I think good timeframe is 6 months. At least thats what I have seen with mine. But bottom line is if a tax can't get his work done before the next season, then he has too much.Hewill always be behind and it would get worse and worse every years.If he has too much, sooner or later, he will cut corners on yours to catch up because he has been putting his buddies in front of yours. So if I have a deer head, or prong or whatever, and he says it will be over one year, I find somebody else. I know a couple of these guys. The problem is I rarely find one that treats it like a regular job. Same with Gunsmiths. The freedom they have to work on thier own time seems to make them inefficient. Some weeks, they won't work at all. Hunting, fishing whatever, some they put in 70 hours, some more. Thier work time seems sparatic. The time mgt issue comes from lack of direction. Some only work hard enough to make enough money to do what they like within reason.