How Can I Make Self Assessment Less Stressful for My Practice?

For most people, January is about lounging in front of the telly and picking at leftovers. For accountants, however, it’s not quite so relaxing. You already know this. It’s why you’re here.

While Santa is winding down after a busy December, you’re getting ready for the final push for the Self Assessment tax returns deadline at midnight on January 31st.

Naturally, most existing clients leave their accounts until the last minute. There’s typically an influx of new ones scrambling to get their affairs in order.

How, then, are you supposed to keep stress to a minimum? In this article, we’ll look at some strategies to improve your workload (and blood pressure) during this hectic period.

Maybe you’ll get to enjoy those leftovers after all.

Send regular reminders

People are lazy. We tend to put things off if they’re not due straight away – or even forget about them entirely. Unless our boss reads this.

The simplest strategy is to send reminders throughout the year encouraging your clients to get their accounts in early. You could include things like:

You could also reiterate the benefits of submitting their return sooner rather than later.

It’s a win-win, really.

Maybe even add a permanent reminder to your email signature, so they see it more often. This date can be earlier than the actual deadline if you want to give yourself some breathing room.

Offer incentives

For some, reminders alone won’t be enough to compel them to take action. If the deadline is still months away, why not just wait?

This is where you have to get a bit clever. If the stick didn’t work, it might now be time for the carrot.

You can offer rewards for clients who are proactive and send you their records in plenty of time.

These don’t have to be anything fancy – small tokens like vouchers will show that those who are willing to comply won’t just avoid penalties; they’ll also be rewarded for their punctuality.

A loyalty scheme of some kind is another option that could be the difference between a client choosing to wait or take action now.

Clear the decks

In an ideal world, the previous two methods would take care of all your existing clients, preventing a mad rush at the start of the new year.

In reality, though, there will always be some who procrastinate and procrastinate until it’s too late – plus there’s still all the last-minute sign-ups to consider.

It’s a good idea to take care of any other work that needs doing well in advance of the busy Self Assessment period.

This could include things like training new accountants or switching to new accounting software.

For example, if you already know you have a quieter period at another point in the year (e.g. Summer, when things tend to slow down a bit), this might be the time to take on a load of new hires or transition over to new bookkeeping software, as your regular services are less likely to be disrupted.

Share the load

Right, so… it’s January. You’ve managed to reduce your workload, but there’s still a lot to get through.

At this point, there’s no way around it: you’re gonna have to roll up your sleeves and get stuck in.

But it’s important to remember you’re not alone, and neither is anyone else in your practice.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help, and if a particular accountant is struggling with their deadlines, step in and see if you can take some tasks off their plate.

It’s a cliché, but team work really does make the dream work – and it’ll also reflect well on the firm if you’re able to complete accounts quicker than expected.

Use good bookkeeping software

As an accountant, you’re relying on your client to send you all the correct data in order for you to actually do their accounts.

Then if something’s missing, you have to chase them up, which obviously takes time – time you just don’t have in the lead-up to the Self Assessment deadline.

Good online bookkeeping software all but eliminates this problem by allowing access to anyone with a secure login and a connection to the internet.

Data can be accessed by everyone, simultaneously, and in real time, meaning you can quickly find the information you need and get right back to it.

Talk about a lifesaver.

Learn more about using Pandle to make business accounting easier. Create an account today and decide what to do with all the extra time you get back.