How to better manage workflow

I always find it interesting how one practitioner will ask me a question, and then suddenly, I’m asked the same – or a very similar question by several other accountants and bookkeepers.

How to better manage your workflow

The question is this:

How do I manage the onslaught of work coming in? How do I prioritize my own workload, and that of my team?

Managing one’s time, prioritizing and delegating is a tremendous skill. Done well, it reduces stress for you and your team, improves client satisfaction, and can greatly increase your bottom line. Here’s the catch: mastering this skill is a lifelong journey.

So where do I start?

Let’s say I have 20 year-end files to complete. Which one should get the highest priority?

Most will make that decision based on one or more of these three items:

  • Deadlines imposed on the client by CRA, the bank, or another institution.
  • The client’s ability to scream and make your life miserable. The louder they scream, the higher up the priority list they go.
  • The value of the client to the firm is usually measured by fees. In other words, a $4,000 engagement takes priority over a $2,500 engagement.

Does this sound familiar? May I propose a different solution?

I suggest you prioritize based on the date ALL (and I do mean ALL) the information was received, with minimal consideration for client deadlines. Their lack of planning should not constitute an emergency for you. Nor should it result in them getting better service than the clients who planned ahead.

We used to be guilty of prioritizing by deadline. A client would bring in their information on May 15th, knowing full well that taxes were due at the end of the month, or the banks required statements in the next 15 days. So, what would we do? We would set aside and scramble to meet their deadline. And you know what? Most of the time, we’ll pull it off. Because that’s what we do –  we get ‘er done.

It finally dawned on us that we were rewarding bad behaviour. The clients who brought their documents well in advance, who did not impose any deadline on us, ended up waiting much longer for their financial statements than those who made our lives hell by failing to plan and impose those self-inflicted deadlines on us. Why were we doing this?

So, we became smarter. We started doing all the work in order of reception. Your file came in today? Well, we’ll get to it once all the work that came in yesterday is done. It’s only fair.

Now, you’d think this change in prioritizing would come with a tremendous amount of pushback, right? Strangely enough, no. Most clients understand that fair is fair. Sure, nobody likes standing in line, but they also recognize that those who came before them deserve to be served first. And most really don’t appreciate it when someone tries to cut ahead of others. They get it – far more than you’d expect.

That being said, you’ll need to “re-train” your demanding clients. Let them know that their financial statements will only be worked on when:

  • ALL – Yes ALL – 100% – of the information needed is in
  • When all work that came in before theirs is also done

No exceptions. Unless of course, they’re prepared to pay a very high priority service fee for moving them ahead of the queue. And I do mean high!! Like a 150 to 250% fee increase.

So, what do we do about all of those who will now owe taxes and thus penalties and interest? Do we simply file them late? Yes, you do. But nothing prevents you from taking 10 minutes, before the CRA deadline, to look over the client’s trial balance to estimate taxes and have them send in the money BEFORE the deadline date and thus reduce or avoid penalties and interest.

Now, I realize not everyone reading this is going to agree with this strategy – and that’s okay. You can prioritize your workload however you want. But here’s the thing, while you’re busy catering to those clients who give you the most grief, your competitors are more than happy to scoop up the easy-going clients who brought their papers in early. Those clients will leave your firm because you took too long to meet the demands of your toughest clients. If that’s the kind of client you prefer, by all means, keep giving them the best service.