If you’re running a small to medium accounting practice, you know that not every client needs month-end support — but when they do, it can completely derail your schedule.

Those handful of clients with month-end requirements suddenly demand your full attention. Bank reconciliations need completing, management accounts need preparing, and everything needs to be accurate and delivered on time — all while you’re trying to manage your other clients and keep the practice running.

Here’s the challenge: even if it’s just 3-4 clients requiring month-end work, it can still consume a full week or more of your time. That means other clients wait, business development stalls, and you’re working late to catch up on everything else.

The good news? You don’t need to hire full-time staff or completely overhaul your practice to handle month-end more efficiently.

Let’s look at why month-end work takes over your week and how you can manage it without sacrificing everything else.

Where the pressure builds up

When month-end work hits your small practice, delays usually come from:

• Chasing missing documents from those specific clients who need month-end
• Time-consuming reconciliations that pull you away from other work
• Manual report preparation that starts from scratch each time
• Having to redo work when something doesn’t balance

Even with just a few month-end clients, these delays can push everything back by days, leaving you scrambling to catch up with your regular workload.

If this sounds familiar, it’s time to work smarter, not harder.

Create a month-end client checklist

Start by being crystal clear about what you need from your month-end clients and when you need it. A simple checklist with firm deadlines can prevent the usual back-and-forth chasing.

Set up automated reminders so you’re not manually following up on missing bank statements or invoices. The clearer you are upfront, the smoother the process runs.

For your own workflow, know exactly what needs checking, what can wait, and when to flag issues early rather than discovering problems at the end.

Separate preparation from review

One of the biggest time drains is trying to prepare and review everything yourself in one go. Consider splitting these tasks — even if it means doing preparation work first, then coming back fresh for the review.

You can also create standard templates for your month-end reports. Instead of starting from scratch each time, you’ll have a consistent format that speeds up preparation and makes reviews more efficient.

Bring in flexible month-end support

The biggest game-changer? Getting reliable backup when you need it.

At Integra, we work with small and medium UK practices to handle the heavy lifting on month-end work — but only when you need us. Whether it’s 2 clients or 10, we can take on the reconciliations, journals, and report preparation while you focus on client relationships and running your practice.

Our offshore teams can cut your month-end time in half, often turning a week-long process into 2-3 days. Your clients get their reports faster, and you get your evenings back without the stress of juggling competing priorities.

Use technology to reduce manual work

For practices using Xero, QuickBooks, or Sage, there are plenty of ways to speed up the data flow. Set up bank rules, use automated invoice capture, and try reporting tools like Fathom or Syft to reduce the manual preparation work.

But even with good technology, someone still needs to oversee the process and ensure accuracy. That’s where combining smart tools with flexible support becomes powerful — the technology handles the data work, while experienced people ensure everything balances.

Final thought

When month-end doesn’t consume your entire week, everything else flows better. You can maintain consistent service for all clients, have time for business development, and actually take that weekend off.

At Integra, we’ve helped dozens of small UK practices manage their month-end workload without the need for additional permanent staff. Whether you have 3 month-end clients or 15, we can scale our support to match exactly what you need.

If month-end work is taking over your practice, now’s the time to change how you handle it — and we’re here to help.