A seasonal preparer may need an email account, selected client folders, and access to tax software for a few months. The useful question is specific: which work should this person be able to do, who approves that access, and what happens when the assignment ends? Write those answers down before the first busy morning.
Define the assignment before creating accounts
Have the managing partner or office manager record the worker’s role, start date, expected end date, supervisor, and required applications. Separate preparing assigned returns from reviewing work, managing the firm, or changing system settings. Give the administrator an approved request rather than an instruction to copy another employee’s access.
Keep the list short enough to review together. If someone needs an exception, record who approved it and when it will be checked again. This checklist covers staff access; it does not replace the firm’s written information security plan.
Use individual accounts and check sign-in protection
Give each worker an individual work account. Ask your IT provider to check that sign-in needs an extra verification step, that the worker knows how to use it and that someone can help if they get locked out. The available settings depend on the business account and subscription, so check the current setup before making changes.
For a shared office computer, plan how each worker signs in, where files are saved, and who maintains the device. Avoid treating the seasonal employee’s personal inbox or a shared password as the firm’s handoff system.
Approve client-file access by actual assignment
List the folders, shared inboxes and tax software the worker needs. Someone supporting one partner may not need the firm’s entire client archive. Ask your software provider how access works when its accounts are separate from your work email.
Test with a non-sensitive sample and the intended user account. Confirm that the worker can complete the assigned task and cannot open an unrelated team’s files. Record the result and resolve access problems before client work depends on it.
Keep a simple approval record
This is an example you can adapt for your firm. Keep the completed list in an approved internal location. Record access decisions here, not client tax documents or passwords.
| Worker / role | Approved access | Approver | End / review date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Named preparer | Assigned folders and application role | Responsible partner | Agreed assignment end |
| Seasonal administrator | Scheduling and approved office mailbox | Office manager | Agreed review date |
Plan the exit while the assignment is still clear
On the agreed departure date, have your IT provider block further access and end any existing sign-ins. Have an authorized manager arrange who takes over work files and email before accounts or subscriptions are removed. Microsoft’s guidance treats stopping access, keeping records and ending subscriptions as separate tasks; follow the steps that fit your setup.
Use the same list to check tax software, shared folders, connections used to work from home and company equipment. Confirm each step is complete; stopping access to email alone does not finish the job.
Ask these questions at the next staffing meeting
- Who approves each seasonal worker’s application and client-file access?
- Who tests the account before the worker’s first day?
- Who owns the departure-date checklist and the work-file handoff?
- Where can the managing partner see outstanding access changes?
For help defining these responsibilities, see French Broad IT’s IT support for accounting and tax firms in Asheville and Western NC.