If you received your organizer as a hard copy last year, your organizer will be mailed to you again this year.

We've implemented a new program, SafeSend, to help simplify the tax organizer process.

If you've provided your organizer electronically in the past, you can expect to use SafeSend this year. Please watch your email for SafeSend correspondence. You may need to “white list” noreply@safesend.com or add this email as a contact so the organizer does not end up in spam.

Below are some tips and tricks for using the SafeSend organizer.

The first email you receive will provide a link to access your web organizer. Select this link to begin the process.

You'll be directed to the SafeSend site, where you'll find your digital organizer like the one pictured here. Select "Get Started."

Before you can access the organizer, you need to verify your identity. On this screen, you must select "Request Access Code." This will prompt SafeSend to email a code to the address on file.

First, you'll need to sign your engagement letter by selecting "Sign Documents." Then, select “Start," enter your signature, and “Finish." If you're a single taxpayer, then you are complete. If you file a joint return and we do not have your spouse's email, SafeSend will prompt you to send a copy of the engagement letter to your spouse for signature. Otherwise, a link will be automatically sent to your spouse. When your spouse receives the email, they will go through the same steps to complete the form.

Next, select "Complete Organizer." Within this section, you'll be asked to answer a series of questions. We ask that you respond to all questions and leave notes, if applicable. Questions marked with an asterisk are required. If you do not answer these questions, you will not be able to complete your organizer.

There are several pages to the organizer. Be sure to click the "next page" button on the top task bar to navigate through the pages (see below) or use the index on the left-hand side of the organizer.

Once you've completed the questions, you can complete the organizer. If you want to return to the organizer questions before you submit the information to our office, select "Save and Continue Later." If you choose "Organizer Complete," your organizer will be submitted, and you won't be able to make any changes. Therefore, we recommend that you only mark the organizer complete once you've completed the whole process and are confident that you don't need to make changes.

If you've completed your engagement letter and tax organizer, then you're ready to upload documents. Select the "Upload Documents" button and begin adding your files to SafeSend. We are asking that you only upload PDF documents-- other formats are not ideal for processing your return. Please do not password protect the PDF files; this makes working with your files significantly more difficult for us. SafeSend is a secure portal and all your information will be protected.

When you've added all available documents, select "download" and confirm that your PDFs are all listed in the document section.

IMPORTANT:

If you have not uploaded all documents, select "Save & Notify Tax Professional." This option will notify us that you've uploaded documents, but are not complete. If you use this option, you can use your original SafeSend link to log back in and upload additional documents.

When you're completely finished uploading documents, hit "Complete" and then confirm that you have nothing further to upload. If you indicate the organizer is complete, you will be unable to upload further documents. We will be notified that you are complete and your return will enter our queue for processing.

If you've completed all sections of the organizer, you will not be able to make any changes, but you will have the ability to download the information you've sent to us.

If you run into any issues or need to provide further information to our office, contact Kim Dziobak at kim@jellisoncpa.com.