Tax Return Data Gathering, Deduction Identification, and Compliance Checks in Hours, Not Days
70% reduction in tax return preparation time, zero missed compliance items, automated deduction identification
The problem
Tax preparation is the most labor-intensive engagement your firm handles, and it follows the same pattern every year: gather source documents from the client (W-2s, 1099s, K-1s, bank statements, mortgage interest statements), organize them by category, enter the data into tax software, identify applicable deductions and credits, run compliance checks, and prepare the return for partner review. For a typical small business client, this process consumes 15-25 hours of staff time per year.
The data gathering phase alone is brutal. Clients forget which documents they need, send partial information, and trickle in source docs over weeks. A single missing 1099-NEC can hold up an entire return. Your staff sends three follow-up emails for the same W-9, waits a week, calls, waits again, and finally gets the document two days before the filing deadline. During tax season, document chasing consumes entire staff members' capacity.
Deduction identification is where expertise matters but time runs out. A thorough review of a client's transactions for potential deductions — home office (Form 8829), vehicle use (actual vs. standard mileage), meals and entertainment (50% limitation), Section 199A QBI deduction, retirement contributions, health insurance premiums for self-employed — takes hours of careful analysis. When your team is processing 200+ returns in 10 weeks, corners get cut. Deductions get missed. Clients pay more than they should.
Olivia handles the mechanical layer of tax preparation. She gathers and organizes source documents, maps data to the correct tax forms, identifies potential deductions from transaction history, runs compliance checks against current tax code requirements, and tracks every filing deadline. Your CPAs review Olivia's work package, apply professional judgment on positions, and sign the return.
How it works
How Olivia works, step by step
Each step is automated. Olivia only escalates when human judgment is required.
Olivia generates a personalized PBC (Provided by Client) checklist based on the client's entity type, prior-year return data, and known income sources. She sends the checklist to the client with specific descriptions: "Your 2024 W-2 from Acme Corp" rather than generic "W-2 forms"
Olivia ingests each document, extracts key data (employer EIN, wages, withholdings, 1099 amounts, K-1 allocations), validates against prior-year data for consistency, and maps each data point to the corresponding line on the applicable tax form (1040, 1120S, 1065, 990)
Olivia runs a comprehensive deduction scan across the client's GL transactions: home office expenses (Form 8829 calculation), vehicle use (comparing actual expenses vs. standard mileage rate), meals at 50%, Section 179 expensing vs. MACRS depreciation schedules, QBI deduction eligibility under Section 199A, retirement contribution limits, and HSA/FSA contributions
Olivia runs compliance checks: verifies estimated tax payments match Form 1040-ES records, checks for Form 941 quarterly payroll tax accuracy, validates 1099-NEC threshold reporting ($600+), confirms W-9 collection for all contractors, and flags any items requiring Form 8300 reporting (cash transactions over $10,000)
Olivia delivers a complete tax prep work package to the CPA's review queue: organized source documents, data-mapped worksheets by form, identified deductions with supporting calculations, compliance check results, and a cover memo highlighting items requiring professional judgment (aggressive positions, elections, carryforward decisions)
Olivia sends escalating deadline alerts to both the CPA and the client. At 14 days: status reminder. At 7 days: urgent flag if source documents are still missing. At 3 days: escalation to the partner with a recommendation to file an extension (Form 4868 for individuals, Form 7004 for businesses)
What Olivia handles vs. what stays with you
Clear boundaries. Olivia works autonomously within defined limits and escalates everything else.
- ✓ Olivia generates a personalized PBC (Provided by Client) checklist based on t...
- ✓ Olivia ingests each document, extracts key data (employer EIN, wages, withhol...
- ✓ Olivia runs a comprehensive deduction scan across the client's GL transaction...
- ✓ Olivia runs compliance checks: verifies estimated tax payments match Form 104...
- ■ CPAs review, approve, and sign every tax return — Olivia never files returns autonomously
- ■ Tax position decisions (aggressive vs. conservative), elections (Section 179, bonus depreciation), and carryforward strategy require CPA judgment
- ■ IRS and state tax authority correspondence is handled by qualified professionals
- ■ Client advisory on tax planning, entity restructuring, and estimated payment strategy remains with CPAs
- ■ Any item with potential penalty exposure (late filing, underpayment, misclassification) is escalated immediately
Integrations
Works inside your existing tools
Olivia connects to the platforms you already use. No new software to learn.
Implementation
From zero to Olivia
Olivia is deployed gradually with measurable checkpoints at every stage.
- ✓ Prior-year tax returns for each client (minimum 2 years for pattern analysis)
- ✓ Accounting platform API access with read permissions for all client entities
- ✓ Tax software integration credentials for data population
- ✓ Client entity details (EIN/SSN, entity type, state filing obligations)
- ✓ Firm-defined PBC checklist templates by return type
Pilot covers 20-30 returns across individual (1040), S-Corp (1120S), and partnership (1065) types during one filing cycle. Olivia processes returns in parallel with manual preparation, and CPAs compare data accuracy, deduction identification, and time savings.
Your AI team
Works alongside Olivia
These AI employees share data and coordinate with Olivia to cover your full operation.
Deploy Olivia for your accounting operations
Start with a 90-minute discovery session. We will assess whether Olivia is the right fit for your workflows and show you exactly what changes.