Automatically request missing client documents every MTD quarter

Who it’s for

UK bookkeepers and small accountancy practices with MTD for Income Tax clients

Time to set up

90 minutes

Difficulty

Intermediate

Monthly cost

£0–£11

What does this automation do?

Making Tax Digital turns one annual chase into four. This workflow does the chasing for you: each client gets a short, personal email listing only the documents you’re missing for that quarter, a polite follow-up a week later, and you get a list of who’s still outstanding with enough time to pick up the phone.

What do you need before you start?

• A Google account (or Microsoft 365 with Excel Online and Outlook; Make supports both)
• A free Make account
• A secure way for clients to upload documents (see Step 2)

How do I set it up?

Step 1: Build the client document tracker

Create a Google Sheet with one row per client and these columns:

Client ID | First name | Email | Update periods (standard/calendar) | Bank statements | Sales/income records | Expense receipts | Rental statements | Other (free text) | Status | Request sent | Chaser sent | Notes

Use Y or N for each document column. Reset them to N at the start of each quarter (a simple copy of the tab works; keep the old tab as a record).

Step 2: Choose a secure upload method

Pick one upload route for all clients: your practice portal, your accounting software’s document upload, or a file-request link from your cloud storage. Avoid asking for statements by email. Put the link in a cell (or one per client) so the automation can include it.

Step 3: Write your request and chaser rules

A sensible timetable for a standard quarter ending 5 July (deadline 7 August):

Shift by the same offsets for the October, January and April quarters. Calendar-period clients finish a few days earlier, so the same dates work.

Step 4: Create a scheduled Make scenario

In Make, create a scenario with the Scheduler set to run on specific days of the month (8, 15 and 28) in the months after each quarter ends. Simpler alternative: run it on those days every month and use a filter to skip months that aren’t quarter-ends.

Step 5: Find clients with missing items

Add Google Sheets › Search Rows to find rows where Status isn’t “Complete” and at least one document column is N. Make handles each matching client in turn.

Step 6: Draft a personalised request with AI

Add an AI module (OpenAI › Generate a response, or Make’s built-in AI) with the prompt below. Map only first name, the quarter, the list of missing items and the upload link. Nothing else.

Step 7: Send or save as draft, then log the date

Add Gmail › Create a draft for the first quarter you run this (switch to Send an email once you trust it), then Google Sheets › Update a Row to write today’s date into “Request sent” or “Chaser sent”.

Step 8: Add the deadline alert for you

On the 28th run, skip the client email. Instead, use a Text aggregator to combine the outstanding clients into one list and email it to yourself with the subject “MTD: still missing documents, deadline 7th”.

The copy-paste prompt

Write a short email from [YOUR NAME] at [PRACTICE NAME] to a bookkeeping client.
Client first name: {{first_name}}
Quarter: {{quarter_label}} (MTD quarterly update due {{deadline}})
Missing items: {{missing_items}}
Upload link: {{upload_link}}
Is this a chaser? {{is_chaser}}

Rules:
- British English, friendly and professional, under 110 words.
- List ONLY the missing items as bullet points, in plain English
  (e.g. "Business bank statements for 6 April to 5 July").
- Give one clear deadline for sending them: {{client_deadline}}.
- Tell them to use the upload link, not to email documents.
- If this is a chaser, acknowledge they're busy and keep it to 70 words.
- Don't mention penalties unless {{is_chaser}} is "final".
- Never include tax figures, UTRs, NI numbers or bank details.
Subject line on the first line, starting "Subject:".

Make template outline

What UK rules apply?

• MTD for Income Tax applies to sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 from April 2026, over £30,000 from April 2027 and over £20,000 from April 2028 (GOV.UK).
• Deadlines are 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May for both standard and calendar update periods (GOV.UK).
• Penalties. No penalty points for late quarterly updates in 2026–27; from 2027–28, 4 points means a £200 penalty (agent toolkit).
• UK GDPR. Make, Google and your AI provider are processors for your practice. You need written terms with them (their standard data processing terms usually cover this), and you should keep prompts free of identifiers (ICO).

What can go wrong?

• Stale tracker. The automation is only as good as the Y/N columns. Update them when documents arrive, or clients get chased for things they already sent, which is the fastest way to lose goodwill.
• Wrong quarter labels. Test the date logic in Step 2 by running the scenario manually with a fixed date before trusting the schedule.
• Clients replying with attachments anyway. Expect it. Reply once with the upload link and save the file yourself.
• Running out of credits mid-run. If you have many clients, check your Make credit balance before the 8th.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. GOV.UK: Send quarterly updates (MTD for Income Tax)
2. GOV.UK: Get ready for MTD, an agent toolkit
3. GOV.UK: Find out if and when you need to use MTD for Income Tax
4. ICO: Contracts between controllers and processors
5. Make pricing

This guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Tool prices and screens change; we re-check every guide regularly. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we’ll fix it.