Plan early
The practices that cope best decide in the autumn, not in January.
Every January, the same thing happens. Self Assessment returns, payment deadlines and year-end queries land together, and the practice runs on long days and goodwill. Hiring someone permanent to cover a few weeks rarely makes sense, but doing nothing means another January like the last. Here are the practical options.
Before changing anything, work out how big the problem really is. Look at last January and note how many returns you prepared, how many hours the team worked, and where the bottlenecks were: chasing records, preparation, review or client queries. Most practices find the pinch is in one or two stages, not all of them.
Waiting on client information
Working papers and first drafts
Checking before submission
Questions and payments
Note which stage costs your team the most time last January, and start with that.
The cheapest capacity is time you already have. Ask clients for records earlier, send reminders in the autumn, and prepare returns as soon as the information arrives rather than waiting for the deadline. Even a modest shift of work from January into November and December flattens the peak.
Illustrative only, not real practice data. The same total work is spread more evenly, so the January peak is lower.
Checklists, a consistent way of receiving information and a consistent working-paper format make every return quicker, and make it easier for someone new to pick up a file. This also makes any external help far easier to use.
Not every return needs the same level of attention. Separate straightforward cases from complex ones, so the people with the most experience spend their time where judgment is needed.
For the work that is repeatable and well defined, such as preparing working papers or first drafts of returns, flexible external capacity can cover the peak without a permanent hire. The trade-off is that it needs a little setup time, which is why it works best when arranged before the busy period. Our 10-question checklist for choosing an outsourcing provider and our guide to what to outsource first cover how to approach it.
Review last year's peak and pick your options
Test any outside help before the pressure
Chase records and start returns early
Most preparation already done
Work back from 31 January.
Self Assessment is also changing shape for some clients under Making Tax Digital; see MTD quarterly updates: a staffing problem, not just a software one for how that affects planning through the year.