vvcoming soonGentle reminder
412 times “gentle reminder” was sent in July.
Comedy escalation, then a perspective flip to the client's phone, then the fix: one list per client.
What this story is about
CA firms: your clients aren't ignoring your reminders.
412 “gentle reminders” in one July. The clients weren't ignoring them. They didn't know what was missing. One precise list per client, and follow-ups only on what's still missing.
What I'd run for a CA firm: a document checklist for every client, one tap uploads into the right folder, filing automation drafted for your review, every GST, TDS and advance tax date tracked, and a status page clients can check.
Comment LIST for the checklist I'd use for ITR season.
The first message we would send
The checklist I'd use for ITR season (one list per client, never a generic “pending documents”): • Form 16 (employer's HR portal) • AIS / Form 26AS (income tax portal) • Interest certificates, one per bank (bank app › certificates) • Capital gains statement (broker's console) • Old regime only: 80C proofs, 80D health insurance, home loan interest certificate, rent receipts (landlord's PAN if rent is over ₹1 lakh a year), 80G donation receipts Rules: every item says where to find it, one tap to upload, follow up only on what's still missing, stop the moment it arrives. How many ITR clients do you handle each season? I'll tell you how much of this can run on its own.
Full transcript
This CA firm sent the words gentle reminder four hundred and twelve times in July.
Gentle reminder.
Gentle reminder two.
Kindly do the needful.
Sir, just following up.
By the last week, the reminders had reminders.
Here's what nobody noticed. The clients weren't ignoring them.
They didn't know what was missing.
"Please send pending documents." Which ones? From where? By when?
So I'd change one thing. Every client gets their own list.
Exactly what's missing, where to find it, and one tap to upload.
Then I follow up only on what's still missing. Never the whole list again.
Same July. Forty one reminders. Not four hundred.
Here's what I'd run for a CA firm.
A document checklist for every client, built from last year's file.
One tap uploads, filed into the right client folder.
Filing automation. Data pulled from the portal, the return drafted for your review.
Every due date tracked. GST, TDS, advance tax.
And a status page clients can check, without calling you.
All on WhatsApp and email, alongside the tools the firm already uses.
Clients don't ignore reminders.
They ignore vague ones.
If you're a CA, comment LIST. I'll send you the checklist I'd use for ITR season.
Composite story, names changed. Figures for the gym, clinic and CA cases are illustrative, not client results. vv is coming soon and nothing here promises a result.