Free download · Tax season 2027
Stop finding out a client's a non‑responder the week before the deadline.
The Tax Season Client Triage Checklist sorts every Self Assessment client into the right queue the moment they land — by type, complexity, and how likely they are to go quiet on you.
One page · British practice · works with PathPilot
How a client actually moves through the season
Simple / Standard
Complex
If this is your season
A checklist tells you what to do once a client's category is known. It can't tell you the category.
Most firms run Self Assessment on a flat list. It holds until the first non-responder, mid-season complexity change, or unexpected late-filer — then the process lives in one person's head.
Non-responders go unnoticed
A client who went quiet in November is still marked "in progress" in January. Nobody chased because nobody had a cadence.
Complexity surfaces too late
A junior preparer discovers a property disposal halfway through a return that should have gone to a senior from the start.
One manager holds everything
The whole picture lives in one person's spreadsheet. When they're out for a week in December, the tracking goes dark.
The five decisions
The five decisions that actually run tax season
Tax season isn't one workflow — it's five decisions, repeated for every client, that interact in ways a flat checklist can't represent.
01
Client type
Individual, sole trader, partnership, director or landlord — each needs different source documents at first contact.
02
Complexity tier
Simple, standard or complex — five yes/no questions at intake. Sets who prepares the return and how deep the review goes.
03
Information status
Complete, partial or non-responder. Determines the chase cadence and when the case hits a partner's desk.
04
Timing risk
Early, on track, or heading for a late filing. Decides which queue the client sits in and whether it needs daily eyes.
05
Review outcome
Clean, queries raised, or waiting on sign-off. Gates whether the return is actually ready to file.
Free download
Get the free triage checklist
One page. Sorts every new client into the right queue on day one, using the same logic as the full playbook. We'll send occasional season-prep notes; unsubscribe any time.
Why it works
A document maps the season. PathPilot runs it.
The checklist covers the first two branch points. The same five-branch logic — every client type, every complexity flag, every chase cadence — imports straight into PathPilot, where it becomes a live workflow your whole team runs, with every step tracked and every escalation recorded. That's how a season stops living in one person's head.
Want the complete system?
When a checklist isn't enough.
The Tax Season Operations Playbook gives you the full five-branch decision tree, the weekly season rhythm, chase scripts, exception handling, a capacity model — and a PathPilot import.
See the complete playbook →