Why clients don’t send documents
- It feels like a big job. A vague request (“send your tax documents”) sounds like an afternoon of digging.
- They don’t know exactly what you need. So they wait until they have time to work it out.
- Sending is fiddly. Finding the email, attaching files, logging into a portal.
- There’s no real deadline. So it never becomes urgent.
- Your reminders are easy to ignore. The same “just checking in” email, again.
Make sending a ten-second task
Every step you remove gets you more documents back. A private link from the email, no login, upload or reply right there. Let clients mark things done that they handled elsewhere (“I’ve given you access”).
Tell them precisely what’s outstanding
List each item with what “right” looks like. When a client can see exactly what’s left, it’s easy to finish. When they can’t, they put it off.
Use real deadlines
Tie each request to a date that matters to them: their filing deadline, their launch, their event. “By Friday so we can file on time” works far better than “when you can”.
Let the follow-up not come from you
Chasing clients yourself is awkward, and it’s easy to stop after one reminder. Automated follow-ups are consistent and polite: a friendly check-in first, a little firmer later, and always only about what’s still missing. They stop the moment everything is in.
Answer questions fast
A request often stalls on a small question (“Is a phone photo OK?”). A quick answer keeps things moving; a slow one means another week. Follow Up With’s assistant answers questions like this from what you’ve told it about your business, and passes anything sensitive to you.
Check what arrives straight away
Finding out a week later that the statement was for the wrong month restarts the whole cycle. Check each file as it comes in, and ask again the same day if something’s off.