Why do accounting firms still manually key data into tax software?

Because most tools pre-fill only part of the return, and rarely say how much. They fill the fields they were built for, and then the preparer keys the rest and checks everything that came in. Filed's earlier approach reached about 40% of fields. The new one reaches 100%, in CCH Axcess, Lacerte, Drake and ProConnect, reads documents at 99.9% accuracy, and enters a 1040 in under 3 minutes.

How much of a return do most tools pre-fill?

The fields the tool was built for. Pre-fill, often sold as auto-populate, means the tool moves values from the client's documents into the tax software for you. Every import is mapped field by field, and the mapping stops somewhere. A W-2 lands cleanly. Then the return reaches depreciation, a passive loss form or a K-1, and the fields run out.

What is left costs twice. The preparer keys what the import skipped, and then has to check what it entered, because nothing says which values came in and which did not. A partial fill leaves two jobs where one was promised.

Why did Filed's own earlier approach stop at 40%?

It used robotic process automation, with fields mapped largely by hand. A team can only map so many fields, and it reached about 40% at best. The preparer keyed the other 60%.

The fix was a new, proprietary method that Filed built. It reaches every field, in all four tax software packages. The only other common way to reach every field is through an API.

How long does keying a return by hand take?

Roughly 30 to 60+ minutes for a return with no AI tool. Thomson Reuters' 2025 State of Tax Professionals Report found that 52% of firms say the average return takes 1 to 3 hours. CPA Practice Advisor has reported that finding, organizing and entering client data is about 40% of prep time. Forty percent of 1 to 3 hours is roughly 24 to 72 minutes.

By-hand range based on Thomson Reuters 2025 State of Tax Professionals Report and CPA Practice Advisor.

Filed's earlier approach brought a 1040 down to about 12 minutes, which was already fast for automation. The new data entry takes under 3 minutes, measured from the approved plan to the entered return.

What three numbers should you ask any vendor for?

Ask for accuracy, coverage and speed, for your tax software and your return types. A tool can be strong on one and silent on the others.

Between reading and entering sits mapping: placing each value in the right field. How that goes depends on the return's complexity and on your firm's own rules and preferences. Filed learns those preferences, so mapping gets better with every return, and the tax pro reviews it in the plan before anything is entered.

Then ask two more questions: which tax software, and which return types. Filed enters data into CCH Axcess, Lacerte, Drake and ProConnect, for 1040, 1065 with K-1, 1120, 1120-S, 1041 and 990 returns.

How does Filed enter a 1040 in under 3 minutes?

Filed reads the documents, you approve the plan, and Filed enters the values. The tax pro sees every value in the plan before anything goes into the tax software.

The documents come in, and Filed extracts every value into the client binder. Filed then lays out a plan with every value and the field it thinks the value belongs in. The tax pro approves each value, or corrects the value or the field. Approved values go straight into the tax software. Filed records every correction, and Filed learns your firm's preferences.

The tax pro sees and approves every value in the plan before anything goes into the tax software.

Every value in the plan links back to the box on the source document it came from, so review means checking a number against its source. Filed does the analytical work, and the tax pro makes the judgment calls.

Here is one return going from the approved plan into Drake, with the timer running from the moment the plan is sent.

Which tax software does Filed enter data into?

Filed enters data into CCH Axcess, Lacerte, Drake and ProConnect, with 100% field coverage in all four.

Nobody has to change software, and that matters, because a firm will not change tools in busy season. For how firms judge AI tax tools before they buy, see what AI tax software actually works for accounting firms.

What changes for a tax firm?

The typing goes. A preparer reviews a plan instead of keying into screens, and a reviewer opens a return where every figure traces to a source document. The hours that went to the most mechanical work in the process go back to work only a tax pro can do. That matters most in busy season, because a firm cannot hire for one month of the year.

Frequently asked questions

How long does Filed take to enter a 1040?

Under 3 minutes, measured from the approved plan to the entered return. Filed's earlier approach took about 12 minutes, and keying a return by hand takes roughly 30 to 60+ minutes.

What share of tax software fields can Filed enter?

100% of fields, in CCH Axcess, Lacerte, Drake and ProConnect. Filed's earlier approach reached about 40% at best.

Is Filed's data entry 100% accurate?

Every value is reviewed before it is entered. Filed's field coverage is 100% and its data extraction accuracy is 99.9%. Mapping, which means placing each value in the right field, depends on the return's complexity and your firm's rules, and it improves as Filed learns your firm's preferences. The tax pro reviews it in the plan.

Does Filed enter anything into the tax software without my approval?

No. The tax pro approves or corrects every value in the plan first, and only approved values go into the tax software.

Which tax software does Filed enter data into, and do we have to switch?

Filed enters data into CCH Axcess, Lacerte, Drake and ProConnect, the software your firm already licenses. Nobody has to switch. Filed also connects to the practice management, document and email tools a firm already runs, listed on Filed's integrations page.

Where to start

Pick the return your team dreads most. Ask your current tool for the three numbers, then see Filed enter that return into your own tax software and judge it against your own review standards.