How your firm does the work
The useful records in an accounting firm are rarely the returns themselves. They are the working documents behind every finished file a careful team produces:
- Engagement checklists and workpaper templates
- Close procedures for each month and each year, in their real order
- Notes from review and how each one gets resolved
- Internal guides that explain standards and positions to your own staff
- Request, assignment and billing workflows
Identifiers become placeholders
Whatever stays in scope has clients, individuals and companies renamed with placeholders, as well as addresses and account numbers. That includes your own partners and staff. The firm gets the first look, because a sample of the finished copy needs your approval before anything is shared.
Taxpayer records and client work may stay out
Tax return information carries strict confidentiality rules. The copy can exclude taxpayer records and client documents completely, and plenty of firms leave tax systems aside before anything begins. The firm decides with counsel whether tax related items have a place in scope. We do not offer legal advice about it.
Your methods remain yours
The original files stay where they are, and credentials are never requested. License Your Data handles the preparation, and buyers license nothing beyond what you approved. If a template, checklist or folder is part of what makes your firm distinctive, you can keep it out.
How most firms get started
No documents are needed for the estimate, which takes about a minute. On the first short call, it helps to say up front which systems are off the table, such as tax software or client portals, so the conversation stays on internal procedures and templates. Should your lawyers or a partner want to check the sample, make room for it in the timeline. During busy season you can request a range now and leave everything else for later. Nothing goes forward without your approval.
What partners tend to ask
Does the firm pay anything?
Nothing. You pay nothing.
Who looks at our files before we sign off?
Everything is covered by an NDA, and sharing happens only after you approve a sample.
Do we have to include client work?
No. What goes in scope is up to you, and documents from clients can be excluded in full.
See my firm's range.
Firm size and age decide the range. You need about a minute.
How many employees does your company have?
Indicative estimate based on your answers. Not an offer or guarantee.