Year-end and tax-season checklists
Spot the stuck files while there's still time to fix them. Every client's year-end runs from the same checklist, and partners see it all in one Monday report.
Hours back
6 hrs a week in season
How it runs
What we build, step by step.
This is the usual shape. Yours gets built around how your team actually does the job.
- 01
A checklist per client, per return
Created from the services in each client's engagement, so a sole trader and a company with payroll get different lists.
- 02
Requests sent at the start of the season
Each client gets one email naming what you need for this year's return, based on what they sent last year.
- 03
Items ticked off as they arrive
Documents that come in by email are matched to the checklist and saved to the client folder.
- 04
A weekly blocked-files report
Which files are waiting on the client, which are waiting on you, and which are ready for review, sorted by deadline.
- 05
Reminders for the files still waiting
Clients holding up their own return get a specific nudge naming the missing items and the date.
Shown with software we see a lot. If your team uses something else, we build it into that instead.
Built for your business
Same job, different business. We build yours.
Two firms in the same trade rarely run a job the same way. Different software, different steps, different people signing off. We build it for your business, around how your team actually does the job.
Your steps
Built around the order your team already works in, odd exceptions included.
Your software
Runs inside the tools you already pay for, set up the way you use them.
Your rules
Your wording, your limits, your sign-offs. Nothing generic goes out in your name.
You sign off
Your team keeps the final say.
Preparers and reviewers still do the return. The build tracks the list and sends the requests, and a partner decides when to escalate a late client.
What it's worth
What those hours add up to.
6 hrs a week in season
Typical, not promised.
Before and after
The job, before and after.
How it runs today
Tax season runs on a master spreadsheet, a few sticky notes and the partner's memory. Each return needs the same requests, the same documents ticked off and the same review steps, but nobody can say at a glance which of 300 files are blocked, and on what.
What we build
- A checklist per client, per return
- Requests sent at the start of the season
- Items ticked off as they arrive
- A weekly blocked-files report
- Reminders for the files still waiting
A month in
Partners read one report on Monday instead of chasing staff for status, around 6 hours a week comes back in season, and the pile in the final two weeks is smaller.
Start from last year
The best guide to what a client needs to send this year is what they sent last year. The request list starts from the prior-year file, so the client sees a short, specific list instead of a generic organiser they'll ignore.
FAQ
Do we need to change how we prepare returns?
No. Your preparation and review steps stay the same, and the year-end checklists handle the client requests and tracking around them.
We don't use Karbon. Will it still work?
Yes. The year-end checklist can live in a shared sheet or another practice tool instead of Karbon, and we scope that in the proposal.
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Thirty minutes on year-end and tax-season checklists. We build its elf with you, live, and you keep it.