Managing Time & Deadlines in Early Tax Season: Where CPAs Actually Lose Hours (and How to Fix It)

The average CPA works 50 to 80 hours per week during tax season, with partners hitting 100+ hours. Yet most firms can’t tell you where those hours actually go. These time management tips for tax season target the specific bottlenecks that matter: when you track it, 15 to 20 hours per week disappear into inefficiencies that have nothing to do with preparing actual tax returns.

The data confirms it. Tax managers spend 8–15% of their time on complex research alone, and even deciding to switch tasks mid-work costs 23 minutes per interruption to refocus, according to UC Irvine research.

This guide breaks down the five specific time drains costing CPAs 15+ hours weekly and shows you how to fix each one before peak season hits.

Where Do CPAs Lose the Most Time During Tax Season?

Most CPAs assume their 60-hour weeks are spent on client work like preparing returns, conducting reviews, and handling planning calls. When you actually track it, a significant chunk gets consumed by five specific bottlenecks:

Time Drain	Hours Lost Weekly	The Fix
Tax research	8–12 hours	Citation-backed AI tools
Chasing client documents	6–10 hours	Automated portal reminders
Context switching	4–6 hours	Time blocking
Review bottlenecks	5–8 hours	Standardized workpapers
Manual data entry	4–7 hours	Software imports and delegation

That's 27-43 hours per week lost to process inefficiency. The good news is that every one of these is fixable.

How to Save 15+ Hours Every Week During Busy Season

1. Cut Tax Research Time by 80%

Tax research consumes 8 to 12 hours per week for most CPAs. You open multiple browser tabs, spend 45 to 90 minutes hunting through cross-references and case law, and still don’t feel confident in your answer.

Citation-backed AI research changes this, though not all AI tools are equal. Some hallucinate confident-sounding answers with no citations, which is worse than useless. What you need is a tool that shows its work.

Bizora delivers citation-backed research answers in seconds. You ask the question, and you get the answer with direct links to the IRS code, Treasury regulations, and case law. Instead of 90 minutes piecing together an answer on Section 199A, you get a complete response with citations in about 8 minutes.

If you use Xero for bookkeeping or reporting, you can now import financial data directly into Bizora and attach it inside the platform. No more downloading files and re-uploading them manually, keeping accounting data and tax research connected in one place.

That’s 8 hours back per week. The difference between working Saturday and spending it with your family.

2. Stop Chasing Clients for Documents

Client document collection burns 6 to 10 hours per week and is the most commonly cited bottleneck during tax season. Half of CPA firms cite late or unprepared clients as their biggest challenge during busy season.

The real issue is a lack of system. You send a generic organizer listing 30 possible documents, clients aren’t sure what applies to them, and everyone ends up playing email tag.

A front-loaded system solves this. Segment clients into simple, moderate, and high-complexity categories, each receiving a specific checklist rather than a generic organizer. Set up a client portal with auto-reminders through TaxDome, SafeSend, or Canopy. Set concrete deadlines, because “I need all documents by February 15” works while “please send documents as soon as possible” doesn’t.

A mid-size firm that implements this in January typically reduces document-chasing time by 60% by March.

3. Use Time Blocking for Deep Work

Every interruption costs 23 minutes to fully refocus. If you’re switching contexts 15 times per day (conservative during busy season), you’re losing nearly 6 hours daily trying to get your brain back on track.

Ruthless batching and blocking fixes this. Group similar tasks together: return preparation from 9 AM to noon with no email or calls, client calls from 1 PM to 3 PM, review work from 3 PM to 5 PM. Block deep work time on your calendar like it’s a client meeting.

Turn off email notifications and set checking times at 8 AM, noon, 3 PM, and end of day. Add a busy-season note to your signature: “Due to high volume, I’m checking email three times per day. For urgent matters, call my office.”

4. Streamline Your Review Process

Poor documentation standards turn 15-minute reviews into 45-minute investigations, costing 5 to 8 hours weekly. Most firms don’t have written standards for workpaper preparation, so everyone does it their own way. You spend 45 minutes on a return that should take 15, send it back with questions, and the cycle continues.

One workpaper template with no exceptions solves this. Include a summary page, document index, preparer notes on judgment calls, supporting documents organized by schedule, and prior-year comparison. Require preparers to document reasoning for any judgment calls. Set a two-day review SLA to force scheduled review time rather than doing it “when you have a chance.”

5. Automate Data Entry Tasks

Manual data entry consumes 4 to 7 hours per week, and it’s the lowest-value work a CPA can do. You’re billing $300 per hour to manually type 1099-B transactions that software can import for free.

Spend two hours in January learning your tax software’s import features. That investment saves 30 hours across the busy season. 

Make digital document submission a requirement through your portal and send clients instructions on downloading 1099-B data from their brokerage in CSV format. Delegate admin tasks to a part-time assistant during a busy season. The cost is $500 to $800 per week, but you get 20 hours of client work back.

Start With Research

If you're going to fix one thing this week, make it research. It's your biggest time drain and your fastest ROI.

Bizora works differently from traditional research platforms. You ask your question and get a citation-backed answer in seconds. Pick a complex question from last year, compare the results and time it with your current platform, then try Bizora and see the difference.

The firms that prepare in January work fewer hours in March.

Which firm will you be this year? Try Bizora Free for 7 Days.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many hours do CPAs work during tax season?

The average CPA works 50 to 80 hours per week during tax season, with partners and firm owners often exceeding 100 hours during peak weeks in March and April.

What is the biggest time drain for CPAs during busy season?

Tax research is the single biggest time drain, consuming 8 to 12 hours per week for most CPAs. Traditional research methods require hunting through multiple sources and piecing together conclusions manually.

How can CPAs reduce their hours during tax season?

CPAs can reclaim 15 to 20 hours per week by fixing five specific bottlenecks: switching to citation-backed AI research tools, automating client document collection, using time blocking for deep work, standardizing workpaper templates, and automating data entry.

What is the best time management technique for accountants?

Time blocking is one of the most effective techniques for accountants during busy season. Group similar tasks together, block deep work periods on your calendar, and turn off email notifications outside of set checking times.

When should CPA firms prepare for tax season?

January is the ideal time to implement new systems and workflows. Firms that set up automation, train staff, and test processes in January typically reclaim 10 to 15 hours per week by March when peak season hits.