Best practices for Source Document Processing

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You can use Source Document Processing (SDP) during tax season to identify, name, and extract tax document pages and data from source documents. The information that is extracted is automatically populated in fields for corresponding 1040 clients in UltraTax CS via the UltraTax CS Source Data Entry utility.

Prior knowledge or familiarity with UltraTax CS and the source data utility is not required. This enables you to increase the efficiency of your firm's return preparation by delegating scanning, document transfer, data retrieval, and exports to UltraTax CS to administrative or clerical staff.

To enable source document processing in the application, complete one of the following tasks.

Tips for Best Practices

The following tips can assist you in achieving the best results for the preparation of individual 1040 income tax returns via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) in Workpapers CS.

  • Insert PDFs into the Workpapers Dashboard via the Add Workpaper wizard. We do not recommend that you scan printed PDFs, as this method reduces the quality of the output.
  • Scan documents at 400 DPI, black & white (also known as binary, text, and monochrome) to help you achieve the best quality and minimize file size (DPI is the document's resolution). If you must scan in color or grayscale, set the resolution to no greater than 300 DPI, otherwise you may produce file sizes in excess of 1 megabyte per page.
  • Use original documents whenever possible as they provide the most clarity when scanning. Because the OCR process cannot read poor quality text, scanning photo copies, faxes and reprints is not recommended.
  • Clean scanning equipment at least once a year or more, based on the environment in which you work. This helps to eliminate vertical black lines that can appear in scanned output that is typically caused by dirt and dust that has collected on the scanner's glass reader.
  • Avoid marking up the document prior to scanning. Handwriting, highlighting, and other similar mark-ups can interfere with the OCR process.

Notes

  • Options to adjust the settings for the scanner may vary based on the scanner software that you have installed.
  • Variations in scanner types and levels of color and grayscale may cause slight differences in the file size.
  • Based on bandwidth and network traffic, processing times can vary from 5 minutes to 10 minutes for every 100 pages.

The following table provides a sample comparison of the size of a file when it is scanned in different color modes and DPI settings, and are based on a 10 page 8.5" X11" document test.

Color mode Black & White Color Grayscale
DPI Settings 400 (base on the scanner type) 300 300
File Size 10.97MB 247.5MB 82.82MB

The following example illustrates a single enlarged character from the same file that has been scanned in Black and White, Color, and Grayscale. Note that the clarity of the color and grayscale examples is degraded, making it difficult for the OCR process to identify and extract that information into source documents.

Black and White Color Grayscale
black and white character color character grayscale character

Troubleshooting

Form labeled as Miscellaneous

You can view a list of supported forms in the Source Document Processing Fact Sheet (Forms that are bolded in the fact sheet are supported for data extraction). If the file is not listed in the fact sheet, it is not one that is currently supported by the application for OCR processing.

Data files not read

Verify that the best scanning practices have been implemented.

Thomson Reuters modifies many forms annually and updates the application weekly (Monday) during the tax season to include new formats. If you cannot scan a file during the first attempt, try scanning the file again the following week. If the form information cannot be read after subsequent attempts, manual data entry may be required. To verify that the file is supported for OCR extraction, refer to the Source Document Processing Fact Sheet (Forms that are bolded in the fact sheet are supported for data extraction).

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