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Tasks & automation
Accounting Task List: What Your Practice Should Track
The full list of recurring and one-off jobs your practice should never lose track of
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Quick answer
An accounting practice's task list should cover compliance deadlines (VAT, payroll, CT600, accounts, confirmation statement), client onboarding steps, AML reviews, and internal admin — each with an owner and deadline. Most firms track some of this well and lose track of the rest between spreadsheets, memory and email.
What should an accounting practice's task list actually cover?
Beyond the obvious statutory deadlines, a complete task list covers client onboarding, AML review dates, internal deadlines that sit ahead of external ones, and recurring admin that doesn't touch HMRC or Companies House at all.
Most practices track compliance deadlines reasonably well — everyone knows 31 January matters. It's the second tier of tasks that tends to fall through the cracks: onboarding steps, AML review dates, internal checkpoints.
A good task list isn't just a deadline calendar. It's every recurring and one-off job that, if missed, causes a problem for a client or the firm.
This page is a working checklist of what to track, and a starting point for building it into recurring tasks rather than a memory exercise.
Why an incomplete task list costs accounting practices clients
The tasks that get missed are rarely the famous deadlines. Everyone tracks 31 January. What gets missed is the AML review that was due six months ago, or the onboarding step that never got completed for a client who joined mid-year.
I've seen a client onboarded, their engagement letter signed, and then discover a year later that their AML risk assessment was never actually done — it fell between 'sales' finishing and 'compliance' starting, because nobody's task list covered that handover.
The pattern is always the same: firms track the deadlines that have obvious external consequences and quietly drop the internal steps that don't have a penalty notice attached — until the day they do.
- Statutory deadlines tracked closely
- Internal steps assumed to 'just happen'
- Onboarding and AML fall between teams
- Nobody owns the gap
- Task never gets created
- Leak: Problem surfaces months later
Signs you have this problem
- You track HMRC deadlines closely but not internal onboarding steps
- AML review dates aren't on the same task list as everything else
- New client onboarding depends on someone remembering every step
- You've discovered a gap in a client's records months after it happened
- Different team members have different mental lists of 'what needs doing'
- Your task list only covers compliance, not the admin that supports it
How to build a complete accounting task list: step by step
- 1
List statutory deadlines by service
VAT, payroll, CT600, accounts, confirmation statement, Self Assessment — one task type per service.
- 2
Add onboarding as its own task set
Engagement letter, AML risk assessment, client setup, first task creation — track these as explicitly as compliance work.
- 3
Add AML review as a recurring task
Don't let it live only in a separate compliance register.
- 4
Add internal admin tasks
Fee reviews, capacity checks, staff appraisals — the tasks with no external deadline but real consequences if skipped.
- 5
Set an owner for every category
Someone should be accountable for onboarding tasks specifically, not just compliance ones.
- 6
Build recurrence and reminders
Turn the list into recurring tasks with reminders rather than a static document.
- 7
Review the list annually
Regulatory and internal changes mean the task list needs revisiting, not treating as fixed.
Accounting practice task list — starter categories
Use this as a starting checklist to build out your own task templates by category.
Copy and adapt
COMPLIANCE - VAT return and payment - Payroll/RTI submission - CT600 preparation and submission - Annual accounts preparation and filing - Confirmation statement - Self Assessment return ONBOARDING - Engagement letter sent and signed - AML risk assessment completed - Client record set up with services - First-year task schedule created AML - Risk assessment review - Enhanced due diligence check (if applicable) INTERNAL - Fee review - Capacity/workload check - Client satisfaction check-in
How does Remindoo help track the full range of practice tasks?
Remindoo handles both halves of this list: the deadline-driven compliance work, and the internal steps that don't come with an HMRC penalty attached. Recurring tasks and Companies House sync cover statutory deadlines automatically, while client onboarding automation standardises the onboarding checklist — engagement letter, AML risk assessment, initial setup — so it's tracked with the same rigour as a VAT deadline. Manual AML risk assessment and scoring sits in the client record itself, alongside onboarding and ongoing service tasks, rather than in a register nobody checks against the main task list. Detailed task creation lets you set priority, assignee and deadline on the internal admin tasks too, so they're visible in the same place as everything else.
Client onboarding automation
Standardise requests, checks and first services.
See featureAML risk scoring and digital ID checks
Risk assessments plus built-in digital KYC, AML and proof-of-address checks.
See featureCompanies House sync
Import company details and filing deadlines.
See featureRecurring tasks
Repeat work is created automatically on schedule.
See featureDetailed task creation
Set priority, assignee and deadline on every job.
See featureWhat changes when you fix it?
| Area | Spreadsheets, inbox and memory | With Remindoo |
|---|---|---|
| Compliance deadlines | Tracked closely | Tracked closely, plus synced from Companies House |
| Onboarding steps | Assumed to happen | Standardised checklist per client |
| AML review | Separate register, easy to miss | Task in the same client record |
| Internal admin | Informal, no deadline | Tracked as a task with an owner |
| Task ownership | Ambiguous between teams | Assigned per task |
| Full picture | Split across systems | One task list per client |
See it working with your own clients
A 30-minute walkthrough using your leads, services and deadlines.
What are the core statutory deadlines a task list must cover?
SA tax returns by 31 January online, private company accounts 9 months after the year end, CT payment 9 months and 1 day after year end, CT600 within 12 months, CIS returns by the 19th, and confirmation statements at least once every 12 months with 14 days to file.
| Task | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Self Assessment (online) | 31 January |
| Private company accounts | 9 months after year end |
| CT payment | 9 months and 1 day after year end |
| CT600 filing | 12 months after year end |
| CIS return | 19th of each month |
| Confirmation statement | At least every 12 months, 14 days to file |
What new tasks does MTD for ITSA add to the list?
From April 2026, clients with qualifying income over £50,000 will need quarterly updates tracked as recurring tasks, in addition to the annual Self Assessment task.
That means an accounting task list built purely around annual deadlines will need restructuring around quarterly cycles for a growing share of clients.
“Managing deadlines and tasks is much easier.”
Frequently asked questions
Should AML tasks be on the same list as compliance tasks?
Yes — keeping them in a separate register is exactly how AML reviews get missed. They should be as visible as any other deadline.
What's the biggest category firms forget to track?
Onboarding steps and internal admin — anything without an external statutory deadline attached tends to be tracked informally, if at all.
Does this list change for sole traders vs limited companies?
Yes — sole traders don't have Companies House deadlines like the confirmation statement, but do have Self Assessment; adjust the list per entity type.
How often should the task list itself be reviewed?
At least annually, and whenever a regulatory change (like MTD ITSA) adds new recurring obligations.
Can Remindoo generate this whole list automatically?
Recurring services and templates can generate most of it automatically once set up; onboarding and internal tasks need setting up as templates first.
Does Remindoo track fee reviews or is that separate?
You can create fee review or any internal admin task manually using detailed task creation; Remindoo doesn't have a dedicated billing module.
Is Remindoo free to try?
Yes — free for 60 days, then per-client pricing with unlimited users.
Ready to run a calmer practice?
See Remindoo with your own clients, or start free for 60 days with unlimited users.
Sources
Comparing options? Read our guide to best workflow management software for accountants.
Last updated: . General guidance, not regulatory advice.
Why recording every task matters in an accountancy practice
Accounting firms run on deadlines: VAT returns, payroll, confirmation statements, accounts and Self Assessment. Recording every job as a task, with an owner and a date, is the simplest way to make sure nothing is missed.
Avoid penalties
HMRC and Companies House charge penalties for late filing. A task for every deadline, with an internal date before it, gives the team a buffer.
Nothing depends on memory
Recorded tasks mean work continues when someone is off sick, on leave or has left the firm.
Consistent quality
Subtask checklists make every job follow the same steps and reviews, whoever does the work.
Visibility for managers
Filters by owner, status and deadline show at a glance what is late, what is due and who needs help.
Practical tips from UK practice
- Set an internal deadline two to four weeks before every statutory deadline.
- Use recurring tasks for repeat work such as VAT, payroll and bookkeeping.
- Break larger jobs into subtasks, including a review step.
- Comment on the task instead of by email, so the history stays with the work.
Related Remindoo features
Written and reviewed by Waqas Sagar ACA FCCA FMAAT, Chartered Accountant with 18+ years in practice. Founder and MD of Accotax, an ICAEW, ACCA and AAT regulated London practice that has served over 5,000 clients, and founder of Remindoo. Guidance is general; check current GOV.UK and professional body guidance for your firm.
What UK practices say about Remindoo
Read all reviews on Trustpilot“With Remindoo, everything from the first enquiry to onboarding and ongoing client management is tracked in one place… It saves us hours and gives me, as a practice owner, complete visibility of where the firm stands.”
“The biggest benefit is having clients, tasks, deadlines, workflows, proposals and communication all organised in one place.”
“During my trial, the team were absolutely amazing. They helped onboard my clients, set up my settings and made sure everything was ready for me to use… they made the whole process completely stress-free.”
“It brings client information, tasks, recurring deadlines, workflows and reminders together in one place, giving us much better visibility across the team.”
