4 Steps to Post-Tax Season Success

Tax season is finally over. You’ve worked diligently and spent long nights trying to meet the deadlines and demands of 82% of clients who want more from accounting professionals. I know the sigh of relief you feel once the rush is over.

First and foremost, take time to rest – you deserve it. Once you feel like you’re back to your old self and have rested enough, it’s time to reflect on how the season went:

• What went well?
• What didn’t go well?
• What do you think that you could improve upon?
• What do you want future tax seasons and to look like?

Taking strategic steps now, when everything has slowed down a bit, will alleviate so much stress next season.

What steps should you be taking? You can take quite a few steps right now, but let’s focus on adding revenue and efficiency to the firm before going any further.

1. Consider Adding New Service Offerings

If you want to increase revenue for your firm, consider adding new services. Strategic advisory services can increase client revenue by 50% per month. Consider a straightforward way to offer something new, such as:

• Advisory services
• Fractional CFO services
• Financial planning and analysis services

You want to consider services that you can offer year-round. Smoothing out cash flow in accounting has been a challenge for many firm owners. If you experience an influx in revenue and then a sharp dip after the busy season, you’re not alone.

New service offerings can help you maintain steady revenue throughout the year, but it goes deeper than that. Additional services will help you:

• Better meet the needs of your clients
• Become an invaluable asset to clients

If your services become invaluable, you’ll undoubtedly increase client retention and loyalty. Take some time now to think about what services your clients want and need, and what services you want to offer.

Once you have the services you want to add (or even if you plan to remain with just what you offer already), you can move on to your tech stack.

2. Upgrade Technology for Greater Productivity and Client Experience

Technology evolves rapidly, allowing us to do so much more today than even just a year ago. You want to conduct a full analysis of your current technology to better understand where you can improve efficiency, service delivery, and the client experience.

To avoid becoming overwhelmed, focus on the main bottlenecks you’re experiencing rather than everything.

For example:

• Are you struggling to ensure that client deliverables are submitted on time? If so, you may want to consider a solution like Canopy or Karbon. Your team will always know the status of deliverables.
• Do you want to begin offering or improve your offerings for financial planning and analysis? If so, Clockwork AI is a good option to consider.
• Do you spend entirely too much time closing the books? FloQast is a solution that may be able to help.

Upgrading the technology you already use can be taken a step further by identifying any overlaps. Perhaps one solution can be used for tasks that you’re spreading across three tech solutions.

Consolidating down to a few tech solutions will reduce training costs and time while also allowing your team to be more productive.

Upgrading technology after the post-tax season is one of the best ways to set your firm up for success before the next busy season hits. Your proactive approach also allows your firm time to become familiar with the new tech you’re offering.

Next up? You need to take a close look at your clients because they may also need an upgrade.

3. Upgrade Your Clients

You may not want more clients, but I’m willing to bet that you want better clients. Most firms do. Your ideal clients know your value, are a pleasure to work with, and tend to be more profitable.

Whether or not you have plans to expand your client base, I recommend reviewing your client list first.

Ask yourself:

• Are there any “B” clients that you can turn into “A” clients by offering the new services you identified earlier?
• Can you use technology to make these “B” clients less high-maintenance? For example, Clockwork.Ai has a guide here on how you can use technology to streamline your advisory services.

If you find that some of your “B” clients can’t be upgraded to “A” clients, consider whether it’s time to part ways. Breaking up with clients is never easy, but at times, it’s necessary and will free up time for your new, ideal clients.

Who are your ideal clients? If you haven’t done so already, sit down and create a profile of your ideal client.

• What niche are they in?
• What are their pain points?
• What services do they need?
• What can you do during the slow season to start attracting these clients?

To start connecting with your ideal clients, you may need to be more active on social media, attend industry conferences, and secure guest spots on podcasts your audience listens to.

Having a clear understanding of who your ideal clients are and what they need will allow you to target them with your marketing messages.

4. Network and Educate Yourself

Now is a great time to find opportunities to collaborate with others. Attend networking events, join professional organizations and become more active in online communities. Collaboration is a great way to:

• Learn new skills
• Stay on top of industry trends
• Discover new ways to solve challenges

These newfound skills and perspectives will serve you well next tax season and beyond.

And now that you have some breathing room, you can catch up on your Continuing Professional Education (CPE). It’s easy to put it off until later, but getting your annual CPE credits early on will allow you to apply what you learned to your work –  before all of the stress of next tax season.

Conclusion

Post-tax season is a time for rest and reflection, but you can also make the most of this slower period by expanding your services, upgrading your technology and clients, networking, and focusing on our CPE. You’ll thank yourself next year when you’re better prepared and armed with new skills that benefit your firm and clients.

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Katie Thomas, CPA is a 40 under 40 CPA Practice Advisor recipient, Top 50 Women in Accounting recipient, and the owner of Leaders Online, where they help accounting and B2A (business to accounting) professionals increase their impact, influence, and income through thought leadership and digital marketing. To get in touch with Katie, schedule a time at: https://leaders-online.com/.