Preparing for busy season 2021
Five scenarios to consider
Kristen Rampe, CPA | December 2020/January 2021 Footnote
Editor's note: Updated November 30, 2020
In most years, it seems like busy season just ended by the time the next one starts. In 2021, though, it’s likely to feel like it never ended from a year earlier.
If you’re not wading through the latest on Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness, you’re working on the backlog of projections and planning for a shift to even more advisory work for your clients. If you’re not getting the last-minute client 1040s out the door, you’re trying to figure out how to get the new hires trained up when they’ve never met anyone from your office in-person.
With 2020 nearly behind us, here are five scenarios you might find yourself in and tactics you can try to prepare for the upcoming busy season based on lessons learned in the past nine months.
Scenario No. 1
You wish you had implemented a little more technology before the pandemic. Many firms were on their way to, or were already, paperless; few were fully using drone technology for audit inventories. You were likely somewhere in this range and may wonder what additional solutions can help your adaptability for busy season 2021.
Try this:
Do an audit of your technology tools and identify where you have gaps. Ask associates in addition to managers and partners — they will each have a different perspective to offer. What are the processes that get bogged down instead of feeling streamlined? There are often technology solutions to help. Key trends include communication tools like Microsoft Teams (there’s even a Facebook group dedicated to Teams for CPAs), Slack and Zoom — plus, essential workflow tools like XCM and Jetpack. Electronic signatures are efficient, not only on tax returns, but for your engagement letters. Collecting payments via ACH or credit card can save a lot of administrative time and touching of physical paper. As a bonus, they’re very appealing to your next-generation business owners and accounting teams.
Scenario No. 2
You’re still not sure about the best work arrangements (required in-office, mostly work from home (WFH), mix of both) for your office.
I’ve worked with firms that barely left their offices during the earlier peak of the pandemic, and some who have yet to go back to the office at all (including the managing partner!). In a survey conducted by Marc Rosenberg in September 2020, 42% of firms felt they may not maintain the same amount of office space as they had pre-pandemic. Each firm needs to determine what’s best for their team and clients.
Try this:
Survey your team and see how they’re feeling about the current work arrangements. Do they feel safe? Isolated? Perfectly happy? Indifferent? Back pain from an awful chair at their home office? Use this data at the management level to determine what changes you may want to make for the next 3–6 months. Some trends we’re seeing in the industry include:
- WFH office stipends or financial support for higher-speed internet.
- Team events and meetings via video call to stay connected beyond technical work discussions.
- Acknowledgment of “Zoom fatigue” and reducing the same video-based team events and meetings.
- Allowing each person to choose the work arrangement that best suits their needs, while still meeting the needs of the firm.
- Using screen sharing as a key process and learning development tool; it’s not quite the same as looking over someone’s shoulder, but a pretty close second.
Scenario No. 3
You have some clients demanding to meet in-person and some team members that don’t want to (or vice versa). Before the pandemic, you likely had a pretty good set of professional expectations going at your office and with your clients, and most everyone was amenable to them. If a client requested an in-person meeting, you made it happen — obviously. But, now things are different, and you probably never navigated such extreme health concerns in the past.
Try this:
Offer alternatives that allow both your team and your clients to feel valued and protected. You’re likely navigating a wide variety of opinions on the pandemic, ranging from needs for safety to needs for freedom. As a firm leader, striking a balance for all concerned parties is key. Here are some meeting arrangement options to consider:
- Use a large conference room, spread people out and wear masks.
- If weather and space permits, offer outdoor meeting options. (Restaurants get parklets, why not CPA firms?)
- More firmly suggest a virtual meeting or make it company policy. Help clients join, if needed. If they’re resistant, try sharing some reasons why you see it as beneficial: “This way we can save on commute time,” and, “Let’s skip the masks and do a video call.”
Scenario No. 4
Your clients need you to do advisory work, but you have no time. In some ways this isn’t new, but there has certainly been a recent uptick in the consulting and advisory opportunities that have landed on the doorstep of CPA firms (think PPP assistance).
Try this:
Think differently about what you have time for. Is the advisory work of value to your client community and profitable for your firm? Do you have other clients that could be better served by a different professional situation? I’m thinking of those that are a bad fit relationship-wise and consistently deliver low to negative profitability.
Scenario No. 5
There are whispers or outright cries of burnout. Afterall, your team just finished the most epic busy season of their careers. Coupled with the always-on nature that many of them feel when working from home, people need a true break.
Try this:
Recognize the bottom-line value in having a team recharged before heading into the 2021 busy season. A team member who’s had a break has more energy, patience and production than one burning the candle at both ends for 16 months straight.
Ask team members to take real time off before their busy season hits. This means several consecutive days, ideally a full week or more, where they are not checking in on work projects. It doesn’t mean someone can’t text or call if there’s an emergency (though best to limit this to almost no contact). It does mean you’re changing your policy from, “We don’t expect you to do work on vacation,” to, “We expect you to not work or check in during your vacation.”
If you do expect them to check in because they’re professionals of a certain level or value to your firm (this is normal), put boundaries on it: “We expect you to check your messages two times each day, but that’s all.” Use the out-of-office reply feature on email and other communication to let colleagues and clients know about vacation plans.
Flexibility is key moving forward
Whatever you choose to try for the 2021 busy season, know that you will likely need to monitor and refine your tactics until you find the right fit for your clients, your team and current environmental factors. Luckily, if you’ve made it this far, you’re a pro at adaptability so you should be just fine.
Kristen Rampe, CPA is a CPA firm consultant based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her practice assists firms with practice management and leadership development. Learn more at https://rampeconsulting.com.
USE THIS SAMPLE ENGAGEMENT LETTER
www.mncpa.org/COVIDletter
Use this sample engagement letter, provided by Moss & Barnett, to set expectations with clients heading into this unusual tax season.
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