During the tax season, it's crucial for your firm to be equipped with the right technology and resources to ensure a smooth and successful period. However, is your team ready to handle the unexpected challenges that may arise? Are there hidden technology gaps or inefficiencies starting to emerge? There's always room for improvement, and now is the perfect time to refine your processes.

This white paper provides actionable steps to improve your firm's efficiency and prepare you for the future. Even during peak times, small adjustments can deliver immediate benefits to both your firm and your clients. By embracing a mindset of continuous improvement and agility, you can drive your firm toward greater success. Here's how.

1. Increase your visibility

Tax season is an ideal time to increase your firm’s visibility to help further strengthen client relationships and attract new clients. Why now? Because this is the time of year when taxes and finances are front and center for taxpayers. Take advantage of their captured attention.

To help keep your firm top-of-mind, consider the following:

• Social media. Clients value and expect instant updates on tax news that affects them. Make your company a trusted source for these updates. Use social media to keep your contacts up-to-date with important federal, state, and local tax posts that are important to them.
• Webinars and white papers. Enhance your online marketing strategy with webinars or white papers. Is there a topic of particular interest to your audience? If so, that’s a great opportunity to position your firm as a thought leader.
• Engaging imagery. Add images that are designed to render optimally with Facebook, LinkedIn, and X posts. This helps provide maximum impact.
• Articles. Keep up with the latest tax and regulatory changes. Save time and position your firm as an authority by using pre-written, full-length articles. Be sure they're available in the right format for quick and easy publishing on social media or your blog.
• Visuals. Make an impression in just a few seconds through eye-catching visuals that incorporate tips, trivia, and recommendations your followers will want to share.
• Newsletters. Deliver topics of interest to your contacts and provide them with relevant, thought-provoking articles via newsletters.

Ramping up your firm’s marketing during tax season may seem like a tall order. If that's the case, think about a one-stop marketing solution. This can be a simple and effective way to make your company more visible and known for its ideas.

2. Encourage early e-filing

Each year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rejects or suspends the processing of suspicious tax returns to prevent tax-related identity theft. This often leaves tax preparers dealing with client e-file rejections because another return has already been filed using the client’s Social Security number (SSN), or they must assist clients who receive IRS letters inquiring about a tax return they never submitted. Hence, the importance of filing tax returns early.

In recent years, the IRS has stepped up its fight against identity theft, and today, many new safeguards are in place. That said, the threat is still very real as identity thieves continue to create new ways of stealing personal information.

In addition to beating identity thieves, encouraging your clients to file early can help eliminate the need to file an extension and can help you avoid a traffic jam of incoming returns as the April filing deadline draws near.

Amidst these challenges, UltraTax CS emerges as a powerful ally for tax professionals. With secure e-filing capabilities, UltraTax CS provides real-time status updates that help firms monitor progress and keep clients informed. This efficiency is invaluable for early e-filing, as it ensures that all necessary data is in place, returns are complete, and any issues are resolved well before deadlines.

Early filing can also help ensure that you and your team have more time to proactively advise clients. This is important to help your staff strengthen client loyalty and meet evolving client demands in today’s competitive environment.

3. Proactively identify and document pain points

Your company should have the tools and resources to have a successful season, but there are always things you can do better.

As you wade into tax season, are unforeseen technology gaps or inefficiencies rising to the surface? Tax season is the perfect time to take note of pain points and areas of inefficiencies, so they can be resolved well ahead of the next tax season.

Sometimes, the signs are obvious, but other times, they may be easy to overlook. As outlined in the Thomson Reuters white paper, Tax software red flags: How to identify them and what to do next, some red flags to keep watch for include, but aren't limited to:

• Spending a lot of time manually entering information into your current program — or multiple programs — because they don’t integrate
• Software updates pushed through at the most inconvenient times, disrupting your workflow and impacting your productivity
• Lack of seamless integration and the realization that your current software doesn’t integrate with your firm’s other internal and third-party programs to enable data sharing throughout your tax preparation workflow
• Noticing a low utilization rate
• Your software doesn’t allow enough users to access it at the same time

When it comes to addressing these pain points, AI-powered tax technology plays a pivotal role. UltraTax CS is a professional tax software that streamlines your entire tax workflow with powerful, time-saving tools. It integrates seamlessly with SurePrep TaxCaddy, 1040SCAN, and SPBinder, which utilizes AI technology to partially automate tax preparation. With this customized, end-to-end solution based on cloud computing, advanced data sharing, and paperless processing, you won't lose any billable hours to manual tasks.

As you journey through tax season, consider keeping a journal so you can easily document what's working for your firm, and what isn't. This helps ensure that no pain points are overlooked or unresolved as you gear up for next year.

4. Improve the gather and deliver phase

By now, it’s clear to most accounting firms that a digital tax workflow is the foundation for a more efficient tax filing process. By replacing manual, paper-based processes with automated workflow solutions, firms can reduce the time spent on administrative tasks like gathering client documents, entering data, and tracking down missing information.

While the "gather + deliver" phase is one of the most time-intensive steps in the tax preparation process, it's where AI and automation can significantly enhance efficiency. Platforms such as UltraTax CS and SurePrep offer comprehensive digital tax solutions that improve this critical phase.

SurePrep TaxCaddy makes it easier to collect tax documents. It lets clients upload tax documents directly, making it easier to get data, and reducing the time it takes to talk to each other. Together with SurePrep 1040SCAN and SPBinder, your team can also reduce time spent on document review and data entry, as these tools use AI to scan, categorize, and import tax data directly into your 1040 workflow. By automating routine tasks, your staff is free to focus on higher-value services — and even begin the lucrative transition into client advisory work.

5. Unravel tax law complexity

If you haven't done so already, think about the benefits of an AI-powered tax and accounting research solution. This solution will help your company stay up-to-date with regulation changes quickly and confidently, while also providing clients with important and useful information.

By synthesizing expertly written guidance and analysis, AI-powered tax research draws on thousands of primary sources and expert editorial commentary to quickly surface relevant summaries to even your most complex tax questions. By searching only reliable and vetted sources, even junior staff can confidently find accurate and easy-to-understand answers on their own.

AI-powered solutions make work easier and simpler, especially in areas that need to research or understand complex tax laws. For instance, CoCounsel Tax brings advanced AI tax research capabilities, simplifying the understanding of nuanced tax codes and compliance requirements. These tools not only expedite workflows but also allow your team to provide clients with faster, more accurate answers, reducing stress and enabling a smoother tax season.

Simply pose a question, and you’ll quickly receive a relevant answer in everyday language, complete with citations from experts and primary sources. From there, you can seamlessly copy and paste the summarized response into your client or staff communications.

With a structured, technology-driven approach to unraveling tax law complexity, your firm can stay agile, ensure accuracy, and focus on higher-value advisory work to drive growth during tax season and beyond.

6. Keep staff happy and motivated

Tax season is stressful. A tax workflow with AI helps your staff feel happier and more motivated during the busy tax season. It helps them do less work, work more efficiently, and focus on more important tasks. Let’s take a look at how.

• Easing workload pressures and reducing burnout. Tax season is known for intense deadlines, heavy workloads, and long hours, all of which can lead to staff burnout. AI-powered tools help reduce these pressures by automating repetitive tasks and reducing manual data entry. This helps tax professionals do more work in less time.
  
  For example, SurePrep 1040SCAN automates the scanning and importing of tax data directly into the system. This frees tax preparers to focus on complex problems instead of paperwork. UltraTax CS similarly streamlines tax preparation and e-filing so staff can handle a higher volume of clients without feeling overwhelmed.
  
  By lightening the workload and minimizing repetitive tasks, these tools help to create a healthier, more manageable work environment, especially during peak seasons.
  
• Empowering staff to work smarter. CoCounsel Tax is the trusted agentic AI assistant for tax professionals, designed to simplify tax research while automating complex workflows. By using CoCounsel Tax, you can significantly elevate your firm’s productivity. CoCounsel combines the latest agentic AI technology and deep industry expertise to deliver precise, trusted answers to complex tax questions. By automating tedious tasks, CoCounsel Tax allows professionals to focus on strategic insights and high-value client work.
  
  When staff can make meaningful contributions without the stress of sifting through large volumes of information, they feel more engaged and motivated. In turn, by enabling your staff to focus on more strategic aspects of their roles, their work becomes more fulfilling, and they feel more skilled and valued.
  
• Supporting well-being and work-life balance. By automating the most time-consuming parts of tax preparation, AI-powered tools give staff more time to manage their workload effectively, allowing for a healthier work-life balance.
  
  Solutions like SurePrep TaxCaddy improve collaboration with clients by making it easier for clients to submit documents electronically, minimizing back-and-forth communications and manual data collection. These tools allow firms to meet deadlines efficiently without requiring staff to sacrifice personal time and well-being. When employees feel that their time is respected and that they have the tools to complete work efficiently, they're more likely to approach tax season with a positive outlook, boosting morale and job satisfaction.

AI-powered tax technology helps create a workplace that values efficiency, accuracy, and staff well-being. This leads to a more motivated, engaged, and productive team.

7. Optimize your workflow

As your firm embarks on another tax season, taking proactive steps will be essential to ensuring success.

Encouraging clients to file early, identifying and documenting workflow inefficiencies, and staying adaptable throughout the season can empower your firm to meet both expected and unforeseen demands with confidence. By acting now, your firm can not only achieve a successful tax season but also lay the groundwork for continued growth and profitability in the years to come.

Leveraging the right technology stack is also critical for improving workflow and ensuring a successful tax season. Here are some key tax and accounting software and research solutions that can help streamline your firm's operations:

• UltraTax CS. A comprehensive tax compliance software that enables efficient, accurate tax preparation and e-filing. UltraTax CS is designed to integrate seamlessly with other Thomson Reuters products to streamline your entire tax process.
• CoCounsel Tax. By integrating advanced AI capabilities with specialized tax knowledge, CoCounsel Tax provides reliable solutions to intricate tax inquiries. Through automation of routine tasks, it enables tax professionals to concentrate on delivering high-impact advice and serving clients more effectively.
  
• SurePrep 1040SCAN. This tool automates the scanning and importing of tax documents, reducing manual data entry and minimizing the risk of errors. It accelerates the 1040 preparation process, freeing up your team for client interactions and advisory work.
• SurePrep SPBinder. A digital binder solution that organizes and standardizes your work papers, improving accuracy and collaboration among team members. SPBinder integrates with UltraTax CS to ensure a seamless flow of data from tax documents to final reports.
• SurePrep TaxCaddy. A client collaboration tool that simplifies document collection by allowing clients to upload their tax documents directly. TaxCaddy improves client satisfaction by offering a more convenient experience while reducing the administrative burden on your team.

These resources, combined with strategic planning and a focus on automation, can help your firm maximize efficiency, prioritize well-being, and position itself for sustained success each tax season.

Checklist for a successful tax season

✔ Increase your visibility
✔ Encourage early e-filing
✔ Proactively identify and document pain points
✔ Improve the gather and deliver phase
✔ Unravel tax law complexity
✔ Keep staff happy and motivated
✔ Optimize your workflow  

For more guidance and resources to keep you on track during this busy tax season, visit our tax season resource hub.