Accounting firm · People
Busy season staff onboarding
Get seasonal preparers productive before busy season without risking client data or the quality of returns. The new hire completes their pre-start steps through a shared link, gets access only to their clients, and works alone only after a tax manager clears them.
- Duration: 2 to 3 weeks
- How often: For every seasonal or temporary hire
- Steps: 8 steps
- AI agents: 1 AI agent
- Approvals: 1 approval
Free plan, no credit card needed.
What changes with this template
Without it
Seasonal staff arrive on day 1 with no access, no signed agreement and no plan.
Temporary staff get access to every client in the practice.
New preparers work alone from their first week.
Every supervisor trains new hires their own way.
With it
The new hire completes the pre-start steps through a shared link before day 1.
Access is set only for the clients the new hire will work on.
The new hire works alone only after the tax manager clears them.
An AI agent drafts the training plan from the firm's outline, and the tax manager adjusts it.
The template, step by step
Each step says who does it: someone on your team, an AI agent, or the client through a shared link. An approval keeps every later step locked until it is given.
- Done by your team
- Done by an AI agent
- Done by the client, through a shared link
Starts when
A seasonal preparer accepts an offer for busy season. The practice manager starts a run with their name, role and start date.
- 1
Prepare the start and share the new-hire link
2 weeks before the startPractice manager · Team
Record the role and the start date, name the supervising tax manager, and send the new hire the shared run link with what to complete before day 1.
Checklist
- Shared link sent to the new hire
- Desk or remote setup arranged
Fields to fill in
- New hire name (required)
- Start date (required)
- Role (required)
- Supervising tax manager (required)
- 2
Complete the pre-start details
Before day 1Seasonal preparer · Shared link
Through the shared link, the new hire confirms their details, reads the confidentiality and data protection policies, shares a link to their signed confidentiality agreement and lists the tax software they have used.
Checklist
- Confidentiality policy read
- Data protection policy read
- Contact details confirmed
Fields to fill in
- Link to the signed confidentiality agreement (required)
- Tax software used before
- Experience with types of return
- 3
Set up access
Day 1IT administrator · Team
Create accounts for the tax software, the practice system and document storage, with access only to the clients the new hire will work on.
Checklist
- Tax software account created
- Practice system access set
- Access limited to assigned clients
- Multi-factor sign-in turned on
Fields to fill in
- Access set up on (required)
- 4
Draft the training plan
Day 1Training planner · AI agent
The training planner drafts a plan for the first two weeks from the role, the software and the experience the new hire listed, following the firm's training outline in its instructions.
Fields to fill in
- Draft training plan (required)
Checked by: The tax manager corrects the plan in step 5.
- 5
Agree the training plan
Day 1Tax manager · Team
Correct the draft plan, choose the first returns the new hire will prepare under supervision, and walk them through the firm's review checklist.
Checklist
- Plan fits the role and experience
- Self-review checklist included
- First supervised returns chosen
Fields to fill in
- First supervised returns (required)
- 6
Train and prepare supervised returns
Days 2 to 8Seasonal preparer · Team
Work through the training plan and prepare the first returns under supervision, using the firm's self-review checklist on every one.
Checklist
- Software training done
- Self-review checklist used on every return
- First supervised returns prepared
Fields to fill in
- Returns prepared (required)
- 7
Review the supervised returns and clear for solo work
Hidden from the shared linkWeek 2Tax manager · Team
Review the supervised returns, go through the review points with the new hire, and decide which returns they can prepare on their own.
Checklist
- Review points discussed
- Self-review checklist used every time
Fields to fill in
- Cleared for (required)
- Points to work on
Approval: Step 8 stays locked until the tax manager clears the new hire for their own returns.
- 8
Assign the season's workload
Week 2Practice manager · Team
Assign returns that match what the new hire was cleared for, and book a mid-season check-in.
Checklist
- Returns assigned
- Mid-season check-in booked
Fields to fill in
- Mid-season check-in date (required)
Done when
The new hire has signed the confidentiality agreement, has access to the clients they will work on, has prepared supervised returns, and is cleared for their own workload.
Make it yours. Rename steps, change owners and add checklist items, fields or approvals. The template is a starting point for the way your team works.
The AI agents in this template
An agent only works on its own steps, and a person on your team checks what it did. Anything an agent writes to a connected app waits for approval unless you allow it.
Training planner
Drafts a training plan for the first two weeks of a seasonal preparer.
What it does
- Reads the role, the software and the experience the new hire listed
- Follows the firm's training outline in its step instructions
- Writes the draft plan into its step
Checked by: The tax manager corrects the plan in step 5.
Questions this template answers
Start before day 1 and finish with supervised work, not a reading list. Steps 1 and 2 collect the pre-start details through a shared link, step 3 sets up access, and steps 5 to 7 train and supervise the first returns.
Set access per client from the start instead of opening up the whole practice. Step 3 creates the accounts with access limited to the assigned clients and multi-factor sign-in turned on.
Make it part of the pre-start steps, not a form on day 1. In step 2 the new hire reads the policies and shares a link to the signed agreement through the shared link.
Have them prepare a first set of returns under supervision, and review every one. Steps 5 and 6 choose and prepare the supervised returns, and step 7 is an approval gate where the tax manager clears the new hire.
Let AI draft a training plan from the role and the new hire's experience, and have a tax manager adjust it. In step 4 the training planner drafts the plan, and in step 5 the tax manager corrects it and picks the first returns.
Decide after reviewing their supervised work, and record what they are cleared for. Step 7 records what the new hire is cleared for, and step 8 assigns returns that match it.
Run this workflow in OKiDO
Set up the steps, owners and approvals once, then start a run for every new case.