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Workflow & task control
Task Prioritisation for Accountants
Decide what genuinely matters most, based on facts rather than whoever asks loudest.
Built by a practising Chartered Accountant · Unlimited users · Free for 60 days
Strong task filters
Filter by tags, deadline, assignee and status.
- Premier Books Consultancy
- Cranleys Chartered Accountants
- CJM Accountants
- Towpath Accounting Solutions
- Auditax International
- RS
Quick answer
Task prioritisation for accountants is the practice of ranking work by genuine deadline proximity, statutory consequence and client impact, rather than by who emailed most recently or shouted loudest, so staff work through their day in the order that actually protects the firm and its clients.
What is task prioritisation and why does it matter for UK practices?
It is deciding which work to do first based on real deadline and risk factors, not the order requests happen to arrive in.
Without a clear system, prioritisation defaults to whichever client emailed most recently, or whichever colleague is standing at your desk. Neither of those things reliably reflects which task genuinely matters most that day.
Good prioritisation weighs deadline proximity, the consequence of missing it, and client sensitivity, and makes that visible on the task itself rather than leaving it to a mental calculation staff have to redo constantly.
| Priority | Definition |
|---|---|
| Urgent | Statutory deadline within days, or significant client impact |
| High | Deadline within two weeks or an important deliverable |
| Normal | Standard recurring work with a comfortable runway |
| Low | No fixed deadline, can be scheduled flexibly |
Why does prioritisation keep breaking down?
The loudest voice wins
Without a system, whoever chases most persistently, whether a client or a colleague, ends up jumping the queue regardless of actual urgency.
Priority is not visible on the task
If priority lives only in someone's head, other team members cannot make sensible decisions about what to work on next.
Everything looks urgent by January
During a genuine crunch period, without a real ranking system, staff cannot tell which of many pressing tasks is actually the most consequential.
Low-priority work never gets scheduled
Tasks without a fixed deadline are easy to keep deprioritising indefinitely, even when they matter for the client relationship.
New starters cannot judge priority
Someone new to the practice has no framework to judge what matters most and defaults to guessing or asking constantly.
What does poor task prioritisation cost an accounting firm?
Poor prioritisation risks the wrong things being missed: a statutory deadline slips while a less consequential request is dealt with first, purely because of who asked loudest.
The direct cost is a missed deadline that mattered more than whatever displaced it, often only obvious in hindsight once the consequence has landed.
There is also a hidden cost in staff stress: working from an unranked list of everything that feels urgent is exhausting in a way that working from a clear, ranked list is not.
How do you prioritise accounting tasks? Step by step
- 1
Define your priority levels
Agree a small number of priority categories, such as urgent, high, normal and low, with clear criteria for each so the ranking is consistent across the team.
- 2
Set priority at task creation
Assign the priority level when a task is created, based on deadline proximity and consequence, rather than leaving it undefined.
- 3
Make priority visible to everyone
Ensure priority is visible on the task itself, so any team member can judge what to work on next without asking around.
- 4
Review priority as deadlines approach
Re-check priority levels as deadlines get closer, since a task that was low priority a month ago may need reclassifying.
- 5
Structure the day around priority
Encourage staff to work through urgent and high-priority items before lower-priority ones, rather than working chronologically through whatever request arrived most recently.
- 6
Protect time for low-priority but important work
Deliberately schedule time for tasks without a fixed deadline, so they do not get permanently deprioritised out of existence.
How does Remindoo help with task prioritisation?
Remindoo's detailed task creation captures a priority level on every task from the outset, so ranking is set once and visible to the whole team rather than existing only in someone's head. Strong task filters let staff view their day sorted by priority and deadline, cutting through noise from whichever client happens to have emailed most recently. Customisable task views let each role see the slice of prioritised work that matters to them, whether that is a manager reviewing urgent items across the whole practice or an individual planning their own day. Employee task breakdown and employee reporting give managers a view of how priority work is distributed across the team, so urgent items are not all landing on one overloaded person. Together this turns prioritisation from a private judgement call into a shared, visible system the whole practice can rely on. Try Remindoo free for 60 days and build a proper priority structure before your next busy period.
Strong task filters
Filter by tags, deadline, assignee and status.
See featureCustomisable task views
Shape the task page around each role.
See featureDetailed task creation
Set priority, assignee and deadline on every job.
See featureEmployee reporting
Capacity, productivity and deadline performance.
See featureEmployee task breakdown
Balance work before deadlines bunch up.
See featureSpreadsheets vs Remindoo: what changes?
| Area | Spreadsheets & email | With Remindoo |
|---|---|---|
| Priority setting | Decided informally, in someone's head | Set explicitly on every task |
| Visibility | Only known to whoever created the task | Visible to the whole team |
| Basis for ranking | Whoever asked loudest or most recently | Deadline proximity and real consequence |
| New starters | Guess or constantly ask | Follow the same visible priority system |
| Manager oversight | No view of urgent work distribution | Reporting shows how urgent work is spread |
| Low-priority work | Deprioritised indefinitely | Scheduled deliberately using clear views |
See it with your own clients
A 30-minute walkthrough using your services and deadlines.
“Managing deadlines and tasks is much easier.”
Frequently asked questions
How many priority levels should a practice use?
Most practices find three to four levels, such as urgent, high, normal and low, gives enough distinction to be useful without becoming too complex to apply consistently.
Who should set the priority on a task?
Whoever creates the task should set an initial priority based on agreed criteria, though it should be reviewable by a manager or the assigned team member as deadlines shift.
Does prioritisation replace the need for capacity planning?
No, prioritisation determines the order work is done in; capacity planning determines whether there is enough time to do it all, and the two work best used together.
Is there a free trial to try this?
Yes, Remindoo offers a 60-day free trial with full access, giving you time to set up priority levels and see how they hold up during a genuinely busy period.
How do I stop low-priority work being ignored forever?
Deliberately scheduling time for lower-priority tasks, and reviewing them periodically rather than only when a deadline forces attention, keeps them from being permanently deprioritised.
Can priority levels change automatically as a deadline gets closer?
Priority should be reviewed manually as deadlines approach; treating priority as fixed forever misses the fact that urgency naturally increases as a date gets closer.
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. Check with your professional body.
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.”
