Implementing Tax Return Scheduling

A follow-up guide to implementing a calendar-based tax return preparation workflow based on reader questions

A reader wrote to me last week with some thoughtful questions about capacity planning. He had read and begun implementing my firm’s tax return preparation workflow.

He set up his firm’s calendar for 2026, marked deadlines, and blocked off unavailable days. This resulted in a maximum capacity of about 66 returns. Initially, he said, that number seemed low; however, he then compared it to this year’s production of about 90 returns, with several of them amended or prior year returns.

He realized the calendar wasn’t wrong. It was honest.

And that is the main benefit of intentionally managing your firm’s workflow and capacity. A calendar-based capacity plan doesn’t tell you what you wish you could do. It tells you what you can actually deliver without overworking yourself and your staff.

Photo by Eric Rothermel on Unsplash

The reader then asked a series of follow-up questions that I’ll summarize as follows:

Once you start giving clients structured dates instead of loose promises, how do you manage what happens next?

This question deserves more than a quick email reply, so let’s go deeper.

The two-way bargain of calendar-based capacity

Scheduling your tax return workflow is really an agreement between two parties:

You agree to reserve time for the client, and the client agrees to provide you with everything necessary to complete the job.

That’s the bargain. But if you’re used to a reactive, “send it when you send it” model, shifting toward structure is a culture change for you and for your clients.

The reader’s estimate of 66 returns seems perfectly reasonable for a solo preparer who wants a humane tax season. Could he squeeze in 10–15 more? Sure. But capacity isn’t just about how many 1040s you can grind through. It’s about the combination of that with amended returns, notices, prior-year cleanup, advisory work, and the inevitable handful of “life happened, help me” moments that march in unannounced.

Scheduling protects the space for all of it.

Anticipating schedule-based workflow issues

The reader asked about three scenarios and how my firm approaches them: missed review deadlines, early submitters, and new clients admitted during tax season.

Let’s take a look at each of the three scenarios in turn.

1. A client fails to submit information and documents on time

Every firm that implements a scheduling workflow hits this wall, and the solution is painfully simple:

If the client doesn’t have what you need by the deadline, you reschedule them.

That is the rule at Steadfast. There are occasional exceptions—life is weird, and tax practice is even weirder—but the baseline expectation is this: Your date on the calendar is contingent on your documents being ready.

But the key is not enforcement. It is communication. Steadfast has client success managers (CSMs) who send reminders, complete initial document review, and compare uploaded documents to the prior year. We try to use review weeks to help (as much as possible) clients meet their obligations.

You may not have a CSM role in your firm yet, but you can still follow our procedures to help clients avoid an automatic rescheduling:

• Tell clients upfront that their scheduled date assumes timely documents.

• Remind them a week before.

• Make the reschedule a neutral, automatic outcome, not a judgment.

Good clients do not push back when they know the rules clearly and ahead of time.

2. A client submits everything early

This is the delightful opposite problem. And the answer is equally simple:

If a client submits everything early, and if you have capacity, start the return early. If not, stay in sequence.

At Steadfast, we also move clients up on the calendar for a real need, such as a mortgage application, FAFSA request, offboarding, or other similar reasons to expedite. But this only works if the schedule has intentional slack. If you plan yourself to the minute, you remove your ability to respond to reality without significant stress.

3. A client onboards during tax season

Here is my honest advice: Avoid onboarding new clients during tax season unless there’s no alternative.

Onboarding is slow. Tax season is fast. The two do not mix well.

But if you choose to accept new clients during the season, set realistic expectations, not aspirational ones. Avoid overpromising during discovery and onboarding, and then having to choose between fulfilling your promise to this new client or your responsibilities to your existing clients.

Always build in at least a month for proper onboarding. Then, make it clear that the filing turnaround is typically 6–8 weeks from signup, assuming their documents are complete.

If a prospective client says, “I’ll go somewhere else if it takes that long,” that is not a scheduling problem. That is a differentiation problem. Your messaging, value proposition, and intake process should make it evident that your firm is not interchangeable with the one-hour pop-up booth in the strip mall.

When prospects see the firm as a commodity, any delay feels like friction. When they see you as a specialist, delay feels like quality control.

A front-of-the-line fee is also a legitimate option. Concierge service is a service.

Introducing multiple changes at once

The reader also admitted his firm is in early-stage growth mode and expressed nervousness about rolling out upfront pricing, scheduled slots, onboarding structure, and deadlines all at the same time.

Here’s some encouragement for him and you, especally if you’re in a similar position:

Good clients handle change extremely well when the benefits are clear and the communication is confident.

You do not need lengthy explanations of your business model. You need a short, simple message, such as the following:

We’re making a few improvements this year to streamline your experience. Here’s what will be different and how it benefits you:…

Clients do not care about features. They care about reducing friction and maximizing peace of mind.

The irony is that earlier in a firm’s life is often the best time to set expectations. Later on, when your roster is full and your processes are cemented, clients will resist change more than they do now.

Scheduling is business design

The reader’s questions show what happens when you move from a reactive approach to a designed workflow: everything becomes a system problem instead of a willpower problem.

Scheduling forces clarity on multiple critical aspects of your business:

• Capacity

• Boundaries

• Pricing logic

• Workflow steps

• Client expectations

• Communication rhythms

Most firms do not have performance issues. They have design issues.

And scheduling—done honestly—reveals the truth of your practice’s economics. You can only do what you can do. And that is not a defect. It is the first step toward building a firm that supports your life instead of consuming it.

A final note to the reader

If you’re reading this, know that your instinct was right. The calendar did not expose your weakness. It exposed your reality.

And you can build a beautiful tax season on reality.

This is exactly how you grow from “I hope this works out” into “I know exactly what I can promise, and I know exactly how to deliver it.”

Thanks for reading!