Resources for firms that collect client documents
Checklists, email templates, workflows and honest comparisons. Free to use, no sign-up needed. Print them, copy them, make them yours.
GuidesChecklistsEmail templatesWorkflows and SOPsComparisons
Guides
A tax season plan that starts before the forms arrive: one checklist per client, a date that means something, and follow-ups that name what is missing.
9 min read Document request emails that clients actually answerSubject line, first sentence, the list, the deadline and the button. What makes a client act on a request the day it lands, with before and after examples.
8 min read How many reminders before you call a client?Three written reminders, then a call: the schedule for a late client, the wording of each step, and a short script for the phone call itself.
8 min read Making Tax Digital: collecting quarterly recordsFour quarterly updates a year means four rounds of chasing. A calendar, checklist and routine for UK bookkeepers with Making Tax Digital clients.
9 min readChecklists
The nine documents to request every month, what to say for each so the client sends the right one, and what to check on arrival.
7 min read Missing tax documents checklist (US individual returns)The forms clients forget most often, grouped by life event, with the wording that gets each one sent the first time. For US individual returns.
8 min read Bookkeeping month-end close checklistA month-end close checklist that starts where the delays start: the client documents you are still waiting for, and who to chase for each.
7 min read New client onboarding document checklistWhat to collect from a new bookkeeping or tax client in the first week, in the order that unblocks your work. IDs, prior returns, bank details.
6 min read Bank statement checklist: what a usable one looks likeFull statement or transaction list? PDF or photo? The six things to check on every bank statement, and how to ask for them.
5 min read UK Self Assessment client document checklistWhat to ask a client for before you prepare a Self Assessment return: income, property, pensions, gains and the reliefs people forget, with typical dates.
8 min read Australian tax time client document checklistIncome statements, deductions, rental and investment records: what to ask an individual client for at tax time, and how to phrase each item.
8 min readEmail templates
Seven short emails for missing client documents, from the first request to the last reminder before a call. Friendly, specific and easy to copy.
7 min read Tax season document request templatesThe January kick-off email, the February nudge, the March deadline note and the extension conversation: tax season document request templates to copy.
7 min readWorkflows and SOPs
Who follows up, when, in what words, and when to stop and pick up the phone. A step-by-step workflow for small accounting firms.
9 min read Document chase SOP for bookkeepersA standard operating procedure your whole team can follow: request, check, remind, escalate, close. With roles and timings.
8 min read Wrong documents: why you ask twice, and how to stopMost chasing is not about missing files. It is about files that arrived wrong. How to catch them at the moment of upload.
6 min read Chasing bank statements every month: a routine that worksBank statements hold up more closes than any other document. When to ask, how to ask for the right account and period, and what to do when one is missing.
8 min read Collecting identity documents from new clientsWhat to ask a new client for when you must verify who they are, how to ask so the copy is usable the first time, and how to keep it safe afterwards.
8 min read A year-end document collection plan for small firmsMonth by month, from the autumn planning email to the last missing form: a plan a two-to-ten person firm can run without overtime.
9 min read Missing pages and half-sent documents: end the reworkPage 1 of 6, a form without its back, a statement cut off at the 20th. Why partial documents happen and how to catch them while the client is there.
7 min readComparisons
Portals ask clients to remember a password. Links ask them to tap. When each one is the right choice for your firm, and what clients actually use.
6 min read Spreadsheet tracker or document request software?A tracker spreadsheet works up to a point. How to tell when you have passed it, and what changes for your team when you switch to request software.
6 min read Document request tool or practice management suite?What a focused document tool does that a practice management suite's client-task feature does not, and when the suite alone is enough for your firm.
6 min read Secure ways to collect client documents, comparedEmail attachments, shared folders, client portals and upload links: what each one exposes, what clients will actually use, and what to change first.
9 min readSend your first request in ten minutes
Try it on yourself first: send a test request to your own email and watch the check catch a wrong file.
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