"It usually shows up the same way: someone asks a perfectly reasonable question: "Where's that job up to?", and suddenly three people are involved. One checks emails. One checks a spreadsheet. Someone says "it's with the client," but nobody's sure when the last chase went out or what we're actually waiting for. That's not incompetence. That's what happens when your workflow lives in people's heads and inboxes."
"Let me be blunt: most firms don't lose time in big chunks. They lose it in crumbs. A status ping. A document hunt. A "quick follow-up" email. A reviewer note that sits unseen because it landed in the wrong place. You can absorb that when work is light. When the diary is full, those crumbs add up to hours and you start paying for it in the only currency that matters - late nights, missed margin, and a team that feels permanently behind."
Most UK accounting firms have sufficient technical ability but lack uninterrupted time. Workloads fragment into small interruptions like status pings, document hunts, and quick follow-ups that cumulatively consume hours. Workflows that live in people's heads and inboxes create confusion about job status and duplicative tracking methods. When staff lack trust in systems they create personal spreadsheets and special folders, producing multiple versions of the truth. Workflow automation functions as operational hygiene that protects capacity by reducing interruption tax. Upcoming compliance requirements, including Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from 6 April 2026 for qualifying sole traders and landlords, increase penalties for inconsistent processes.
Read at London Business News | Londonlovesbusiness.com
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