How often to send reminder emails to clients, and when to stop.

How often to send reminder emails to clients is a balance: often enough that the request stays near the top of their inbox, and rarely enough that each reminder still gets read. The exact answer depends on the job: a routine monthly request needs less chasing than a tax return with a filing deadline behind it.

This guide shows how to set a reminder schedule before you send anything: why a fixed schedule works better than chasing when you remember, three example schedules you can adapt, how to time each reminder, and when to stop emailing and pick up the phone.

Why a fixed schedule beats chasing when you remember

Most firms chase by feel. Someone notices a request has gone quiet, sends a quick email, and then gets busy again. It works, but unevenly.

• Reminders depend on who's in the office. A busy week means nobody chases, and the requests that most need a reminder get none.
• Clients get mixed signals. One gets three emails in a week, another hears nothing for a month. Neither can tell how urgent you are.
• Nobody knows what's been sent. Two people chase the same client, or each assumes the other has.
• The deadline sneaks up. Ad-hoc chasing tends to start late, when there's no time left to find a hard document.

A schedule you decide before you send fixes all four. Every client gets the same rhythm, the timing is set by the job rather than your workload, and your team can see what's going out and when.

It also changes how the reminders feel. A reminder that arrives on day 3 because that's when reminders go out is routine. The same email sent because you're getting anxious tends to read that way.

Two moments to count from: "sent" and "before due"

Every reminder in a schedule is anchored to one of two moments.

• Days after sending. These keep things moving at the start, while the request is fresh. A reminder 3 days after sending catches the client who opened it and meant to come back.
• Days before the due date. These protect the end. However long the client has, the last reminders land at the same distance from the deadline.

Use both. Reminders after sending give you momentum, and reminders before the due date give you a consistent finish.

Two rules keep the anchors from tripping each other up:

1. Always set a due date. Without one, there's nothing to count back from, and the client has no reason to act this week.
2. Drop any reminder after sending that would land after the due date. If a request is due in 5 days, a "10 days after sending" reminder has nothing useful to say.

Use calendar days unless your tools can skip weekends, and check where the reminders land. Plan the "1 day before" reminder so it doesn't fall on a Sunday for a Monday deadline.

How often to send reminder emails to clients: three example schedules

These are starting points, not rules. Adjust the days to how long the client has and how much is at stake. Day 0 is the day you send the request.

Relaxed: monthly bookkeeping

For regular clients who send the same documents every month and know the routine. The aim is a light touch: one nudge and one final reminder.

With the request due on the 12th, that's the 1st, 6th and 10th. If a regular client misses two months in a row, talk to them rather than adding reminders.

Standard: year-end

For a once-a-year request with a longer list and some harder items, like loan statements or a stock count. Give about four weeks.

With a 28-day due date, reminders go out on days 3, 10, 21 and 27. The gap in the middle is deliberate: it gives the client time to find the harder documents without feeling chased.

Deadline-critical: tax return

For work with a filing deadline that can't move. Two things change.

• The due date you give the client is your own, set well before the filing deadline, with enough time to prepare the return and ask follow-up questions.
• The reminders before that date get closer together.

Plan a phone call alongside this schedule, not after it. If nothing has arrived by the 14-day reminder, call then. Don't wait for the final email.

For the wording of each step, from the first nudge to a polite final notice, see the client reminder email templates.

What time to send reminders

Send reminders in the morning of your client's working day, when they're most likely to be at a desk with the documents to hand. A reminder at 22:00 sits under the next morning's email.

• Use the client's time zone, not yours, if they're in a different one.
• Think about who the client is. A business client is usually at work on weekdays. An individual may deal with paperwork in the evening or at the weekend. If your clients tell you when they do their admin, believe them over any general rule.
• Keep the time the same. A predictable time is easier for your team to track, and for clients to expect.

There's no shortage of claims about the best hour to send an email. Treat them with care: they're usually about marketing email, which clients read differently from a request from their own adviser. Your own clients' replies will tell you more.

When to stop emailing and call

A schedule is for routine chasing. It isn't the right tool for every silence. Stop the emails and call when:

• Two reminders have had no reply at all. Not even a partial upload. Another email won't find out what's wrong.
• One item keeps stalling. The client may not know what it is, or may be waiting on someone else.
• The due date has passed. After the deadline, automatic reminders say the same thing louder. A call agrees a new date.
• The stakes are high. If a missed deadline has a real cost, call before the final reminder, not after it.

Reminders should also stop on their own: as soon as everything has arrived, and when the job is finished or cancelled. Nothing undoes a good schedule faster than a reminder for documents the client sent last week.

How to do this in GarnerDocs

GarnerDocs sends reminders on one schedule for your whole workspace, built from three kinds of step.

A few things to know when you set it up:

• Up to 6 steps, counting the initial request, so each example above fits.
• One schedule covers every request. Pick the one that suits most of your work. Steps counted back from the due date fit long and short requests alike.
• Only what's missing. Each reminder lists the documents still outstanding, and reminders stop once everything is in.
• Sent at 10:00 in your workspace's time zone, not each client's.
• Late steps are skipped. A step after sending that would land after the due date isn't sent.
• Plans: the default schedule (3 and 7 days after sending, then 3 days before the due date) works on every plan, and custom schedules are on Growth and Pro.

See Change your reminder schedule.