Typical scenario · Accounting
Accounting firm: no more chasing clients for documents
Two hundred and fifty clients, documents arriving late and in ten different formats, always right before deadlines.
All case studies
Typical scenario: results are estimates based on similar projects, not data from a real client.
Sound familiar?
- “Every deadline restarts the round of phone calls”
- “Crooked photos of receipts arrive on WhatsApp at 11 p.m.”
- “Nobody knows for sure which files are complete and which aren't”
- The challenge
- Three accountants, six staff, around 250 clients ranging from sole traders to limited companies. E-invoices already arrive structured, but nothing else does: receipts, medical expenses, contracts and bank statements come in by email, WhatsApp or in an envelope, often incomplete. During tax-return season, staff spend hours on the phone chasing documents, and data is re-typed by hand into the accounting software.
- The approach
- We started off-season, so there was time to do it properly. With the accountants we defined a document checklist for each type of client and measured how many hours go into chasing and re-typing. We also listened to the least digital clients: the solution had to work for someone who can only take a photo.
- The solution
- An upload portal with a tailored checklist for each client and automatic reminders only for what's missing. Those who prefer can send a photo by message: AI recognizes the document type, extracts amounts, dates and counterparties and files it in the right folder, ready to be checked. A dashboard shows the status of every file at a glance.
Tools
- Client portal with checklists by client type
- Automatic document reading (OCR and AI)
- Automatic reminders by email and message
- File-status dashboard
Timeline
8–10 weeks, started outside tax-return season and tested on a pilot group of 30 clients.
Expected results (estimates)
- Estimate: 30–40% less time spent chasing and collecting documents
- Estimate: half as many incomplete files in the last week before deadlines
- Staff check data instead of re-typing it
The people
Staff designed the checklists with us and received half a day of hands-on training. The time freed up goes where it really matters: advice and the client relationship.
How many hours does your firm spend chasing documents? Let's work it out together.
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