Can anyone recommend a good workflow management option to keep track of the returns during tax season?

[Accountant-Man]

I can't.  I use a spreadsheet.

[George4Tacks]

@Accountant Man Are you saying your "tool" is NOT a good option?

[Accountant-Man]

As an Obsessive/Compulsive, it works for me and my staff. It is only a Date In, Date Out, Signature Received, Paid (Y/N), Extensions, spreadsheet. I can filter it to see how many Completeds still need sigs, etc. I also include columns for Waiting for Info and Which Employee has the file.

Then there is the numerical Ins and Outs and WIP #s on a separate sheet. And numbers compared to last year.

But that's just me.

[George4Tacks]

That sounds exactly like what is a good option.

[TaxMonkey · Accepted solution]

Ill share this resource:

https://www.cpajournal.com/2018/02/13/tax-office-workflow-resources/

and another recommendation

https://www.huskeypracticemanager.com/

[rbynaker]

I just use the ProSeries Client Status screen and a couple different custom Homebase views.  I think I use "Date ORG Returned" as a date field for positioning things in the queue and one of my views sorts by that field.

Often things happen out of order so I just override the checkbox for things that are done on the sheet below my desired Status.  For example, maybe I filed an extension on 4/14 but I'm really just waiting for the client to get back to me from an email I sent on 4/5.  I want the status to say "Waiting for info 4/5" so I o/r the checkboxes for Extension filed 4/14 and Extension accepted 4/15 (both lower than Waiting for info).  Then the status appears on the homebase as "Waiting for info".

Sometimes I will just work strictly in queue order, i.e. "Who's been sitting here the longest?"  Other times I will work in queue order for a specific status.  That's usually based on "Sent to reviewer."  Since I'm a one-person shop, if I prep in the evening, I like to review in the morning, just so I'm working on different brain waves.  It's just a different mentality for me to be in "review mode" vs. "prep mode" so I like to do all of my reviewing at one time.

Using the client status works for me, I'm not sure it would work as well in a larger organization.

Rick

[Accountant-Man]

I also use the Client Status Sheet extensively. Then I can sort the Home Base and find out where things are, but it doesn't always work with multiple PCs.

[sffdib]

I use ProSeries for tax. I use Intuit Link to collaborate with tax clients. I use some fax and emails still. I use PandaDoc for signing forms. I tired ProSeries signature last year and did not work for half of my clients. I am Quickbooks Proadvisor. I use Quickbooks desktop and Quickbooks online. I use Quickbooks online for billing Quickbooks and tax clients. I have about 120 clients mostly businesses and related returns. I still print all clients paperwork including a copy of their returns, file in a filing cabinets and shred after 7 years. 

I manage the entire process, answer my own phone, hardware, software updates, and backup. I work from three different locations. 

Any ideas how I can streamline my process?