How I share tax docs from Evernote with my CPA
April 7 2025 | Issue 38 | Link to this issue | Subscribe
Hi Reader –
If you’ve ever thought, “I’ve got everything in Evernote…now how do I actually send it to someone?” — this issue of my Trauma-Free Taxes with Evernote series is for you. Because as great as your system is, your CPA probably isn’t in there with you. Let’s fix that.
Preparing your taxes often involves collaboration with vendors. You’re not only collecting lots of paperwork — you’re also sending information to others inside and outside of your organization, for example, a bookkeeper, a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), or similar professional in your country.
Evernote offers multiple options for sharing information with others.
Let’s say that inside your company, every team member uses Evernote. Collaboration in this scenario is robust. You can invite them to share a Note, Notebook, or entire Space. And, you can control the permissions so they can view only, or edit the information that’s there.
But most CPAs (including mine) aren’t Evernote users. This however doesn’t limit me from sharing documents I keep in Evernote with them.
I use different Evernote sharing options depending on the purpose of the collaboration. And because I understand how each option works — both the constraints and opportunities — I use my knowledge to build a workflow that supports my tax prep process from start to finish.
Whether you’re prepping your taxes solo or working with a CPA, knowing how to share your Evernote content clearly and effectively can make or break your workflow.
Let’s walk through two key sharing methods I use — and show you what they look like in action. You’ll see where they shine, where they fall short, and how to choose the right option based on your goal.
🔥 Tip: This is a good email to save to your Evernote for later reference – I advise forwarding it to your Evernote account using the “Email to Evernote” feature.
🧠 Academy Members: Learn all the sharing options and join the conversation specifically about how to share with your CPA depending on your end goal here.
Two Key Sharing Methods:
When I need to share information from Evernote with someone who doesn’t use the app, I rely on two methods:
Exporting as a PDF
Granting note access via a web page using Evernote’s Lite Editor
PDF Export
You can export a note, multiple notes, or an entire notebook as a PDF. It’s a great way to combine multiple notes into a single document you can easily share with just about anybody. And, when it comes to tax workflows, we’re often sharing a series of notes: receipts, reports, etc.
⚠️ You need to pay attention to the details here. Your Evernote skill fluency matters and impacts how your sharing workflow is designed and managed.
For a PDF export to show the content you are sharing, the document stored in Evernote must be in an image format. If it’s not, the content won’t be visible in the exported PDF.
For example, on the left, the receipt is in a .jpg format and shows inside the Evernote note. When the note is exported as a PDF, as shown on the right, the receipt is visible in the exported PDF ✅:
But, if the file you’re storing in Evernote is not an image — let’s say it’s a PDF or another non-image file type — the exported result looks very different.
In the example below, the Google Fiber receipt is saved as a PDF inside the Evernote note. While it displays just fine inside Evernote (on the left), when the note is exported the PDF receipt is not displayed. It reflects that there is an attachment in the note, but this is shown as “Untitled Attachment” with a PDF icon and it cannot be viewed in the exported PDF (as the right shows) ❌ :
🧠 Academy Members: Learn the options (and nuances that impact workflow design) for exporting data from Evernote in the Masterclass: Data Export Options training.
Lite Editor Access:
Another way to share information from Evernote with non-users is through Evernote's Lite Editor, which allows you to share any single note via a web browser link.
Any note in your account can be shared with non-Evernote users by enabling view or edit access to the note from the Share menu:
Let’s go back to the two examples from earlier.
Both notes you see below are shown as they are viewed in a browser using Evernote's Lite Editor.
Notice that both receipts are visible in the browser – even though the receipts that live in Evernote are different file formats (the Hotel Contessa is a .jpg and the Google Fiber receipt is a .pdf). This is how the notes look to anyone with the Lite Editor link – even if the recipient is a non-Evernote user ✅:
🧠 Academy Members: Learn all about sharing your notes via the Lite Editor in the Feature Tutorial: Lite Editor training.
Although the person you are sharing with can view notes that contain a variety of file types in them, this method is challenging when your goal is to share lots of notes. To do so, you’d need to enable the share link for each note individually and send them every single URL. This is tedious for you to generate, and can be confusing for the end user to keep track of. So, the volume of notes you are sharing is a key factor in if you choose this method to share – or not.
Side note: I’m optimistic that one day, Evernote will allow entire notebooks to be shared via the Lite Editor as recent improvements to the Lite Editor seem to set the stage for this…but as of April 2025, it’s not an option. I'll let you know if this changes!
Inside the Academy: A Merge Workflow That Works
Each method — PDF Export and Lite Editor — has its pros and cons. When you're fluent in Evernote’s sharing options, then pair them with the outcomes you want, you can design workflows that actually work.
One of the best ways to gain fluency is by seeing how other Evernote users work around current sharing limitations. Inside the Academy, here’s one great option we’ve been discussing for sharing receipts with your CPA in your tax preparation process that relies on a solid understanding of Evernote’s share options, merge feature, and note editor options:
Identify the set of notes you want to send.
Use Evernote’s Merge function* to combine them into a single note
Add a Table of Contents at the top of your merged note
Share the merged note via Lite Editor and set your view/edit permissions.
(Optional) Add a section for questions, and let your CPA edit the note so they can respond directly inside the note.
*🔥 Tip: Pay attention to the advanced merge settings to make sure they match your goals and set you up for step 3 in this process without any additional effort. Plus, keep in mind, there’s no un-merge!
🧠 Academy Members: Learn how to avoid "merge pitfalls" in the Masterclass: Merging Notes. Get this powerful feature making your life more efficient and aligned with your workflow goals.
What Happens When You Don’t Know This?
The problem I often see is that Evernote users can dutifully capture their receipts all year long, scanning documents, forwarding things into Evernote, and they think they're building a solid system.
Then they start prepping taxes for their tax professional and…oh no.
The formatting is wrong. The file types don’t provide the desired outcome. And they are stuck with a pile of notes that don’t work the way they need them to.
This is exactly why we have ongoing workflow conversations inside the Academy. We’re all about using Evernote with intention to meet your end goal — whether it’s a work-around or creatively implementing a new feature that improves your efficiency.
Examples of what our community members gain in prepping for tax time:
Step-by-step training on sharing, exporting, and organizing
Smart workflows from members solving similar problems
Perhaps the most important role of the Academy is the support and clarity we all get and give, so your system works before tax season looms.
Join me inside the Academy. You'll get all the support, training, and community you need to create your own trauma-free tax tax workflow. Join today.
It's time to build a tax prep workflow that saves you from the scramble this time next year. Use these tips – and Evernote – to get you there.
Stacey
PS: Next week, in the final part of this series, I’ll show you how I archive this year’s tax data and set up for the next — so you’re never starting from scratch.
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