Add a Questionnaire or Document Checklist to a task — a single task, a bulk set of tasks, or a task template — using a saved template or generating one with AI. Set up an automation to send it to the client automatically.
You can add a Questionnaire or Document Checklist to a task using a saved template or by generating one with AI.
Why it Matters: Every season someone has to remember to create the organizer or document request, attach it to the right task and send it, client by client. Add it to the task template once and every client you apply that template to gets their Questionnaire or Document Checklist on the task, in the right step of the workflow, sent on schedule if you choose.
Table of Contents
Add a Questionnaire or Document Checklist to a Task Template
Before you start, build the Questionnaire or Document Checklist and save it to Team. Private and draft templates don't appear in a task template.
👉 Canopy Tip: To build templates, see
To add using a Template:
Click Templates in the navigation bar, then select Task from the menu.
Click Create new.
To edit an existing template instead, click the Additional actions (⋮) icon next to it and select Edit.
Below the task details, click + Add, then select Add questionnaire or Add document checklist.
It appears in the Template workflow panel alongside your subtasks and client requests.
Click Apply Template and choose one from Preset Templates or Team Templates.
To generate one instead, see Generate It With AI.
Enter a Name, such as 2026 Tax Organizer.
Type {{ to add a dynamic placeholder, like the client's name.
For a Document Checklist, also add a Description with any instructions for the client.
To choose who gets notified, turn on Set a default team member to receive notifications and select Role(s) or Assignee(s).
Select a Client due date, either a Fixed date or a Relative date.
Select a Client reminder, such as every Monday for 30 days or until the request is completed.
Click Save.
👉 Good to know: You can also add a Questionnaire or Document Checklist to a task that already exists: open the task and click Add work, then select Questionnaire or Document checklist. Setting it up in a task template or generating it with AI is faster, because it's ready the moment the task is created.
Generate With AI
To generate a Questionnaire or Document Checklist with AI, add it as a subtask inside a task or task template, then toggle on Generate with AI within the subtask block.
👉 Canopy Tip: For how AI generation and prompts work, see:
In a task template:
Click Templates in the navigation bar, select Task:
To start a new template instead, click Create new, or
Click the Additional actions (⋮) icon next to an existing template and select Edit.
In the template builder, click + Add, then select:
Add questionnaire or
Add document checklist.
Enter a Name (required).
A Document Checklist also has a Description for instructions to the client.
Turn on Generate with AI.
Enter a prompt describing what to collect, such as Generate a list of tax documents for 2026 based on last year's information that was gathered for this client.
When Generate with AI is turned on for a Questionnaire or Document Checklist subtask, an applied template stays in place — so you can use both together.
To add both a Questionnaire and a Document Checklist, repeat steps 2 to 5 for the other one.
Click Save.
Canopy generates them each time you apply the template to a client.
When you apply the template:
Click the + button in the navigation bar, then select Create Task.
Click Template, select the task template and click Apply.
Select the Client.
A banner at the bottom of Create Task shows whether a Tax Workflow Automation credit will be applied to the client.
Click Create and manage.
The task opens with each AI item under Subtasks. It shows Generating until it's ready, then a Finish and send button.
Canopy may rename an AI item once it's generated.
To customize an item, click the More Options (⋮) icon next to it and select Edit.
Click Next to open it, make your changes, then click Save or Send.
When creating a single or bulk task:
Create a task:
Single task: Click the + button in the navigation bar, then select Create Task.
Bulk task: Go to the Client List, select one or more clients, then click the bulk task icon.
Enter the Task name. If you’re creating a single task, also select the Client.
Click + Add at the bottom of the task details section, then select Add questionnaire or Add document checklist.
Enter a Request name, turn on Generate with AI and enter a prompt.
To use a saved template instead, click Template.
Set the Roles, Assignee(s), Client due date and Reminder.
Click Create and manage.
The task opens, and the item appears under Subtasks as a Questionnaire draft or Document Checklist draft. It shows Generating while the AI works, then a Finish and send button once it's ready.
You can edit an AI-generated Questionnaire or Document Checklist only after the task is created. Click Finish and send to open it.
👉 Good to know: Generate with AI uses a Tax Workflow Automation credit when the template is applied to a client that hasn't already used a credit. If no credits are available, the generation fails. When you apply the template, a banner at the bottom of Create Task shows whether a credit will be applied to the client. See How do Tax Workflow Automation Credits Work?
Send It Automatically
Skip this section if you'd rather review and send each Questionnaire or Document Checklist yourself.
You can add an automation whether you built the Questionnaire or Document Checklist with a saved template or generated it with AI — you don’t need to combine AI-generation with automatic sending; either workflow supports automation independently.
In the Questionnaire or Document Checklist block, click Add an automation in a task template, or Add automation when you create a task.
Under Select condition, choose when to send it, such as When the task is created or When a specific subtask or client request has a status of.
Under Select action, choose then send client request.
Click Create, then save the template or create the task.
If the block uses Generate with AI, an AI-Acknowledgement dialog asks you to confirm that requests may be sent without being reviewed first. Click Confirm to save.
👉 Best practice: If you’re using Generate with AI, an automation can send that content to the client without anyone reviewing it first.
Add a review subtask before it, and set the condition to When a specific subtask or client request has a status of, so it only sends after a team member has checked it. This risk doesn’t apply to template-based content, since that’s already pre-approved.
Automated requests go to every client contact with a client portal. For a client with no portal contact, the request is created as a draft, and the automation won’t run until the client is invited to the portal. For every condition and action, see What automations are available on Tasks?
What Happens When the Template Is Applied
When you apply the template to a client, one at a time or in bulk, Canopy adds the Questionnaire or Document Checklist to the task as a step in the workflow.
From a template or with AI. It appears under Subtasks on the task's Work tab as a Questionnaire draft or Document Checklist draft. Click Finish and send to review and edit it before sending. An automation skips this step.
Recurring tasks. Each recurrence gets its own Questionnaire or Document Checklist.
One client's task stays separate. Editing or replacing it on that task doesn't change the task template.
For applying templates, see How do I apply a Task Template?
Troubleshooting
I can't delete a Questionnaire or Document Checklist template:
A template in use in a task template can't be deleted. The message lists the task templates that use it. Remove it from those task templates first.
The task shows that AI generation failed:
The usual reasons are:
Your firm has no Tax Workflow Automation credits available.
The client hasn't been invited to the client portal.
Generation timed out.
A failed generation stops its own send automation, but the task and its other automations carry on.
The automation didn't send:
Check that the client has at least one contact with a client portal. Without one, the request is created as a draft instead.
Summary
Add a Questionnaire or Document Checklist to a task template from a saved template or with Generate with AI, and Canopy adds it to the task every time you apply the template. Add an automation to send it on schedule, and keep a review step ahead of anything AI-generated.
Need Help?
Contact Support or ask Penny, our AI Support Bot, for assistance.