This tax season is set to be busier than usual, with the constant stream of new guidance from the government and deferment of income and capital gains tax deadlines as well as the unpredictability of COVID and local lockdowns. Clients are relying on their accountants more than ever for advice, so it’s important to support your team with this extra responsibility.
With your team taking on more work, you need to pay attention to their mental health and ensure their stress levels are kept as low as possible. So, let’s look at three things you can implement to support your team on the run up to January;
- Mindfulness – Try taking 3 minutes out of your day to practise mindfulness, you’ll be surprised how much of a difference it makes. Simply stop what you are doing and focus on your breath coming in and going out of the body. Slowly count 1 on the inhale and 2 on the exhale up to a count of 10 and returning to 1. When you notice your mind has wandered (as it will), just come back to 1. Repeat as needed.
- Supporting Collaboration – With working from home guidelines from the government likely to last at least 6 months, it’s important to ensure collaboration is open. Using a document management portal to share confidential documents, and implementing a simple instant messaging system, such as Skype or Cliq, will be key over tax season to keep business flowing smoothly.
- Improving workflow for team members – Ensure you have your technology stack integrated as much as possible, for example connecting SmartVault to TaxCalc means you can automatically route documents to the required folder, saving time and improving workflow. Also look at using a client portal for sending and receiving documents. This will allow your team to send tax returns or accounts to your clients securely, and have them signed directly within the portal, eliminating the need for any face-to-face interaction.
Contributed by Smartvault
