One Item, Two Source Documents: Pairing Entries on an AI-Drafted File

A client folder can hold the same item on more than one document. A bank statement line shows a payment, and the vendor invoice behind that payment sits a few documents down. A brokerage summary and the detailed statement behind it can describe the same activity in different words.

The draft can carry an entry from each document. Read one at a time, each entry can look fine.

In this method, a pairs sheet is a record the Preparer writes and keeps by hand for any item seen on more than one document, so the Preparer and the Reviewer can see both entries side by side. The plugin drafts; the Firm's preparer prepares; the Reviewer signs off. The sheet is the Firm's own record, kept by people in whatever systems the Firm already uses.

This piece gives a paste-ready pairs sheet, two hand marks, a pre-review check, a line the Firm can add to its AI instructions and a Doe example. It's a different case from two copies of one statement: here the documents are different, and the item is the same.

What counts as a pair

In this method, a pair is one item that shows up on two different documents in the folder, with an entry in the draft drawn from each. The Preparer decides what's the same item by reading both pages. A shared name, a shared date or a similar description is a reason to look, not a decision.

Some items show up on more than two documents. The sheet gets a row for each extra document, all under the same pair label.

The pairs sheet

The Firm can paste this into the file and adapt the columns:

• File: [client and file name]
• Sheet kept by: [Preparer name]
• Last updated: [marker]

Each row points at the file index and at the entry list, so the Reviewer can open both pages and both entries from the sheet. If the Firm already names its entries, use the same IDs as its entry ID scheme.

The two hand marks

The Preparer puts one mark on each entry in a pair, by hand, on the entry list and on the sheet. The Firm can rename these:

• Keep. The entry the Preparer works from for this item.
• Reference only. The entry stays in the list and points back to its pair label. The Preparer doesn't work from it.

In this method, each pair gets exactly one keep mark. Both marks are the Firm's bookkeeping marks on the draft. They say which entry the Preparer is working from; they don't say how the item is treated, and they don't decide anything for the Reviewer.

The reference entry stays in the list rather than coming out, so the Reviewer can see both. If the Firm logs hand edits, the marks go in that log like any other change, as in marking hand edits on an AI-drafted entry list.

Where the differences go

Two documents about the same item can say different things. The invoice can show a different date from the bank line, or a summary can group what the detailed statement lists line by line.

In this method, the Preparer writes each difference in plain words in the difference column, with a locator for each page. The Preparer doesn't pick a side in that column. The Reviewer reads the note, opens both pages and writes a decision in the last column.

If the Reviewer's decision changes which entry carries the keep mark, the Preparer moves the marks and updates the sheet. The Reviewer then looks at the changed rows as part of the file.

The pre-review check

In this method, the Firm adds this check to the Preparer's review of the draft. The Firm can adapt the wording and the order:

• Every row on the sheet names both index rows and both entry IDs.
• Every entry ID on the sheet is in the entry list, and every index row is in the file index.
• Each pair has exactly one keep mark, and every other entry in it is marked reference only.
• Each mark on the sheet is the same as the mark on the entry list.
• Every difference has a note with a locator for each page.
• The decision column is blank for the Reviewer.

When something doesn't line up, the Preparer fixes the sheet or the entry list and runs the check again. Then the file goes to the Reviewer with the sheet in it.

No file is done without the Reviewer's sign-off.

A line for the Firm's AI instructions

The Firm can add a request like this to its own AI instructions:

For each entry, cite every document the entry draws on, with the file index name and a page locator for each; if an entry draws on more than one document, list all of them in the same citation.

The line is a request the Firm writes. The Preparer still reads both pages for every pair, whatever the citations show.

What the sheet is not

It isn't a decision about the item. The Reviewer decides what the differences mean and signs off on the whole file.

It isn't a reason to delete an entry. In this method, both entries stay in the list with their marks, and the sheet shows why.

The Reviewer signs off on the whole file, pairs sheet included.

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, the Preparer, reads the draft and sees an entry drawn from a bank statement line and another drawn from a vendor invoice. Alex opens both pages and reads them as the same payment to the same vendor.

Alex adds a row to the pairs sheet: the label "vendor payment", the index row and entry ID for the bank statement, and the index row and entry ID for the invoice. Alex marks the invoice entry keep and the bank entry reference only on the sheet, then marks the invoice entry on the entry list and logs that as a hand edit.

The invoice shows a date that differs from the bank line. Alex writes that in the difference column, with a locator for each page, and leaves the decision column blank.

Alex runs the pre-review check and finds that the bank entry on the list has no mark yet. Alex marks it reference only, logs that hand edit, and runs the check again. Then Alex sends the file to Pat Doe, the Reviewer.

Pat opens both pages from the sheet, writes a decision on the date difference and leaves the marks as they are. Pat reviews the file and signs off on the whole file.

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.