I know my question is broad because many things can affect the answer, like the number of hours worked, the market, how productive the person is, and how complicated the returns are. But if you could give a rough idea of how many T1 returns one person can do in a season, please provide a range. Thank you!
I am aiming for 300+ returns working 70 hours a week from late March to April.
Beats me now, but back in the dayā¦pre-much-in-the-way-of-useful-computers (well, I wrote a Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet that did some of the calcs and printed the returns onto preprinted flats) I did around 300-350 each season. Ohā¦and then delivered them in boxes to CRA (then Revenue Canada I think).
Now? The overhead is higher in ācomplianceā and āfile maintenanceā so it probably isnāt a whole lot different.
I do about 500 but used to do 750. The key is my wife answers the phone and door and organizes the file before I see it. A lot of time is wasted meeting and greeting the client vs just doing the actual tax return. The more you can stop interruptionās while your doing the return the better. If the return is just T slips and not business or rental income I can with CRAās auto fill do a tax return in about 12 minutes and then about 7 minutes to print and compile the return. Things that slow this up are medical receipts and of course missing slips. If the client is not organized the file is put on the bottom of the pile and I go on to the next otherwise your time is doubled.
Also you need to sign up for DocuSign so you donāt have to meet with the client to personally sign the T183. Also I have about 80% of my clients pay by e-transfer thus when tax season is over I can meet with the client for them to pick up their copy and to answer any questions or do tax planning. With the clients with T3ās( slip not do out to March end) we have the client drop over the slips that they have by mid March and we do up the slips we have so the file is ready to go once the client gets the T3ās. We do this as most clients that have T3 slips USUALLY owe money and you donāt want to file late. We have about 150 clients that have T3ās so come mid April we need to have most of the regular returns done and out of the way.
Hope this helps.
Wow, 300-350 returns per season sounds like quite an accomplishment back in the day! It is interesting to hear how much has changed. Things are definitely more automated now, but not many do 300-350 each season nowadays.
When I used to work retail tax preparation, regional office would budget about 500 returns per desk, which would be āhot seatedā. That means, each desk would be staffed at all hours, with shifts scheduled so that when a desk frees up, a staff member would take over the desk to serve clients. That was a person who handled the entire file excluding payment.
You can improve your speed by having staff to do prep work and handle interruptions, but realize that clients will expect personal time with you. You have to balance things
By offering remote services and electronic signatures, you will increase speed and therefore volume.
Did about 200 āfamiliesā last year, which may be single or married. About 90 of those had US returns, or were just US. Back in the early 80ās I checked about 7,000 returns in a seasonā¦
Thanks for sharing how you do things! I really like the idea of using DocuSign to avoid meeting clients in person for signatures saves time. Your approach with T3 clients is smart too; getting started on those returns before the slips come in helps you avoid last-minute stress. Your tips are really helpful, and Iāll keep them in mind as I improve my own process. By the way, how does everyone manage retaining(scanning or photographing) clientsā documents?
It sounds like you worked for a big tax prep company, maybe H&R Block. I agree that balancing speed with personal attention is important for good service and staying productive. Remote services and electronic signatures are a great way to offer clients more flexibility. Some clients care more about the cheapest option than getting good service.
It sounds like youāve worked with a lot of complex returns, especially the US ones. Checking 7,000 returns in the early 80s is amazing! The workload must have been tough, and people back then had great work ethics.
Last year i did 5000 t1 100 t3 and 24 t2 and do them all in person .
Depends how complex the returns are. For simple returns - T slips only, for repeat clients, I can do the whole job in about 25 min. That includes carrying forward the TaxCycle file, doing the AFR, reviewed their account on RAC, sending/receiving an engagement letter (before starting work) and a T183 (upon completion) via electronic signing, printing the return (to PDF), creating an invoice (in Sage 50), emailing the client, processing their payment (often via e-transfer) and finally, submitting via EFILE.
I donāt have admin staff, and my wife wonāt do anything that requires a computer, math, or talking to clients. So, I can do about 20 simple returns in a day; more if they are married or a family (all done together).
But, most of my clients have more complex tax situations, which take an hourā¦or fiveā¦or several daysā¦
So, last year I did a total of 197 T1s between March and April, and another 85 during the rest of the year.
Thatās funny, @Nezzer. Some days I donāt realize how lucky I am. In addition to doing the books for my largest client a couple days a week, my wife scans the T1 info, summarizes medical expenses, does the AFR and enters T1 information. Sheāll call clients to get info in or tell them to come get their returns. I have a couple other part-time assistants during T1 season so my wife started doing the first review of T1ās last year (on top of everything else). It really helped catch obvious errors. In short, she keeps me as organized as is possible this crazy time of year.
Wow @Nezzer thatās a well oiled machine! But what happens when that machine gets clogged ie - waiting for slips, signatures, payments or questions for clients on their schedules?
I use Verifyle for electronic file sharing and signatures. The worst part is when clients upload cell phone pictures of their documents and I have to go back to them because theyāre blurry. And every file is named with a number. 
I am learning that client education before tax season is key!
I find that very hard to believe. :grimacing
If you do 4 an hour for 20 hours at 61 days you would get 4,880.
You donāt sleep? 
If it is true, you donāt have to work the rest of the year.
My previous boss did 1,500. Another one I know did 2,000 and he was going crazy. Both had an assistant. Do you have help?
Yes, all those things add to the time. My ā25 minā applies only if everything is ideal - no questions, no issues, client doesnāt come in to the office, etc. Iāve got a few clients like this, but it is definitely not the norm. And I donāt know if Iāve ever done 20 returns in a day - thatās just saying IF I had 20 such returns to do all at the same time, I COULD probably do it. I get close to that number when I do T1s for about 20 clients who all reside at the same seniorās complex - but I have to go there in person, first, to collect the info and get engagement letters signed; then, after, to bring back all the paper T1s and get T183s signed. So, not counting that travel and in person meeting, I can get all the rest of the work done in about 8 hours.
i am open seven days a week plus open on holidays and some are a family of 5 people which i do in 1/2 hour
No, Iām a vampireā¦lol.
Seriously, I canāt do 4 per hour unless it was a āfamily of 4ā. And I have a lot of other work besides T1s - corp. year-ends, answering client calls/questions, responding to CRA on clientsā behalf, etc.
I was just trying to answer @Easyzen re: how many T1s can a person do - you can calculate it (as you did @Rein ), only if you make a few assumptions, such as how complex the āaverageā return is.
Not sure I believe @pugs1 unless he has staff, or does only very simple returns. @BertMulderCGA clearly stated he used to CHECK 7,000 returns - I assume that means REVIEWED - not including the prep work, or meeting with clients, or billing, etc.
