---
title: "Form Processing Procedures"
description: "The form processing workflow structures the configuration, validation, review, and dispatch of tax forms through to transmission to the tax authority."
source_url: https://support.lucanet.com/en/documentation/income-taxes/tax-services/form-processing-procedures
language: en
last_updated: 2023-08-24
---
# Form Processing Procedures

## Overview

The **processing procedure** structures the configuration, validation, review, and dispatch of tax forms.

The process bar shows the current status and controls the available actions. 

The structured workflow ensures data quality, prevents faulty transmissions, and creates transparency about the status of all tax reports.

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Forms are automatically locked during editing, so that only one person can make changes at a time.

Authorized persons can reset the processing step if necessary in order to make corrections. 
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## Process Steps at a Glance

Each form goes through a defined processing procedure. The process bar at the top of the detail view shows the current processing step.

Process bar

The processing procedure comprises the following steps:

| Step | Description |
|---------|---------|
| Not Started | The form has been created but not yet edited. |
| In progress | The form is actively being filled with data and edited. |
| Review | The form is being reviewed. In this step, you can no longer make changes. |
| Dispatch | The form has been reviewed and is ready for transmission. |
| Transmitted | The form has been transmitted to the tax authority. |

The following commands are available in the detail view:

| Button | Description |
|---------|---------|
| Set status "<>" | Moves the form to the next specified status within the process. If validation errors are displayed, the system may refuse the status change until the errors have been resolved. |
| Save | Saves the current entries in the form. Changes are applied without a full validation being performed or the process being moved forward to the next workflow stage. Useful for saving the current state (which may be faulty or incomplete) and continuing later. |
| Validate | Starts the validation of the entered form data. If errors occur, they are displayed under **Overview**. Only without validation errors can the process move to the next workflow step. |

## Configuring a Form

To configure a **form**:

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{% stepper-step %}
Open the desired form under **My forms**.
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In the process bar, click **Set status "In progress"**.
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In the **Overview**, select the responsible local tax office.

Selecting the local tax office
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Use the tree structure on the left to navigate between the individual form sections.

Form sections
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Fill in the required fields in each form section. 

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- Mandatory fields are marked accordingly.
- Which fields you need to fill in depends on the selected form type.
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Filling in fields, example 'Belege (supporting documents)'
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Click **Save**.
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The software automatically locks the form while you are editing it.

If the form is already locked by another person, you receive a notification with the name of the person editing it.

See also [Locking Forms and Editing Locked Forms](https://support.lucanet.com/en/documentation/income-taxes/tax-services/lock-form-and-edit-locked-forms.md).
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#### Additional Functions for Form Sections

The **three-dot icon** at the top right of each form section provides the following additional functions:

Additional functions in the form section

| Function | Description |
|---------|---------|
| Reset | Discards all unsaved changes in the current form section. The form section then shows the last saved state again. |
| Delete draft | Irreversibly deletes the entire draft. |
| Copy draft | Creates a copy of the current draft as a new draft and sets the status of the new draft to **Not started**. |
| Mark as finished | Marks the current form section in the tree structure with a check mark as finished, in order to track the processing progress. |
| Mark as incomplete | Marks the current form section in the tree structure with a cone icon as incomplete. |
| Unmark | Removes an existing marking ("Done" or "Incomplete") from the current form section. |

## Validating the Form

After you have entered and saved all the required data, you can validate the form for completeness and correctness. To do this, click **Validate** at the top right.

**Validation errors** are displayed directly at the affected field and in a summary overview.

Possible causes of errors include:

- Mandatory fields are not filled in
- Entered values do not match the expected format
- Plausibility checks were not passed (e.g. total checks)

Error identification during validation

Resolve any displayed errors and validate the form again before proceeding to the next processing step.

## Submitting the Form for Review

After successful validation, you can release the form for review by another person. 

To do this, click **Set status "Review"** in the process bar and inform the reviewer that they can begin the review.

Process bar with the 'Review' status

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In the **Review** status, data changes can no longer be made. If corrections are necessary, you must first reset the form to the **In progress** status.
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## Releasing the Form for Dispatch

After the review, the reviewer releases the form for dispatch by clicking **Set status "Dispatch"** in the process bar and entering a reason for accepting the form data in the dialog that then appears:

Dialog for entering a reason

## Transmitting the Form

After the form has been released for dispatch, you can proceed with transmitting the form to the German tax authority.

To do this, click **Send form** in the process bar.

Sending form

Tax Services then transmits the form electronically to the responsible tax authority. You can view the progress of the transmission steps and the transmission results in the form overview.

#### Transmission Steps

The transmission process comprises the following transmission steps, which are run through automatically one after another:

| Option | Description |
|---------|---------|
| Upload | The form data is prepared for transmission. |
| Enrichment | The data is automatically supplemented with required additional information (e.g. local tax office data, tax identifiers). |
| Validation | The data is checked against the requirements of the tax authority. |
| Approval | The data is approved for transmission. |
| Review | A final review is performed. |
| Signature | The data is signed electronically. |
| Transmission | The data is sent to the tax authority. |
| Confirmation | The tax authority confirms receipt. |
| Completion | The process is completed and logged. |

#### Transmission Status

During transmission, the form can have the following statuses:

| Option | Description |
|---------|---------|
| In processing | The transmission is currently in progress. |
| Failed | The transmission has failed due to an error. A warning icon is displayed. Check the error and restart the transmission if necessary. |
| Successful | The transmission was completed successfully. |

After a successful transmission, the form changes to the **Transmitted** status.

Process bar with the 'Transmitted' status

#### Viewing the Transmission Results

After the transmission is complete, you can view the results:

To do this, open the **transmitted** form under **My forms**.

The transmission results are displayed in the form overview.

Transmission results in the form overview

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In the case of a successful transmission, the result contains the confirmation from the tax authority. If the transmission fails, the error messages are listed in detail.
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