{"id":51094,"date":"2024-02-14T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-14T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/?p=51094"},"modified":"2024-08-26T10:20:45","modified_gmt":"2024-08-26T15:20:45","slug":"creating-capacity-with-automation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/practice-management\/workflow-tools\/creating-capacity-with-automation\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating capacity with automation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tax filing season is the stress test for our processes, systems, and teams to deliver a great experience for our clients. For most firms, there is usually more client work than capacity available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To increase capacity, firms have four options:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Hire more employees<\/strong>. This is usually the most expensive option and might be the most difficult given the limited pool of available candidates. Hiring, training, retaining, and developing staff is the most commonly cited challenge for tax and accounting firm owners. A recent discussion with the Intuit Tax Council<\/a> confirmed that many owners believe the trend will continue to plague our profession for years. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Outsource work, either onshore or offshore<\/strong>. Firms have been testing outsource models<\/a> for the past decade, but are being more aggressive with the lack of potential employees available. Intuit Select Pro Staffing<\/a> provides flexible options to add quality staff to your firm, and firms more frequently  choose onshore over offshore labor.  <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Change the work. <\/strong>Firms can create capacity by updating their processes to eliminate non value-added steps, or define new services and client value that replace the existing services. Bundled services that start with planning and tax advisory<\/a> are a great example of increasing client value, reducing firm hours, increasing fees, and simplifying compliance work.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Use technology<\/strong> to automate or simplify the work.<\/strong> This can often be the least expensive option, and when processes are designed to support a digital workflow, technology expands the talent pool to hire remote employees, further increasing firm capacity.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Once you have a handle on your options, you can explore automation software and service to create more capacity in your firm. Here’s how to do that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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