When the Client Writes on the Document: Handwritten Notes, Circled Figures and the AI Pass

Some clients write on their documents. A figure gets circled. A margin note says what a charge was for. A line on a statement is crossed out, with a different amount written next to it. By the time the folder reaches the Firm, the printed page and the client's ink sit on the same scan.

Those marks help. They're also a second voice on the page, and a drafted entry that blends the two can hide which voice it came from.

In this method, the Firm treats the handwriting as the client's statement, separate from the printed document. The file index marks every annotated page, drafted entries cite the printed figure, and where a note differs from the print, the Preparer records the difference in a Note column for the Reviewer and marks the entry by hand. The plugin drafts; the Firm's preparer prepares; the Reviewer signs off. Every step here is written and kept by people at the Firm, in whatever systems the Firm already uses, and the Firm can adapt any of it.

This piece gives a Firm's method for client handwriting on documents: an index column, a marking table, a line for the Firm's AI instructions, a client question, a pre-review check and a Doe example. A summary the client builds on their own is a different case, covered in client-made spreadsheets and the AI pass.

The handwriting is the client's statement

The printed document came from whoever issued it: a bank, a payer, a vendor. The handwriting came from the client, after the fact. In this method, the Firm keeps the two apart. The printed figure is what the document says. The note is what the client says about it.

Neither gets dropped. A circled figure with nothing written beside it is still a mark from the client, and the Firm records it as one. A margin note can explain an item, correct it in the client's view, or raise a question. A crossed-out line still has its printed figure under the ink, and the Preparer records the print and the crossing-out side by side.

The Preparer doesn't pick between print and note. Where they differ, the Preparer writes the difference down and leaves it for the Reviewer to decide.

A note that gives a figure with no document behind it at all is closer to a client estimate, handled as in marking entries drafted from a client's estimate.

Marking annotated pages in the file index

If the Firm keeps a file index, as in setting up the client folder before any AI pass, it can add a column for handwriting. The person building the index looks at each page and fills it in by hand.

In this method, a page with no handwriting gets "none" rather than a blank, so a blank cell means no one at the Firm has looked at that page yet. An illegible note gets that word in the Note column and a question to the client, never a guess.

A line for the Firm's AI instructions

If the Firm keeps written instructions for its AI pass, as in writing instructions for AI on tax documents, it can add a line about handwriting. The instruction's owner adds it as a new version.

Some pages in this folder carry the client's handwriting: circled figures, margin notes or crossed-out lines. For any drafted entry from such a page, cite the printed figure and its page. Quote the Firm's transcription separately, word for word, as the client's note; keep unreadable portions identified and client replies separately labeled.

The line doesn't set a mark. The Preparer reads each drafted entry against its page and sets the mark by hand.

Marking entries drafted from annotated pages

In this method, the Preparer gives each entry from an annotated page a mark by hand, in its own column, with a Note column beside it for the Reviewer.

In this method, the drafted entry cites the printed figure under every mark. The note sits separately in the Note column; any change to the entry rests with the Reviewer. The Reviewer decides any difference and records the decision in the file.

Asking the client about a note

In this method, a person at the Firm writes to the client when a note can't be read or what it means isn't clear. The question names the page and asks what the note says, without guessing. Nothing goes to the client from a draft. Something like:

Hi Jane, thanks for the statements. On the statement for the business account, the page headed "Withdrawals" has a handwritten note next to a line labeled "Check." We can't read it clearly, and we'd rather ask than guess. Could you tell us what the note says and what you meant by it? A reply to this message works, or a call if that's easier. Thanks, Alex at the Firm

The reply is saved in the file against that index row, word for word for a written reply or as a call note for a call.

The pre-review check

In this method, the Preparer reads down this list once the marks are set. The Firm can add its own lines.

• Every page in the index has an entry in the Handwriting column, "none" included.
• Every entry from an annotated page has a mark, set by hand.
• Every drafted entry from an annotated page cites the printed figure and its page.
• Readable handwriting is quoted in the Note, apart from the printed figure; unreadable portions are identified.
• Every "note differs" entry states the difference in plain words for the Reviewer.
• Every "note unclear" entry has a question sent, and any reply saved against its index row.

What the Reviewer sees

The Reviewer sees annotated pages in the index and drafted entries citing the print, with readable notes quoted and unreadable portions identified.

In this method, the Reviewer decides each difference and signs off on the whole file, annotated pages included. The marks and Notes aren't a sign-off and don't stand in for one. No file is done without the Reviewer's sign-off.

A Doe example

The names and file below are made up for illustration.

Jane Doe owns Doe Holdings, a synthetic client of the Firm. Alex Doe is the Preparer and Pat Doe is the Reviewer.

Jane scans her bank statements and her vendor invoices. On a statement page she has circled a deposit labeled "Transfer" and written "from the other account" beside it. On a vendor invoice she has crossed out the printed total and written a lower figure next to it with "credit given." On another statement page, a note beside a check is too faded to read.

Alex fills in the Handwriting column page by page: circled and margin note on the deposit page, crossed out and margin note on the invoice, margin note on the faded page with "illegible" in its Note. The Firm's AI instructions already carry the handwriting line.

Alex reads each drafted entry against its page, checks that it cites the printed figure, and sets the marks by hand. The deposit gets "Print, note agrees," with Jane's note quoted. The invoice gets "Print, note differs": the Note gives the printed total, quotes Jane's figure and "credit given," and says in plain words that her figure is lower than the print. Alex marks the check "Print, note unclear," records the question in its Note, and asks Jane.

Jane replies with what the note says and what she meant. Alex saves her reply word for word against the index row, labels it as her reply in the entry's Note, and records differences for Pat.

Alex runs the pre-review check and sends the file to Pat. Pat decides the recorded differences, records the decisions in the file, and signs off on the whole file.

Jane's handwriting stays on the scan; readable words are quoted apart from the print, with her reply labeled separately.

Where TracePrep fits

We've built a TracePrep plugin that drafts these steps in your Firm's workflow, while your preparer decides and your Reviewer signs off. Join the waitlist and we'll tell you when plugin access opens.

Get on the list for plugin access

This is general information, not tax or legal advice. In TracePrep's workflow, the plugin drafts, the Firm's preparer prepares, and the Firm's Reviewer signs off. Access to the plugin is by waitlist. Keep client data inside the systems your Firm has approved.