Client submits a blank organizer?

My firm is having a discussion about the best way to handle organizers returned by the client that they haven't filled out. In the past we just added it to the end our document scan and it becomes part of our source documents. I guess we could use this as proof the client didn't put anything on it but I'm not sure if that situation has ever arisen. Beyond that is the time to scan an extra 20 or 30 pages with no additional information.

Can anyone comment on what they do in this situation and what they see as the pros and cons?

Thank you,

I don't use organizers, just a yes/no questionnaire, so I never have this problem. I always felt asking a client to fill out a 20-30 page organizer was tantamount to asking them to fill out their own tax return.

We have the same problem, and here is how we handle it.

We bill by the hour. At the start of tax season, we send a cover letter, mini organizer of our own design, and engagement letter. The engagement letter states that the client received an organizer, and has reviewed it to assist in his organization of tax documents, and has told us everything we ask in the organizer. The client must return the engagement letter before we start working on their return. If the client doesn't return the organizer (about 1/3), or returns a blank organizer (another 1/3), we no longer care. We are not their mothers, we are their tax preparers.

Before this, we wasted time chasing people. Now, all we need is the engagement letter. If we notice something from prior years which is strangely missing, we ask, and bill them for the time asking. If we prepare the return and they then come up with something they should have told us, they pay for the rerun. If in months or years later they tell us they forgot to include something, they pay for the amended return.

They got the organizer for free, so if we ask them for information they could have provided for free, they pay.

That said, I don't know about the Obamacare reporting requirements. It looks like if they don't answer the Obamacare questions for themselves, and all of their Obamacare dependents, It seems like the best practices is to chase the client.

Glad we bill by the hour.

I do not scan an entire organizer if it has no marks on it. I make a note on page one and scan / keep just that page.

I'm with makbo. I just have a 2-page questionnaire with yes/no questions on it.

If it's totally blank, toss it. I think it is apparent that when you pull the file and have no organizer, the client didn't fill it out.

If a client fills out a few pages only (say the questionnaire), I write "BPT" on the last page written on by the client and toss the rest. (Blank Pages Tossed). If Page 1 and Page 10 are completed, I unstaple it, toss the blank pages, staple 1 and 10 together and write "BPT" on Page 10.

To Makbo's point, organizer can be daunting to some folks. With a little coaching, most become comfortable with it. You know, after you explain that they'll see prior year numbers in there from last year, so all they need to do is insert the corresponding current year numbers. In addition, having a separate method for each client (i.e. each client's method), is a pain in the ass. The organizer helps to mitigate that issue. I'm not a total stickler about the organizer. If someone is pretty well organized, I merely ask that they thumb through it and provide me with everything I need. If they don't even look at it, there will be a ton of back and forth <bleep>, which I hate, especially with email.

If they don't even look at it, there will be a ton of back and forth <bleep>, which I hate, especially with email.

Maybe not a "ton", but some. I have had client email threads related to tax prep go on for 20 messages or more. My email is well organized (= organizer).