HR for Tax consultants: what to set up first

A tax consultancy looks calm until the first week of July. Then the front desk fills with bundles of Form 16, bank statements and rent receipts. Two articled assistants share a laptop. The principal signs returns at midnight. A client calls to ask why his refund is stuck, and nobody can find which preparer handled his file.

This article offers an order of work for the principal of a small tax consultancy, with perhaps three to twelve people. It suggests starting with the things that hurt most when they go wrong: custody of client access, clear tasks by level, reviewing work, and the notice desk.

Tax work runs on access. The firm holds digital signature certificates, e-filing logins, OTP phones, power-of-attorney papers and sometimes the client's bank details. A staff member who leaves with that access can do real harm, or simply be blamed when something goes wrong.

• Keep a custody register: for each client, which DSC token, which login, which phone number for OTP, and who holds them.
• Hold DSC tokens in a locked drawer with a sign-out sheet. Never let them sit on a preparer's desk.
• Store client folders on a shared drive with access by team, not by person. Remove access on the last day of any exit.
• Write a short confidentiality undertaking and a rule on phones, pen-drives and personal email for client documents.

This takes a day to set up and removes a whole class of trouble. Link it to a simple employee onboarding process so that every joiner signs and receives access in the same way.

Write what each level may do and what it may not. Articled assistants collect and sort documents, enter data in the ledger or Tally, and draft schedules. Return-preparers compute income, check Form 26AS and AIS, and prepare the draft. Reviewers check mismatches and sign off. The principal files, appears before the department and handles power-of-attorney work.

Put these in a one-page role sheet for each level, and show the step up. An articled assistant who knows what makes him a preparer works harder than one who does not. See the page on role design and job descriptions for tax consultants.

1. 1

   Preparer finishes a draft

   He attaches the query-sheet listing every missing document, doubtful figure and judgement call.

2. 2

   Reviewer checks the draft

   Using a short checklist: PAN and bank match, income heads complete, refund claimed correctly, advance-tax instalments reflected, revised-return option considered.

3. 3

   Principal signs only reviewed files

   Nothing is filed without the reviewer's initials. If the reviewer is absent, the principal does the review himself.

4. 4

   Client confirms before filing

   Send the computation sheet and wait for a written reply, even a short message on WhatsApp saved to the client folder.

5. 5

   Close the file

   Save the acknowledgement, update the due-date calendar and mark the file closed.

This maker-checker routine costs a few minutes per return. It catches the errors that otherwise turn into rectification requests and unhappy clients.

Date received and mode (post, portal, email):
Client and assessment year:
Type of notice and section named, as written on the notice:
Response due date:
Owner (preparer and reviewer):
Documents needed from client and date requested:
Draft reply date and principal's review date:
Reply filed on:
Outcome and next action:
Fee note raised (yes or no):

The notice desk owner updates the register every working day. The principal reads it each Friday. A notice with a response clock is far less likely to be missed than one that sits in a file waiting for someone free.

Look at last year's calendar. Mark the weeks from June to July-end, the advance-tax dates, the March-end rush and the audit months. Plan leave blocks around them. Hire seasonal clerks early and give each a short training week. Plan overtime and meals for the busiest days, and pay it properly. A cheerful preparer in July-end week is a retained preparer.

Articleship stipend, preparer salary and reviewer pay should sit on one simple sheet, with the step-ups named. Pay the stipend on a fixed date, even in busy-season, and say in writing how study leave for exams is treated. Many assistants leave right after qualifying. Offer a conversation about a paid role six months before the result, not the week after. When anyone leaves, run a leaving-day checklist: return the DSC token, hand over open files with a note on each, close the email and drive access, and sign a closing note on client confidentiality. Keep a copy in the personal file.

For the other pressures in this trade, read the chartered accountants and accounting firms hub. The employee retention and attrition page shows how to keep the people you train. For a conversation about your own firm, start at requirements.