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Guide · Internal
How to Improve Accounting Firm Profitability
Profit hides in three places: legacy fees, rework, and time nobody measured.
Built by a practising Chartered Accountant · Unlimited users · 60-day free trial · Last updated 27 September 2026
Quick answer
Improving profitability means knowing your time per client, repricing legacy fees, eliminating rework caused by late or incomplete records, and collecting fees faster. Remindoo records time against jobs, shows recorded time versus fee per client, and automates the chasing that causes most rework.
What do you need to measure first?
Time per client and per service, against the fee charged.
Firms are usually shocked by the spread. A handful of clients consume a disproportionate share of hours at the same fee as easy ones. Without recorded time against jobs, that is invisible and gets repeated every year.
Where does rework come from?
Incomplete records, work started too early, missing approvals and jobs picked up by a second person with no notes.
Rework is the quietest profit leak because nobody bills it and nobody records it. The fixes are mundane: do not start until records are complete, keep notes on the client record, and require approval before filing.
How does collection affect profitability?
Slow collection does not change the fee but it changes the cost of delivering it, and write-offs come straight off profit.
Invoice promptly, chase consistently from a few days overdue, and decide in advance what happens when fees are unpaid. Firms that chase on a schedule write off noticeably less.
How to Improve Accounting Firm Profitability: step by step
- 1
Record time per job
Capture time against clients and services, even roughly.
- 2
Rank clients by profit
Compare recorded time to fee for every client.
- 3
Reprice the bottom group
Raise fees, reduce scope, or let the client go.
- 4
Stop starting incomplete jobs
Only begin work once records are complete.
- 5
Standardise to cut rework
Use the same stages, notes and review steps every time.
- 6
Tighten collection
Invoice on completion and chase from a few days overdue.
See it working with your own clients
A 30-minute walkthrough using your services, deadlines and templates.
How do you do it in Remindoo?
- Set estimated time per service. Give each service an expected time so overruns are visible.
- Record actual time. Capture time against jobs to compare against the estimate.
- Review service time by employee. See where the same job takes twice as long.
- Automate records chasing. Remove the delay that causes rushed, expensive work.
- Use approvals. Get client sign-off recorded before filing.
- Report quarterly. Review time versus fee per client every quarter.
Estimated time allocation
Plan capacity with expected effort per job.
See featureService time analysis by employee
Compare time spent by service and person.
See featureWork and utilisation
Spot over-capacity weeks early.
See featureAdvanced analytics (Growth plan)
Deeper practice reporting.
See featureAutomated reminders
Timely prompts before work becomes urgent.
See featureWhat are the common mistakes?
- No recorded time, so no profitability data
- Legacy fees never reviewed
- Starting jobs on incomplete records
- Invoicing weeks after completion
- Writing off rather than repricing
“Managing deadlines and tasks is much easier.”
Frequently asked questions
Do I need timesheets to be profitable?
You need some measure of time per client, even a simple one. Without it, pricing decisions are guesses.
How much should I raise legacy fees?
Enough to reflect the work now involved. Do it with notice, in writing, and be ready to reduce scope instead.
What is the biggest hidden cost?
Rework caused by incomplete records and jobs started too early.
Should I sack unprofitable clients?
Reprice first. If the fee cannot support the work, a documented disengagement is usually better than a permanent loss.
How quickly should I invoice?
On completion, or in instalments for longer engagements. Delay in invoicing becomes delay in payment.
Does fixed-price work help margins?
It can, provided the scope is written down and you measure actual time against the price.
Ready to run a calmer practice?
See Remindoo with your own clients, or start free for 60 days with unlimited users.
Sources
Last updated 27 September 2026. 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.”
