Boldwright

720-339-2849

Book a free call

Text us

For tax preparers

How to send a document checklist the day a tax client books

One short list of what to bring, sent while the booking is fresh, so the appointment starts with the papers on the table.

From Thor at Boldwright

Time
15 minutes for Good, about an hour for Best
Cost
Free with email, or part of Calendly or Financial Cents
Works with
Gmail, Outlook, Calendly, Financial Cents
Skill
Email templates, then a few settings

A missing 1099 or last year's return turns a one-hour appointment into three emails and a second visit. It happens to careful clients too. A short list of what to gather, sent while the booking is fresh, gives them time to find it all.

There are three levels here. Each one is a fine place to be, and the checklist you write for Good carries through to the other two.

  1. GoodA saved checklist you send the day they bookKeep one short checklist as an email template and send it the same day someone books.Your part: a minute per new booking.Start here
  2. GreatCalendly sends it when they bookA Calendly Automation emails your checklist the moment a new appointment is booked. Set once.Your part: about 15 minutes once.Set it up in Calendly
  3. BestFinancial Cents collects and chases for youEach item on your checklist becomes a client request. Clients upload to a secure portal, and reminders go out by email and text until it's done.Your part: about an hour once, then reviewing what comes in.Step-by-step setup

Rather we set it up for you?

This is part of the Boldwright starter package. We write your checklist in your words and set it to go out the day each client books, in a week or less.

Have Boldwright set it up

$297 setup, then $70 a month once you've seen it work. No contract. Cancel by text.

Step 1

Write your checklist

Fill in your details once and the message updates. Nothing here leaves your browser. Change the list to fit the returns you do. Short lists get finished.

Checklist email, the day they book

One list, plain words, and a way to send it. The line about bringing it anyway takes the worry out.

A gentle nudge, two days before

Kind and short. It tells them partial is fine.

Good

Send a document checklist the day they book

This works in any inbox. Saving the checklist as a template makes it a minute per client.

  • Save the checklist in Gmail. On your computer, open Gmail. Click Settings, then See all settings, then Advanced. Next to Templates click Enable, then Save Changes. Click Compose, paste your checklist, then More options, Templates, Save draft as template, Save as new template.
  • Or save it in Outlook. From the Home ribbon, select New, then Mail. On the Message tab, select My Templates, then +Template. Enter a title, paste the checklist, and select Save.
  • Send a document checklist the day they book. When a new booking comes in, open a new email, insert your checklist template, fill in their name and appointment, and send it before the day ends.
  • Put a note on your calendar two days before each appointment to send the nudge.

Great

Let Calendly send the checklist when they book

If clients book through Calendly, an Automation can email your checklist the moment the booking lands. Automations are on Calendly's Professional plan and up.

Jump to your app

Calendly
CalendlyBuilt in

A Calendly event type for tax appointments, on the Professional, Standard or a higher plan.

  1. Go to Automations.
  2. Select Create your own automation.
  3. In the When this happens section, choose New event is booked and set the time. Then in the Do this section, choose an email action and select Next.
  4. In the Automation name section, enter a name, like Document checklist.
  5. In the Which event types will this apply to? section, choose your tax appointment, then select Apply.
  6. In the Do this section, select Edit and paste your checklist. To fill in the client's name and time, click Variables in the toolbar. Select Done.
  7. Select Save. Book a test appointment with your own email to see it arrive.

Add the two-day nudge as a second Automation with the trigger Before event starts.

Changes to an Automation only apply to meetings booked after the change.

Checked against Calendly help docs, November 2026.

Best

Let Financial Cents collect the documents and send the reminders

This is the version that asks the least of you. Each item on your checklist becomes a request in the client's project. The client uploads through a secure portal, and Financial Cents follows up by email and text until every item is in. You review what arrives.

Each step comes from Financial Cents' own help pages.

Jump to your app

Financial Cents
Financial CentsBuilt in

A Financial Cents account with a project for each client return. Automated client reminders are part of the Scale plan.

  1. Click into the client's tax return project.
  2. Click + New Section, then Client Tasks.
  3. Click Add client task and select the type of request, such as a document request. Add one for each item on your checklist.
  4. Click Send or Schedule. Choose Send Now the day they book, Schedule for a set date, or Dependency to send it when an earlier section of the project is done.
  5. Click Auto-reminders and select how often to remind the client.

Set the client tasks up on your project template once, and every new return project starts with the checklist already in place.

If a scheduled request is on a recurring project, Financial Cents sends it again on the same date each time the project recurs.

Checked against Financial Cents help docs, November 2026.

Step 2

Check it worked

  • Book a test appointment with your own email and read the checklist on your phone.
  • For the next ten appointments, note how many arrive with everything.
  • Trim any item clients keep asking about, or explain it in plainer words.

If something's off

Common snags

The list feels long

Keep the first send to what almost every client needs. Ask for the rarer items once you see their return.

The Calendly email didn't arrive

Check the Automation applies to the right event type. Automations only apply to bookings made after you set them up.

Is email safe for tax documents?

Ask clients to bring sensitive papers to the appointment, or use a secure portal like the one in Best rather than plain email attachments.

Want every client to arrive with the right papers?

We're a small, new shop in Denver. We'll write your checklist in your words and set it to go out the day each client books, with a kind nudge before the appointment.

Talk to Boldwright

Starter package: set up in a week or less. $297 setup, then $70 a month once you've seen it work. No contract. Cancel by text.