January 20th 2024 Product News for the SafeSend Suite

An update to SafeSend products was released. See below for more information about the changes.

SafeSend Returns

Improvements

• Form 990 Support: Firms can now upload and process Form 990 through SafeSend Returns, streamlining the delivery and signature process.
  • Supported 990 form types: 990, 990-T, 990-PF, and 990-EZ.
  • Forms for the 2022 tax year will be available immediately upon release.
  • Forms for the 2023 tax year will be forthcoming.
• SMS Notifications: Clients can now receive the SMS notifications below after providing proper consent.
  • A one-time reminder to sign tax returns.
  • Acknowledgment from firms receiving clients' signed tax returns.
• Grouped Returns:
  • For the returns delivered in the Grouped Returns, users can now archive signed returns either individually or as a group.
  • Redesigned client-facing emails with improved navigation and straightforward call-to-action design templates to improve user experience.
• Updated client-facing UI to improve usability and productivity with more intuitive navigation and visually appealing interface.
• Firms can now enable a setting on the "K-1's" page to mask SSN/EIN in K-1 or shareholder documents before delivering a return. If the toggle is not enabled before the return is delivered, firms can recall and resend the return after enabling the setting.
• Enhanced the "Notify of Signing Events" email notification by including the Group Name, allowing firms to quickly identify the group to which the signed form belongs.

Resolved Issues

• Fixed an issue where after successfully completing the signing process by clients, firms were still seeing “Awaiting E-Sign” status with no history of e-signature in client tracking.
• Fixed an issue where users were getting an “Enter Valid Payment URL” error message after invoices were disabled.
• Fixed an issue where the refund amount updated to $0 kept appearing on the client’s summary page.
• Fixed the link in the "Tax return has been Assigned to you for Approval" email notification so users can successfully log in to their SafeSend account.
• Fixed an issue where users got an error loading Taxpayer Preview after manually uploading the Q4 Federal online payment voucher.
• Fixed the hyperlink in email notifications directing users to the beta version of safesendreturns.com.
• Fixed an issue where adjusting the California refund amount resulted in two refund amounts.
• Fixed an issue where the "Due Date" variable for saved messages pulled the federal or state voucher due date instead of the federal filing due date for the return.
• Fixed an issue where a custom watermark applied to in-process returns in the "Delivery Options" page would not appear on the tax return in Taxpayer Preview.
• Fixed an issue where applying Group Name and Controller Name variables in the Saved Messages did not display Group Name and Controller Name on the client side or in Taxpayer Preview.
• Fixed an issue where firms could not unlock locked returns from the Action menu and received internal server errors.
• Fixed an issue where a blank screen appeared instead of actual estimates in Client View and on the client side.
• Fixed an issue where manual voucher upload displayed 1041ES as the form name for the 1065 uploaded return form for Michigan authority.

SafeSend Signatures

Improvements

• Bulk Download: Firms can now select and download multiple documents in the Delivered and Archive reports in Signatures from the "My Downloads" menu option under My Profile.
• Added the Multi-Office feature to Signatures. Firms can now categorize clients and users to a specific office location, ensuring restricted document access only to the assigned user locations.
• Redesigned client-facing emails with improved navigation and straightforward call-to-action design templates to improve user experience.
• Implemented client management functionalities in Signatures similar to Returns, Organizer, and Extensions, eliminating the need to input redundant client information and improving document processing time.

SafeSend Organizers

Improvements

• Added the Multi-Office feature to Organizer. Users can now assign or update the client’s office location directly from Organizer, ensuring restricted document access only to the assigned user locations.

SafeSend Extensions

Improvements

• Form 990 Support: Firms can now upload and process Form 8868 through SafeSend Extensions, streamlining the delivery and signature process.
• While uploading an extension document, a user can provide access rights to an individual or available user groups.
• Added the Multi-Office feature to Extensions. Users can now assign or update the client’s office location directly from Extensions, ensuring restricted document access only to the assigned user locations.
• Redesigned client-facing emails with improved navigation and straightforward call-to-action design templates to improve user experience.

Resolved Issues

• Fixed an issue where uploading an extension with a long file name was causing an upload error.

SafeSend Exchange

Improvements

• Firms can now provide drop-off links to their clients for a specific folder, allowing clients to drop documents directly into a dedicated shared folder.
• Firms can now include their branding logos in client email notifications.
• Added toggles for expiration and download notifications under Admin Settings to provide users with enhanced notification control while using Exchange.
• Added a new RBAC role to restrict users from accessing "My files" in Exchange.
• For the Q&A authentication method, users can now save previously used questions and answers per email recipient for recurring recipients, improving delivery time for secure mail and DRLs.
• Redesigned client-facing emails with improved navigation and straightforward call-to-action design templates to improve user experience.

SafeSend APIs

Improvements

• Pull Returns from CCH Axcess Tax: Firms can bulk upload directly from Axcess Tax within SafeSend, significantly decreasing the downtime from tax return completion to tax return delivery.
• Returns:
  • Added a new API to get the list of E-file form names sent to a client.
• Signatures:
  • API functionality has been added to archive, restore, resend access link, and reminders for signature requests.
• Organizers:
  • Organizer APIs have been updated to include office location.
  • API functionality has been added to restore, delete, and archive organizers.
• Exchange:
  • Send a Secure Message via the API: Firms can send an Exchange Secure Message via the API. Details can be found within the SafeSend Developer Portal.
  • Send a Document Request List via the API: Firms can send an Exchange Document Request List via the API. Details can be found within the SafeSend Developer Portal.
• General:
  • Added an exception log to the Developer Section in case a webhook fails.
• We have bolstered our API arsenal to provide comprehensive access to many of our product functionalities. Visit our Developer Portal for more information to discover more detailed documentation.