CRACKTARGET • EXAM PRACTICE • 2026
A realistic 15-day APFC revision timetable with labour-law priorities, daily accountancy practice, five suggested mocks and a usable error log.
Start 15 days before your confirmed examination
This is a relative revision plan, not an announcement that the examination is fifteen days away. Start Day 1 fifteen days before the date stated in your official notice or admit card. The allocation gives extra attention to labour law and accountancy because both reward precise revision, but it does not claim an official subject-wise weightage. Keep the syllabus for your own recruitment advertisement beside the plan. APFC and EO/AO preparation overlaps, but their notices must still be read separately.
The plan assumes you have already completed a first reading of the main subjects. If you have not, replace full mocks with selected sectionals until you can interpret the questions meaningfully. A final fortnight is most useful for retrieving known concepts, correcting recurring mistakes and practising decisions under time pressure. It is a poor time to accumulate several new books. Choose one core source per subject and use official material to settle disputed legal or procedural points.
Choose a daily schedule you can sustain
| Available time | Suggested allocation |
|---|---|
| Three hours | 70 minutes labour law; 45 minutes accountancy; 30 minutes other subjects; 35 minutes practice and error review. |
| Five hours | 110 minutes labour law; 75 minutes accountancy; 50 minutes other subjects; 65 minutes testing and review. |
| Mock day | Reserve the official test duration plus a separate review block. Reduce new revision rather than pretending both fit into the same time. |
Working candidates should protect their most alert period for difficult numericals or legal distinctions. Use a shorter evening block for recall and the error log. If a workday becomes unexpectedly busy, complete a minimum session: ten questions, one calculation and five error-log entries. Resume the next scheduled day instead of attempting to repay every lost minute. The timetable is a decision aid, not a reason to reduce sleep.
The complete day-wise plan
Day 1: Wage definition and diagnostic test
Labour and core revision: Read section 2(y) and distinguish included remuneration from excluded components and the add-back proviso. Draw a remuneration tree instead of memorising the phrase basic salary must be 50%.
Accountancy focus: Solve straight-line and written-down-value depreciation, including one part-year purchase and one disposal.
Practice and completion check: Take one full diagnostic mock under the applicable examination timing. Classify mistakes without changing your entire plan after one score.
Day 2: Minimum wage and floor wage
Labour and core revision: Separate the Central Government floor-wage function from minimum rates fixed by the appropriate government. Revise wage periods, overtime and equal-remuneration principles.
Accountancy focus: Revise asset, liability, expense, income, capital and drawings through journal-entry examples.
Practice and completion check: Attempt a timed wages sectional set and correct every confusion between government, employer and inspector powers.
Day 3: Payment deadlines and deductions
Labour and core revision: Create a timeline for daily, weekly, fortnightly and monthly payments. Attach termination-related deadlines to their exact statutory trigger.
Accountancy focus: Work on bank reconciliation, outstanding expenses, prepaid expenses and accrued income.
Practice and completion check: Reattempt the diagnostic questions that were wrong because of reading, signs or skipped qualifiers.
Day 4: Bonus and wage enforcement
Labour and core revision: Separate eligibility, calculation base, minimum bonus, maximum bonus and set-on/set-off. Label notification-dependent monetary limits with their source and date.
Accountancy focus: Practise gross-profit margin versus markup, current ratio and quick ratio.
Practice and completion check: Take full mock two. Review unanswered questions as well as wrong answers; some skips reveal easily repairable knowledge gaps.
Day 5: Trade unions and collective bargaining
Labour and core revision: Revise registered trade unions, negotiating union, negotiating council and membership thresholds. Keep recognition distinct from registration.
Accountancy focus: Revise partnership profit appropriation, interest on capital and drawings, salary and commission.
Practice and completion check: Attempt an IR sectional test and explain why each wrong option is wrong in one sentence.
Day 6: Standing orders and workplace institutions
Labour and core revision: Study GRC coverage, standing-order applicability, the relevant reference period and the scope of industrial establishments. Avoid transferring a threshold into an unrelated chapter.
Accountancy focus: Practise admission, sacrificing ratio, goodwill premium and revaluation adjustments.
Practice and completion check: Build a one-page thresholds sheet with the trigger, unit, exception and section reference alongside each number.
Day 7: Strikes, disputes and retrenchment
Labour and core revision: Read the full strike restrictions rather than only the 14-day phrase. Distinguish notice, waiting period, conciliation restrictions and tribunal-related restrictions.
Accountancy focus: Solve cash-flow questions using the indirect method, including gains on disposal and working-capital changes.
Practice and completion check: Take full mock three and compare topic-level accuracy with mock one. Change time allocation only where the evidence supports it.
Day 8: EPF, pension and insurance
Labour and core revision: Separate EPF savings, EPS pension and EDLI insurance. Revise coverage, contribution concepts, nomination and common member-service issues from official material.
Accountancy focus: Practise receivables turnover, inventory turnover, collection periods and return on capital employed.
Practice and completion check: Do a mixed social-security quiz and correct every confusion between an organisation, a statute and a scheme.
Day 9: ESI, gratuity and maternity
Labour and core revision: Compare benefit contingencies, qualifying conditions and exclusions. Read fixed-term employment provisions carefully and do not apply one gratuity rule to every worker.
Accountancy focus: Revise audit objectives, evidence, internal control and the distinction between an error and fraud.
Practice and completion check: Write ten short explanations without notes. If a rule cannot be explained, mark it amber rather than green.
Day 10: OSH, contract labour and migration
Labour and core revision: Compare general establishment coverage with factory and contract-labour provisions. Distinguish statutory text from jurisdiction-specific rules and notifications.
Accountancy focus: Solve a mixed twenty-question accountancy set and record the formula-selection error separately from arithmetic.
Practice and completion check: Take full mock four. Practise the same permitted materials, marking method and time checks you will use in the examination.
Day 11: Labour-code comparison
Labour and core revision: Review all four Codes through a comparison grid: subject, older laws, coverage, authority, benefit and enforcement. Add only verified changes to the grid.
Accountancy focus: Revisit your three weakest accountancy subtopics using fresh examples instead of rereading solved answers.
Practice and completion check: Use the error log to select the next revision block. A frequently missed easy concept outranks an obscure new chapter.
Day 12: General subjects consolidation
Labour and core revision: Revise English, polity, economy, history, science and computer topics that appear in your applicable syllabus. Labour focus must not turn into neglect of the rest of the paper.
Accountancy focus: Complete a short calculation drill on percentages, ratios and unit conversion to support accounting speed.
Practice and completion check: Take full mock five if earlier mocks have been fully analysed. Otherwise replace it with analysis and a shorter mixed test.
Day 13: Final mixed retrieval
Labour and core revision: Close the book and reproduce the wages timeline, IR thresholds and social-security comparison from memory. Then verify omissions against your source sheets.
Accountancy focus: Solve ten mixed numerical questions with no formula sheet. Check time spent on setup, arithmetic and rechecking.
Practice and completion check: Reattempt only unresolved error-log entries. Mark a concept green after two independent correct attempts, not after recognising a solution.
Day 14: Low-volume high-accuracy revision
Labour and core revision: Read your verified exceptions and definitions. Avoid a new collection of hundreds of unverified facts or a last-minute source change.
Accountancy focus: Review formula conditions, cash-flow signs and partnership ratio identities. Stop when accuracy starts deteriorating from fatigue.
Practice and completion check: Use a short confidence-building test, confirm examination logistics and prepare the documents required by the admit card.
Day 15: Taper and prepare for execution
Labour and core revision: Use brief recall sessions for deadlines, thresholds and the distinctions you repeatedly confused. Do not undertake a new full syllabus pass.
Accountancy focus: Do five comfortable numericals to maintain rhythm, then put the calculation notebook away.
Practice and completion check: Prioritise sleep, travel arrangements and a calm arrival. Follow the admit-card instructions; this plan does not replace official reporting requirements.
How many mocks should you attempt?
Five full mocks are suggested across the fortnight, with a diagnostic test followed by spaced attempts. This is an editorial recommendation, not a compulsory quota. A mock earns its place only when you review it. If you need three hours to diagnose a two-hour paper, allocate those hours. Taking another paper immediately may repeat the same mistakes while creating the appearance of progress. Use shorter sectionals between full tests to isolate weak areas.
After each mock, record attempted questions, correct answers, incorrect answers, skips and time pressure. Apply the marking scheme specified in your recruitment notice. Compare accuracy within subjects before comparing total scores across different test providers, because difficulty and coverage vary. A lower score on a harder paper can coexist with better decision-making. Do not infer a safe score or a future cut-off from a small set of practice tests.
The error-log method that changes the next attempt
| Entry | What to record |
|---|---|
| Question reference | Test and question number, so you can return to the actual wording. |
| Mistake type | Concept, recall, calculation, reading, time management or unjustified guess. |
| Correct rule | One precise sentence with the relevant condition or exception. |
| Repair task | A fresh question, a short source check or a timed calculation drill. |
| Recheck | Next-day and three-day retrieval without opening the answer first. |
For example, writing “revise bonus” is too vague. Write “I confused eligibility ceiling with calculation ceiling; make a two-column comparison and solve one example.” Writing “careless error” is also incomplete. Specify whether you ignored not, used closing inventory instead of average inventory, or converted minutes incorrectly. Specific diagnosis makes the next study block smaller and more effective. Delete copied explanations that you already understand; preserve only the decision you must change.
What to skip in the final fortnight
Skip new unverified prediction lists, long lectures on already-mastered topics and elaborate note decoration. Skip attempts to memorise every section number without its subject. Skip repeated calculation variants once the method is reliable, but retain mixed practice that tests method selection. Do not skip the entire general-studies portion merely because labour law feels more connected to EPFO. Also avoid treating every difficult question as essential; some require disproportionate time for a very uncertain return.
Do not add legal claims from social-media graphics without checking the Act, rule or notification. In particular, distinguish a percentage from the amount to which it applies and a central-sphere notification from a universal rule. When sources conflict, preserve the precise issue in your notebook and resolve it from the official text. An incorrect last-minute fact can displace a correct earlier understanding.
A practical paper-attempt strategy
Use an initial pass for questions you can answer with a clear reason. Mark uncertain questions for a later pass if the examination interface or paper instructions permit it. On the second pass, prioritise questions where elimination is based on knowledge rather than visual familiarity. Set time checkpoints during practice so that one long numerical does not consume the time needed for several straightforward questions. Do not adopt a completely new attempt order on the examination day.
Before changing an answer, identify new evidence: a missed qualifier, a corrected calculation or a recalled rule. Anxiety alone is not evidence. For a numerical, check the unit and whether the question asks for a rate, amount, balance or change. For a law question, check the subject, threshold, authority and exception. These short checks reduce avoidable losses without requiring a full rereading of every question.
Frequently asked questions
Can a beginner use this plan?
Use the sequence as a priority map, but replace some full mocks with foundational learning. Fifteen days cannot guarantee completion of a broad syllabus. Start with definitions, basic accounting relationships and manageable sectional tests.
Should I study only the four Labour Codes?
No. Use the recruitment syllabus to cover the wider paper. The Codes are a focus within this plan, while accountancy, English and other listed subjects receive protected revision time.
Is five mocks enough?
The useful number depends on your preparation and review capacity. Five fully analysed mocks can be more useful than ten unreviewed attempts. Add a test only when you have repaired the errors from the previous one.
What should I do after a disappointing mock?
Separate knowledge gaps from poor time allocation and avoidable mistakes. Repair the largest repeatable loss first. One practice result is a diagnostic observation, not a prediction of your selection.
Continue your preparation
30-day revision strategy · 50 solved accountancy numericals · APFC mock-test PDF
Sources and editorial notes
UPSC recruitment-test notices · Ministry of Labour: Labour Codes
Practice questions and worked examples are prepared by CrackTarget. They are not claimed as previous-year questions unless an official paper and question reference are explicitly supplied. Use the recruitment notice applicable to your post for the final syllabus and examination instructions.
Continue studying: UPSC EPFO APFC complete 60-day plan; APFC mock test PDF.