You have received an invitation to use a Portals account from your tax professional! This article will give you an overview of how to use your new portal to connect with your preparer.

Activation

When your tax preparer creates your portal, you will receive an invitation email. This email will contain the Username and a link to create your password. Click Sign In to proceed.

To create your password, you must enter the last four digits of your Social Security Number (SSN), enter a secure password, and click Submit.

Interface

Once you are logged in, you will see the following tabs* on the left: 

• Home

• Profile

• Questionnaires

• Checklist

• Payment

• Files

• Messages

• Account Settings

• FAQs

Home

This is the default starting point. If there are any tasks that you need to complete, they will be displayed here. Click the button to quickly navigate to the task.

Profile

The Profile tab allows you to review information that your preparer has listed. You can edit details or click Confirm Profile to verify that your data is accurate.

Questionnaires

Some offices use questionnaires to help gather tax information. If your preparer uploads a questionnaire, you will see it listed here.

Checklist

Some offices use checklists to help you organize and gather your tax documents. If your preparer uploads a checklist, you will see it listed here.

• You can batch upload your documents and select which checklist item they belong to, using the drag/drop section or Choose Files option.

• If you want to upload your documents one at a time (to a specific checklist item), use the Upload button to the right of the document name instead.

• If there is a checklist item that is no longer applicable to your tax situation, you can mark the item as Not applicable and enter an explanation as to why it is no longer needed (i.e., changed jobs, no longer receiving this Form W-2).

• If multiple documents are related to a single checklist item, you can select to tie those documents to the checklist item without creating a duplicate checklist item. Additionally, a single document can be tied to multiple checklist items, if needed.

• Once you have completed each checklist item, by either uploading a relevant document or marking not needed, your preparer will be notified that the checklist is complete and they will be able to begin tax preparation.

Payment

Some offices offer remote payment options. If your preparer sends you a bill that you can pay remotely, you will see it listed here.

Files

When you click Files, you will see documents that your preparer has uploaded for you in the From Preparer section.

• If you need to approve the file, see Drake Portals - File Approval Requests (Taxpayer View) for more information.

• If your preparer uploads a file that you need to sign, you will also see it listed here. See Drake Portals - Drake e-Sign Online (Taxpayer View) for details.

You can upload files for your preparer to review by clicking the Upload icon in the To Preparer section.

Messages

Some offices have enabled messenger functionality within portals. If enabled, you can use this section to message your preparer securely.

Account Settings

Update your email address, password, or configure MFA. See Drake Portals - Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (Taxpayer View) for details on MFA.

Mobile App

You can access your portal from a browser on any computer or mobile device. If you prefer, you can download the SecureFilePro mobile app from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. To find the app, search for "SecureFilePro" in the store.

After downloading the app, you will need to enter the email address that was used to create your portal and click Submit.

You will see your preparer's company name on the sign in page. Log in to your account by entering your Usernameand Password and clicking Sign in.

Available functions are the same as the website, however, the layout may differ.

You can make changes to your account information (email and password changes and MFA options) by clicking on the profile icon at the top right and selecting Account. To log out, click the profile icon and choose Logout.

The app will timeout automatically due to inactivity to protect your data.