Create and send document checklists

The Intake document checklist is a smart way to collect tax documents from clients. Create a personalized list of documents your client needs to upload, then deliver it via organizer.

Receiving a clear list of what’s needed, clients know exactly what to upload or can simply indicate why a document isn’t available—leading to fewer delays, less manual work, and a much smoother start to tax preparation.

Document checklist, explained

Document checklists let you set up a smart intake process tailored to your firm and your clients. Checklists are created as a separate entity but are always delivered to clients via an organizer. The organizer can contain just the checklist, just a questionnaire, or both.

Start by creating customized checklists for your tax clients , then choose how to send the organizer:

• Send manually to individual clients for a personalized approach
• Send in bulk when multiple clients need the same organizer sent along with the personalized checklists
• Automate intake by adding checklists to your pipeline workflow

After creating checklists, you can review and manage all documents and answers in one place. This makes collecting tax return documents simple and efficient.

Document checklists are part of TaxDome’s tax return intake and delivery workflow , which helps you collect documents, prepare and deliver completed tax returns to clients.

Create document checklist

The checklist is created in the Documents section of the account profile. While tailoring a checklist, you can:

• Choose from 42+ document types: Common tax forms like W-2, 1099, 1098, and more
• Add custom descriptions: Organization names, instructions, dates, or clarifying context

You can build it manually or use AI to generate it from prior-year returns based on your tax software. The checklist is not visible to the client until you send it .

Create manually

To create the checklist manually:

1. Go to Clients > Accounts > Docs > Documents or to Documents > Clients docs and select the account.
2. Click Checklist.

3. Add items to your checklist.

For each document, you can fill out the following fields:

• Doc type: Select one of the common tax forms (e.g., W-2, 1099, 1098) from the dropdown. If the document you need isn’t listed, select Other.
• Description: Add details to help your client identify the document. You can use this field for organization names (e.g., “Apple”), additional instructions or tips, relevant dates, or any context that clarifies what’s needed.

You can edit or delete items at any time. All changes are saved automatically.

Generate with AI

Depending on your tax software, you may be able to generate a checklist based on prior-year returns with AI. This functionality currently supports Form 1040 for Drake, Lacerte, ProSeries, and UltraTax. We are working on adding more software options and data sources.

To generate a checklist with AI:

1. Go to Clients > Accounts > Docs > Documents or to Documents > Client’s Docs and select the account.

2. Click Checklist.

3. Select the tax software used for the previous year’s tax return from the dropdown. If your system is supported, you will be able to proceed with file uploading.

4. Upload the document: the file must be in PDF format with a maximum size of 30MB. The preparer’s copy is preferred, as it typically includes worksheets that help generate a more accurate checklist. You can choose the document:

• From uploads to select a document already in TaxDome.

• Browse files to upload a new document from your computer.

5. Wait while the document is analyzed. You can close the sidebar—we will notify you when the checklist is ready.

6. Review the generated checklist and make any necessary adjustments. Edit document types, descriptions, or remove items if needed.

If you need to start over, click Clear all to remove all items and begin creating a new checklist.

Send document checklist

When you create a document checklist, clients don’t see it yet—the status reflects the state. To make the checklist available to clients, you need to send it via organizer. This could be done either from the checklist or from the organizer creation screen.

You can send organizers containing only a checklist or a checklist with a questionnaire.

Send from the checklist

Right after creating a checklist, you can send it immediately. Choose from two options:

• Send with organizer: This will allow you to select the organizer template to send a questionnaire along with the checklist. Please see the standard organizer sending workflow for details.
• Send checklist only: Lets you collect documents without requiring clients to complete a questionnaire (see below).

When you click Send checklist only, TaxDome automatically creates an empty organizer. This template contains only an introduction section and your document checklist—no additional questions or sections to configure.

To send a checklist-only:

1. Create a checklist

2. Click Send checklist only. An empty organizer template will be created automatically.

3. Turn on automatic reminders to ensure additional notification is sent to the client if they don’t return the completed checklist by a certain deadline (optional).

4. Add a name for the organizer and click Create and send.

Send from organizer

You can also send an organizer containing a checklist when sending an organizer to the client. Please see the standard organizer sending workflow for details.

Send in bulk

When sending organizers with checklists in bulk, all clients receive the same questionnaire template, but each gets their own personalized checklist (created beforehand in their account). That’s why it’s important to have them ready before sending. Here’s how to proceed with bulk sending:

• Step 1. Check if all checklists are created

• Step 2. Enable the document checklist in the organizer template

• Step 3. Send the organizer with the document checklist

Step 1. Check if all checklists are created

To ensure checklists are ready for all your tax clients before sending, verify their status in the Accounts section. You can do this in two ways:

• View the Checklist column: Go to Clients > Accounts and look at the Checklist column. Accounts with a checklist will show a list icon, while accounts without one will appear empty.

• Use the Checklist filter: Go to Clients > Accounts, click Filter > Checklist and select either Created or Not created to view accounts based on their checklist status. This helps you quickly identify which clients still need checklists prepared.

Step 2. Enable the document checklist in the organizer template (optional)

Checklists are always delivered via organizer. The organizer can contain a full questionnaire or be empty (checklist-only). To attach a checklist to an organizer template , open the template and enable the Attach checklists option.

Also, this is essential for sending checklists automatically .

Step 3. Send the organizer with the document checklist

If you have all the clients’ checklists prepared, you can send them in bulk. To do this:

1. Go to Clients from the left sidebar menu, filter your account list by Checklist > Created. This way, you will be able to identify all accounts that have a checklist created.

2. Select the checkboxes next to the clients you want to send the checklist to, then click Send Organizer.

3. Enable the Attach checklist option or select the template with this option enabled, then send the organizer.

Here’s what happens:

• If a checklist was created for the account: The client will receive a unified intake package.
• If no checklist was created for the account: The client will receive a questionnaire only. However, you can add items to the checklist after sending.

What if I send an empty checklist?

If you accidentally send an organizer with the Attach checklist option enabled to clients without checklists created, they receive only the organizer—the checklist section won’t be displayed. However, an empty checklist will be created for them.

You can identify those clients and fill in the checklist if needed. To do this:

1. Go to Organizers from the left menu bar.

2. Click Filter.

3. Select Checklist, apply the logical operator is, and choose Empty. This shows organizers with checklists that exist but have no items.

Organizers with empty checklists will display an Add items icon in the Checklist column. To add documents to an empty checklist, click Add items. This opens the checklist editor, where you can add the necessary document types and descriptions. Once at least one item is added, the checklist will be displayed for the client inside the sent organizer.

Client view

If notifications are on, clients are informed that they’ve received an organizer (which may contain a checklist, a questionnaire, or both). Your clients can see and interact with a checklist in different ways:

• From the client portal or mobile app: Click the notification under their to-do list or the link on the Organizers page. 

• From the email notification: Click Complete organizer in the email.

How clients complete the checklist

Clients receive the checklist along with the organizer and view it as a unified intake package.

The package includes three sections:

1. Intro: An explanation of what the client needs to do

2. Questionnaire: Questions from the organizer (optional)

3. Document checklist: The list of required documents

When both components are present, clients can complete them in any order—there’s no required sequence.

Clients need to match documents with checklist items. Once matched, the item will be marked as done, and the firm will see accurate progress.

If a client cannot provide a document right away, they can indicate the reason and specify when they expect to submit it. If notifications are on, the client receives an email reminder to upload the documents on the selected date, reducing the need for manual follow-ups.

When they submit organizer containing a checklist, the organizer status changes from Pending/In progress to Completed, and you receive a notification .

To see the sent organizer with a checklist from the client’s perspective, access the read-only view . 

Next, learn how to work with the checklist once it’s sent to the client.