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How to choose a tax organizer

tax organizer
By Sylva Sivz BComm. Reviewed by: James Rose. Last Updated July 3, 2024

Preparing income tax returns is a lengthy process that involves collecting important tax records, making complex calculations, and verifying client information. To streamline tax workflows, many accountants and individuals are switching from old-school tax preparation methods to using digital tax organizers.

Whether you're an accountant looking for an opportunity to work more efficiently or an individual filing your own taxes, we've got you covered! In this post, we'll discuss key features to look for in a tax organizer and highlight a few options on the market you can explore. Let's dive in.

Tax organizer

What is a tax organizer?

A tax organizer is a digital tool that helps you gather and organize all the information and documents you need in one place to prepare a tax return. It can help you sort out documents like:

  • Financial statements 
  • Identification documents
  • Photographs
  • Scans
  • Receipts

Moreover, tax organizers also come with collaboration features to help accountants and clients communicate more easily throughout the tax return filing process. 

How do tax organizers help tax professionals? 

Reduce emails 

A tax organizer eliminates the need for back-and-forth emails between accountants and clients and avoids other issues associated with email like running into file size limitations when uploading documents.

Centralize tax documents 

Rather than having to trace back financial data and document uploads across multiple email threads, a tax organizer helps you centralize all tax information in one place you can count on for the most accurate and up-to-date information. 

Keep information secure 

Tax organizers typically come with several different data privacy and security features to protect sensitive financial information. This helps prevent data leaks and other security threats that come with sharing information over alternative methods like email. 

Collaborate with clients

Conversing over email is just as much a pain for clients. Collaborating with them through a tax organizer is a good way to impress new clients with the ease of your service and improve the client experience for returning clients. 

Reduce tax preparation appointments

Using a tax organizer gets rid of the need to set up tax preparation appointments. Less time in meetings means more time focusing on doing the work that matters!  

Related: Why accountants struggle to turnaround individual tax returns (ITRs) on time

Tax appointment

3 key things to consider when choosing a tax organizer

Collaboration capabilities 

Some tax organizers work great as data collection tools but aren’t the strongest when it comes to conversing with clients. Ideally, you want a tool that does both functions well. 

Security features

Some options might only offer one or two security features and others might offer a whole suite of options for protecting your data from data encryption to multi-factor authentication and network isolation. 

Integrations

Probably one of the biggest things to consider is how well the tool will work with other software you use for your accounting workflows. It can be a pain to use a tax organizer in isolation, so before you invest in one, you’ll want to check what integrations it offers to connect to other tools like Quickbooks, Slack, Gmail, FYI Docs, or Xero Practice Manager if those are some of the platforms that you use regularly. 

3 of the best tax organizers  

Here are 3 of our top picks for tax organizers. All of these options offer you questionnaire templates you can send to clients as-is or customize as you please. All options also help you gather documents in one centralized place. Let’s explore some of the ways these platforms differ. 

1. Content Snare

Content Snare tax organizer

Content Snare is a flexible data collection and collaboration tool that assists accountants with tax filing as well as other accounting processes. Aside from offering several tax preparation templates to choose from, it’s often praised for being an extremely user-friendly tool thanks to the following highlights: 

Large file size uploads

You never have to worry about running into issues when receiving attachments from clients. Content Snare lets clients upload documents and images of up to 4 GB by default, and up to 16 GB depending on your plan.   

Automatic reminders

Once you send clients your tax questionnaire, you can set a reminder schedule that the tool will follow to nudge clients to send you their information on time. Way less work for you! 

Approve/reject/comment

Content Snare lets you respond to client’s questionnaire answers for every question. You can approve their answers as they come in or reject them if the client gives you incorrect amounts, uploads blurry documents, or attaches images that are illegible. All you have to do is use the comment feature within the form itself to let them know there are errors. 

Security features 

User friendliness certainly doesn’t come at the cost of security for Content Snare. The platform offers several different security and compliance features to protect sensitive data, from user authentication to encryption. 

Integrations

Last but not least, Content Snare integrates seamlessly with popular tools like Google Drive, Xero Practice Manager, Zapier and many more. 

Speed up income tax preparation with Content Snare

Join a growing number of accounting firms worldwide that are using Content Snare to gather financial information from clients and prepare their tax returns in a fraction of the time.

Start your free trial

2. TaxDome

TaxDome tax organizer

TaxDome is a popular practice management software designed for tax professionals, accountants, and CPAs. Here are some of its key features:

Reminders 

TaxDome lets you send organizers to your clients manually or automatically based on due dates, nudging your clients to complete them.

Automatic task assignments 

The platform offers several other automation triggers. It can assign tasks to your team automatically based on the client’s questionnaire answers. It can also automatically assign the next steps in your onboarding process to keep your workflow moving. 

TaxDome set automation

Conditional logic  

TaxDome is extremely flexible with its form building capabilities. You can set conditions that allow users to skip irrelevant questions or show previous answers. With conditions in place, clients no longer have to skip what doesn’t apply to them; instead, they will only see the questions that require their answers, for their unique situation.

Integrations 

TaxDome offers a big list of integrations with popular tax programs, schedulers, payment providers like Google Sheets, Zapier, Calendly, ProSerie, CPA Charge and more. 

Security 

TaxDome’s employs a number of industry standards to keep your data safe and secure. One example is that data is stored in Amazon AWS and is backed up daily.

Mobile friendly 

Is accessible via desktop or mobile, allowing clients to input their information on the go. 

TaxDome mobile app

3. TaxCaddy

TaxCaddy device support

TaxCaddy is another popular option to consider for filing taxes. Some key features it offers include:

E-signatures

The platform supports electronic signatures, allowing clients to sign tax documents digitally from any device. This eliminates the need for printing, signing, and scanning physical documents, making the process more efficient and environmentally friendly.

Device support 

TaxCaddy lets you gather or upload documents from your PC, Mac, tablet, or phone. Moreover, you can use the TaxCaddy mobile app to photograph, upload, and categorize documents as you receive them. 

Automated document retrieval

TaxCaddy mentions that you can link it to leading financial institutions to automatically fetch documents like W-2s, 1099s, and 1098s. TaxCaddy will then retrieve your documents for you.

TaxCaddy document retrival

Secure messaging

TaxCaddy’s secure messaging feature facilitates communication between tax professionals and their clients. Clients can ask questions, provide additional information, or request clarification directly within the platform, ensuring smooth and timely communication throughout the tax preparation process. 

Security 

TaxCaddy uses two-factor authentication to help keep your account secure by prompting you to enter a security code each time you log in

Integrations

TaxCaddy integrates with popular tax preparation software like Intuit ProConnect Tax Online, Drake Tax, and UltraTax CS. This allows tax professionals to import client data directly from TaxCaddy into their preferred tax software, saving time and reducing data entry errors.

Final advice on choosing a tax organizer 

Transitioning from traditional tax preparation methods to digital tax organizers marks a significant shift in the tax workflow. The streamlined approach they offer helps you focus on what truly matters, and that's the landscape that’s delivering accurate and timely services.

Content Snare, TaxDome, and TaxCaddy are just a few examples to give you an idea of the diverse functionalities available in the market. At the end of the day, it all depends on what features you need the most and what your preferences are. We recommend signing up for free trials to see which platform you like most! 

Speed up income tax preparation with Content Snare

Join a growing number of accounting firms worldwide that are using Content Snare to gather financial information from clients and prepare their tax returns in a fraction of the time.

Start your free trial

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