Adding forms to Print with Return?

[Casanovacpas]

Hello Forum,

This is my fist post, I see that this forum is pretty active (just asked to join the Facebook Group as well). I am a new PTO user coming from ProSeries, I feel that this software will be perfect for my firm since I have around 100 business clients all on QBO.

Anyway ProSeries was very easy to customize the print options, I understand PTO doesn't have the same level of print customization but I wanted to see if I can add my engagement letter and a custom page that gives instructions how to check their refunds online (I am trying to minimize senseless calls to my office).  

Thank you in advance look forward to working with PTO and trying to learn the program and help out this forum in the future as well.

[itonewbie]

Welcome to the Community!  Will see you on the FB group too.

Your topic says "Adding forms to print with returns" but your question is about engagement letter, which happens before a return is prepared.

To customize your engagement letter template, simply follow these steps:

1. Click on "Intuit Link" in the left panel of PTO;
2. Click on Settings on the top right corner, next to Help and the Create request button;
3. Scroll down to the Organizer templates section:
   1. Click on the small triangle next to Default Personal Tax Organizer to expand the items.  On the line for Engagement Letter, click on Edit to customize the default letter as you wish; or
   2. Click on + Create a template above Default Personal Tax Organizer to create a brand new set of organizer template and build a totally new Engagement Letter of your own.

If you would like to include a file (e.g. PDF or Word document) as an attachment or addendum to the Engagement Letter in Link, your only other options are:

1. Within the Link drawer of PTO:
   1. Create a new item under the Document Checklist of a particular client;
   2. Get out of that item;
   3. Cick on the Act as taxpayer checkbox in the bottom left corner of the Link drawer; and
   4. Click on the Upload a Document button under that item you just created; or
2. Open the Link for Accountant portal (which was deactivate for TY2018 but apparently reactivated for TY2019) at https://link.intuit.com/accountant but note that this can only be done after that client has accepted your invitation to Link;
   1. Select Tax Year 2019 from the dropbox on left panel under the Link logo on the top;
   2. On the line with your client's name, click on Review under the ACTIONS column on the far right;
   3. Click on the Add Request button on the right;
   4. Under Single Request, select Engagement Letter as the Request Type;
   5. Type in whatever basic instructions/descriptions you would like your client to note about the document under Request Text;
   6. Click on the Attach file(s) button to select the file(s) to upload;
   7. Click on the Save button; and
   8. If you are satisfied with everything, click on one of the buttons in the You're almost there box.

Hope this helps.

BTW, if you have not used Link before, it would be advisable that you set yourself up as a mock client and test out the process flow on both ends as the accountant and client, so that you are aware of some of the quirks and can answer your clients' questions as well as problem solve for them when they run into problems.

[Casanovacpas]

Hello Itonewbie,

Thanks for responding so fast, I wanted to add the engagement letter and a sheet that describes the where's my refund procedures to print with every clients tax return regardless if they use link.  I am trying to get most of my clients on intuit link and I am all ready set up (I used to hate it when I used ProSeries because it wasn't designed to work with it as well as it does with PTO).

I do have some elderly clients who I know won't jump into the cloud so I will want these things printed out when I print their return.  

I guess a work around will be to make a letter and just upload it when I upload their return and print one out every-time I print a return (Which i'm trying to minimize this year by informing clients we are moving to be 100% paperless and if they want a paper return they will have to pay a surcharge for printing). Most of my clients have their phones on them and I can have them make the link or if they use apple I can airdrop them the return from my imac.

Thanks again for your suggestions.

[itonewbie]

Glad to be of help and thanks for the clarification.

You might be surprised how Link does not work so well with PTO either (although there is no denial it has better integration with both Link and QBO).  Unfortunately also, the only way to modify returns printed from PTO (or even just the client letter, which is actually basic filing instructions) is to use an external PDF editor.

As you mentioned, you could upload a separate file to Link for your clients' reference, along with the finalized return.  In case you are not aware, there were a lot of complaints about the native share the return with client function last year.  For one, you don't get to see what and how the return has been shared.  Second, there is no way to retract it in case something goes wrong.  A better option, again, is to use either the Act as taxpayer function in the Link drawer or create a new request within the Link for Accountant portal as suggested in my previous response - at least until this functionality is drastically improved and we haven't heard that it would thus far.