How does Paper Cut work?

Paper Cut is a complete paperless office system.  All of the documents that you would normally print to your printer can now be stored electronically on your computer's hard drive.  Whenever you "print" a tax return, transmission report, client report, etc., the information will be stored in a directory on your computer.  This directory can be accessed at any time within the program by clicking on the Paper Cut icon on the toolbar.

Scanner Options

You will need a scanner in order to scan documents.  We recommend the “Fujitsu Scan Snap S510” as we have found this to work best.  However, any front loading scanner or "sheet fed" scanner will work.  We advise against buying "flat bed" scanners as these scanners are time consuming if you have multiple documents to scan.  You will also need Adobe Reader, which is free by going to www.adobe.com.  (Most computers have adobe reader already installed.)

How do I save scanned documents such as W2s and 1099s with the taxpayer's return?

Once the documents have been scanned, you will be prompted to save the documents.  If the taxpayer's return has been printed to PDF, there will be a folder created for the taxpayer.  The folder is located in the following directory:  My Computer - Local Disk C - TaxSlayer - 2009pdfs - Tax Returns - SSN of taxpayer.  Double-click on the folder containing the SSN of the taxpayer and click Save. 

If you have not printed the taxpayer's return to PDF, there will not be a folder with the taxpayer's SSN.  This folder can be created by going to My Computer - Local Disk C - TaxSlayer - 2009pdfs - Tax Returns.  Inside the Tax Returns folder, click on File - New - and then Folder.  The folder name should be the SSN of the taxpayer.  For example, if the taxpayer's SSN is 400-12-4567, the folder should be named 400124567 without the dashes.  Once the folder is created, you can begin to save the taxpayer's documents into the folder.

Description of the Paper Cut Buttons

Tax Returns:

When you exit a tax return, you will be prompted with a question that reads "Do you wish to print the return to PDF?", answer Yes.  Select which print option to send to PDF, one copy, two copies, etc.  The return will display in Adobe Acrobat Reader on your screen.  Simply close Adobe and the return will be saved in the Tax Returns folder located on your hard drive.  To access the PDF returns, click on the Paper Cut icon located on the Toolbar.  Select the Tax Returns button.  A folder will be created with the taxpayer's SSN.  Double-click on the taxpayer's folder.  The file name of the return will be displayed with the SSN, name, and date the return was printed to PDF.  Double-click the file name to open the return in Adobe.   

E-File Reports:

All of the E-file Reports such as Returns to be Sent, Transmission Confirmations, Acknowledgements, and Bank Reports will save to the E-File Reports section of Paper Cut once you "print" the reports.  To access these reports, select E-File Reports and double-click a file name to open.  The reports will be categorized by the type of report and date generated.

Management Reports:

Management Reports consists of Master reports and Client reports.  All of these reports will be stored in the Management Reports section of Paper Cut.  These reports will be categorized by type of report and date generated.

Email:

Option to allow you to safely email PDF copies of the taxpayer's return.  See Email below.

Using Paper Cut

Once the return is complete, on the Receipt Menu choose 'Client's Media Type'.  Choose Pickup, Store, or E-Mail.  Note - If you do not have an E-Mail option, then an email address has not been entered in the Personal Information Menu for the Taxpayer.  Next, exit the Receipt Menu and Mark the Return as Complete.  A question will appear asking if you "wish to print the return to PDF".  Answer Yes and choose the appropriate print option.  Note - Each time you enter into the return after the return has been marked complete, the program will ask if you wish to print the return to PDF.  If you answer Yes, a separate PDF for the return will be created.  The return will now be stored in the Paper Cut program. 

On the top tool bar, click on the Paper Cut icon.  The Paper Cut program will appear.  Click on 'Tax Returns' to see the returns that have been printed to PDF.  By double-clicking the taxpayer name and ssn, all of the printed returns for that taxpayer will be listed.

E-Mailing Returns

To e-mail a return to your client, select the E-Mail icon.  If the taxpayer indicated they wanted a copy of their return emailed to them at the Receipt Menu for 'Client's Media Type', then the name of your client will be listed in the pick list.  If you do not see the client in the list, then E-Mail was not selected as the Media type.  However, you can click on the 'Show All Returns' box and all of your returns that have been marked complete will appear.

Double-click on the taxpayer's name.  If the taxpayer's email address was entered in the Personal Information menu, their email address will appear on the Send to line.  If not, enter their email address.  The From line will show who the email is from.  To attach a PDF, select PDF to attach or click on the drop down arrow.  A password is automatically generated by using the last four digits of the taxpayer's SSN.  You can change the password if you prefer but the PDF cannot be opened without the correct password.  A generic email message has been created, telling your client what to enter to open the PDF.  You can add to this message if you prefer.  Once all of the information is entered, click Send. 

If you are sending your emails through TaxSlayer Pro, there will be a delay in your clients receiving the email, usually less than one hour.  Once the email has been sent, TaxSlayer Pro cannot stop the email. 

Upload: 

All of the returns and reports are stored on your local hard drive.  As part of the Premium Package, we allow you to store your data on our servers.  Highlight the date range to upload.  TaxSlayer Pro will only allow you to upload one week at a time due to the amount of bandwidth that will be consumed during this process.