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Chapter 1: Request Templates

Christa Mason
Updated

Summary

Request Templates are a reusable checklist of items you routinely ask clients to provide. A Request List contains a list of the file uploads and text responses a client must respond to in order to complete a Request. 

You can create Requests for a client project ad-hoc, however for more routine client requests, a Request Template is the easiest way to generate a new Request List for a client. 

Included in this article:

 

Create a Request Template

Firm admins and those with proper permissions can create Request Templates from within the Settings area of the Firm Portal.

Example of Request List Template - Settings area of Firm Portal

Requests - Request Template.png

 

  1. In the Firm Portal, go to Settings
  2. Under "Project Management" heading, select Request Templates
  3. In the top right hand corner of the screen, select Create New Request Template button
  4. Give the template a name by selecting "Untitled Request" and type in the name of the Request Template
  5. Optionally, add a description for the Request Template
  6. In the Reviewer drop down, choose the firm staff role responsible for the request: "Admin" or "Staff"
  7. In the Assignee(s) drop down, choose the client contact role responsible for the request: "Primary Contact" or "Billing Contact"
  8. Select + Add Section to add your first section. Sections are used to organize similar items of the request list
  9. "Untitled Section" will enter by default, select the words to rename the section
  10. Select the arrow to drop down the section
  11. Select + Add Item and choose to add either a file upload or a text response
Requests - Adding descriptive items to section.png
  1. Enter the item name, being as descriptive as possible (e.g. "2025 W-2 from Employer" is more descriptive than "W-2")
  2. Enter the item description, being as descriptive as possible
  3. Select the client contact role as the Assignee: Primary Contact or Billing Contact
  4. Enter the number of days the client has to complete the task, from the day you create the Request
  5. Proceed with creating all the items of a given section
  6. Create new sections to group together similar items. For example, a few sections of a Federal Income Tax request list could be: Income, Expenses, and Personal Information
  7. Drag and drop items and sections to reorder the list

Example flow of adding and organizing requests within Request Template

gif-Creating items and sections in Requests.gif

 

Request Template contents

Field Purpose
Request List name Internal and external identification for a request list
Reviewer Internal staff member notified when items are submitted
Assignee External client contact (primary or billing) who "owns" the list of requested items
Items Each request’s name, description, assignee, and due date (# days relative to list creation)

 

Items in the Request Template

The items within the Request Template are the items you need from a client in order to complete the entire Request. These items can be either a File Upload or a Text Response.

Provide an Item name that is descriptive so that the client contact assigned to the Request (or the Item itself) can easily recognize what they need to provide.

Provide an Item description to further explain the item you are requested so that the client contact is fully informed with what they need to provide.

 

Next Chapter: Chapter 2: Add new contacts for Requests

 

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