CA firm compliance tracker: what to track for every client
A client master, a monthly work list and a six-step routine that show a CA firm what is filed, what waits for client data and what is pending with staff.
The partner knows every client, and each article and junior knows their own files. But on the evening before a GST due date, nobody can say in one line which returns are filed, which are waiting for client data and which have not been started. The work itself is not hard. Seeing all of it at once is.
Two lists, not one
A single sheet for everything turns into a wall of ticks. Split it in two.
- The client master says what applies to each client. It changes rarely.
- The work list has one row for each filing, for each client, for each period. It changes every day.
Compliance tracker, part 1: the client master
| Column | What to write |
|---|---|
| Client and group | Name, type of entity, and the family or group it belongs to |
| Registrations | PAN, GSTIN, TAN, CIN or LLPIN, as they apply |
| GST returns | Which returns apply, and how often |
| TDS | Challans and returns: yes or no |
| Income tax | Advance tax, return, audit: yes or no |
| ROC filings | For companies and LLPs |
| Payroll | PF, ESI and other payroll challans, if you handle them |
| Data from | Who sends the data, in what form, and by which day |
| Handled by | The staff member and the reviewer |
| Fee | Retainer or per filing, and when it is billed |
Compliance tracker, part 2: the work list
| Column | What to write |
|---|---|
| Client | From the master |
| Filing and period | For example: GST return, September |
| Due date | From the current official calendar |
| Internal date | Your own earlier date, to leave room for review |
| Data status | Not asked, asked, part received, complete |
| Work status | Not started, in progress, in review, filed |
| Pending with | The client, a staff member or the reviewer |
| Filed on | Date and acknowledgement number |
| Remarks | Queries, tax payment pending, client not reachable |
The two status columns are kept apart on purpose. "Waiting for the client's data" and "pending with us" are different problems with different fixes.
Due dates can be extended or changed. Take them from the official portals each month, not from last year's sheet.
The monthly routine
- On the 1st: add the rows for the month from the client master. Quarterly and yearly filings go in the months they fall due.
- The same day: send every client the data request, in the same words each month.
- Twice a week: a fifteen-minute review. Sort by internal date and read out what is pending, and with whom.
- Three days before the internal date: remind the clients whose data has not come. The partner calls the ones who are late every month.
- On filing: save the acknowledgement in the client folder, write the number in the row, and tell the client.
- At month end: count the late filings and the reason for each: client data, the firm's own work, or the portal. Bill the per-filing work.
The data request can be this short:
Dear Mr Bansal, please share the sales and purchase data for September by the 5th, so that we can file your GST return in good time. Do tell us if anything changed in the business this month.
Three more lists worth keeping
- Notices. Each notice with its reply date and the person handling it.
- Digital signatures. The expiry date of each client's signature. If a client leaves the token with you, record that in writing. Keep no passwords in these sheets.
- Fees. What has been billed and what is outstanding, client by client. Follow them up like any other dues: see payment follow-up without spoiling relations.
Sheet or system?
A small practice can run this in one Excel file: a master tab and one work-list tab, filtered by month or by staff member. It strains when clients multiplied by filings come to hundreds of rows a month, when several staff edit at once, and when the partner wants "pending by person" without asking. At that size we set up a Compliance Task Tracker that opens each task by itself and shows client delays apart from team delays.
See also the page for CA and tax firms.
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