Tips for managing your time effectively as a small business accountant

There aren't enough hours in the day for many small business accountants. Fulfilling your clients' needs can often mean working late and juggling multiple priorities, which makes time management an essential skill. So, how can you work efficiently and effectively without putting more pressure on yourself?

What is good time management? 

While good time management is about completing tasks as quickly as possible, this isn't necessarily the case. The key is to spend appropriate time on each task based on how important it is to your business. This means you must spend time deciding which tasks are most important, which can be delegated, delayed or even discarded, and which depend on other tasks being completed first. Once you have this information, you can work out what needs to be prioritised and ensure you and any team members spend most of their time on the most critical tasks.

Time management tips for accountants

1. Prioritise your tasks

While you probably know you need to prioritise your workload to operate effectively, finding the time to do this and deciding on a working system can be daunting. However, this could be as simple as a folder system for urgent, essential and non-urgent activities. Separating tasks into each folder and working through them from most to least critical can be a quick and easy way to ensure you're completing those more essential tasks promptly. If reporting deadlines are approaching, tasks associated with this become urgent, but once deadlines have passed, these assignments could be moved down the priority list.

2. Schedule your time

Once you have a plan to tackle your workload, you need to ensure you have the time to do it. A simple trick here is to block out time in your calendar to give the task the attention it needs. This also has the added benefit of discouraging other team members from organising meetings during this time, leaving you free to work in peace.

3. Make sure you're fully resourced

Of course, you can spend time organising your workload, but it will only get done if you have the necessary skills available within the team to carry out the work. As an accountant, you'll be aware of peak times such as the end of the financial year, tax deadlines and so on, and these must be well planned for. It may be that you get additional resources to help here, but rather than trying to cope for as long as possible, it makes more sense to plan this. If you're using freelance staff to provide cover, speak to them well in advance and have their time booked; similarly, if you use an agency, have the conversation with them before the pressure kicks in. You'll have more time to think about what you need, and they'll have more time to find the right people. Remember, you won't be the only accountant expecting a busy first quarter.

4. Delegate

Once fully staffed, you must use these new team members effectively, which means learning the art of delegation. To do this, you'll need to ensure team members are adequately trained in all aspects of their job so you can be confident they'll complete tasks correctly. Giving staff more responsibility and autonomy can also improve morale, keeping them challenged and learning new skills. It's essential, though, that they also know you're on hand should they have any questions, and providing regular feedback can help them feel more valued.

5. Invest in technology

Time management software, accounting software, cloud technologies, automation and even AI can help reduce the number of manual tasks needed while keeping the team on track so tasks are completed in good time. Time management software can help you to manage resources and collaborate on projects; accounting software can automate repetitive tasks such as sending invoices; cloud technologies enable everyone to access the information they need wherever they may be; and AI can tackle tedious jobs such as writing meeting notes. Combined, these technologies can significantly impact workplace efficiency and time management.

6. Manage meetings

Keeping meetings brief and focused and only including people who need to be there is also essential regarding time management. Having an agenda ahead of each meeting will ensure it stays focused on the matter at hand, and if there are documents that need to be reviewed, send these to participants ahead of time rather than waiting for them to be read in the meeting. Crucially, carry out meeting spring cleans regularly. If recurring meetings have been in the diary for years, check that they're still necessary. If not, you could give an hour back to each participant.

7. Manage client expectations

Finally, you could put all of these steps in place and experience the benefits, but if client expectations are out of tune with what you're doing, you'll still adapt to meet their needs. With this in mind, agreeing to communicate expectations with clients is always a good idea. So, for example, letting new clients know you'll respond to emails within 24 hours means you can focus on the task at hand rather than be distracted by replying to emails as soon as they come in.