Document collection software for bookkeepers: what to look for

Every bookkeeping firm with monthly clients does the same job at the start of each month: ask every client for last month's statements, payroll reports and receipts, then keep asking until they arrive. Document collection software exists to take that job off your plate. Some tools do; others give you a nicer place to store files and leave the asking to you.

This guide covers what the job involves, how document collection tools differ from client portals and practice management suites, and what to check before you pay for one.

The job, step by step

Whatever tool you use, monthly document collection has five parts:

1. Know what each client owes you. A list per client: which bank accounts, which cards, which loans, which payroll reports, and which receipts you need this month.
2. Ask. Send each client a request listing those items, on a predictable day.
3. Receive. Give the client an easy way to send each file, and put it where your team can find it.
4. Chase. Remind each client about what is still missing, and only what is still missing, until it arrives.
5. See the gaps. Know at a glance which clients are complete and which are holding up close.

Steps one and three are what most tools are built around. Steps two, four and five are where firms lose their time, because they repeat every month for every client.

Portal, practice management or document collection

Three kinds of software overlap here, and it helps to know which one you are looking at.

None of these is the wrong choice. A firm already running its work in a practice management suite should usually use the requests built into it. A solo bookkeeper or a small team that only wants the monthly chase handled is often better served by something narrower.

What to look for

Use this as a checklist when you compare tools.

• Requests list exact items. "Card statement ending 4417" and "receipt for an $86.40 charge on Sep 9", not "please upload your documents".
• Recurring requests. The same checklist goes out every month without you rebuilding it.
• No login for the client, or a very easy one. Each password a client has to reset is a day of delay. A link they can open on a phone is the lowest bar.
• Automatic reminders that stop on their own. Reminders should list only what is still missing, and stop for an item once it arrives.
• A way for the client to say "I don't have this". Some months a client has no payroll, or an account was closed. They should be able to say so with a note, so reminders stop and you see why.
• A view of who is holding up close. One list, sorted by who is missing the most, beats opening each client's folder.
• Receipt requests from your transactions. If the tool can turn a list of uncategorized transactions into receipt requests, you skip retyping them.
• Sensible security. Encrypted storage, files never sent back out by email, a link that only accepts uploads, and a clear retention and deletion policy. Bank statements are sensitive, and your clients will ask.
• Pricing that fits your client count. Check how the price scales: per user, per client, per active request or flat.

Questions to ask before you pay

• How does a client send a file if they never set up an account?
• What does the reminder email look like, and who does it appear to come from? Clients ignore, or report as phishing, emails that do not name your firm.
• Can I change the reminder schedule and cap the number of reminders?
• What happens when a client uploads the wrong file? Can I ask again for one item without re-sending the whole request?
• Does it connect to my ledger, and if not, how do I get uncategorized transactions in?
• Where are files stored, who can open them, and when are they deleted?
• What does it cost at my client count today, and at twice that?

When you don't need software yet

If you have a handful of monthly clients who reliably send everything in the first week, a shared folder and a calendar reminder may be enough. A monthly bookkeeping checklist and a good document request template will carry you a long way.

The signs you have outgrown that setup are familiar: you spend part of every week writing reminder emails, you keep a separate list of who still owes you what, and close for a few clients slips every month because of one missing statement.

Signs a tool is the wrong fit

• Your clients will not log in to it. If you are still emailing clients to remind them to check the portal, the portal is not doing the job.
• You still send the reminders yourself. A request that does not follow up on its own is a form, not collection.
• You pay for a suite to use one feature. If document requests are the only part you use, the rest is cost and setup time.

How Month-End Docs fits

Month-End Docs is a narrow document collection tool for small bookkeeping firms with monthly-close clients. Each client gets one upload link, with no client login, listing exactly which statements and receipts are still missing for the month. On the request day you pick, every client gets their list; after that it reminds each client on a schedule until every item arrives, and shows you which clients are holding up close. It works alongside any ledger: there is no QuickBooks or Xero connection yet, so you export uncategorized transactions as CSV and it turns the rows you pick into receipt requests.

If you are comparing it with a specific tool, our Content Snare alternative guide compares the two on public features and pricing.