Process a Gather request

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Before a Gather request is delivered to the taxpayer, it must be uploaded and processed. The following steps outline how to upload, process, edit, and deliver a Gather request.
note
The processing steps outlined may or may not be available, or may appear in a different order, depending on the options selected on upload.
Upload Gather Request
  1. Go to
    Send
    in the left panel.
    note
    This is where In Process items appear.
  2. Select
    Single
    for the type.
  3. Select
    New Gather
    .
  4. Select an
    Engagement Type
    .
  5. Select a saved
    Template
    or select the
    Task Options
    you want to include in the request:
    • Sign Document(s)
      lets you include documents to be e-signed.
    • Ask Custom Questions
      lets you include custom questions.
    • Send Fillable Gather
      sends the fillable organizer to the client.
    • Request Documents
      lets you include a document request list.
  6. Drag and drop the selected tasks to reorder them for the taxpayer.
  7. Select
    Get Started
    .
  8. Drag the
    Organizer PDF
    or select
    Choose File
    to upload the organizer.
  9. Select the
    Tax Software
    ,
    Engagement Type
    , and
    Tax Year
    .
  10. Select
    Submit
    .
Client Information
The
Client Information
section displays the client, taxpayer, and spouse information.
  1. Fill or edit the
    Client Information
    section.
    • Use the
      Client Search
      to locate a client from
      Client Management
      .
    • Engagement Type
      can't be edited if there is an Organizer included with the request.
  2. Enter
    Taxpayer Information
    .
    note
    • Email for the taxpayer is required.
    • Email is not required for the spouse.
    • Mobile number and country code are not required. This only applies if your firm has MFA enabled.
  3. Mark the
    Deceased
    checkbox to mark the spouse or taxpayer as deceased.
  4. Mark
    Add Additional Taxpayer
    if a spouse needs to be added.
  5. Select
    Next
    .
E-Sign Documents Section
The E-Sign section displays the engagement letter and lets you add any additional documents needed for E-Sign. Taxpayer and spouse signature blocks need to be added to the page.
note
Any signature block option, like a
Name
or
Initials
field, are required on the taxpayer side, even if the
Signature
is not marked as required.
  1. Select
    Add Documents
    to upload additional documents that need to be signed.
    note
    This step is not required if engagement letters are already present in the tab.
  2. Select an
    Engagement Letter
    bookmark or use the arrows to locate the page where you will place the signature blocks.
  3. Select the
    Signer
    dropdown to select the taxpayer or spouse (if necessary).
    note
    Signature blocks associated with the selected signer are highlighted in yellow.
  4. Drag and drop any signature block onto the selected page.
note
By default,
Signature Fields
are marked as required. Once the field is placed on the page, a prompt appears that lets you change this setting.
  1. Select the
    Signature
    field to open the
    Signature Settings
    .
  2. Mark or clear the checkbox to your preference.
  3. Select
    Yes
    .
Custom Questions Section
  1. Select the
    Choose Template
    dropdown to apply the template type.
  2. Select the
    Remove
    icon for each section you need to delete.
    note
    Removing a section removes all questions within that section.
  3. Select the
    Remove
    icon for each question you need to delete.
Organizer Section
The Organizers section displays all pages in the Organizer PDF.
  1. Use the arrows to go through each page.
  2. Filter by
    Bookmark
    type.
    note
    Any cleared form type will be moved to the
    Deleted
    section.
  3. Select any
    Bookmark
    to view that page.
  4. Switch
    Required Signature
    to
    On
    to add signature controls to the page (feature is not available for batch Gather requests).
    1. Drag and drop a
      Signature Block
      onto the selected page.
      • The block will be assigned to the selected taxpayer from the dropdown.
    2. Mark or clear the
      Required
      checkbox for added
      Signature Field
      blocks.
    3. Select
      Save
      .
  5. Deliver without Fillable Organizers
    to send the Gather request without the fillable organizer.
note
Deleted Section
  • All deleted documents will be moved here. Select the
    Re-do
    icon to move back into the
    Bookmarks
    section.
Request Documents
Individual Requests
Document types appear here that were automatically generated from the organizer. We recommend you look over the list and remove or add the document types as needed.
  1. The list will show a summary of the 2 types of requested items that are appearing.
    • Auto Generated List
      are the items generated from key pages of the organizer.
    • Potential Requests
      are items that a custom question associates with document requests. They appear in light gray and can't be deleted.
  2. Mark each checkbox for the categories or
    Select All
    to select all categories and delete or add a due date.
    note
    Refer to the following for more information on adding due dates.
  3. Select the
    Remove
    icon for each document you don’t need to request.
  4. Select
    Add Documents
    to add new document types manually.
  5. Mark
    Use a template
    to turn off the generated list and use your own template that is pulled from the DRL templates in Exchange.
note
Due dates don’t display for the taxpayer on mobile devices.
  1. Use
    Select All
    or mark the checkboxes for the categories you want to select.
  2. Select
    Add Due Date
    .
  3. Select a
    Due Date
    .
  4. Select
    Save
    .
Entity Requests
The Import File feature is only available for entity requests. Entity organizers are not currently supported, so an AI-generated document request list can't be created. All other options previously outlined are also available for entity requests. When a document request list CSV is used, uploaded documents won’t be automatically recognized and categorized on the taxpayer side.
After uploading the CSV, you can choose which column corresponds to the
Document Name
and which column corresponds to the
Document Category
. There are no strict requirements for the CSV template.
  1. Select
    Import File
    to upload a CSV copy of your document request list.
  2. Drag files to this area to upload or select
    Choose File
    .
  3. Mark the
    CSV contains header row
    checkbox if necessary.
  4. Select
    Next
    .
  5. Select the column header that corresponds to the
    Document Names
    .
  6. Select
    Next
    .
  7. Select the column header that corresponds to the
    Document Categories
    .
  8. Select
    Import
    .
Delivery Options Section
The
Delivery Options
section is used to review and edit the default settings before the request is delivered.
Taxpayer Dashboard
  1. Select the
    Contact Person
    dropdown to select who is listed as the firm contact for the taxpayer.
  2. Select the
    Message Template
    dropdown to select a pre-made template to apply.
  3. Select
    New
    to create a new
    Message from Preparer
    .
  4. Select
    Edit
    to edit the existing
    Message from Preparer
    (an administrator needs to turn on this setting at
    Settings
    Saved Messages
    ).
Preparer Notes
Add internal notes to the Gather request for other firm users. This information doesn’t appear on the taxpayer side. The notes can be viewed from the
More Action Items
menu in the
Delivered
or
Archived
section.
  1. Enter text into the
    Preparer Notes
    section.
Email Notifications
Select the dropdown field to change the user assigned to the email notification. Multiple users can be selected to receive notifications.
  1. Sender Name
    is the name that appears on emails sent to the taxpayer.
  2. Engagement Letters
    is the user who will be notified when the engagement letter is completed.
  3. Completed Organizers
    is the user who will be notified when the organizer is completed.
  4. Uploaded Files
    is the user who will be notified when the taxpayer uploads documents.
Source Document Retention
Choose how long you want to keep source documents before Gather deletes them. You'll still be able to access records related to the documents after they expire, but you won't be able to download the documents anymore.
  1. Switch the
    Automatically delete. . .
    option to turn on or turn off Source Document Retention.
  2. Select the
    . . .delete received source documents after
    dropdown to select how long the source documents will be retained.
Reminders
Adjust scheduled automated reminders to the client so that they can finalize any unfinished tasks. Automated reminders are not delivered for archived items or for items marked as completed or closed.
  1. Switch the
    Send Gather Reminder
    option to turn on or turn off reminders.
  2. Select the
    Send Reminder every..
    dropdown to select the period of time between each automatic reminder.
Finish Processing
  1. Select
    Finish
    .
  2. Select
    Deliver without Fillable Organizers
    to remove the organizer from the client experience (optional).
  3. Select
    Send
    to deliver.
    note
    If both
    Taxpayer
    and
    Spouse emails
    are entered in the
    Client Info
    section, the initial email will be delivered simultaneously.