Hollis and Reed Accounting: a client document checklist

The problem

Every spring an accountant asks the same clients for the same papers, and keeps track on a spreadsheet, a notepad and an inbox. A client says they sent the mortgage form. Nobody can find it. The reminder emails are written one at a time, and the list of who is missing what goes stale by lunchtime.

What we built

For our sample firm, Hollis and Reed Accounting, we would build a checklist for every client, listing the papers their return needs, with a bar showing how much has come in and a button that writes a reminder naming only what is missing.

Problem and answer

• Nobody knows at a glance which clients are ready to start.

  Every client shows how many papers are in, as a bar and a count. A filter shows only the clients who are complete, or only those still missing something.

• Each client needs a different list, and it lives in the accountant's head.

  A family, a retired person and a small business each get the list that suits them. It is set once, and reused every year.

• Reminder emails are typed one by one and often ask for papers that already arrived.

  The reminder is written for you, in plain words, and lists only the papers still missing. One tap sends it.

• A client sends a photo of a form to the wrong person, and it sits in an inbox.

  Anyone in the office can tick a paper off the moment it arrives, and everyone sees the list change.

• The accountant cannot tell who has already been chased.

  The tool shows who has had a reminder, so nobody gets two in a row and nobody is forgotten.

How it works

1. 01At the start of the season each client gets a list of the papers their return needs.
2. 02As papers arrive by email, mail or drop off, the office ticks them off.
3. 03The bar for that client fills, and the count at the top of the screen goes down.
4. 04For anyone still missing something, the office taps Send reminder. The message names the missing papers only.
5. 05When a list is complete, the client moves to the Complete group and is ready for the accountant.

Works with

• Gmail or Outlook, to send the reminders from the firm's own address
• Google Drive or Dropbox, so each paper is filed in the client's own folder
• QuickBooks, if the firm already keeps its clients' books there
• A text message service, for clients who answer texts faster than email

The plan we would follow

1. Week 1We sit with the accountants, learn which papers each kind of client needs, and agree the lists.
2. Weeks 2 and 3We build the client list, the checklists and the reminder, using the firm's own wording.
3. Week 4The office tries it with a handful of clients, and we adjust the lists and the reminder.
4. Week 5We connect email and the folders, and bring in the rest of the client list.
5. Week 6Launch, with a short walk through for everyone in the office.

What the owner keeps

• The tool and every checklist in it
• The email and folder accounts, all in the firm's name
• Every client record, in the firm's hands, never ours
• The lists of papers, which the firm can change at any time