Managing and creating 1120 US Corporate Tax Return can be challenging, which is why we recommend having a workflow diagram in place.
In this article we’re going to talk about how to put together your workflow foundation, how to define your proper workflow, and implementation steps for your accounting firm or practice.

Step 1: The Foundation

The first step in defining your 1120 workflow diagram is to set up a proper workflow diagram of your existing process. You can do this a variety of ways, whether it’s using a whiteboard, mind mapping software, pen and paper, even post it notes. Just make sure you have an understanding of your baseline workflow diagram and how work is currently moving through your office. During this stage, it is also helpful to include your team in this process, as they could provide valuable insights in the current 1120 or general tax return workflow.

Step 2: Analysis and Creation 

Next, you’ll want to take a look at the workflow and ask “Are there extra steps we can remove?”.

As Jeff would say, elimination is the first step in defining or optimizing your workflow!

Then you can begin to analyze whether you want to edit, update, or add additional steps, but we highly recommend you start by seeing if there are complexities you can remove from the 1120 workflow. You’ll want to pay extra attention to areas of the workflow that cause a bottleneck, and determine if there are templates, procedures, or a previous process you can put in place to resolve the issue. For example, delayed client work might be an issue of on boarding. Or perhaps it’s a better of creating better template emails. Either way, it’s critical to identify the bottleneck AND the root of what caused it.

Related Video: 1120 Corporate Tax Return Workflow Diagram

Step 3: Deploying a new 1120 Workflow and Workflow Diagram 

Finally, we’re going to roll out the 1120 Corporate Workflow diagram. We recommend walking through a few “sample clients” through the new workflow. And we mean this literally! Create 2-3 fake clients and simulate the process… really try to get into the mind of your client, and determine if there’s an area that you can improve before you deploy it to your existing client base.

As always, building and growing your firm is a consistent habit, not a random action! Implement, review, refine, and implement… the process never ends. We hope this article was useful for you and your firm as you continue to grow.

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As a business owner, you are constantly asking questions and it almost seems like each answer leads to even more questions. It is exciting and you enjoy learning all kinds of things that move your business forward and help you to become better prepared to put out any fires that spark. Workflow software for accountants provides many tools that can give your business the organization and improved efficiency to prepare not just you but also your employees keep delivering the level of service your clients expect, or better.

1. Know Your Strengths

The best way to be prepared is to know where your weaknesses lie so that you know where the problems might turn up. These areas should not even be considered weaknesses, more so areas to improve. View each thing you find as a problem you have pre-solved. Workflow software for accountants gives you reports on these areas that show you how they are progressing and if your programs for improvement are working. Through these reports, you’ll be able to learn if there is more you can do or if the system’s you’ve put into place are doing what they should.

2. Learn More about Your Clients

Being prepared means knowing the needs of your clients and you can do this by knowing who they are, knowing their files backward and forward (using client management software really helps!). As soon as you install your workflow software for accountants, upload your client files and go through them. Make sure they are complete and if they are not, you can correspond with your clients in a congenial manner. If you haven’t spoken to them in awhile or they’re clients that don’t come in often, that’s no reason not to keep in touch. Let them know you are there and that you care about their needs so that when the time comes when they need an accountant, you’ll be the one they think of.

3. Involve Your Employees

Any change, even one of reorganization should involve your employees as much as possible. It can be tempting to leave people out of things while you’re trying to get a handle on what you’re doing but if you involve everyone, you can delegate and use the tools of your workflow software for accountants to make task lists and track their progress. All training is a learning process so you have to be positive and teach instead of reprimand during the time you’re changing the way things work.

4. Rearrange the Furniture

Workflow software for accountants might improve your organization and prepare you for anything inside your computers and within your client files but it will all look even better if your physical offices reflect these improvements. Take a good long viewing of the layout of your office. How easy is it for you and your employees to get around? What might your clients think when they see the place for the first time? Consider safety as well during this assessment. Do you have a fire safety plan? Is the office too cluttered to move around without getting hurt? Take this time to see if there are changes that can be made that look good and improve safety.

5. Utilize Social Media

Reach out to your clients after you’ve organized all of your files using your social media pages. These platforms give you free advertising and ways to see where you can make clients happier through the ways they interact with and comment on your posts. Workflow software for accountants gives you mobile access to all the information you need so you can keep posts up to date and provide relevant content all the time.

Enjoy Increased Productivity

Planning for every occurrence is a feat that some deem nearly impossible but if you can stop even one mistake before it happens, you can enjoy increased productivity due to the time you save not dealing with extra problems. Workflow software for accountants helps you stay on top of things, giving you and your employees a happier work environment and your clients a level of service that will make them feel like royalty.

There are all kinds of studies and information about the dwindling job market and how difficult it can be to find a job in this economy but there is one group of people that still enjoys a thriving workplace.

Insurance adjusters around the country make a decent living and most of them like where they work, aside from the disorganization that comes from high volume and not enough staff. The people that have jobs in this industry can rest assured that they’ll be able to keep their jobs as well as receive training that will only make them more appealing if they ever end up having to change venue.

Workflow software for accountants can improve every part of the office, providing much needed organization to any environment and improving the lives of everyone that works there.

1. What is it Like to Be an Insurance Adjuster?

You may start out in the auto insurance department or be responsible for dealing with claims concerning the damage of people’s homes. Either way, being an insurance adjuster means you’ll be learning about all kinds of policies as well as the skills to talk to people effectively. It’s likely you’ll be handling your client list on your own, making your own schedule, and exercising the autonomy to make your own decisions but you still have to report to a superior and that means your work will need to look presentable and your schedule must be kept impeccably. Workflow software for accountants gives you the best tools to put your client lists and order and create task lists that make sure you’re always on point.

2. It’s All About Your Attitude

Of course, this principle can apply to any job, but practically any insurance adjuster will tell you that doing well is almost entirely contingent on your own good attitude. Staying positive even when you have a daunting workload and a lot of learning to get through will give you the drive you need to move forward with your career. Workflow software for accountants is a good tool for keeping your priorities, projects, and everything else in order while you’re starting out or if you’ve been at it for many years. It’s a tool that helps your happiness in the workplace flourish.

3. Training Employees

As a manager in the insurance industry, you might find yourself with a lot of business and not enough finances to hire all the adjusters you need. This can cause you and your employees a lot of stress. Workflow software for accountants is your saving grace because you’ll be able to train all of your employees to use it in a very short time. Without complicated new procedures, you’ll be able to introduce better ways of running your business for everyone while also moving seamlessly into the software you integrate into every department. Accountants run the financial side and when they’re department is in order, that organization will trickle down into the other employees’ routines.

4. Client Satisfaction and Retention

Every business relies on a team effort to keep clients happy and give them a welcome and supportive staff to which they want to return. In order to put the best team together, you need everyone to be on the same page and that requires proper and effective communication. Sometimes e-mailing and phone calls doesn’t do it but the right software can give you a universal platform where all messages are received and tracked to be sure they’re received. This way you’ll always know when you have to drive the point home because someone isn’t reading their messages and no one will show up to a client meeting with incorrect information for the client or from the company.

Follow Through

Introducing better organization using workflow software for accountants has the potential to improve the lives of the insurance adjusters at your firm but those improvements will only continue if the new procedures are observed consistently. Reports generated that show the progress of your employees and track task lists on a regular basis help to ensure that everyone is following through. As an employee, your manager may send you reports of your own progress so you can see your own areas of strength and where you might be able to improve. These tools are uniform and prevent errors in communication as well as unnecessary arguments or dissatisfaction from clients. Create happiness in your workplace today!