Chasing client records: a clearer workflow for accountancy practices

Define what ready for work means

Choose one service and one stage, such as collecting year-end records before preparation begins. Ask the preparer which items they need and how they recognise a usable item. A file arriving is a receipt event; someone still needs to check its contents and period.

Use plain statuses that the team can explain: requested, received for checking, accepted, query raised and still missing. Name the person who updates each status. Put the checklist where both the person chasing and the person preparing the work can see it.

Agree what happens when preparation can start with an open query. Record the decision and the person responsible for resolving it. This prevents a broad “complete” label from hiding work that still needs attention.

A worked example: one year-end request

This example is fictional and illustrates a proposed process. It describes no real client or measured improvement. Imagine a request for bank statements covering the agreed year, sales records and purchase invoices. The client uploads statements for only part of the period and asks when the invoices are needed.

A general reminder to send all records would ignore both events. In the proposed process, the checker marks the missing statement period and assigns the invoice question to the job owner. The reply pauses automatic reminders until someone answers and sets the next date.

Illustrative reminder, after a person has checked the list and answered the client’s question: “Thanks for the statements you uploaded. We still need the statements for the remaining period listed below. Please use the same upload link by the date we agreed. If that date is difficult, reply so we can agree the next step.” Add the exact missing period and agreed date before sending.

Write the request around the missing item

Keep the first request specific enough for the client to act on. State the period, describe the documents and explain the upload route. Avoid internal task names that mean little outside the practice. Give the client a way to ask a question or flag an item that does not apply.

For a reminder, acknowledge checked receipts and list only what remains outstanding. Do not ask an AI tool to infer the missing items from a long email chain. Prepare the list from the checked record, then use an approved template or a reviewed draft for the wording.

Decide when reminders must stop

Write stop rules before scheduling messages. A client reply, a new upload awaiting checking, a changed deadline or a concern raised by the team should put the next reminder on hold. Assign someone to review the pause and decide what happens next.

Decide how the process handles replies sent to a partner’s inbox. During a trial, the partner may need to update the checklist manually. If that handover proves unreliable, it becomes a requirement to solve. A faster reminder schedule will not solve a missing handover.

Set a point at which the job owner speaks to the client. Repeated messages may be unhelpful when the client cannot find a record or does not understand the request. Keep that conversation and its agreed next step visible to the team.

Compare software against your actual workflow

First check whether your existing practice software can hold an item checklist, assign responsibility and pause reminders. Ask the person using it to demonstrate the process with fictional records. Check what the client sees as well as the staff screen.

If you compare other software, give each supplier the same example. Ask them to show a partial upload, a reply, an owner’s absence and a changed date. Find out where status is stored and how the team sees failed messages. Check permissions and export options before moving information.

A custom workflow may make sense when a necessary handover spans systems your existing tools cannot connect usefully. Write down that gap first. Include support, failure handling and the effort needed to keep the connection working when comparing the options.

Test the awkward cases with made-up records

Run the request through a normal response, an incomplete response and no response. Then try a duplicate upload, an unusable file and a reply asking for more time. Use made-up names and documents. Have the job owner check every proposed message before any trial with clients.

Record whether the right person can see the next action, whether reminders pause correctly and whether the preparer understands the handover. Include the time spent checking and correcting the workflow. Keep a simple manual route available when something fails.

Give someone responsibility for the whole job

A checklist needs someone responsible for keeping the work moving. Name the job owner and their cover during leave. Agree who checks receipts, answers client questions and decides when the file is ready. Those may be different people, but each handover needs a clear next action.

Bring the current process, the proposed process and the unresolved decisions together before commissioning a build. That gives you something concrete to review with the team and suppliers. You can then choose a process fix, a software change or a scoped piece of automation.

Common questions