One checklist per service
Make a "Self-assessment 2025/26" link and a "Limited company year-end" link. Each has its own questions, its own documents and its own public link, so a client only ever sees the list that applies to them.
For accounting & tax firms
Collect documents from clients for onboarding and year-end, without the January inbox.
The same twelve documents from the same forty clients, every year. Intaky turns that into one client onboarding checklist you send as a link, with reminders that go out on their own and a view of exactly who still owes what.
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What documents does an accountant need from a new client?
For a personal tax client: proof of identity and address, their tax reference, last year’s tax return if there was one, income evidence such as payslips and pension or dividend statements, and bank statements for the whole tax year. For a company: the certificate of incorporation, last year’s accounts, business bank statements for the accounting period, VAT and payroll records where they apply, and proof of identity for each director or owner. Both also need signed authority to act with the tax authority and, when they are switching firms, permission to request professional clearance from the previous accountant.
Intaky’s accounting template asks for exactly these, each document next to the questions it supports. For the wider process, see how to collect documents from clients and the client intake process checklist.
Why chasing clients for paperwork takes all of January
- A client sends a photo of a P60 taken at an angle, then asks if you got it.
- Three bank statements out of twelve arrive. You have to work out which nine are missing before you can ask for them.
- A new client’s proof of identity is in one thread, their engagement letter in another, and their signed authorisation nowhere yet.
- A junior spends the last week of January writing the same "just following up" email, by hand, sixty times.
The work is not the accounts. It is holding the thread between what you asked for, what has turned up and who you still need to chase — and Intaky is built to hold that thread instead of you.
The accounting & tax client onboarding template
A starter pack for personal tax clients and for companies, built around the year-end rather than around account opening. Each document sits next to the questions it evidences, and nobody is asked again for the name and email they gave when they signed up. Everything below can be renamed, removed or added to in the form builder, so a self-assessment checklist and a limited-company year-end can be two different links from the same workspace.
Personal tax client — questions
- Personal detailsDate of birth, phone, home address. Documents: proof of identity and proof of address
- Tax detailsTax reference, country of tax residence, sources of income this year, marital status for allowances, anything else about the year. Documents: last year’s return, income evidence, bank statements, other records
- EngagementServices required, the tax year this case covers, previous accountant, authority to act as agent with the tax authority and to request professional clearance
- DeclarationsInformation and documents are complete and accurate; agreement to the engagement terms
Personal tax client — documents
- ✓ Proof of identity Required
- ✓ Proof of address Required
- ✓ Last year’s tax return If any
- ✓ Income evidence Required · several files
- ✓ Bank statements for the tax year Required · several files
- ✓ Other supporting records Optional
Company client — questions
- Business detailsRegistration number, tax or VAT number, registered address, nature of business. Document: certificate of incorporation
- Accounting profileYear end, VAT registered, runs payroll, headcount, current software, previous accountant. Documents: last year’s accounts, bank statements, VAT and payroll records
- Engagement & declarationsServices required, authority to act and to request clearance, and the manager’s declarations for the business. Document: letter of authority
- Your identityFilled in by each invited director or owner: date of birth, residential address, their own accuracy declaration. Documents: proof of identity and address
Company client — documents
- ✓ Certificate of incorporation Required
- ✓ Last year’s accounts If any
- ✓ Business bank statements Required · several files
- ✓ VAT & payroll records If they apply
- ✓ Letter of authority If required
- ✓ Each director’s ID Required · address optional
The company side is filled in by the person managing the application; each invited director or owner only fills in their own identity. Accepts PDF, Word, Excel and photos up to 10 MB each, and a document request can allow several files, so "all twelve statements" is one item, not twelve.
How it runs for a firm
Send it, then stop chasing
Give each link a due date and a reminder interval. Intaky emails the client every few days until they finish, only during working hours in your timezone, and stops after six nudges so a client who has gone quiet does not get spammed.
Accept, or send one thing back
When a statement covers one month instead of three, reject that one item with a note. Everything you already accepted stays locked. Then export the finished case as a PDF summary with the documents attached, for your file.
Questions about collecting client documents
How do I stop chasing clients for documents at year-end?
Send each client one checklist link with a due date and let the reminders do the chasing. Intaky emails the client every few days until everything is in, only during working hours in your timezone, and stops after six reminders. You see which clients have finished and exactly which items the others still owe.
What should a client onboarding checklist for an accounting practice include?
Proof of identity and address, tax references, last year's return or accounts, income evidence, bank statements for the period, and signed authority to act with the tax authority. For a company, add the certificate of incorporation, VAT and payroll records, and identity for each director. Intaky's accounting template starts with all of these, and you can rename, remove or add to any of them.
How do I collect ID from every director of a company client?
Invite each director or owner to the company's application by email. Each one fills in only their own identity section, with date of birth, address and a passport or ID card, while the person managing the application answers the company questions and can see who has not finished yet.
Can a client send a whole year of bank statements as one item?
Yes. A document request can accept several files, so twelve monthly statements are one item on the checklist, not twelve. PDF, Word, Excel and photos are accepted, up to 10 MB each.
What happens when a client sends the wrong document?
You reject that one item with a note saying what is wrong. The client sees the note and replaces only that item; everything you have already accepted stays locked.
Do clients start from scratch every tax year?
Each tax year is its own case, started from the same link. A client can have one open case per checklist at a time, so once last year's case is closed they start a fresh one for the new year, and you keep last year's case on file.
Does it carry our firm's branding?
Yes. Your logo and colours appear on your own subdomain, on every page the client sees.
Does Intaky do the tax return or check a client's identity?
No. Intaky collects the documents, declarations and authorisations; your practice reviews them and carries out any identity or anti-money-laundering checks you are required to make. A webhook can push an approved case into your own systems, and the PDF export goes wherever your working papers live.
Other industries: all industries · law firms · recruiters & HR · KYC & vendor onboarding
Plan your first request
Preview a checklist and download the editable CSV without signing up. Adapt it to your process before building the request in Intaky.
Try it on one client this week.
Build the checklist once. If the chasing stops, roll it out in January.
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