A finished return cannot be checked by reading it

You can read every input screen and still have no way to test a single entry. What makes the work defensible is the trail behind each number: which page it came from, who keyed or confirmed it, and whether it matched in the tax software. Here is how that trail gets built, one client and one tax year at a time.

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1. Folder

What happens
The Preparer opens a Prep for one client and one tax year, records the client's consent evidence, and uploads the folder as PDFs or images. Then the Preparer splits the folder into source documents and names each one: its document type, its tax year, and the person on the return it belongs to.
Who does it
Preparer, Firm
What is produced
A Prep where every page belongs to one named source document, or is marked as not a tax document.
Uncheckable without this step
Without a named document behind every page, a fact has nowhere to point, and a reviewer cannot tell a missing page from an ignored one.

2. Cited facts

What happens
The Preparer enters each fact from its source document, page by page. TracePrep ties every fact to its source. Then the Preparer confirms each document's facts beside the source image and corrects any value that is wrong.
Who does it
Preparer
What is produced
A set of cited facts. Each one carries its value, its source, and how it got there: keyed or corrected. The source is the page it came from, or the Preparer's written reason.
Uncheckable without this step
Without the page beside every fact, confirming a value means trusting it. With the page beside it, confirming means checking it.

3. Entry list

What happens
TracePrep builds the entry list from the confirmed facts: every value your tax software needs, in entry order by form, each one cited. An entry is the value of one fact or identity field, unchanged. No entry is a total, a tax figure, or a number worked out from two facts.
Who does it
Preparer
What is produced
An entry list with its denominators printed at the top of every form: rows ready over rows required.
Uncheckable without this step
Without one entry list, the screen, the file, and the workpaper can each say something different, and nobody can say which one was keyed.

4. Entry and readback

What happens
A person keys your tax software from the entry list, with each row beside its source page. Each row is marked entered, then read back against the tax software. Where the software shows a different value, the row is marked as a mismatch with the value the Preparer saw. The Prep cannot go to review while any row is unread or mismatched.
Who does it
Preparer
What is produced
An entry receipt: rows in the list, rows entered, rows read back, matches, and mismatches, each mark with who made it and when.
Uncheckable without this step
Without a readback, the entry list says what should be in the return, and nothing says what is.

5. Review

What happens
The Reviewer of record works through the entries grouped by form, and each row opens to its source in at most two clicks. One filter shows the rows that need a second look: values corrected or keyed by hand. The Reviewer raises a written exception on any row, sends the Prep back with a reason, or signs. The Reviewer signs only after every row is read back.
Who does it
Reviewer, Preparer
What is produced
A signed-off Prep. Its content is frozen, and the record carries the Reviewer's name and the time.
Uncheckable without this step
Without a recorded sign-off after the readback, nothing in the file says who checked the entries against the pages, or that anyone did.

6. Workbook and workpaper

What happens
The signed Prep produces the Workbook: every entry by form, with its value, its source citation, and the Reviewer's name and role. Behind it sits the workpaper your Firm owns: source documents, facts with their history, entries, readback, and sign-off. Sign-off is not a signature on the return. The return is still reviewed, signed, and filed in your tax software by your people.
Who does it
Reviewer, Firm, Preparer
What is produced
A Workbook and a workpaper export that the Firm keeps in its own file.
Uncheckable without this step
Without a workpaper the Firm holds, the trail lives inside a tool, and anyone outside it has to trust a summary instead of checking the work.

Who does what

Three roles carry a Prep. Not every role acts at every step, and the table says so rather than leaving it implied.

StepPreparerReviewerFirm
1. FolderOpens the Prep, records consent evidence, uploads, and splits and names each document.No action at this stepRecords the client and its primary person before the Prep opens.
2. Cited factsEnters each fact from its page, confirms it beside the page, and corrects what is wrong.No action at this stepNo action at this step
3. Entry listConfirms every document, so each one's rows enter the list.No action at this stepNo action at this step
4. Entry and readbackKeys the tax software from the entry list and marks each row read back.No action at this stepNo action at this step
5. ReviewFixes what was sent back, and enters and reads it back again.Checks entries against their pages, raises exceptions, and signs or sends back.No action at this step
6. Workbook and workpaperTakes the Workbook into the firm's file.Exports the workpaper.Keeps the Workbook and the workpaper in its own file.

Does TracePrep compute the tax or file the return?

No. TracePrep does not compute the tax and does not file the return. Your tax software computes. Your people file, sign, and collect payment. TracePrep keeps the proof: which page each number came from, who confirmed it, and whether it matched in the tax software.

Questions about the process

Does TracePrep decide what goes on the return?
No. Each entry is a value your Preparer confirmed or keyed, with its source, and the Reviewer at your firm signs. TracePrep records who did what and when rather than standing in for either of them.
What does the Reviewer see?
Each entry next to its source, grouped by form, with one filter for the values that were corrected or keyed by hand. The Reviewer cannot change a value. They raise a written exception on the row, and the Prep cannot be signed while one is open.
What happens when a late document arrives?
Upload it to the same Prep before sign-off. Its rows join the entry list as not entered, and no other row changes. If a corrected document replaces one already entered, the rows whose values changed turn stale and must be entered again before review.
Where do the facts come from?
The Preparer enters every fact from its source document. Each fact keeps its source: the page it came from, or the Preparer's written reason. Nothing enters the entry list until the Preparer confirms its document.
Who sees our clients' documents?
The people your firm assigns to the Prep. Notifications carry a display id and a link, never a client name or an amount. Full Social Security numbers are not stored outside the documents themselves; the taxpayer profile keeps the last four digits.

Building a Reasonable Compensation Study?

The Study has its own six steps, from intake to retention: how each figure traces to its source, occupation, geography, and period, and how the Reviewer signs off. They live on their own page.

Read the guide to reasonable compensation

See where every number comes from

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