Set up the capture agent
Install the listener on the machine where your documents land, pair it to your firm, and point it at a folder.
The capture agent is a small program that runs on one of your computers and watches for documents your tax software produces. When something appears, it sends it to LedgerOS and files it against the right client.
It exists because tax software writes to a folder on a Windows machine, and no amount of cloud software changes that. Rather than pretending otherwise, the agent meets the file where it lands.
Where to find it
What it is
Runs quietly on the computer where your documents land. No window, no icon to click. It starts with the machine and watches the folders you nominate.
Install it on the machine that actually produces documents — the one with Drake, Lacerte, ProSeries, or CCH Axcess on it, or the one your scanner saves to. Not on your laptop unless that's where the files appear.
Install and pair
1. Install the capture agent. Download and run the installer on the target machine.
2. Pair it to your firm. Generate a one-time code and paste it into the installer.
Once paired, the agent shows as connected and starts watching whatever sources you've configured.
Don't have the installer on this machine yet? — you can generate the code from any computer and install on another. The code is what pairs them.
Add a folder to watch
Add a source, then give it a Folder path and a Name.
Copying the path is the fiddly part. On Windows, open the folder, click into the address bar, and copy what's there. Paste it into the folder path field.
The setup screen shows the exact keystrokes if you need them.
When the agent can see the path you'll get Folder found. If you don't, the path is wrong or the agent is on a different machine than the folder.
What to capture
File types to capture limits what gets picked up, so a folder full of working files doesn't send everything.
Only capture files named like narrows further by filename pattern — useful when one folder holds output you want and output you don't.
Start from ignores anything older than a date you set. Leave blank to capture everything going forward.
That last setting matters on a folder with ten years of history in it. Set a start date unless you genuinely want a decade of back-file imported on day one.
Import files already in this folder does the opposite deliberately — a one-time sweep of what's already there.
Review before filing
Always review scanned or manually-saved files holds captured documents for a human before they file.
Turn this on to begin with. Once you've watched a week of captures land correctly, you can decide whether to let a source file directly. Starting in review mode costs a few minutes a day and prevents a folder of misfiled documents you then have to unpick.
Disconnecting and re-pairing
Re-pair issues a new code — needed if you rebuild the machine or move the agent.
Disconnect stops capture entirely. Documents already captured stay where they are.
Notes and limits
- One agent per machine. Several machines can each run one.
- The agent only reads the folders you nominate.
- If the machine is off, nothing is captured until it comes back — then the folder is caught up.
- Import history shows what came in and when.