Automate T2 corporate tax workflows

Firm owners and tax managers can automate T2 corporate tax workflows — anchoring return schedules to corporate fiscal year ends, generating year-end preparation jobs, collecting client documents, and tracking partner signoff.

Overview of the T2 automation chain

A complete T2 corporate tax automation chain connects five setup steps in Assisterp:

1. Service template: Defines the T2 corporate tax template with fiscal year anchors based on corporate incorporation dates or fiscal year ends.
2. Job template: Defines the T2 job structure, filing due-date offsets (such as 6 months post-fiscal year end), preparation tasks, and invoice templates.
3. Pipeline & stage automations: Configures stages and attaches automated tasks, email notifications, and auto-move rules.
4. Pipeline trigger: Listens for On Service Update matching T2 corporate tax service tags (T2-ANNUAL).
5. Client service: Attaching the T2 service to a corporate business client to activate the schedule.

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Example real-life T2 corporate tax pipeline stages

Below is a typical 6-stage pipeline layout used by accounting firms for annual T2 corporate tax returns:

[ Stage 1: Year-End Intake ] ──► [ Stage 2: Financial Statements ] ──► [ Stage 3: T2 Return Prep ]
             │                                   │                                 │
     Auto-email corporate                Auto-generate AJEs                Auto-generate GIFI &
     document request                    & working paper tasks             tax calculation tasks
                                                 │
                                         (Auto-move on task completion)
                                                 │
[ Stage 6: Completed & Filed ] ◄── [ Stage 5: CRA E-Filing ] ◄── [ Stage 4: Partner Review ]
             │                                   │                                 │
     Auto-email final receipt            Auto-generate billing             Auto-create partner
     & tax invoice                       invoice & filing task             review signoff task

Stage 1: Year-end intake (entry stage)

• Goal: Gather trial balance, general ledger, and year-end bank reconciliations following corporate year-end close.
• Stage Condition: None (serves as entry point for all new T2 jobs).
• Automations:
  • Email: Automatically emails the client’s corporate controller using an email template (Corporate Year-End Document Request).
  • Task: Automatically creates the intake task Collect Year-End Financial Statements & Trial Balance.

Stage 2: Financial statements & GIFI mapping

• Goal: Prepare adjusting journal entries (AJEs), balance sheet reconciliations, and GIFI mapping.
• Automations:
  • Task: Automatically creates prep tasks: Post Year-End Adjusting Journal Entries (AJEs) and Map Chart of Accounts to GIFI Codes.
  • Auto-move: On. Once accounting staff check off all financial statement tasks, the job automatically advances to Stage 3.

Stage 3: T2 return preparation

• Goal: Calculate net tax payable, prepare Schedule 1 (Net Income Adjustments), Schedule 8 (CCA), and Schedule 50 (Shareholders).
• Automations:
  • Task: Automatically creates tax prep tasks: Prepare T2 Return Schedules (Sch 1, Sch 8, Sch 50) and Calculate Tax Payable & Installment Credits.

Stage 4: Partner review & client e-sign

• Goal: Tax partner reviews working papers and sends Form T183 Corporate E-File authorization to client for signature.
• Automations:
  • Task: Automatically creates the review task Partner Quality Review & Working Paper Signoff.
  • Email: Automatically emails T2 summary and authorization forms to client (T2 Return Ready for Client Signature).

Stage 5: CRA e-filing & fee billing

• Goal: E-file return electronically with CRA, record confirmation number, and bill corporate tax fee.
• Automations:
  • Task: Automatically creates the filing task E-File T2 Return with CRA & Log Confirmation Code.
  • Invoice: Automatically generates the T2 tax preparation fee invoice.

Stage 6: Completed & archived

• Goal: Store CRA confirmation receipt, deliver final copy to client, and archive completed job.
• Automations:
  • Email: Automatically emails final filing confirmation receipt and tax invoice to corporate client (T2 Return Filed & CRA Confirmation).

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Step 1: Verify the T2 corporate tax service template

1. Open Settings > Templates > Service templates.
2. Select T2 Corporate Tax (or add a new template).
3. Set Client Type to Business.
4. Set Reporting Periods to Annually.
5. Under Fiscal Year Type, select Date of Establishment (or Fixed) so Assisterp derives the filing period end from each client’s corporate fiscal year.
6. Select Save.

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Step 2: Create a T2 corporate tax job template

Define what work gets created when a corporate year-end closes:

1. Open Settings > WorkFlow Setting > Job Templates.
2. Select Service Templates tab and select Add (the plus icon).
3. Enter a Template Name (such as T2 Corporate Tax Return Job).
4. In Job Name, use shortcodes (such as T2 Tax Return - [Client Name] - [Fiscal Year]).
5. Set Job Start On (Days) (for example, 15 days after fiscal year end) and Job Due On (Days) (for example, 30 days before the CRA 6-month filing deadline).
6. Under Task, attach tasks for year-end prep (such as Review Trial Balance & Adjusting Journal Entries, Prepare GIFI Schedules, Calculate T2 Tax Payable, and E-File T2 Return).
7. Under Invoice, attach your corporate tax billing template.
8. Select Save.

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Step 3: Configure T2 pipeline stage automations

Set up automated stage actions on your corporate tax pipeline:

1. Open Settings > WorkFlow Setting > Pipelines.
2. Open your Corporate Tax Pipeline (or select Add to create one).
3. Create the 6 stages described in the real-life workflow example above.
4. Attach stage automations (Email, Task, and Invoice).
5. Turn on Auto-move on Financial Statements & GIFI Mapping so jobs advance to T2 Return Preparation as soon as financial statement tasks complete.

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Step 4: Build the T2 pipeline trigger

1. Open Settings > WorkFlow Setting > Pipeline Trigger.
2. Select Add (the plus icon).
3. In Trigger When Start, select On Service Update.
4. In Pipeline, select your Corporate Tax Pipeline.
5. In Job Template, select T2 Corporate Tax Return Job.
6. In Tags, select your T2 corporate tax tag (T2-ANNUAL).
7. Select Save.

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Step 5: Assign the T2 service to a corporate client

1. Open Clients, select a business client, and open the Services tab.
2. Select Add New Service.
3. In Choose a service template, select T2 Corporate Tax.
4. Set the Service Start Date for the corporate year-end period.
5. Select Frequency (Annually) and tag (T2-ANNUAL).
6. Select Add Service.

Assisterp monitors the corporate fiscal year end, generates the recurring T2 schedule, and opens workflow jobs on your board when each filing period begins.