Just a quick one
A client emails asking if you could pull together a cash flow for the bank. Another wants a list of what they spent with each supplier last year. A third asks you to sort out the director's loan because their accountant has queries. Each request comes with 'when you get a chance' and each one takes a few hours.
The bookkeeper does them because the client asked nicely and it seemed easier than raising it. At the end of the month the invoice goes out at the usual fixed fee.
Why extras slip through
Scope is written in the engagement letter, which nobody opens during a busy month. Requests arrive through email, phone and WhatsApp to whichever person the client knows. There is no point at which a request is compared with what the client pays for, and no easy way for a junior bookkeeper to say 'that is extra' without feeling they are overstepping.
Even when someone notices, there is no route to billing. The practice tool has a time entry, but the fixed fee invoice goes out automatically and the extra gets forgotten.
What this costs a firm
Unbilled extras are pure loss, and they also train clients to expect more for the same fee. They crowd out the monthly work, which is the part the client is actually paying for. They create unfairness inside the team, because some staff say no and others do not.
| Common request | Usually in scope? |
|---|---|
| Monthly reconciliation and coding | Yes |
| Cash flow forecast for a lender | Often not |
| Catching up months the client fell behind on | Often not |
| Supplier or customer analysis | Often not |
| Answering the accountant's year-end queries | Depends on the letter |
| Setting up a new bank feed or app | Depends on the letter |
The table is typical, not a rule. Your own letters decide what is in and out.
How we build scope-aware request handling
- We turn each client's scope into a short structured list attached to the client record, starting from your standard service packages and letters.
- Client requests are logged in one place, whether they come from a shared inbox, a client portal form or a note added after a call.
- Each request is matched against the scope. A language model helps classify free-text requests, and anything it is unsure about is left for a person to decide.
- Out-of-scope requests get a suggested price or hourly estimate from your rate card, and a message to the client asking them to approve before work starts.
- Approved extras create a billable item in your practice tool or in Xero, so they land on the next invoice.
- A monthly summary shows extras per client, which feeds fee reviews for clients who keep asking for the same thing.
Staff can still choose to do something as goodwill. The difference is that it is a recorded decision rather than an accident.
Clients who email a bookkeeper directly are handled too. We add a forwarding rule or a button in Outlook or Gmail so a request can be dropped into the log in one click, with the email attached. That matters because most extras arrive as a friendly line at the end of an unrelated message.
What changes for the team
Bookkeepers stop having to judge on the spot whether to push back. The system recognises the request, and the message asking for approval is standard, so it does not feel personal. Clients get clarity about what they pay for. You get paid for work you do, and you can see which clients would be better on a higher package.
Is extra work leaking out of your firm?
- Clients ask for 'quick' pieces of work that take hours.
- Invoices rarely include anything beyond the monthly fee.
- Staff differ on what they will do without charging.
- Nobody checks engagement letters when requests arrive.
- Some clients get far more than their package covers.