Creating an engagement
Three places to start a new engagement:
| Where | When |
|---|---|
| Workflow page → New engagement | You don’t have a specific client in mind yet, or you’re starting fresh on a new client. |
| Client detail page → Engagements tab → + Create engagement | The client already exists and you’re adding their next return. |
| Cmd+K → Add engagement | Fastest path when you’re anywhere else. |
All three open the same Create engagement dialog.
Filling in the dialog
| Field | What goes here |
|---|---|
| Client | Pick from your firm’s clients. Required. Empty when opened from the workflow page — pre-filled when opened from a client detail page. |
| Engagement type | Pick from the 52 default types (or your firm’s custom types). The picker groups by service line: Tax, Accounting, Audit & Assurance. Required. |
| Tax year / period | For tax engagements, the year (for example, 2025). For monthly bookkeeping, the period (for example, “March 2026”). |
| Pipeline | Defaults to the service line’s default pipeline. Override only if you have a different pipeline for this work. |
| Due date | Defaults to the standard deadline for the engagement type (Apr 15 for individual 1040, Mar 15 for 1120-S, etc.). Override if the client filed for extension. |
| Priority | Defaults to Medium. Change to High or Urgent for tight-deadline work, Low for non-urgent advisory. |
| Preparer | Defaults to the client’s preparer (if assigned). Override per engagement. |
| Reviewer | Defaults to the client’s reviewer. |
| Partner | Optional — defaults to the firm owner or a designated partner. |
| Internal notes | Optional — anything the preparer should know before starting. Visible to firm-internal users only. |
Click Create. The dialog closes and Assure Pro opens the new engagement’s detail page.
[Screenshot: Create engagement dialog]
What Assure Pro does next
When you create the engagement, Assure Pro:
- Creates the engagement and links it to the client.
- Auto-generates the task list from the pipeline’s stage templates. If your firm’s tax pipeline defines tasks like “Send intake”, “Review extractions”, “Prepare return”, “Review return”, “Send 8879”, and “E-file”, Assure Pro creates them all in To do state, assigned to the correct role.
- Sets the starting stage to the pipeline’s first column (usually Awaiting docs or equivalent).
- Logs the new engagement in the activity timeline.
You see the new card immediately on the workflow page.
How the engagement type shapes defaults
The engagement type isn’t just a label — it drives:
| Default | How |
|---|---|
| Pipeline | The service line’s default pipeline (Tax / Accounting / Audit). |
| Due date | The IRS deadline for that form. 1040 → Apr 15 of the year after the tax year. 1120-S → Mar 15. Bookkeeping → end of next month. |
| Task list | The stage templates for the chosen pipeline include the right tasks (for example, the tax pipeline has “Send intake”, but the bookkeeping pipeline has “Categorize transactions”). |
| Intake checklist | When you send intake from this engagement, the AI uses the engagement type to generate the default checklist (W-2, 1099-DIV for 1040; financial statements and bank statements for bookkeeping). |
| Folder structure | The default folder template applied to the engagement’s documents matches the engagement type. |
| Engagement letter template | When sending an engagement letter from this engagement, the default template matches the type. |
Picking the right type up front saves a lot of clicks later.
Setting up recurring engagements
For monthly bookkeeping, quarterly payroll filings, or any other recurring work, you don’t manually create an engagement each period. Set up a recurring schedule — Assure Pro creates the engagement each period and assigns it to the right preparer automatically.
Engagements for prospect clients
Clients marked as a Prospect can have engagements too — typically a “Proposal” engagement that lives in the prospects pipeline (when configured). When the prospect signs the engagement letter, the engagement converts and joins the regular workflow.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Picking the wrong engagement type. You can change it later from the engagement detail page’s More menu → Change engagement type, but doing so resets the task list to match the new type’s defaults — any progress on stage-template tasks is preserved in the activity timeline but won’t appear in the new task list.
- Forgetting the tax year. Assure Pro defaults to the current filing year (the year the return is due), not the prior tax year. For “the 2025 tax year, filed in 2026”, set tax year = 2025.
- Skipping the preparer assignment. An engagement with no preparer doesn’t auto-route — set it at create time so the work shows up on someone’s queue.
Permissions
Creating an engagement requires the Create engagements permission. By default:
- Owners and admins can create on any client.
- Preparers can create on clients they’re assigned to.
- Reviewers and signers can create on clients they’re assigned to.
See Inviting your team for how to adjust.
Next
- Engagement types & service lines — full type list.
- Stages & gates — what happens after creation.
- The engagement detail page — where you land after clicking Create.