Copy-and-edit requests for Canopy Coworker, grouped by the work they help with. Replace anything in [brackets] with your own client, team member, tax year or amount. Bracketed values are examples.
Available in the open beta on the Standard, Plus and Premium plans.
Why it matters: The fastest way to get value from Coworker is to start from a request that already works, then change it to fit your firm.
Table of Contents
Tips for Writing a Request
Name the specifics: Include the client, tax year, service item, team member or date range. If something is missing, Coworker asks for it.
Say what to count: Add "count tasks only, not subtasks" or "active clients only" so prospects, archived clients and subtasks don't inflate the numbers.
Fill in your data first: Return counts need the Tax year and Return type fields set on tasks. Birthday lists need birthdates saved on contacts.
Refine the answer in the same session: Ask for another column, a narrower filter, or a CSV export. You can even ask what data Coworker can export.
Keep date ranges short: For large lists, such as one month of unbilled time instead of a year.
Know whose hours you're seeing: Hours count toward the person a task is assigned to, not whoever entered the time. Work with no assignee shows up as its own row.
Tell Coworker how your firm works: Describe your stages, cadence and who handles what, so it can suggest automations that fit your firm.
Check the numbers before you share them. Coworker's counts can differ from Insights and from the Tasks list.
Coworker can't send you invoice PDFs; get those from Canopy Billing. Client messages and emails it writes are drafts. Nothing goes out until you send it.
👉 New to Coworker? See: How do I use Canopy Coworker?
Prepare for Tax Season
Which clients have a tax task in [With client] status and an incomplete questionnaire or document checklist?
Use your firm's own status name.
Add a column showing how much of each questionnaire and document checklist is complete.
Ask this as a follow-up to the request above.
How many [1040] returns are left to complete for the [tax year]? Count tasks only, not subtasks.
Needs the Tax year and Return type fields filled in on tasks.
Which active clients don't have a tax prep task set up for [tax year]?
Create a [tax year] [1040] task for each active client who doesn't have one.
Ask this as a follow-up to the request above. Coworker asks for your approval first.
Create a document checklist of missing items for [client name]'s [tax year] tax return.
Coworker asks for your approval before it creates the checklist. Or run the Tax Request List suggested task.
Create a task template for our [1040 prep] process with a questionnaire step and a document checklist step, and send them to the client automatically.
Coworker can copy the questionnaire and checklist from an existing template or write them for each client. Or run the Create Task Template suggested task.
Keep Client Work Moving
Help me plan my day. Show my tasks that are overdue or due in the next 7 days, sorted by due date.
Brief me on [client name] before my call: open tasks, recent files and messages, unpaid invoices, and anything overdue.
Or run the Pre-Call Prep suggested task.
Show a count of open tasks by status for [tax year / service / team member]. Count tasks only, not subtasks.
Or run the Workflow Status suggested task.
Which engagements have been sent but not signed? Set up a signature reminder every [3] days for [client name]'s engagement.
Reminders are set up one engagement at a time and wait for your approval before they start.
Summarize unread client messages and draft replies for me to review.
Replies are drafts. Nothing is sent until you send it.
Rename the files [client name] uploaded this week using our naming convention.
You review the new names before Coworker applies them.
List the clients who uploaded files this month and who the [Manager] is for each.
Use a role your firm assigns to clients.
Invite [client name]'s contacts to the client portal.
You approve every invite before Coworker sends it.
Which contacts have a birthday in the next [10] days?
Only works if birthdates are saved on contacts.
Time and Billing
Give me a list of clients with unbilled [tax prep] time, with hours and amount for each.
For a large firm, narrow it to one [month].
Show me clients with scope creep.
Or run the Scope Creep Analysis suggested task.
How much have we collected in payments this month?
How much have we invoiced this month?
Log [2.5] hours to [client name] for [1040 prep] today.
Coworker creates a time entry after you approve it. If you don't name a service item, it asks whether the time is billable.
Who are our top 10 clients by [invoiced / collected] amount in [quarter or year]?
This is a large pull. Try one quarter first.
Which invoices are more than [30] days past due, by client?
Which clients have a completed [tax year] tax return task but no invoice for it?
Team Workload and Reporting
Compare budgeted hours with logged hours on the [tax year] tax return tasks assigned to each team member. Show unassigned work as its own row.
How many budgeted hours of open tax prep work does each team member have? Show unassigned work as its own row.
Which open tasks have used 80% or more of their budgeted hours?
Which team members have subtasks that have been open the longest? Show the oldest [10] open subtasks with assignee, client and due date, and list unassigned subtasks separately.
Which active task statuses are used most, and which aren't used at all? Include completed and canceled tasks.
Give me a firm operations check.
Or run the Firm Operations suggested task.
Clean Up Client Records
Review our active clients for possible duplicates, including names that are spelled slightly differently, among [clients added in the past 90 days]. Show them in a table.
Or run the Data Quality suggested task.
Which active clients are missing an email address or phone number?
Show clients added in the past [30] days that have no tags, and who owns each one.
Automate Repeating Work
These requests create an automated job, which runs on a schedule or when something changes in Canopy, such as a task's status.
Coworker asks for your approval before it saves a job, and a saved job doesn't run until someone with the Approve Automated Jobs permission approves it.
Every [July 1], create a draft renewal engagement for each active client with a [current year] engagement, with a [5]% fee increase.
Coworker asks a few questions first. Or run the Draft Renewals suggested task.
When a [1040 prep] task is marked complete, create a review task for [Joe].
Every weekday morning, list open tasks that have used 80% or more of their budgeted hours.
For other kinds of ongoing tracking, run the Create Monitor suggested task.
Every weekday at [8 AM], summarize emails from the last 2 business days that ask me for something and have no reply from me.
👉 See and pause your automated jobs in Coworker > Automated Jobs.
Teach Coworker How Your Firm Works
Coworker saves what you tell it as memories and uses them in later sessions. The quickest start is the Personal Onboarding card on the Coworker page, which doesn't use credits.
Remember that [Joe handles our complex returns].
Remember that [I send client reminders on Tuesdays and Thursdays].
Remember that [I prefer summaries as a short table].
Remember that [I use a client's preferred name in emails, not their legal name].
What do you remember about me and our firm?
Forget that [Joe handles our complex returns].
Saving or forgetting a memory needs your approval.
More Requests to Try
Skip this section if you don't use Canopy for bookkeeping or need to audit record changes.
Which clients have flagged transactions that need a receipt or categorization?
Needs a connected accounting system.
What changed on [client name]'s record in the last 7 days, and who made the changes?
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Summary
Start from a request in this list, swap in your own clients and dates, and refine the answer in the same session. Check counts before you share them, and approve any change Coworker proposes.
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