Client tax documents checked against last year before your preparer opens the file
Clients upload phone photos and files named scan0003.pdf, often in several batches. Before anyone can start the return, someone has to work out what is still missing and ask for it. The agent sorts the uploads and compares them with last year's return. Your preparer decides what is enough and approves every request before a client sees it.
Examples use invented names and figures.
What the agent does
- Step 1Reads each upload
It reads every file from your client portal or the shared mailbox and names the form, such as a W-2, 1099-B, 1098 or K-1, along with the payer and the tax year.
- Step 2Matches the client and year
Each document is tied to one client and one tax year. Duplicates and CORRECTED forms are flagged as a pair, and when the match is uncertain the document waits for a person instead of being filed.
- Step 3Compares with last year
The expected list comes from last year's return and this year's organizer answers. Anything that arrived last year and is missing now, including a K-1 still outstanding, is listed with its payer.
- Step 4Drafts the request
One message names each missing item and its payer. It waits in a queue for a preparer to approve and send, and the return moves to Waiting on Client in your practice management tool.
Your preparers decide whether a document is sufficient and whether a missing K-1 means filing an extension. Every message to a client goes out only after a person approves it, and the agent never takes a tax position. The IRS Office of Professional Responsibility told practitioners in June 2026 to treat text an AI writes as a draft, and the agent works that way.
- Days a return waits on the client, before and after
- Follow-up messages per return
- Returns extended only because a document was missing
- Uploads matched without correction
- Documents filed to the wrong client, with a target of zero
Questions about this agent
Does this replace SurePrep or GruntWorx?
No. Those tools move numbers from source documents into the return. The agent works earlier, sorting uploads and chasing what is missing, so keep the extraction tool you already use. If your portal already renames uploads or sends reminders, keep that as well.
Which portals does it work with?
We scope builds for common portals, such as TaxDome, Canopy, SmartVault and CCH Axcess Client Collaboration, plus Outlook and Gmail mailboxes. The sprint confirms how documents reach the agent in your setup before we quote a build.
What about Section 7216 and client data?
Documents sent for a return are tax return information. The agent runs inside your firm's environment, only for preparing the return. We bring tax documents in only after counsel confirms the Section 7216 exception that applies or the consent that is required, and after the firm approves the security controls in its written information security plan. A first project can start with bookkeeping and close documents and add tax documents once that review is done.