The short answer
Before deadline week, sort work by due date, readiness and required review, not simply by task count. Assign owners to client blockers and reserve scarce reviewer slots. Make a short daily decision on what to prepare, unblock or escalate; an internal reschedule does not move a statutory deadline.
Start the week before the queue becomes urgent
Five to ten working days before a cluster of deadlines, inspect the jobs that must be delivered. Check documents, preparation progress, remaining hours and reviewer availability. The timing is a suggested internal routine; adjust it to the actual work and external dates.
Split the queue into ready to prepare, waiting for client, ready to review and requiring a technical decision. Keep the due date beside each status. 'Waiting for client' must include the exact missing input, contact and next follow-up, not simply remove the job from attention.
Prioritise by consequences and dependencies
A practical triage queue
| Job | Situation | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Client A | Complete records; three preparation hours | Prepare early for a reserved review slot |
| Client B | Near deadline; missing bank statement | Contact the client and escalate the actual risk |
| Client C | Ready for review; specialist question | Reserve the qualified reviewer |
| Client D | Later internal target; work can start | Use spare preparation time without displacing urgent review |
The table illustrates decisions, not a universal ranking algorithm. A short task can still carry a serious filing risk. An internal target may move with agreement; a statutory deadline cannot be postponed just because the team is busy. Distinguish the two before reassigning dates.
Reserve review as a separate service
Book review time before the last afternoon. Tell preparers what a review-ready job includes: reconciliations, evidence, version and a concise list of unresolved questions. A reviewer who spends half a slot searching for attachments has less time to assess the numbers.
If there are 14 review hours due and only ten available, decide how to obtain qualified cover or bring suitable work forward. Do not conceal the shortage by assigning every job the same Friday deadline. Check the capacity planning calculation by role, not just team total.
Run a daily meeting that ends in decisions
A 15-minute daily agenda
A 15-minute daily agenda
- Which deliverables are due next and what is their actual state?
- Which jobs are ready for the next reserved review slot?
- Which exact client inputs are still missing?
- Who owns each technical or capacity escalation?
- What changed since yesterday, and who needs to know?
- Which authorised action happens today, and when is it checked?
Keep the discussion on exceptions. Do not ask everyone to narrate every task. Write the owner and next action into the job while the decision is made; a meeting note nobody transfers to the queue creates another source to reconcile.
Measure the reason for pressure
After the week, group delays into late inputs, underestimated work, insufficient review or unexpected changes. Compare remaining estimates with actual effort. If the same client repeatedly requires three extra hours of clarification, change the collection process or engagement scope rather than assuming staff must become faster.
Keep the original plan for comparison and use the findings in the annual work calendar. Reserve next month's review earlier. A calmer week comes from a more accurate sequence and fewer hidden blockers, not a promise that no exception will occur.
Questions
Only where it fits the due dates, risk and review queue. Effort alone cannot determine priority.
No. Keep their expected effort and deadlines visible. A missing input delays the start; it does not remove the work.
About this article
Author: Claister
Published by Claister, the company building the accounting practice management software discussed on this website.
Design partner: Natalija Miadzelic
Editorial review: Natalija Miadzelic · Accountant · Approved
Editorial policyAccounting firm capacity, fees and profitability
Related tools, workflows and product guides
Monthly payroll workflow checklist
Keep approved payroll inputs, calculation review, SAM, GPM313 and payment evidence visible as distinct controls. Adapt the steps to the employer’s actual obligations.
View the checklistAccounting firm capacity calculator
Calculate weekly preparation and review capacity separately. Include leave, administration and a buffer to find the bottleneck and spare client capacity.
Open the calculatorSAM notification deadlines in Lithuania
SAM monthly notification dates, payroll review controls, the official Sodra source and a calendar download with preserved weekend caveats.
View the filing guideRecurring task management for accounting firms
Organize monthly, quarterly and yearly client work in Claister. See recurring cycles, deadlines and task history in one accounting-firm workspace.
Explore the featureHow to set up recurring accounting tasks in Claister
Create a recurring accounting task, choose clients and the first period, check due dates, then verify the generated work in Claister.
Read the instructionsKeep reading
Accounting firm capacity planning: a worked example
Calculate accounting firm capacity using available hours, recurring demand and separate review time. Includes a worked example and a weekly planning checklist.
3 min readLate client documents: a cut-off workflow
Handle client documents arriving after cut-off with a receipt record, impact review, clear client wording and a controlled correction or carry-forward process.
3 min readLithuania payroll: SAM and GPM313 workflow
Organise Lithuanian payroll with separate accrual and payment records, SAM and GPM313 checks, client approvals and clear evidence for each monthly task.
3 min read