De-Stressing During Tax Season

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From the February 2007 E-Newsletter.

Alright, tax season is now officially here, the national chains have been advertising for a couple of months, nearly every individual filer has received their W-2s, and hopefully they’re lining up in throngs for your services.

February to mid-April is the busiest time of the year for many practices, even those with year-round write-up, bookkeeping or other services. In fact, for some practices, this two-and-a-half month window can account for 70 percent or more of their annual revenue. In addition to the stress that comes with servicing a greater number of clients (many of whom are new or confused or angry about the tax situation they’ve dug for themselves), the principals of small practices may also have the added stress of knowing that their firm’s fiscal well-being depends upon this critical time. If something were to go wrong….

In addition to the key stress drivers above, a multitude of other stress contributors exist during this time of year.

Stress Sources

• New or difficult clients
• New tax laws/treatments
• Lack of sleep
• Expanded work hours
• Less time with family/spouse
• Technology concerns
• Practice’s financial concerns

Stress Relievers

Of course, the best way to reduce the stress of tax season is to prepare for it in advance by implementing productivity-enhancing technologies, training staff on the systems, educating them on new tax changes, encouraging clients to prepare and meet with your prior to tax season, and more.

But what now? What can you do in the middle of February, or March or April? Here’s a short list: