In this guide 6 sections
Papers arrive late because the request was vague, the client had no date to work to, and nobody on your side owned the chase. Fix it with a written checklist. Add a reminder ladder with fixed gaps between steps, and name the partner who takes the call when the internal cut-off passes.
Why clients send papers late
Most clients are not careless. They are busy, and an email saying “please send your documents” looks like noise next to their own deadlines because it names no statement, month or date. Vague asks get vague results.
The client never learns which bank statement, which month or which year is wanted, so the date that matters stays hidden and the message sinks under newer mail.
Open your last late file. Count the requests against the replies received and note the days each reply took, because the gap shows whether the trouble sits with the client or your process. That decides where to start.
- Request too vague to act on
- Due date missing, or the date given was the filing deadline itself
- Sent to the wrong person at the client
- Papers held by a third party such as a bank, a lender or a landlord with the signed lease
- Nobody at your firm checks back
Write the request as a checklist, not a note
A good request names every item. Ask for bank statements on each account from April to March, purchase invoices above the agreed value, the payroll summary and the loan schedule from the lender.
Give a reason and a date for each group, saying plainly that the draft cannot start until statements arrive and naming the promised draft day.
Send one request per client per job from the same address, so clients learn where to look and replies land on the job record, not in a preparer’s inbox.
Build a reminder ladder with fixed gaps
Decide the steps once. The first reminder goes three days after the request, the second a week before the internal cut-off, and the third is a phone call. No favourites.
Change the channel as you climb, from email to a text or chat nudge to a call from the person the client trusts. Three identical messages read as spam. Spam gets filtered.
Software sends the reminders, logs each one and stops when the item is ticked, so the partner can see who was asked, when and by which route. Staff stop chasing from memory.
- Day 0: itemised request with a due date
- Day 3: short email listing what is missing
- Day 7: text or chat message to the contact
- Day 10: call from the account manager
- Day 14: escalation to the partner
Decide what happens when the date passes
Escalation needs a rule, not a mood. If the cut-off passes, the partner calls the client the same day, with the missing items listed on the job record before the call starts.
If the external deadline minus a safe margin passes, you file what you hold and tell the client plainly what is missing and why.
Where the rules allow an extension, record who asked and when, and where they do not, put the risk to the client in writing. A dated email protects everyone.
Measure it for one month
Track three numbers per job. Log days from request to first reply, days to a complete set and the reminders sent, in a plain sheet if software has not arrived yet.
After a month the pattern shows itself. A handful of clients cause most of the delay, and a short list of items, usually bank statements, lender letters or rent receipts, repeats in every late file.
Rewrite the requests for your five worst clients first, then compare next month’s days to a complete set and keep whatever shortened the wait.
- Days from request to first reply
- Days to a complete set
- Reminders sent per job
- Items most often missing
Client document request tracker
Print one tracker per job. Each line covers one requested item, with columns for the month or year covered, date asked, date due, two reminders, call made, date received and who checked it. A box at the top holds the client, the job, the internal cut-off, the external deadline and the partner who takes the escalation call.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
How many reminders are too many?
Four or five over two weeks is fair if each one names what is missing and the channel changes, while daily repeats teach clients to ignore your chasers.
Should we give clients a portal for uploads?
It helps when the same clients send papers every month, because a portal gives one place to upload and shows what is still missing. A plain email checklist suits one-off clients.
What if a client keeps sending incomplete papers?
Return the checklist with the missing statements and letters marked in colour, and say plainly that work on the draft will not begin until they are filled. Record the exchange on the job. Repeat offenders need an earlier request date.
Who should chase, the preparer or the manager?
The preparer sends the first two reminders because they know which papers belong to which month, and the manager takes the call stage. The partner takes the final escalation.