success when the 2023 tax season begins next January. The team here at Swift Financial Partners wants to share our experience to better equip you and your tax business to have an even more streamlined tax season next year.
Reassess:
If you and your team have already done this, great! Give yourselves a pat on the back for being proactive. If not, don’t worry, you will want to reassess your performance soon after the tax season ends so issues that may have arisen are still fresh in your mind. Ask yourself and your team the three questions listed above to get an idea for areas you can improve for next tax season. You should also consider the following areas when doing your assessments:
- Client Onboarding: How are new clients processed when they sign-up with your tax office? Who is in charge of assigning clients to preparers and how can that be streamlined?
- Data Gathering: When information related to a client’s tax return comes in how is it handled? Are documents stored digitally or physically? Can clients upload documents to an online resource or do they have to email or bring in physical copies?
- Tax Preparation: Once you have all the relevant information, how are tax returns handled? Are parameters in place to make sure returns are processed quickly and accurately? Is someone assigned to review returns before transmitting to the IRS?
- Billing: What is the billing method used by your tax office? Do you use a service to track payments and invoicing or is it all done in-house? Does your tax business use bank products (if not you should be, click here)?
- Technology: What tools does your tax business use and is your staff trained to fully utilize them? Do these tools streamline the business process or do some of them impede progress? How many different softwares does your tax business currently use? If your tax office is looking for digital management solutions then consider SeQwens.
- Communication: How well did your tax prepares communicate with one another this year? How well did they communicate with your clients?
Ask yourself these questions and then ask your team. Encourage open and honest communication in order to gain the best results. Then find solutions to fix the areas you struggled in.
There is plenty more to cover for streamlining your office at the end of tax season. We will be covering Technical Solutions, Tax Education, and more in next week’s blog. Sign up below so you don’t miss it.
