Glossary

Terms used throughout the Assure Pro docs. Tax-domain terms come first, then Assure Pro-specific terms.

Tax forms

Term	Definition
1040	The IRS individual income tax return. The most common return type.
1120	The C-corporation income tax return.
1120S	The S-corporation income tax return.
1065	The partnership tax return. Issues K-1s to partners.
1041	The trust or estate income tax return.
990	The tax-exempt organization (nonprofit) return.
8879	The IRS e-file signature authorization form. Required for e-filed returns. Requires KBA.
W-2	Wage and tax statement issued by an employer to an employee.
1099-INT	Statement of interest income (from banks, credit unions).
1099-DIV	Statement of dividend income (from brokerages, mutual funds).
1099-NEC	Non-employee compensation (for independent contractors).
1099-MISC	Miscellaneous income (rent, royalties, prizes).
1099-R	Distributions from retirement accounts (pensions, IRAs, 401(k)s).
1098	Mortgage interest statement issued by lenders.
K-1	Income statement issued by a partnership, S-corp, or estate to a partner, shareholder, or beneficiary.
Schedule C	Profit or loss from a sole proprietorship business, filed with the 1040.
Schedule E	Supplemental income (rental real estate, royalties, K-1 income).

Tax concepts

Term	Definition
AGI	Adjusted Gross Income — your gross income minus specific adjustments.
MFJ	Married Filing Jointly — a filing status for married couples filing one combined return.
MFS	Married Filing Separately.
HOH	Head of Household — for unmarried taxpayers supporting a qualifying dependent.
EIN	Employer Identification Number — the tax ID for a business.
SSN	Social Security Number — the tax ID for an individual.
ITIN	Individual Taxpayer Identification Number — for individuals who don’t qualify for an SSN.
TIN	Taxpayer Identification Number — generic term for either SSN, EIN, or ITIN.
pass-through	An entity (S-corp, partnership, sole prop) that doesn’t pay tax itself — income passes through to the owner’s individual return via K-1.
e-file	Filing a return electronically through the IRS e-file system.
extension	An IRS form (4868 for individuals, 7004 for businesses) extending the filing deadline by six months.
KBA	Knowledge-Based Authentication — identity verification using personal-history questions, required by IRS for 8879 e-signature.
FBAR	Foreign Bank Account Report — required for U.S. taxpayers with foreign accounts holding >$10,000.
QBI	Qualified Business Income — Section 199A deduction for pass-through entities.

Assure Pro terms

Term	Definition
Firm	A tax firm using Assure Pro. The top-level account.
Firm owner	The user who created the firm. Has all permissions. One per firm.
Admin	A firm user with system admin rights. Below owner; can manage everything except owner.
Client	A person or entity the firm does tax work for. Has entities, contacts, and engagements.
Contact	A person attached to a client (the client’s bookkeeper, spouse, attorney). Can be granted portal access.
Primary contact	The default contact for a client. Receives communications by default.
Entity	The legal/tax form of a client: individual, business, trust, or nonprofit.
Engagement	One piece of work Assure Pro tracks for a client. Usually a return (e.g. “2025 1040 for Jordan Test”).
Deliverable	A specific output of an engagement — a federal return, a state return, a K-1.
Pipeline	The visual board of engagements moving through workflow stages.
Stage	A column on the pipeline (e.g. “Awaiting docs”, “In prep”, “In review”).
Card	An engagement on the pipeline.
Intake	The flow that collects documents and answers from a client.
Magic link	A no-login URL sent to a client (or contact) for low-friction actions: upload, fill organizer, sign.
Organizer	A questionnaire sent to a client for tax-year-specific information.
Checklist	The AI-generated list of documents Assure Pro expects from a client for a given engagement.
Document type	The classification Assure Pro assigns to an uploaded document — W-2, 1099-DIV, engagement letter, and so on.
Extraction	The structured data Assure Pro pulls from a document (wages, withholding, payer, account number).
Engagement letter	The signed contract between the firm and a client for a specific engagement.
Signing package	A bundle of one or more documents sent for e-signature in one session.
Service catalog	The firm’s list of services and prices. Used to build invoices and proposals.
Time entry	A logged duration against a client or engagement, optionally billable.
Team	A group of permissions. Users belong to teams, and teams hold permissions.
Permission	A single capability (e.g. “View clients,” “Edit engagements”). Held by teams, inherited by users.
Client assignment	A user attached to a client as preparer, reviewer, signer, or general assignee.
Tag	A label you create to organize and filter clients or documents.
Sidebar	The left-hand navigation in the Assure Pro dashboard.
Cmd+K	The command palette — keyboard-driven search and actions. Ctrl+K on Windows.
Vault	A secure place to store client logins, such as a Drake password or EFIN PIN.

Other tools (when relevant)

Tool	What it is
TaxDome	Practice management platform. Assure Pro replaces it for workflow, intake, e-sign, billing.
Karbon	Practice management platform focused on workflow. Assure Pro replaces it.
Liscio	Client-facing portal for tax firms. Assure Pro’s portal replaces it.
DocuSign	E-signature service. Assure Pro’s built-in e-sign replaces it.
SurePrep	Tax document extraction. Assure Pro’s AI extraction replaces it.
Drake	Professional tax preparation software. Assure Pro integrates by exporting extraction data to Drake’s import format.
ProConnect	Intuit’s professional tax software (for smaller firms). Assure Pro integrates similarly.
Lacerte	Intuit’s professional tax software (for larger firms).
CCH	Wolters Kluwer’s tax software.
Plaid	Bank account connection service that Assure Pro uses for payment methods.
Stripe	Payment processor that Assure Pro uses for ACH and credit card payments.