Tax season just ended and the details are still fresh. Before the to-do list fills back up, take the time to debrief, capture what worked and identify what needs to change.
This week, we’ve rounded up four debriefs from firms of all sizes and stages of business. See what worked, what didn’t, then check our own take for clear, practical actions you can apply to your own business.
—Interview by Lauren Ward, edited by Bianca Prieto
Hiring the right staff can make a huge difference in how much you work during tax season.
Logan Graf, CPA of The Graf Tax Co., gave a detailed breakdown of his firm’s tax season on YouTube. In the months and weeks leading up to April 15, he never averaged more than 43 hours a week, and that included content creation for the accounting community.
The biggest contributing factor to this schedule? He hired a manager who handled the vast majority of client communications and tax return prep. Logan also credits a healthy sleep routine to having a low-stress tax season. He put his phone away at 8:30 p.m. every night to wind down and clock in eight hours of sleep on a regular basis. Post April 15, he’s now focusing on replacing parts of his workflow tech stack and onboarding new clients.
A major blind spot to avoid when growing is accounting for new clients who actually need multiple returns completed.
Yuri Kapilovich, CPA, enjoyed 14% top line growth for his solo firm this year. But one surprise was the amount of extra admin work that came with 15 new clients. While it felt manageable at first, it actually turned into 30 to 40 new returns.
Although he worked with two bookkeepers, Yuri said he would tap into those resources earlier in the season to help prevent bottlenecks closer to the deadline.
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This first-year solo firm owner turned unclear expectations into a better tax season plan for next year.
Samuel Leon, CPA, just wrapped up his first tax season as a solo owner and wasn’t sure what to expect, despite 13 years of professional experience. He wound up seeing two major themes from clients: 1040s that reflected the personal changes in his clients’ lives, and first-year businesses that needed analysis on how their financials really looked in year one.
One unexpected pitfall? Samuel said he didn’t find one operational system to keep clear oversight of his workload status. Designing his own system is a priority for the rest of the year before the 2026 tax season arrives.
Unrealistic client expectations shouldn’t dent CPA confidence.
Ari Clark, CPA at Zhubrak, Clark & Wasser CPAs, had a different type of takeaway from this tax season: the importance of CPAs remembering the value they bring–even if clients have unrealistic expectations about what you can reasonably accomplish. Tax season is a time when pressure mounts, and some clients try to take advantage of the situation. They might ask you to work around their deadlines or sneak in messy data, adding to your workload.
While Ari recognized that it’s easy to bend to these whims, he also encouraged other CPAs to feel empowered and push back with more realistic expectations. It’s more important to focus on the quality of work rather than fast turnaround times for client-driven deadlines.
The Net Gains’s Take
A smoother tax season often starts long before the busy season arrives. Investing in early support staff, stronger systems and realistic workflow planning may reduce short-term profit, but it creates more capacity, less stress and a better client experience. Also work on setting clear boundaries with clients and ask for help early–whether that means leaning on admin support earlier in the year or building in time for technology learning curves
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