What to do when clients send the wrong documents.

Every firm knows the feeling. You ask for a bank statement and get last year's. You ask for a payslip and get a photo of one, half in shadow. When clients send the wrong documents, it's rarely carelessness: they didn't know exactly what you meant.

This guide covers the wrong uploads you'll see most, how to describe documents so they happen less, and how to ask for a replacement without sounding annoyed. It ends with three short messages you can copy.

The wrong documents clients send most

Most wrong uploads fall into a handful of types. Knowing them helps you spot each one quickly, and write a clearer request next time.

• The wrong period. Last year's statement, the quarter before the one you need, or a year that runs January to December when you asked for April to April.
• Part of a document. Page one of a four-page statement, the front of a driving licence without the back, or a summary instead of the full transactions.
• A screenshot instead of the document. A phone screenshot of a banking app shows a few lines of transactions, with no account name, number or bank details.
• A photo you can't read. Blurred, cropped, taken at an angle, or with a thumb over the figures. Fine on a phone screen, unreadable when you zoom in.
• The wrong account. The personal account instead of the business one, or a joint account when you needed the client's own. Clients with several accounts often send the one they use most.
• A different document altogether. A pay advice instead of a P60, a quote instead of an invoice, an old passport instead of the current one.

Why it happens

Clients aren't trying to make work. They're guessing, and the guess is usually reasonable.

Your names for documents aren't always theirs. "Bank statements for the period" means something exact to you. To a client it can mean "whatever the bank app shows when I open it".

They also send what's easiest to find. A screenshot takes ten seconds. Downloading a PDF statement means finding the right menu in an app they rarely use.

Describe documents so it happens less

You can't stop every wrong upload, but a clearer request stops most of them. Three things do most of the work.

Use the client's names, not yours

Name each document the way the client will see it in their own files.

• "Bank statements: business current account" rather than "Bank statements".
• "Your P60 (the end-of-year summary your employer gives you)" rather than "P60".
• "Passport: the photo page" rather than "Proof of identity".

If a client has more than one of something, name which one. "Business account ending 4821" leaves nothing to guess.

Give an example of what good looks like

One line about what the document looks like, or where to find it, saves a round trip.

• "A PDF from your bank's website or app, not a screenshot. It shows the bank's name and your account number at the top."
• "The full statement, every page, even the ones with only a few lines."
• "A photo taken flat, in good light, with all four corners showing."

Name the exact period

Write the dates on every document that covers a period. "1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026" is hard to get wrong. "Last year" is easy to get wrong.

If your period doesn't match the calendar, say so. Clients will assume a year runs January to December unless you tell them otherwise.

How to ask for a replacement without sounding annoyed

A client who sent the wrong thing usually knows it the moment you say so. The aim is to make the second attempt easy, not to point out the first one.

• Say what's wrong in one sentence. "This statement covers January to March" is enough. Skip "unfortunately" and "as we mentioned".
• Say exactly what you need instead. Give the period, the account or the page, in the same words you'd put on the checklist.
• Tell them how to get it, if it's not obvious. One line on where to find the PDF often matters more than anything else in the message.
• Thank them for what they sent. It's true, and it keeps the tone warm.
• Ask soon. Check uploads as they arrive. A wrong file found on day two is a quick fix. Found the week of your deadline, it's a problem.

If the same document comes back wrong twice, stop writing and call. A two-minute call usually finds the problem, such as an account you didn't know about or an app with no PDF option.

Three messages you can copy

Each message is short enough for a note on the document, or the body of an email. Replace the parts in [square brackets].

Wrong period

Thanks for sending your [business account] statement. This one covers [January to March 2026], but we need [1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026].

Could you upload a statement for those dates? Most banks let you choose the dates when you download a statement as a PDF.

Part of a document missing

Thanks for this. We've got [page 1 of 4] of your [March statement], and we need every page, including any with only a few lines on.

If it's easier, download the whole statement as one PDF from your bank's website or app and upload that.

Screenshot or photo we can't use

Thanks for sending this. [The screenshot doesn't show the account name or number / The photo is too blurry to read the figures], so we can't use it for [your accounts].

Could you upload [the PDF statement from your bank's website or app / a new photo taken flat, in good light, with all four corners showing]?

How to do this in GarnerDocs

In GarnerDocs, a replacement request stays attached to the document it's about, so your client sees what's wrong where they upload the new file.

• A note next to the item. Select Request replacement on the file and write what needs to change. Your client sees the note under that document on their upload page, with your name and the date.
• Common reasons in one click. Pick Pages missing, Unreadable scan or Wrong period to start the note, then edit it.
• Email now, or leave it to the reminder. Your client can be emailed straight away with your note and an Upload replacement button. Untick it and the next reminder mentions the document instead.
• Earlier versions kept. The file you sent back isn't deleted. It stays in the document's history, so you can compare old and new.
• Clearer requests next time. Each document has a description your client sees under its name, and its own accepted file types. Put your example and the exact period in the description.

How to ask a client for a replacement file