Strengthening Client Communication Before the Holiday Season

Dealing with clients during the holiday season isn’t like any other time of the year.

It can make or break your year-long workflow and smoothness. The feeling is common for every accountant – as the December month arrives, the inbox starts filling up fast and deadlines circle like hawks. Soon, clients go pin-drop silent.

Most accounting firms – whether owners or any other key personnel within the firm – aren’t at liberty to approve things or make decisions. As a result, when the key approver (client) is away on vacation with the promise that they would “send the documents tonight”, but never gets to it, there is a delay by default. 

By mid-December, communication slows down so much that bookkeeping, reconciliations, and reporting start piling up, leaving your team scrambling to complete tasks without the necessary inputs.

The truth is simple yet often overlooked:

The holiday season doesn’t break your accounting workflow—poor communication does.

For most businesses, the time between November and December most businesses are subjected to: 

• Shorter working weeks
• More personal time off
• Slower vendor responses
• Unpredictable approval timelines
  

This is where proactive, structured, client-focused communication comes into the picture. It is the backbone of smooth month-end and year-end operations. When you prepare clients in advance, align expectations, and streamline collaboration, you eliminate the biggest bottleneck of the season: unavailability.

This blog will walk you through practical steps to strengthen client communication before the holiday rush hits—so your team can navigate December with clarity, not chaos.

Understanding Seasonal Communication Challenges

Before fixing the problem, we need to understand the key struggles. Some, you might be aware of, some you might oversee. The common challenges include: 

1. Drop in client availability as the holidays approach

From Thanksgiving to New Year’s, clients naturally shift focus toward personal travel, company parties, strategic planning for the next year, hiring freezes, budget approvals, and team restructuring.

Accounting tasks rarely remain top priority—unless you make them one.

2. Slowed down communication

Every accounting team sees the same friction points each holiday season:

• Delayed approvals for vendor payments or journal entries
• Late submission of bank statements, invoices, and receipts
• Slow responses to clarifications
• Missing payroll inputs
• Long gaps in email communication
• Unexpected “OOO” replies without prior notice
  

These small delays quickly snowball, making it difficult to complete reconciliations and close monthly books—let alone year-end reports.

Set Clear Expectations Before the Rush Begins

If you have been in the industry for a while, you know most of the holiday bottlenecks will continue to exist. But they are avoidable. The best way is to ensure clarity long before December arrives.

• Communicate deadlines early—and clearly

Your clients must know well in advance what documents you need, why you need them early, the final submission date, and what delays could cost them.

You can send the “Holiday Season Accounting Timeline” in the form of a simple checklist. This should include: 

• Document submission deadlines
• Approval cut-offs
• Planned client meetings
• Days when your office is closed
• Days when their team is unavailable
  
• Share your holiday working schedule

Holidays are not just for the clients; they are for you, too. Sharing your schedule is important. This also reinforces professionalism and gives clients confidence that you are in control of the year-end process. This set can include your

• Working hours
• Days with reduced staffing
• Emergency contact or escalation information
• Expectations on response time
  
• Set mutually agreed response timelines

A simple way to do this is to work out a timeline that suits both teams. For example, “During November–December, we propose a 24-hour response window to ensure timely month-end and year-end processes.”

When expectations are documented and acknowledged, both teams stay aligned.

• Proactive Data Collection and Follow-Ups

Instead of chasing clients in December, collect everything proactively and in advance. It is best to provide your clients with a pre-holiday checklist, including: 

• Bank statements
• Credit card statements
• Vendor invoices
• Customer receipts
• Payroll journals
• Loan statements
• Inventory counts (if applicable)
• Fixed asset purchases
• Expense reports
  

Clients appreciate checklists—they reduce mental load and ensure nothing is forgotten.

Most firms are more inclined towards technology today. It is best to leverage tech to your advantage. Automate reminders wherever possible. This is not only convenient for your clients, but reduces the unnecessary load from your teams. 

You can use workflow tools, client portals, calendar reminders, automated emails, and practice management software. Automation removes the burden of manually following up—and ensures the process doesn’t break if team members are on leave.

What are the Tools You Can Adhere By?

There are many technologies and software that are readily available. But it is important to ensure you avoid complexity and lengthy processes. Use and suggest tools that can be used easily.

Some examples:

• Client portals (for document submission)
  
• Shared drives (Google Drive, OneDrive, SharePoint)
  
• Secure messaging tools (Teams, Slack, WhatsApp Business)
  
• Task management boards (to track deliverables)
  

Reduce reliance on scattered email threads

Most firms rely on emails a lot. While emails are great for official communication, things can often get buried, forgotten, or skipped during busy periods.

Centralized platforms give visibility, version control, faster reference, and reduced back-and-forth. This directly improves turnaround time and accuracy.

Establishing Escalation Paths for Critical Information

One of the major communication risks during the holiday season is relying on just one key contact, who might be unavailable. It is important to: 

• Identify backup decision-makers

Ask every client who can approve payments if they are on leave, who can share payroll inputs, who you should contact for clarifications, or who oversees compliance tasks.

Document these secondary contacts in an easily accessible format.

• Set up short weekly syncs

Even a 15-minute weekly call before the holiday season is in full swing can help. This approach allows you to easily deal with:

• Clear pending queries
• Resolve blockers faster
• Maintain momentum
• Reduce last-minute rush

These syncs prevent weeks of delays caused by email back-and-forth.

Strong Communication = Stress-Free December for Both Sides

The holiday season doesn’t need to be a stressful marathon of follow-ups, delays, and incomplete books.

With the right preparation, you can strengthen communication, avoid bottlenecks, and deliver smooth year-end closures for your clients.

One of the key ways to deal with work, especially during the holiday season, is with an offshore team. They not only help in cost reduction but also ensure that work stays unaffected even while you enjoy your holidays.

Want to know how offshoring can help? Schedule a free consultation.