"The broker needs it by Friday"
A self-employed client is buying a house. Their broker has asked for the last two years' tax calculations, tax year overviews and a letter from the accountant confirming income. The client emails the partner, forwards the broker's email, and follows up by phone the next day. The partner passes it to a junior, who downloads what they can from HMRC online services and the tax software, drafts a letter from an old example, and waits for the partner to sign it.
The broker then asks for a different year, or a letter worded differently, or a signed copy on letterhead. Each request is small. There are a lot of them, they are always urgent, and they land on whoever the client knows.
A simple request with too many variations
Income evidence requests look alike but differ in the detail: which tax years, which documents, whether the lender needs a letter, what the letter must say, whether the broker or the client should receive it, and whether the client has consented to sharing with a third party. That detail is usually spread across emails and phone calls, so staff start the work before they know exactly what is needed.
Letters are the riskiest part. Each practice has views on what it will and will not confirm, and wording drifts when staff copy the last letter they sent. A partner has to check every one, which is why they queue.
What ad hoc requests cost
| Issue | Effect |
|---|---|
| Requests arrive by email and phone | Work starts before the need is clear |
| Wrong year or document sent | Repeat work and an impatient broker |
| Letters copied from old ones | Wording your partners would not approve |
| No consent record | Documents sent to brokers without a clear instruction |
| Unbilled | Small jobs done for free because nobody logs them |
How we build an income evidence request flow
- Clients and brokers use one short request form, linked from your website and email signatures, that asks which documents, which years, who should receive them and the deadline.
- Where a third party is to receive documents, the client confirms consent through the form, and that consent is saved on the client record.
- The request becomes a job in your practice management system, assigned to the right team, with the documents already filed on the client record listed so staff can see what exists.
- Accountant's letters are generated from templates your partners approve, filled with the client's details and the figures from your approved returns, and routed to a partner to check and sign electronically.
- Documents and the signed letter are sent through a secure link to the named recipients, and the job records what was sent, when and to whom.
- If your practice charges for these requests, the fee is added to the job automatically for billing.
What the practice is willing to confirm in a letter is your partners' decision. The flow uses their templates and never produces a letter without their sign-off.
Requests handled in order, not by volume of chasing
Requests come in complete, so staff know exactly what to prepare. Letters use approved wording every time. Partners sign from a queue instead of hunting through emails. Brokers get documents through a secure link with a clear record. And a steady stream of small jobs becomes visible, and billable if you choose.
Do these requests pile up at your practice?
- Clients and brokers chase income evidence by email and phone
- The wrong tax year or document has been sent
- Mortgage letters are adapted from old examples
- There is no record of client consent to share with brokers
- These requests are rarely billed