Pipelines (Use Case): Handling filing extensions

An extension filed on time can protect your clients from rushing at the last moment, filing with an incomplete set of documents, or spending time and money to file an amended return. So, if your client needs an extension, how would you handle them? With job custom statuses, you can deal with them in your regular pipeline.

Before you start

What are custom job statuses? By default, jobs can be Active or Archived. However, regardless of the pipeline stage, you may need a job to be delayed for some reason. This can be handled via custom job statuses that are individually set for each pipeline. For example, if you need to handle an extension in the 1040 pipeline, you can add the Needs Extension status. Once the job has a custom status, it is clearly visible in your pipeline.

You can also add automations to custom statuses to specify what actions should be taken before the job automatically gets back to the common flow. So, if you switch the job status to Needs Extension, it will, for example, create a task. Once the task assignee marks it as Completed, the job status switches back to Active.

This way, you can handle filing extensions without adding extra stages to your pipeline. You can learn more about custom job statuses in the detailed article, or just jump right to the example below.

Step-by-step pipeline setup for handling extensions

To set your 1040 pipeline for handling clients with extensions, follow these steps:

Step 1. Add a custom status with automations

Open the pipeline you need for editing and create a custom status for handling extensions. Add the Create task automation with instructions on filing the extensions. Or you can add the automation later when changing the status to a custom one.

Step 2. Include instructions for your team

To make the extension process run smoothly, make sure that all team members involved in tax preparation are aware of the process:

Add a subtask to the task template used in the tax preparation stage, prompting the team to update the custom job status when necessary.

Create a wiki page on the extension process with step-by-step instructions for your team and add it to the job template. You can also add the Add wiki page automation with this page to the In prep stage.

Step 3. Test the process with your test client

Now, make sure the extension process works as intended by adding the job for your test client:

1. While the job is in the In prep stage, open the job card and change the job status to Needs extension. Confirm task creation.

2. The job will stay in the same stage, but the custom status will be clearly indicated on a job card.

3. Open the job, make sure the task is created and linked to it, and mark the task as completed. The job status will change back to Active.

Tip! You can set up your own 1040 pipeline or just download our 1040 Tax Return Pipeline pipeline template from the Marketplace.