For accounting firms
Busy season tax prep support
Filing-season prep support gives EU accounting and tax firms extra hands around VAT return cycles and year-end statutory accounts: draft OSS or IOSS VAT workpapers, tied trial balances and prepared local-GAAP financial statements, ready for your licensed local adviser to review and file. Finbryn never files a VAT return or a statutory account itself.
Engagement tracker
Illustrative client · August 2026
EUR
- Client file access set up under your firm's nameDone
- Monthly books prepared to your review standardDone
- Review notes cleared and loggedIn progress
- Reports sent to your partner for sign-offNext
- Year-end workpapers staged for your preparerNext
Illustrative. An example of the document, not a client's figures.
A different kind of busy season
An EU firm's filing calendar rarely has one single deadline. Quarterly OSS VAT returns, monthly domestic VAT cycles in some member states, and year-end statutory-accounts filings each land at different points across the year, and each client's home member state sets its own dates. Filing-season prep support is capacity a firm adds around whichever of those windows is squeezing its own staff.
What our team actually does
Work starts with organising the source documents behind a filing: invoices, VAT-relevant transaction detail split by member state, and the bookkeeping records feeding a year-end close. We tie trial balances to supporting schedules, build draft VAT workpapers under the OSS and IOSS schemes, and prepare local-GAAP or IFRS-for-SMEs financial statements in the format your firm's client needs, ready for a reviewer to open rather than a stack of invoices.
Where the credentialed line sits
This is preparation support, not the filing itself. VAT returns and local statutory accounts are filed by your firm's own licensed local adviser, such as a French expert-comptable or a German Steuerberater, or by whichever equivalent body a client's member state requires. We do not transmit a VAT return and we do not certify a statutory account.
Ramping capacity around the calendar
Firms typically add this capacity two to three weeks ahead of a quarterly OSS deadline or a year-end close, then taper it back once the filing is with the local adviser for review.
Questions
Frequently asked questions: Busy season tax prep support
Who actually files the VAT return, you or the local adviser?
Your firm's own licensed local adviser does. Our team builds the draft VAT workpapers and supporting schedules behind it.
Can you handle OSS returns for clients selling into several member states?
Yes. We build the draft workpapers that support an OSS return covering distance sales across member states, for your licensed adviser to review and file.
Do you prepare year-end statutory accounts as well as VAT?
Yes, in the local-GAAP or IFRS-for-SMEs format the client's member state expects, ready for the licensed local adviser who certifies and files them.
How far ahead should a firm add this capacity?
Most firms add it two to three weeks before a quarterly OSS deadline or a year-end close, depending on the file volume involved.
Can capacity scale up and back down again after the deadline passes?
Yes, most firms use this specifically to absorb the pre-deadline peak and then scale back to a lighter arrangement once filings are through, without a long-term staffing commitment tied to either end of that curve.
Does your team sign or file anything?
No. We prepare workpapers and draft input for your credentialed preparers, who review and sign every return.
Can you flex up just for filing season?
Yes. Firms typically add this capacity a few weeks before a deadline and scale it back down after.
How is busy season tax prep support priced?
Pricing for busy season tax prep support depends on your transaction volume, the software you use, and how much cleanup is needed before ongoing work starts. Current ranges are published on the pricing page, and your exact fee is confirmed in writing before anything begins.
What software works with busy season tax prep support?
Busy season tax prep support runs inside QuickBooks Online or Xero, whichever you already use. If you are not yet set up in either, we can configure a file in your name so you keep ownership of it once the engagement is under way.
Related services
- For accounting firmsReview supportA second set of eyes on files your firm has already prepared, checking ties, disclosures and workpaper completeness before they reach your partner for sign-off.
- For accounting firmsOverflow cleanup projectsFixed-scope cleanup and catch-up projects your firm can hand off when a client's books are too far behind for your own staff to absorb without disrupting other work.
Industries
- Professional servicesBookkeeping for professional service firms such as engineering, architecture and IT consulting billing clients by project or retainer.
- Ecommerce (Amazon and Shopify)Bookkeeping for online sellers on Amazon, Shopify, Etsy and their own storefronts, built around clean payout and sales tax data.
Next step
Talk to the team that would run your books
A short call covers your setup, your software and what a first month would look like. You get a written scope and price after it.