Table of contents:
What is an Engagement Letter (EL)?
Once you have submitted your Tax Questionnaire (TQ), uploaded supporting documents, and clicked Send Me an Engagement Letter button, your tax preparer will analyze your TQ and draw up an Engagement Letter (with a waiver if needed) within three business days. The Engagement Letter is an electronic agreement between you and TFX, which specifies the rights and obligations of both parties and includes:
The service to be provided;
The cost of said services;
The payment terms.
❗ Important note: before you electronically sign the Engagement Letter (EL), you may be asked to make a prepayment. Once the EL is signed, your tax preparer will begin preparing your tax return.
View & sign pending Engagement Letters
When your Engagement Letter is drafted, you will receive an email notification and a WhatsApp message that we are waiting for your review. Both of those notifications will have a direct link to the Engagement Letter in your TFX portal. As soon as you sign it, we will begin to work on your tax return.
You can also access pending ELs directly in your TFX portal:
Go to the Unsigned EL page in your TFX portal and click View & sign.
Before you sign the EL, you are required to make a deposit payment. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Make payment.
Note: if you have credits, the deposit will be reduced by the credit amount. If bonus credits exceed the deposit amount, a deposit is not required.
Click on the empty Sign here field.
Select the style of the signature and click Adopt signature.
Click Submit EL to confirm your signature.
❗ Important notes:
The EL is not a bill. It rather reflects the scope of work you are asking us to perform and the cost thereof. Unlike an invoice, which offers the total cost of the services and the payments made, an engagement letter will not show any charges you have made. This information can be found in the Bills & Payments section overview. For example, the EL may show a total cost of $500, you prepaid $200. Therefore, the amount due when your return is finished will be $300.
You can deposit more than the required amount by navigating to Bills & payment > Payments and clicking Make prepayment.
All payments are made using secure credit card processing services. We never store your payment details.
Contact our support team if you cannot pay with your credit card, for some reason. We may offer you other payment options.
How to ask questions or disagree with the EL
Sometimes you may have questions or disagree with the unsigned EL. We are always ready to clarify a point or resolve an issue for you. Watch the short video below on how to ask questions or disagree with the EL:
To send us a question or a concern regarding the unsigned EL, follow these steps:
Navigate to Engagement Letters > Unsigned EL > View & sign next to the unsigned EL you have questions about.
Scroll to the bottom of the page, then click I have questions about the EL link.
Enter your message in the popup window and click Submit to send your comments to your tax preparer.
Note: the link I have questions about the EL disappears when you sign the EL.
Download signed Engagement Letters
You can download PDFs of signed ELs for current or completed jobs:
Navigate to Engagement Letters > Signed EL.
Click the link [DATE] (View) under DATE SIGNED.
Scroll to the bottom of the page, then click Download PDF Copy of Engagement Letter.
When prompted, choose where you want to save the file, then click Save.
When the download ends, you usually see it appear at the bottom of your browser window. Click on the file name to open it.
Create PDF invoice
You can create a PDF invoice for the services you prepaid. To create an invoice:
Navigate to the Bills & payments section > Payments > Create PDF invoice.
Information about the payments you have made and the services provided by TFX will be displayed. Select the checkboxes next to the services and payments you wish to include in the invoice, then click Create invoice.
You will see a PDF file with your invoice.
In the top right corner click on the Download icon > Save to start downloading your invoice to your computer. When the download finishes, you will usually see it appear at the bottom of your browser window. You can now open it using the PDF reader of your choice. Click on the file name to open it. More information can be found in the Bills & Payments section overview.