Pick an engagement type. Every list is on this page, so you can read all three without clicking.
Individual — Form 1040
The core three are wanted on every individual return. The information returns below them depend on the client's situation — ask early which apply, because a missing 1099 discovered late is the classic cause of a scramble.
- Photo ID
- W-2 (wages)
- Prior-year return
- 1099-INT (interest) if applicable
- 1099-DIV (dividends) if applicable
- 1099-NEC (contractor income) if applicable
- 1098 (mortgage interest) if applicable
S-Corp — Form 1120-S
Everything here is wanted on every S-Corp engagement. The bookkeeping quality is usually the variable — if the P&L and balance sheet don't tie to the bank statements, that is the work before the return is the work.
- Profit & loss statement
- Balance sheet
- Payroll reports
- Year-end bank statements
- Prior-year return
Monthly bookkeeping
A short list, but the one you request most often — twelve times a year per client. This is where an automatic recurring chase pays for itself fastest.
- Bank statements
- Credit-card statements if applicable
- Receipts for the period if applicable
- Invoices issued if applicable
How to use a checklist so it actually collects
A checklist is only half the job. The half that fails is the follow-up — the list gets sent once, three of seven documents arrive, and the rest depends on someone remembering to ask again during the busiest weeks of the year.
- Request the whole list once, up front. Drip-feeding requests trains clients to expect more emails and answer none of them.
- Track per item, not per client. "Sarah is missing things" is not actionable; "Sarah is missing the 1099-NEC" is.
- Chase only what's outstanding. Re-sending the full list including received items is the fastest way to be ignored — see the email templates for wording that doesn't.
- Stop automatically on arrival. The chase should end the moment the document lands, without anyone remembering to switch it off.
Let the list chase itself
Create the request. BlackTally collects it.
Pick a template, and BlackTally builds the checklist, sends the client a no-login upload link, chases what's still missing by email and text, receipts each file to the right checklist slot, and tells you when the return is ready to work.