Template
Client document checklist template, ready to send.
A covering email and a year-end checklist to copy and edit, with the sections to add for each type of client.
Last updated · Facts checked
Copy this client document checklist template, change the words in [square brackets], and take out anything that doesn't apply to the client.
The client document checklist template
The template has two parts: a short covering email and the checklist itself. Send them together, as one request with one due date.
The covering email
Subject: Documents for your [accounts / tax return] for [2025–26]
Hi [first name],
It's time to prepare your [accounts / tax return] for
[6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026]. The list below shows everything
we need from you.
Please send it all by [due date]. You can upload it here: [link]
If something doesn't apply to you this year, reply and say so,
and we'll take it off the list. If you can't find something, tell
us that too. There's usually another way to get it.
Thanks,
[your name]
[practice name]
[phone number]
The checklist
These are the sections a year-end request usually has, with example items to edit. Name the period each item covers in full, such as "6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026", so a statement that stops early is easy to spot.
Bank and cash
- Bank statements for every account, for the whole year
- Statements for any credit card used for the business
- Interest statements for savings accounts
- A list of cash paid or received that isn't on a statement
Income
- Sales invoices, or your own record of takings
- P60 from each job, or the final payslip
- Letting agent statements, or your record of rent received
- Dividend vouchers
Expenses
- Purchase invoices and receipts
- Vehicle costs, or a record of business mileage
- Phone, internet and use-of-home costs
- Subscriptions, insurance and professional fees
Assets and loans
- Invoices for equipment or vehicles bought in the year
- Details of anything sold, with the date and price
- Loan, lease or hire purchase statements
Tax and HMRC
- Letters from HMRC received during the year
- Your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR), if we don't have it
- Personal pension contributions and Gift Aid donations
Changes this year
- A new job, business, property or bank account
- Anything that stopped, closed or was sold
- A change of address or name
For a Self Assessment client, the Self Assessment checklist has every item by income type, each with a "why we ask" line. For a new client, start with the client onboarding checklist: ID, agent authorisation and last year's records come first.
Copy the checklist
[Client name]: documents for [6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026]
Please send by [due date]
BANK AND CASH
[ ] Bank statements for every account, for the whole year
[ ] Statements for any credit card used for the business
[ ] Interest statements for savings accounts
[ ] A list of cash paid or received that isn't on a statement
INCOME
[ ] Sales invoices, or your own record of takings
[ ] P60 from each job, or the final payslip
[ ] Letting agent statements, or your record of rent received
[ ] Dividend vouchers
EXPENSES
[ ] Purchase invoices and receipts
[ ] Vehicle costs, or a record of business mileage
[ ] Phone, internet and use-of-home costs
[ ] Subscriptions, insurance and professional fees
ASSETS AND LOANS
[ ] Invoices for equipment or vehicles bought in the year
[ ] Details of anything sold, with the date and price
[ ] Loan, lease or hire purchase statements
TAX AND HMRC
[ ] Letters from HMRC received during the year
[ ] Your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR), if we don't have it
[ ] Personal pension contributions and Gift Aid donations
CHANGES THIS YEAR
[ ] A new job, business, property or bank account
[ ] Anything that stopped, closed or was sold
[ ] A change of address or name
If something doesn't apply, write "not this year" next to it.
Getting everything back
A good checklist is half the job. The rest is how you send it and follow it up.
- One list. Send every item in one request. A second "and also" email a week later makes the client wonder what else is coming.
- One date. Give your own due date, not HMRC's. For a return due on 31 January, a date in late November leaves December to chase the last items.
- One place to upload. Use the same link in the first email and every reminder. Files spread across three inboxes get lost.
- Reminders that name only what's missing. Thank the client for what's in and list what's left. Repeating the whole list makes them hunt for the gaps.
- The same names every time. Copy each item's name into every reminder, so the client can match each line to something they recognise.
- A call when email stops working. If the date passes and one or two items are still missing, pick up the phone.
For the wording of each reminder, see client reminder email templates.
Adapting it
Keep the covering email as it is. Add sections to the checklist for the type of client, and take the items from the page that has the full list.
| Client | Sections to add | Full list |
|---|---|---|
| Employee with side income | Employment: P60, P11D for benefits, expenses the employer didn't repay. The side income's sales and costs. | Self Assessment checklist |
| Sole trader | Sales, purchases and expenses in more detail, stock, and capital allowances on equipment. | Year-end accounts checklist for a sole trader, and the MTD records checklist for sole traders if they're in MTD |
| Landlord | Rent for each property, property costs, mortgage interest, and properties bought, sold or left empty. | MTD records checklist for landlords |
| Limited company | Payroll and pensions, the director's loan account, dividends, VAT returns and the Corporation Tax position. | Year-end accounts checklist for a limited company, and the monthly bookkeeping checklist if you keep the books through the year |
| Partnership | The partnership agreement and profit shares, partners who joined or left, and each partner's own return. | Partnership tax return checklist |
| CIS subcontractor | Payment and deduction statements from every contractor, tools and protective clothing, and travel to sites. | CIS tax return checklist |
A client can need more than one row. A landlord with a job gets the employment and property sections, and nothing about a business.
How to do this in GarnerDocs
GarnerDocs sends the checklist, collects the files and chases what's missing.
- The checklist, ready to edit. New workspaces include an Annual Tax Return template, grouped into financial documents, tax and payroll, and other. Add, rename or remove items, and save a copy for each type of client.
- Your covering note. Write it once as your default request message (Growth and Pro). The email your client gets lists every item and your due date, with an Upload documents button.
- No account for your client. They upload from a phone or a computer, a few files at a time, and their progress is saved.
- Reminders that list only what's missing. Each reminder names what's still outstanding, and they stop once everything is in.
- Review as files arrive. Approve each file, or ask for a replacement with a note your client sees next to that item.
Send this checklist to your client and track the uploads with GarnerDocs.
See Create a template.
Sources
- Self Assessment tax returns: deadlines, GOV.UK. The 31 January online filing deadline. Checked on 27 October 2026.
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. The documents each client needs depend on their circumstances, so tailor the list rather than treating it as complete.
Questions
What should a client document checklist include?
The documents you need, grouped by type and named the way your client would recognise them, with the period each one covers. Add one due date and one place to upload, and leave out anything that doesn't apply to that client.
Should every client get the same checklist?
Start every client from the same template, then remove what doesn't apply and add the sections for their type of client. An employee with some savings needs two sections, not six.
When should I send it?
For a Self Assessment return due online by 31 January 2027, send the checklist by early autumn with a due date in late November. That leaves December to chase the last few items.
What if a client can't find a document?
Ask them to tell you rather than wait. You can often work from something else, such as a reissued statement, and the rest of the list doesn't need to wait for one missing item.