Client requests: Overview

Client requests allow you to ask ad hoc questions during a job without interrupting your workflow. They are designed to be quick and flexible, allowing you to gather crucial information faster, improve communication, and reduce delays. You can address them to your clients or third parties; no sign-in is required.

Client requests, explained

The  Client requests feature allows you to send quick, ad-hoc questionnaires to clients in the middle of a job to clarify information without disrupting the workflow. Unlike full multi-page organizers, they can be compiled and sent instantly, even without templates. This flexibility helps you get answers faster, improving communication and reducing delays.

In general, the process of collecting information using client requests is the following:

1. You create a quick questionnaire using different question formats (upload documents, multiple-choice questions and others). We recommend creating a template if similar questions are to be sent to multiple clients. 
2. You decide whether the questionnaire will be available only to users with access to the client portal or third parties. 
3. You send a request to a client or clients (bulk sending is available). 
4. The client gets notified about the request.
5. The client fills in the request and submits it. Before they start (while the client request is in the Pending status), you can change all settings of your questionnaire (change questions, security settings, set reminders, etc.).
6. You get notified about the submitted request.
7. You start working with the information.

The client requests feature has much in common with organizers and client tasks. But the scope of their application and use cases are different: 

• Client requests are an easy and fast way to send an inquiry with ad-hoc questions needed ASAP. You can customize the questionnaire so that not only clients with portal access can respond but also third-party recipients (such as assistants or spouses). Security concerns are taken into account, and besides the page with questions, the people you send the survey to will not be able to see any other sensitive information. 
• Organizers are suitable for automating onboarding of new clients and providing info on lengthy tax forms.
• Client tasks in chat threads list items clients need to complete during the work cycle, such as preparing some documents, providing information, providing access, paying a deposit, and so on. These are non-urgent to-dos that could be used to clarify the scope of tasks and understand how the work is going. 

How do your clients see requests

The client is notified of sent requests via email, mobile app, and inside their portal. Requests that need to be filled in are placed at the top of the list with an icon that they are waiting for the client's action. 

Access a read-only view if you’d like to see TaxDome from the client portal side.

Your client can start filing the request on the go and finish later. All answers are saved automatically.

Automate processes with requests

To make client requests even quicker and use them in pipeline automations, you can use client request templates. They are suitable for common cases when requests are not client-specific. For example, you can create a client request template called Year-End Checklist and send it to multiple clients at the end of the calendar year to finalize all financial transactions before the start of the new fiscal year.

To make client requests part of your workflow, you can add the automation for it or manually link requests to a job. For example, some common types of requests can be sent automatically when the job is moved to a specific stage. The job will automatically go to the next stage when the client submits answers.