Last March, we published “4 Ways to Fix Next Tax Season.” It became one of our most-read posts of the year. The most common feedback? “I agreed with all of it… and didn’t do any of it.”
Sounds familiar? You’re not alone. Tax season has a way of erasing the promises you made to yourself last May. So we’re bringing this back—same core ideas, sharper and updated with what we’ve seen across Renew firms this year.
If you only do one thing after reading this, make it this: write down the single biggest thing you want to change. Put it somewhere you’ll see it in May.
That’s the difference between another year of “I should have” and a year where something actually changes.
Last year we said: prioritize ruthlessly. That’s still true. But here’s what we’ve learned: the issue isn’t prioritization—it’s memory. By the time firms do a post-season debrief, the details are gone.
Don’t wait until June. Start a running list now:
Across Renew firms, one pattern shows up every tax season without exception: your best hours are going to your Insanity Zone — the clients generating almost no profit while consuming real capacity. Tax season makes the Insanity Zone visible
Capture it while it’s fresh.
Last year we said: price for sanity, not chaos. This year, we’ll say it more directly: stop making pricing decisions by yourself.
We see it constantly, firm owners:
All without pressure-testing decisions externally. This applies beyond pricing. Before you sign a major client, make a key hire, or explore M&A, get input. Your firm is too important for solo decision-making.
This is why Renew’s Peer Execution Groups exist. The point isn't advice; it's having peers who know what good looks like, who've seen your numbers, and who won't let you make bad decisions without consequence.
You already know you need boundaries. That’s not the problem.
The problem is that strategic time is always the first thing sacrificed when things get busy.
The firms that improve year over year aren’t doing more—they’re protecting time to think. This doesn’t mean long planning sessions in March. It means 30 minutes a week, blocked and protected.
One idea. One improvement. Written down.
Renew's first principle: make the firm your #1 client. If you wouldn’t cancel on your best client, don’t cancel on yourself. Renew firms don’t do more. They understand that revenue does NOT equal profit and that they must block time to work ON their firm.
Firms that decide pricing increases during tax season execute them. Firms that wait until summer… don’t. That’s because the pain of tax season is acute. Emotion = Action.
Why? Because right now:
The data across Renew firms is clear: the average price increase in Year 1 is 22%. Average client attrition after those increases? 4%. The fear of losing clients by raising prices is statistically not supported…but it’s that fear that prevents many firms from raising prices, and ultimately falling behind. The firms doing it well aren't waiting until July. They're identifying clients and numbers now, while the emotion is at its highest.
A year later, the advice hasn’t changed.
But it’s clearer now what actually works:
The firms that break the cycle aren’t doing anything radical. They’re just doing these things consistently.
Don’t wait until the pain fades. Write down the one thing you want to change.
That’s where it starts.
👉🏼 Take our Tax Season Assessment
Your responses will contribute anonymously to the 2026 Accounting Firm Benchmark Report—and once you submit, you’ll receive:
