The accounting reconstruction comes first, because both the duty description and the reference period depend on what it shows. Filing deadlines, year-end, and the accountant's availability set the pace far more than the applicant's preferred start date does.
Work backwards from the qualifying period
Identify which months are being relied on, then confirm those months are documented before anything else is drafted. Where a gap appears, the relevant period may need to shift, which changes which records matter. Year-end and tax season can push retrieval back by weeks.
Set a milestone for the accountant's summary, a second for counsel's reading of it, and only then discuss travel or a start date. Sequence the work so nothing is drafted before the accounting reconstruction exists. Identify which months are being relied on, confirm they are documented, and only then let counsel read the result against the requirements.
Year-end and tax season can push retrieval back by weeks, and an accountant unavailable in February is a schedule risk worth naming in advance. If a gap appears, the reference period may need to move, which changes which records matter and can restart part of the work. Set one milestone for the accountant's summary, a second for counsel's reading of it, and only then discuss travel or a start date.
Announce nothing to staff or customers before those milestones pass.