Work out why a draft letter contains the wrong wording for a client, and fix it in the right place. This is the most common engagement letter question.
Why this happens
A dynamic letter template decides its wording from data. Each block can hold several variants, each with a condition that tests data points such as the client's type, the names of the projects on the letter, prices, dates or custom fields from the client, contact, or project. If a paragraph is wrong, either the data the condition is testing is wrong or empty, or the condition itself is wrong. The first is far more common and is yours to fix; the second belongs to your engagement admin.
Steps
- Open the draft and select the Engagement letter tab, then Edit letter.
- Turn on Highlight dynamic content. Find the paragraph. If it has a thick blue left border and a dynamic icon, it is a block and the steps below apply. If it has no outline, it is flat text: either someone flattened it on this letter, or the template's flat text is wrong, which is a template question for your admin.
- Work out what the block is testing. If you have template editing permissions, select Edit on the block and read the conditions on its variants without changing anything.
- Check that data on the engagement and in your practice management system.
| Wording that is wrong | Check first |
|---|---|
| Individual, trust or entity paragraph | The client's type on the client record |
| Corporation versus S-corporation wording | The project name, for example whether it contains 1120 or 1120S |
| A service clause that should or should not appear | The project type or service line on each project on the letter, and whether the right projects are on the letter at all |
| Audit scope, supplemental schedules, non-attest services | The custom field created for that purpose, on the client or the project |
| Fee table missing, or a plain list where a table should be | Whether the projects have a price saved on the Scope of services tab |
| A date paragraph blank or wrong | Whether the start date is fixed rather than On acceptance |
| Rows for clients or projects that should not be there | Whether old or inactive clients and projects were added to the engagement; remove them from the engagement rather than from the letter |
- Correct the record in your practice management system, or the project, price or client list on the engagement. Leave the draft open or come back to it: a draft reflects corrected data within a few minutes without being recreated (if your firm is on CCH Axcess and data had to be changed in CCH Axcess, it can take up to four hours for the update to push through to Aiwyn).
- Re-read the letter. If the right variant now shows, you are done, and the next letter for that client will be right too.
If the data is right and the paragraph is still wrong
The condition on the block is wrong or is testing a field your firm does not populate. Do not fix this by editing the block from the letter; that changes every letter that uses it. Send the engagement name and the block to your engagement admin. If every client shows the wrong variant, say so; that points to the condition or the field mapping rather than to one record.
If the change really is a one-off
Select the block on the letter and choose Flatten, then edit the wording. The change applies to this letter only, placeholders inside it keep merging, and the template is untouched. Remember that a renewal is generated from the template, so a flattened change will not carry into next year's letter.
Related
- How dynamic letter templates work
- How your practice management system drives engagement defaults
- Edit an unlocked block of a letter
- Custom fields that drive letter content