Complete a request from your accountant

When your accountant needs information or documents from you, they send a request. This article walks through opening a request in the client portal, answering it, and sending it back. If you have not signed in to the client portal before, start with Using the client portal.

Open a request

You will get an email when a request is sent to you. The link in the email opens the request directly. You can also sign in to the client portal and click Requests in the navigation, where the Open tab lists everything waiting on you and the Completed tab holds what you have already finished. Each request shows a progress bar and what is left, such as “3 questions and 2 documents left”, so you can see at a glance what still needs you.

Click a request to see its progress, then Start, Continue if you have already begun, or Review once you have finished everything. Every request opens in the same full-screen page. To message your accountant about a request, use Add a comment under it in the list.

When a request has more than one page, they are listed down the left: the questions, as one page or a page per section, with how far along you are; Documents, one list of everything to upload; and, where your accountant asks for it, Review & submit. A request with only one page, such as a few documents to upload, shows just that page. Click any of them to jump there, or press Continue at the bottom of a page to move to the next one. On a phone, tap the bar under the title to see the list. The questions come first because your answers decide which documents are needed: answering yes to a new job, for example, adds its W-2, and the question shows what was added. You can still open Documents at any time. If you change an answer so that a document you already uploaded is no longer needed, the file stays under Something else we should see, and goes back to its document if you change the answer back.

Answer questions and upload files

Work through the items in any order. Everything saves automatically as you go, so you can stop at any point and pick up later; use Save and exit to leave at any time without losing anything.

Some questions show your previous response labelled Last time, with the date you gave it. If nothing has changed, click Use this answer to accept it; otherwise just type the new answer. Depending on your answers, follow-up questions may appear or disappear. That is normal; you only ever see the questions that apply to you.

For file items, upload the document against the item. If you don’t have a document, choose I don’t have this, then pick It doesn’t apply or I’ll send it later and add a note for your accountant if it helps. A document you’ll send later keeps the request open until it arrives, and you can still add it after submitting.

Send the documents your accountant listed

Your accountant may list the exact documents they need, such as a W-2 from each employer. Each one has its own Upload button. They are all under Documents, grouped by section where the request has sections. Each shows why it’s listed when one of your answers added it. Use Add another for an extra file that belongs with a document, and Something else we should see for anything your accountant didn’t list.

When your accountant lists specific documents, you can send several at once by dropping them all in the box at the top of Documents. Each file is matched to the document its name describes, such as a W-2 from your employer. If a file can’t be matched, you’ll be asked which document it is. Otherwise, use the Upload button on each item.

If you do not have one, choose I don’t have this and pick It doesn’t apply or I’ll send it later. Add a note for your accountant if it helps. Documents your accountant is getting themselves are marked We’ll get this, and you do not need to do anything with them.

The request’s line in your list names what is left, so you can see when your answers are done but documents are still needed. Documents you’ll send later are listed apart, and a request with a review step reads Ready to submit once everything else is in.

Approve a document

Some requests ask you to approve a document, such as draft financial statements. When that is all the request asks, the document opens on the page: read it, tick I’ve reviewed this document, and click Approve, or click Request changes and describe what needs to change. When the approval sits among other questions, open the document first; the Approve button stays disabled until you have looked at it, then click Approve and confirm. Your accountant is notified either way. Once approved, the item shows who approved it and when.

Review, sign, and submit

Some requests end with a Review & submit step. It unlocks once the required items are finished (documents you marked to send later count as handled), then shows all your answers on one page for a final look. Confirm the information you have provided is accurate and complete, type your full name to sign, and click Submit request. You will see a confirmation, and your accountant is notified that everything is in.

Answer a follow-up question from your accountant

If your accountant needs more detail on something you already answered, you get an email naming that question, the answer you gave, and what they are asking for. The link opens the request without signing in.

The item shows their question under Question for you. You can reply to them in your own words, change your answer, or upload a different document; do whichever suits, or more than one. Only the item they asked about reopens, so the rest of your answers stay as you submitted them.

Your reply stays on screen once sent, and Add another reply lets you add more. Nothing further is needed from you after you reply. The request reads as finished on your side again while your accountant reviews it, and it moves back to your Open tab only if they ask something else.

After you submit

Finished requests move to the Completed tab, where you can look back at everything you sent. Answers are read-only after submission, but you can still add documents to upload items your accountant has not reviewed yet, including anything you marked to send later. If something needs to change, contact your accountant; they can reopen the request so you can update your answers, and you will get an email when they do.

If a request is still open, you may receive reminder emails until it is completed. These stop after a while, and the last one says so. If you need more time, reply to it and your accountant will pick it up.