Now that the busy tax season is over, you must be thinking of hitting your dream destination for a relaxing and rejuvenating vacation. However, before you jet-off, it is crucial for you to evaluate what worked in your favor and what didn’t during this season. Doing so will not only give you peace of mind but it will also guarantee that next year’s busy season is even better.

Here are 5 important factors that you must evaluate to better your process for next season:

Workforce

To begin with, accessing and analyzing your workforce is the most significant factor while the season is still fresh in your mind. From the strength of your team to the skills they possess, you need to evaluate everything to ensure better operations in the coming days. The points which you need to consider here are:

•    Were you well staffed this season?
•    Whether or not your staff had the needed skills and expertise?
•    Whether you need to hire more people?
•    How efficient were planning and scheduling?

Workflow

Ensuring maximum efficiency and productivity are crucial, even more so during the tax seasons. The post-tax season is a great time to reassess your workflow and figure out the factors to improve next year’s performance.

•    What was the average time taken per return?
•    Did your team members use their time efficiently?
•    What factors caused delays?

Technology

Despite being a key driver in today’s tax practices, technology is often overlooked by most professionals. To stay on top of your firm’s operations, it is more than just a mere necessity for you to scrutinize and modernize your IT resources to reap maximum benefits.

•    Are you satisfied with the software and technology that you are currently using?
•    Do you need to update and/or upgrade your IT resources?
•    Do you need to switch to more innovative technology solutions?

Marketing

Another vital point to evaluate is your marketing campaign. When running a tax business, it is advisable to list down what worked for you and what didn’t for you post-tax season so that you can plan your next marketing campaigns accordingly. Hence, analyzing the marketing channels that you used and calculating the final numbers go a long way in this process.

What were the total budget on marketing and the ROI against it?

•    Which channels brought in new business?
•    Which new platforms you should try next season?
•    Which platforms do you need to drop-off?

Clients

Deep diving into evaluating the behavior of your clients can help you gain clear insights regarding what you need to do to improve your next season’s performance. In fact, analyzing your clients’ behavior not only plays a pivotal role in maximizing retention rate but also helps in attracting and engaging new clients. In this context, you need to consider:

•    What is the return rate of previous clients?
•    What is the total number of new clients you added this season?
•    What are the types of returns you filed on their behalf?
•    What is the total number of extensions filed and the reasons behind this?

The Final Check

Lastly, you should take a look into the bigger picture

•    Budget spent vs. Revenue generated
•    Customer satisfaction and surveys
•    Employees’ feedback and office atmosphere during the season

Once you are done with this evaluation phase, you need to document everything and find out the areas to areas of improvement. Besides that, it is imperative for you to combine these findings with your skills, knowledge, and experience for better planning to make the most of your tax operations.