A Screenshot Instead of a Statement: How the Firm Handles Account Screenshots

Jane Doe sends the Firm a screenshot of her bank's account page, taken on her phone, with a balance and a list of recent activity. The image is sharp and every figure on it can be read. What it isn't is a statement.

In this method, a client account screenshot is logged as a screenshot, not a statement. The Preparer gives it a screenshot row on the file index, notes what it shows and what falls outside the frame, and asks the client for the statement behind it. Any entry that rests only on the screenshot stays open, marked by hand, for the Reviewer's decision.

The plugin drafts; the Firm's preparer prepares; the Reviewer signs off. Every step here is one the Firm writes and keeps, in whatever systems the Firm already uses, and the Firm can adapt the document-handling steps; the Reviewer's sign-off on the whole file stays as it is. Whether a screenshot is ever enough on its own for an entry is for the Firm's own policy to decide.

This piece gives a screenshot row layout, a client message, a marking table, a pre-review check, a Doe example and a line for the Firm's AI instructions.

A typed figure, a page you can't read, a picture of a page

Three cases can look alike at first. A figure typed into the body of a message is covered in figures sent in an email, not a document.

A page that's blurred or cut off is covered in when a source page can't be read.

This case is different. Here, the image shows a readable account page; the Preparer asks the client for the statement behind it. In this method, the Preparer reads what the image shows and doesn't guess at what's outside it.

What counts as a screenshot, in this method

In this method, the Preparer logs an image as a screenshot when any of these is true:

• It's a capture of an account page on a phone, tablet or computer screen.
• It's a photo of a screen, taken with another device.
• It's a capture pasted into a document or a message, cropped or not.

A statement the client downloads from the account, laid out by the issuer, is logged as a statement like any other document. If the Preparer can't tell which an image is, the Preparer logs it as a screenshot and asks the client.

What a screenshot leaves out

A screenshot can leave out what a statement carries: the account holder's name, the period covered, the lines above or below the visible part, and whether an item has posted or is still pending. In this method, the Preparer notes those gaps on the row as "not shown" and doesn't fill them in from the image.

The screenshot row

In this method, the Preparer adds a screenshot row to the file index for each screenshot, before the drafting pass runs on it. The Firm can add this layout to the index it already keeps.

The row describes the image, not what the statement might say. "Not shown" is the Preparer's note; the Reviewer sees it with the rest of the row.

In this method, the Preparer keeps the image as it came in. Where it's kept is for the Firm's own policy to decide.

A line for the Firm's AI instructions

In this method, the Firm adds a line, in its own words, to its instructions for the drafting pass on a folder that holds a screenshot. A version to adapt:

"Screenshot: [image, copy ID]. This is a screenshot, not a statement. Cite it as a screenshot and nothing more; the Preparer checks and marks entries by hand."

The line is the Firm's wording, not a promise about what any drafting software does. The Preparer still checks each entry against the image and its row.

Asking for the statement behind it

In this method, the Preparer asks the client for the statement that covers what the screenshot shows, as in the client question log. The Preparer asks for the statement itself, not for the client's sign-in details. The Firm can adapt this message:

Hi Jane, thanks for the picture of your [account name] page. For your file, we'd like the statement from [bank or provider] that covers the same activity. If you can download it from your account, please send it through our usual upload. If you can't get a statement, let us know and we'll talk it through. Thanks, [Preparer name] at [Firm]

If the Firm's own policy calls for other wording, the Firm's wording wins.

Marking entries drafted from a screenshot

In this method, the Preparer marks by hand, in the entry's note, every entry drafted from a screenshot. The Firm can rename the marks.

Every mark stays on its entry for the Reviewer's decision.

When the statement comes in

In this method, the Preparer gives the statement its own row on the file index, checks it like any other document, and puts its copy ID under "Statement in" on the screenshot row. Entries drafted from the screenshot are drafted again from the statement, and the Preparer checks them against it.

If the statement and the screenshot don't match, the Preparer notes what differs on the entry and marks it "Statement differs" for the Reviewer.

When no statement comes

If the client can't get a statement, or would rather not send one, the Preparer notes the client's answer on the entry and marks it "No statement coming" for the Reviewer. What the Firm does next is for the Firm's own policy to decide.

The pre-review check

In this method, the Preparer reads the file against this check before it goes to the Reviewer. The Firm can add its own lines.

• Each screenshot in the file has a screenshot row.
• Each screenshot row notes what isn't shown and who listed it.
• Each screenshot row has a statement request.
• The Firm's instructions hold a screenshot line for each screenshot in the drafting folder.
• No entry cites a screenshot as a statement.
• Entries drafted from screenshots carry marks set by hand.
• Any entry marked "Statement differs" or "No statement coming" has a note for the Reviewer.

Who asks and who decides

The Firm names people for the document-handling steps; the Reviewer decides on entries and signs off. People at the Firm do every step.

A mark or a screenshot row tells the Reviewer where to look. It isn't a sign-off and doesn't stand in for one. The Reviewer sees every marked entry and screenshot row and decides what happens with each entry, and the Reviewer signs off on the whole file, screenshot rows included. 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 is a synthetic client of the Firm. Alex Doe is the Preparer and Pat Doe is the Reviewer. Among Jane's documents is a screenshot of her savings account page at Doe Bank.

Alex reads the image before the drafting pass. It shows a balance and a short list of activity, with a visible pending label; the holder's name and the period aren't shown. Alex adds a screenshot row, describes the visible activity and pending label, and notes the holder and period as not shown.

Alex adds the screenshot line to the Firm's instructions, and the drafting pass runs on the folder. Alex checks the entries drafted from the image against it and marks them screenshot only, open, by hand.

Alex sends Jane the message and notes its reference under "Statement asked". Jane sends the statement. Alex indexes it and notes its copy ID under "Statement in". The drafting pass runs on the statement. Alex checks the redrafted entries against it and marks the matching ones statement in, by hand. The pending line posted for a different amount, so Alex marks that entry statement differs, with a note of what changed for Pat.

Alex runs the pre-review check and sends the file to Pat. Pat reviews the marked entries and the screenshot row, decides what happens with each entry, 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.