Sink or swim – was January another scramble to meet deadlines?

Another tax return deadline has passed by. And, for accountants and bookkeepers, many may be recovering from overdrive mode after a scramble to manually piece together information and submit correct numbers on time.

But the January deadline does not have to be the cause of accountant or bookkeeper burnout. In fact, by adopting the right strategy and tools all year round, it can become just another date in the diary, not a stress. So, as a new tax year begins, how can they keep on top of processes throughout the year so that they can swim past the deadline, not sink before it?

Avoid burnout with accounting technology

Technology is your best friend when it comes to deadlines and year-round practice. Automation will not only make your life easier, but also save you time and money. There’s a whole pool of accounting software providers out there, and most proudly proclaim above all else that they are time savers – this is, generally,  the main function of the technology.

Instead of receipts being printed out and then manually inputted, for example, automation accelerates the process and makes it much less painful. It can help with chasing clients, sending advice messages and analysing data, all with the benefit of speeding up proceedings. Quite simply, it epitomises more for less. When it comes to burnout, this is valuable timesaving on tasks that are often both laborious and energy sapping.

Yet, despite these advancements, it’s amazing how many accounting professionals still rely on manual methods to conduct their accounts. Understandably, there is a wariness of technology replacing jobs. But this software is actually just a tool to make their lives easier. A human touch is always needed, and automation simply helps to redirect energy into other valuable activities.

Another string to its bow is that it helps eradicate the dreaded equation: burnout + last minute scramble = mistakes.

Use real-time data collection

Communicating with clients throughout the year on the upcoming deadline is sometimes not enough to avoid the last minute dash. Whether you send one letter or email once a year, or three times to request information, there’s always going to be a select few clients that send their information over at the last minute.

The problem here is that clients don’t see the need to change their process because the return always gets processed even if it is dropped off on 31st January. Instead, accounting professionals need to communicate the benefits of real time data collection to improve the workflow. This benefits both the accountant/bookkeeper, who avoids last-minute stress, and the client, who receives better tax planning advice, improved budgeting, and no late submission fees. Investing in technology that provides real-time data is in the best interest of all parties.

Be confident that your work is compliant

Confidence in compliance will save you from fines creeping up on you with inaccurate numbers. So much of the job is, of course, surrounding numbers and data – and so errors are part and parcel of the profession. But even if totally unintentional, a mistake on a client’s self-assessment or VAT return, for instance, can have costly repercussions.

Combatting this with accounting software can increase your accuracy and reduce the chance of such mistakes happening. The software not only takes away manual data entry but comes with automated data checks. This creates another layer of accuracy to the data management process,  ensuring compliance and saving hours of time on manual data checks.

With this assurance, accountants/bookkeepers can be sure to trust their data and not rely on questionable guesses or misreading figures. This is essential for the evolving role of accounting professionals as business advisors. To successfully play this role,  having visible, accurate, easy-to-access and actionable data is key to providing substantive advice.

Automation can support the entire data workflow. It provides a central database that allows bookkeepers and accountants to uncover trends that can be fed back to clients in the knowledge that they are based on highly accurate and compliant data feeds.

Swim past the deadline

As one deadline passes, the next will return before we know it. As many bookkeepers and accountants clean the slate for a new tax year, it might present an opportune moment to reassess processes: a chance to develop a strategy to both work with clients throughout the year and take advantage of software to optimise workflow.

By setting early deadlines and offering constant communication with clients, future workload can immediately be alleviated. But it’s through harnessing accounting software where you can really swim in the fast lane, automating manual tasks to free up time and ensuring an accuracy and compliance that allows you to go beyond in your role.

With this approach, rather than sinking in a pool of unaccounted data, the end of year deadline simply becomes another date to swim past.

By Sabby Gill, CEO at Dext

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