Leadsheets

The Leads tab can be found in the same workspace module as the Notes tab.

Once inside the Leads tab, you will see a workspace similar to a traditional Excel file. There are rows, columns, cells, and sheet tabs. Excel proficiency will translate directly to Leadsheets usage.

The default sheet is the Review Sheets Summary, which contains a list of links to all the other sheet tabs. This sheet is a helpful navigation hub, as well as a review checklist.

Each sheet contains a list of final amounts associated with its respective category, such as Wages, Interest, Statements, Form 1040/1041, etc. (SPbinder pulls this data from Forms.)

When an amount is marked as reviewed on a Leadsheet, the amount is automatically marked as reviewed in the associated Form and workpaper. If data from the reviewed cell flows into any other sheet, the amount is marked as reviewed in those other sheets as well. Reviewed cells are easily identifiable by a green checkmark. Marking a cell as reviewed is as simple as Ctrl-Click.

To confirm the accuracy of amounts, reviewers need easy access to source documents. In SPbinder’s Leadsheets, source documents are just a click away.

Every cell that contains a referenced amount displays a Reference Icon () in the lower left corner. Click the Reference Icon to launch the source document in the Document Viewer. SPbinder will highlight the amount on the workpaper for easy navigation.

Leadsheet reference links are automatically generated for standard documents. SPbinder provides easy tools for preparers to create reference links to non-standard documents. By the time a binder reaches the review phase, determining the source of any amount should be a one-click process.

What happens if you review an amount, but another teammate later makes a change to the binder?

If any amount you reviewed is affected by the change, the green checkmark will disappear and a change alert icon () will appear instead. Hover over the icon to see who made the change, when the change occurred, the old amount, the new amount, and the difference. If the difference is immaterial, simply double click to accept the change.

Change alerts and checkmarks make it easy to see at a glance which items are complete, which still need attention, and which require a second look. This eliminates time spent redoing work, tracking down changes, or figuring out where you left off.

Sometimes, the complex calculations output by the tax software do not match the data input to SPbinder. This is a normal occurrence. Identifying and explaining variances is an important part of both preparation and review.

What causes variances? Many things. Income may be offset by a loss carryover; wages may be offset by exemptions; or excess investment interest may have carried over to the subsequent year. These are just a few examples.

Leadsheets display variances in red font in the Variance column.

To track down the cause of the variance, click the Reference Icon in the Per Leadsheet amount to open the leadsheet that contains the variance. If the variance is benign, enter an explanation for the variance or save time by selecting the explanation from SPbinder’s list of suggestions. Once the variance is explained and accounted for, another Reference Icon will link you right back to the original sheet. Because SPbinder makes detecting and explaining variances so easy, preparers can track down many of the discrepancies that would normally be left for review. This saves costs on expensive review time.

Please note: SPbinder automatically imports data from GoSystem Tax RS, and CCH Axcess™ to detect variances. If using Lacerte or UltraTax, manual data entry of tax software calculations is required to detect variances.

To speed up the review process, SPbinder’s Leadsheets automatically color code amounts. Color codes help reviewers focus their time and attention on higher-risk items.

Green amounts have gone through OCR and Verification, which means they can be trusted and require less scrutiny.

Black amounts were entered manually and are therefore subject to human error. These require more careful attention.

Red amounts are variances between the tax software and SPbinder data.