You asked for the documents three weeks ago. The client said "I'll send that" and since then, half has arrived by email, one statement as a photo by text, the rest won't come. Following up takes time and energy, and the relationship suffers a bit each time. The problem rarely comes from client neglect: they don't know exactly what you want, or by when.
Why clients don't send their documents
Three reasons come up almost always, and none is laziness.
The request was vague. "Send me your supporting documents" doesn't say which ones. The client hesitates, puts it off, or sends what's handy.
There's no deadline. Without a due date, the request is a wish. It comes after anything that does have one.
They don't remember what they already sent. Documents went in three different messages. Both of you have to dig to know what's still missing.
How to write a document request that gets done
A good request fits a list, not a paragraph.
- One line per document, named as the client recognises it: "business account statement for March," rather than "bank documents."
- One instruction when the document could confuse: "all pages, even blank ones," "the invoice, not the card receipt."
- One realistic deadline, given once, with the reason: "so I can prepare for the appointment on the 15th." A date with no reason looks arbitrary.
- One place to drop off. If you take email, text and USB drives, you're making yourself reassemble everything.
Send the list once, and keep it as your reference. Every follow-up after that points back to this same list.
What pace to follow up at
The idea is to follow up without pestering, so predictably. A pace that works well in practice:
- One reminder before the deadline, a few days before, in a helpful tone: "these three documents still need to come by the 15th."
- A message on the deadline day, short, restating what's missing.
- One follow-up after the deadline, a bit firmer, proposing a way out: a ten-minute call, or sending the easiest document first.
Two rules make these follow-ups bearable. They ask only for what's genuinely still missing: following up on a document already received destroys your credibility. And they stop as soon as the request is handled, without your having to think about it.
Beyond the third follow-up, switch channels: a call beats a fourth email. It also uncovers the real reason for the delay, which is sometimes a document the client doesn't know where to find.
What to do with an illegible or incomplete document
This is the trickiest moment, because it feels like criticism. Two habits help.
Say exactly what's wrong. "The statement is cut off at the bottom, the last line is missing" fixes in a minute. "Non-compliant document" starts a discussion.
Reject the document, not the client. A rejected document with a reason stays in the record: the client knows what to resend, and you can show later why the list wasn't complete. Accept without comment what's good, so the client knows where they stand.
Avoid correcting a document silently yourself, or "making do": the gap comes back at the worst moment.
What the client must see on their end
An effective follow-up rests as much on what the client sees as what you write. They should be able to answer, without calling you, three questions: what's expected of me, by when, and what's already received? If the answer takes searching through email threads, you're asking them for work that isn't theirs.
The simplest is to show them the list with each document's status: to send, uploaded, accepted, refused with reason. The client sees their progress, and you don't have to sum it up.
With Kolinea
Kolinea follows this method exactly. You publish a document request: one line per document, one optional instruction for each, one deadline. The client opens the folder through a link, confirmed by an email code, with no account to create, and uploads files one document at a time.
You accept each document or reject it with a required reason: the document goes back to "to send" and the client sees why. The request turns "handled" when all documents are accepted.
Automatic reminders go out two days before the due date, on the day, the day after, then seven days later, and stop once the request is complete. You don't write the follow-ups, and your dashboard flags delays. For a loan file in particular, see chasing the documents of a loan file.
To see what a document request looks like in action, open the accountants page, whose button goes to a full example folder, or those for lawyers and wealth advisers. To open your first folder, go to the home page and sign up.