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Lesson 1 of 5 · 0:34
Configuration Intro
Find the Configuration menu, where you set up your tax office before preparing returns.
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Written instructions
Start from the Main Menu
Log in and go to the Main Menu. The office configuration tools live behind the Configuration row (Setup the configuration options for your office).
Open Configuration
Click Select next to Configuration. The Configuration Menu for your office opens.
Review the configuration options
Scroll through the list to see what you can set up, including:
- Consent Forms, Custom Credit, Custom Fees and Discounts
- ERO Setup, Fees Setup, Office IP Whitelist, Office Setup, Preparer Setup
- Print Sets, Question Templates, Report Customization, Security Templates, Tags
Each item has its own Select button. The lessons that follow walk through most of them and show how they affect the tax return. Use Return to go back to the Main Menu.
- Work through the configuration lessons before your preparers start entering returns; these settings drive defaults on every return.
Lesson 2 of 5 · 5:32
Create Preparer Login
Create a login for each preparer and control what they can see and do in the software.
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Written instructions
Open Preparer Setup
From the Configuration Menu, click Select next to Preparer Setup. The Preparer(s) Menu lists your existing preparers with their PTIN, name, email and Active status.
Add a preparer
Click Add Preparer to open the Preparer(s) Setup Menu.
Enter the preparer's name
Under Preparer Personal Information, fill in First Name and Last Name (plus Middle Initial and Suffix if needed). You do not need to enter the SSN; it is no longer used.
Enter PIN, CAF and PTIN
- Default PIN Number: make up any five digits. Many offices use the last five of the preparer's SSN.
- 2848 CAF Number: enter it only if the preparer has one.
- PTIN OR SIDN: enter the preparer's PTIN.
Decide whether they see only their own returns
Check Can view own returns only? if this preparer should not see other preparers' clients. With it checked, the client list shows only the returns assigned to or created by this preparer. This is one of the most important settings on the page.
Decide whether they must use the Guide
Check Required to use Guide? to force the preparer through the questionnaire. It is the slowest way to prepare a return but helpful for inexperienced preparers. You can require it early in the season and uncheck it once they are ready to use the other navigation methods.
Mark state-specific preparers
If the preparer prepares returns for a state that requires its own preparer code or exemption (for example New York and its NYTPRIN), check Prepares NY returns? or Prepares OR returns?.
Skip Preparer Agent Information unless it applies
The Preparer Agent Information section (Title, Company Name, Office Code, IRS Agreement Date) is for IRS acceptance agents. Most offices leave it blank.
Enter email and cell phone
Under Login Account, enter the preparer's Email Address and Cell Phone Number. These receive the six-digit multi-factor authentication codes at login (by text or email) and are used for username or password recovery.
Create the username and password
Enter a unique Username. If it is already taken, the system tells you it is not available. Enter a Password with uppercase, lowercase, a number and a special character.
Leave Active checked (it is checked by default for new preparers). If you part ways with a preparer mid-season, uncheck Active and their credentials will no longer access the software.
Assign a security template
Choose a template from the Security Template drop-down based on the preparer's role. If you leave it on Please Select, the preparer has full access to the program.
Not sure what a template allows? Click Show Definitions: anything marked with an X is blocked, anything in green is allowed.
Save and hand off the login
Click Continue to create the preparer. Give the preparer their username and password, or just the username and have them use the reset-password option on the login screen to create their own password.
- If you don't assign a security template, the preparer gets full access to the program.
- Uncheck Active instead of deleting a preparer when they leave; it blocks their login immediately.
Lesson 3 of 5 · 3:47
ERO – EFIN Config
Add your ERO record with its EFIN and customer ID so your office can file and use its approved bank.
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Written instructions
Open ERO Setup
Complete Office Setup first, then return to the Configuration Menu and click Select next to ERO Setup. The ERO(s) Menu lists each EFIN with its ERO Name, Default mark and Status.
Add or edit an ERO
Click Add ERO to create a new record, or Edit to change an existing one. The ERO Setup page opens.
Paste the Customer ID
Paste the long Customer ID you were given into the Customer ID field. It is tied specifically to your EFIN, so copy it exactly and make sure you use the right one if you set up several EFINs. It may already be filled in for you.
Enter the ERO Name
Enter your ERO Name: your own name or your company's name.
Add an Office Identifier if useful
Office Identifier is optional. It pulls into certain reports, so use it if you need a way to tell offices apart beyond the EFIN.
Enter the EFIN and set Default and Active
Enter your EFIN. Check Default if this is the EFIN to use by default, and Active so it can be selected on tax returns. Some offices have several EFINs, which is why these boxes exist.
Copy the office address and phone
On a new ERO, check Use Office Address and Phone Information to copy the address and phone you entered in Office Setup. Otherwise use Add Address and Add Phone to enter them here.
Save the ERO
Click Continue. The address and phone are copied over and the ERO appears in the ERO(s) Menu.
Select your bank in Office Setup
Once the EFIN is active, the system checks which banks have approved your EFIN. Go back to Configuration → Office Setup and choose your banking partner in Selected Bank.
- Order of operations: Office Setup, then ERO Setup, then back to Office Setup to pick your bank.
- On an existing ERO the EFIN can't be edited. If your EFIN changes, disable that ERO and create a new ERO record with the new EFIN.
- You can apply to more than one bank, but it isn't recommended.
- Call support if you need help with the setup or have several offices to configure.
Lesson 4 of 5 · 6:34
Office Setup – Config
Set your office's name, bank, print, signature and e-file defaults in Office Setup.
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Written instructions
Open Office Setup
From the Configuration Menu, click Select next to Office Setup. Do this first, before the other configuration items. Some fields may already be filled in with information you provided.
Check office name and sales tax
Confirm Office Name; it is displayed at the top when you log in. If you charge sales tax, enter it in Sales Tax Percentage; it is calculated on invoices.
Choose the date on printed returns
In Date to show on printed return, choose Current Date, Return Created, Return Completed or Do Not Print Date.
Choose the signature on Form 8879
Signatures are saved in the preparer records, so you can work paperless. In Signature On Form 8879, choose Preparer Name Only, ERO Name Only, Both ERO & Preparer Names or Leave Blank.
Note the ancillary products section
Ancillary Product Configuration sets up Audit Protection and Identity Theft Protection products (Product, Add On Fee, Charge By Default) so you can upcharge for them. This is covered in its own lesson.
Set cover page and signature options
Under Office Configuration:
- Cover Page Settings: choose whether and what to print on a cover page.
- Print Digital Signatures on 1040: yes or no.
- Disable Third Party Designee Prefill: the preparer name normally fills the third-party designee line. Checking this box removes it.
- Require taxpayer signatures prior to efile: turn on if you go paperless with a signature pad or the app, so you know the taxpayer signature was captured.
Decide on Offer 8888 and the 1040 view
Most offices leave Offer 8888 unchecked because it gets confusing. Display Summary using 1040 View controls whether opening an existing return takes you to the 1040 view (see the numbers and click into them) or the summary view.
Turn on Topaz only if you use it
Check Use Topaz Signature Pad only if you use Topaz pads. They require web drivers to be installed, and turning this on deactivates mouse and touchscreen signatures.
Set IP verification and state routing
- Force Verification of IP Address: limits where the software can be accessed from; see the Office IP Whitelist lesson.
- Default State Return Type to be Sent Through Bank: when the federal return goes through the bank, the state return goes through the bank too by default. You can still change it per return.
Set email, language and tag requirements
- Require Email Address Entry on Efile Page: makes preparers capture the taxpayer's email.
- Default Tax Returns to Spanish: opens returns in Spanish automatically.
- Require Return Tag(s) for Saving Returns: preparers can't exit a return without applying a tag.
Enter the office address and phone
Under Office Addresses, enter your physical office address, and under Office Phones your business phone. Use Add Address or Add Phone if needed.
Save and select your bank
Click Continue. If your EFIN is approved for bank products and no bank is chosen, you'll see You are approved to offer bank products but you have not selected a bank. Choose your bank in Selected Bank and continue. The bank list depends on your ERO setup, covered in the ERO lesson.
- If you use a signature pad, one with a built-in web driver (the narrator prefers Scriptel) keeps mouse and touchscreen signatures available.
- Disable Third Party Designee Prefill works in reverse: checking it hides the preparer name on that line.
- See the paperless office lesson before requiring taxpayer signatures prior to e-file.
Lesson 5 of 5 · 2:32
Office IP Whitelist
Limit software access to approved locations by adding their IP addresses to the Office IP Whitelist.
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Written instructions
Decide which locations need access
Only IP addresses on the whitelist can access the software. To limit preparers to the office, add only the office's IP address. If anyone, including you, needs to work from home, get that location's IP address too.
Open Office IP Whitelist
From the Configuration Menu, click Select next to Office IP Whitelist. The Edit Office IP Whitelist page opens.
Find the location's public IP address
At the location you want to allow, open a browser tab and search for what's my ip address. The number shown is your external IP address from your internet provider. Copy it.
Add the IP address
Back in the software, paste the address into IP Address and click Add. It appears under Whitelisted IP Addresses. Repeat for each location you want to allow.
Understand what gets blocked
Once at least one address is listed, anyone logging in from any other IP address is refused, with a message that their IP address isn't whitelisted. In the office, that means users must be on the office Wi-Fi or wired into the office router.
Remove addresses to lift the restriction
Click Delete next to an address to remove it. If the list is empty, there is no restriction and the software can be accessed from anywhere.
- A single office IP is the most restrictive setup; add home or other addresses only for people allowed to work remotely.