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Blog · Coverage and territory · Tax and accounting

Season watch on five clients: the whole arithmetic on one page

The complete season watch calculation on five accounting clients, small enough to check by hand: each client's usual start date from the last two years' time entries, the margin, today's date, whether this year's engagement has a time entry yet, days late, the deadline, the split into the deadline-at-risk list and the possible-attrition list, the client marked closed who drops off, prior-year fees as the ranking, and the identity that every client with a recurring engagement is in one state, so a reader can reproduce every figure and then run it on their own practice management export.

By CoviragePublished 17 September 20263 min read
The short answerFive clients with recurring compliance engagements. Each client's usual start is the later of the last two years' first time entries; the margin is fourteen days; a client with no time entry on this year's engagement by usual start plus margin is on watch. Today is 17 September. Three are on watch. Two have deadlines inside eight weeks and go on the deadline-at-risk list; one has a deadline in December and no contact this season and goes on the possible-attrition list. One client was marked closed in the practice system and drops off. Every client is in one state. Every number can be reproduced by hand.

Season watch is a date per client and a comparison, and on five clients it can be done by hand. This page works the usual start, the margin, the state, the two lists and the closed client. Today is 17 September 2026. Margin: 14 days.

The clients

Client Partner First time entry, 2024 First time entry, 2025 Usual start (later) Watch trigger date Deadline Prior-year fees Status
A P-07 10 Aug 22 Aug 22 Aug 5 Sep 31 Oct $18,400 Active
B P-07 1 Jul 28 Jun 1 Jul 15 Jul 31 Dec $9,200 Active
C P-11 3 Sep 6 Sep 6 Sep 20 Sep 31 Oct $41,000 Active
D P-11 15 Aug 20 Aug 20 Aug 3 Sep 31 Oct $6,100 Active
E P-11 5 Jul 9 Jul 9 Jul 23 Jul 31 Dec $12,000 Closed 30 June

This year's time entries

Client First time entry, 2026 On watch?
A None Yes: 12 days past trigger
B None Yes: 64 days past trigger
C None yet; trigger is 20 Sep Not yet: 3 days to trigger
D 2 Sep No: started
E None Closed; off the list

The two lists

Deadline at risk: on watch and deadline within 8 weeks (before 12 Nov) Possible attrition: on watch, deadline further out, no contact this season

Client Days late Deadline Prior fees Contact this season List
A 12 31 Oct: 6 weeks $18,400 Yes, 1 Sep Deadline at risk
B 64 31 Dec: 15 weeks $9,200 None since March Possible attrition

C is three days from its trigger: on Monday's list if nothing starts. D started. E is closed.

Rolled up, per partner

Partner Clients On watch Fees on watch Share of prior fees on watch
P-07 2 2 $27,600 100%
P-11 3 (2 active) 0 $0 0%

The identity

clients with recurring engagements = started + on watch + not yet at trigger + closed = 1 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 5

Where it goes wrong, even at five

Office average as the norm. An average start of 1 August flags C and D wrongly and B correctly for the wrong reason.

E left on the list. A closed client on watch every week; the list stops being trusted.

One list. B's attrition signal worked as a deadline problem in December.

Margin of five days. C on the list today; half the book flagged in a slow week.

From five to five hundred

The same usual start per client, the same two lists, per partner and office, every week through the season. Covirage runs it on the time entries and the engagement list. The season watch guide covers the measure, and the deadline load guide covers what A's late start does to the manager's November.

Questions people ask

Why the later of the two years' starts?

Because the later date is the more conservative norm: a client started early one year and late the next is judged against the later, so it is not flagged for a start that was early only once. Three years would use the median.

What is a time entry on this year's engagement?

Any hours recorded against the compliance engagement for the current year, or a document received into this year's workspace, whichever the firm tracks. The rule is stated; here it is time entries.

Why two lists?

Because the deadline-at-risk client is a capacity problem for the engagement manager and the possible-attrition client is a relationship problem for the partner. Same trigger, different owners, and the deadline decides which.

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