Workpaper Features: Supporting Docs, Sections, Editing and More
The controls available inside every workpaper, and how each one works.
Every workpaper carries the same set of header actions, giving you full control over its figures, evidence, and structure without leaving the screen.
Edit
Opens every cell in the workpaper table for correction, descriptions, account codes, gross, net, GST. The one exception is any cell whose value is derived directly from a posted Manual Journal; those cells stay locked, and the correction happens by editing or voiding the journal instead. This protects the audit trail: if MJ-derived cells could be freely overtyped, the workpaper and the journal behind it could drift out of sync.
Sync with Partner/Sync with Xero
Refreshes the workpaper's Balance per GL using Zato's own internal data, most commonly used after posting a manual journal directly against the workpaper. Sync with Zato sits under Sync with Partner, alongside the option to sync from the connected accounting platform (Xero) instead.
Always clear the variance and sync, both Sync with Partner and Sync with Zato, before approving a workpaper. Never approve a workpaper while it remains out of balance.
Lineage
Shows the overall path data takes through a workpaper, where the base data originates from, and where it flows onward to.
A Lineage graph shows every value in the workpaper together, mapped out to show where and how each is derived and where it flows to next, useful for understanding how a workpaper connects to the data and workpapers around it, rather than checking one figure at a time.
Traceability
Lets you check any individual value on a workpaper without leaving the screen, where it came from, whether it's calculated, and correct it directly if it's wrong.
Beside every value cell sits a small icon. Selecting it shows one of two things, depending on how that value was arrived at:
Where the value is coming from: if the figure was pulled directly from a source, a file or the GL, the icon shows that source.
Whether the value is formula-based: if the figure is calculated from other figures, it's marked with an Fx symbol.
Overriding a formula
Where a cell is formula-based, selecting the Fx symbol opens it for editing, allowing the formula to be overridden directly rather than accepting the calculated result as-is.
Viewing the source file
Where a value was extracted from a file, opening the full file (via the icon) shows that file with the exact value highlighted directly within it, so the workpaper figure can be confirmed against the original document without hunting for the right line manually.
Supporting Documents
Shows every account code and file mapped to the workpaper. Selecting Edit within Supporting Documents allows a new section to be added where the workpaper supports multiple sections, a new account to be mapped, and new files to be added or linked.
● Both the supporting document and the associated GL file can be viewed from this screen.
● When uploading a file, choose whether to extract its data into the workpaper, or attach it as supporting evidence only, without extraction.
● A file already attached can be sent to a different workpaper, moved to a different section, or deleted, directly from this screen.
Any change made in Supporting Documents requires the automation to be re-run before the workpaper's values update to reflect it.
Add Note
Adds a note to the workpaper, useful for flagging something for yourself or a colleague without raising a formal query.
The Manual Journals block
Sits at the bottom of every workpaper, so a journal can be added or synced directly from within the workpaper, without navigating to the separate Manual Journals screen.
How to access: Open any workpaper; the header actions are shown across the top of the screen.
The Details Panel
Alongside the header actions, a Details button opens a panel on the right-hand side of the screen. This panel holds four tabs: Supporting, Review Points, Notes, and Query Hub, giving a single place to review everything attached to this specific workpaper without navigating away from it.
Supporting
Shows the documents and account codes mapped to this workpaper.
Review Points
Lists every review point raised specifically against this workpaper, each shown with its description, status, and who raised it. Only L5 (Manager) and L6 (Director) users can raise or resolve a review point from here. A workpaper cannot move to Ready to approve while it has an open review point.
Notes
Lists every note added to this workpaper, shown with its text, who added it, and when. Notes are informal and are not part of the formal review trail the way a review point or query is.
Query Hub
Shows every query raised against this workpaper, and is where a new one is raised directly from the workpaper.
To raise a query from Query Hub:
Open the workpaper and select Details, then the Query Hub tab.
Select Add Query.
Choose the Query Type: Draft Client Query or Internal Query.
Enter a Description.
Attach a supporting file if required.
Save.
A query raised this way is automatically scoped to the specific workpaper it came from, so Source and Sub-context don't need to be entered manually.
Workings
Provides a blank spreadsheet within a workpaper for any additional calculation needed to support that workpaper, where no dedicated field or section already covers it.
The spreadsheet can be populated in either of two ways: by importing an Excel file, or by entering the information directly.
Information entered in Workings is available to that specific workpaper, within that job, only. It does not carry across to other jobs or other workpapers.
The Menu (three-line icon)
Sits at the top right of a workpaper, alongside Details, holding a set of further actions.