Request reminders, returns and delivery problems
How a firm follows up client requests in Achekam: accepting or rejecting items, returning incomplete ones, reminders and spotting failed e-mails.
By Achekam · · 5 min read · For Accountants & audit firms in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya
"We sent the request weeks ago." "We never received anything." Both statements are often true. The request went out, the client's mail server quietly refused it, and nobody at the firm found out until the deadline was close. Or it arrived, the client uploaded half of what was asked, and the other half sat in nobody's queue because the request looked "answered".
Sending requests is the easy part. Following them up, and knowing which ones have stalled and why, is where client work is won or lost. This article covers the follow-up side of Achekam's client requests: reviewing what came back, returning incomplete responses, reminders, and the signals that tell you a request never arrived.
Reviewing what the client sent
When a client responds to a request, staff go through what was sent and accept or reject each item. That is a judgement on each document or answer, not on the request as a whole.
Be specific when you reject. "Rejected" on its own sends the client back to guess. "This is the statement for the savings account; we need the cheque account" gets the right document the next day.
Returning the request with what is missing
A request that is partly answered should not sit as if it were complete. Staff can return the request to the client, saying what is still missing.
A worked example in words: before issuing employees' tax certificates, a payroll team sends a client a request for missing employee details, such as tax reference numbers and identity numbers for new staff. The client's administrator uploads most of them, but one identity document is unreadable and some employees still have no tax number. The payroll officer accepts the readable items, rejects the unreadable copy with that reason, and returns the request listing the missing tax numbers. The client sees exactly what is outstanding, and the firm's file shows what was received and when. The certificate side of that example is covered in employee details before tax certificates.
Reminders that run themselves
Automatic reminders go out every 3 days by default, up to 5 per request. They can be switched off, for a client who has asked not to be chased, or for a request where a partner prefers to phone.
Leave them on for most requests. A reminder sent automatically is impersonal, which is its strength: it saves your staff from yet another awkward chasing e-mail, and the client is reminded by the system rather than nagged by a person.
Reusable request templates live under RFI Templates. If your firm sends the same year-end list to many clients, build it once as a template and adjust it per client, rather than retyping it every season.
The timeline for each request
Each request has a timeline showing the e-mails sent, opens, clicks, uploads and answers. It lets a manager answer "where are we with this client?" at a glance.
Read the opens with care. They are detected with a tracking image, so they are only an indication. Many mail programs block images by default, so a request can be read without an "open" appearing, and some security systems open messages automatically, so an "open" does not prove a person read it. Clicks, uploads and answers are much firmer evidence.
When an e-mail never arrived
A request is flagged "Delivery failed" when the mail provider refused it, or when no mail provider is set up at all.
That second case catches firms out. If the firm's outgoing mail connection has not been configured, nothing reaches any client, and every request shows the flag. Check this once when you start using requests, with a test to an address you control.
For a single failed request, the usual causes are a mistyped address, an old address for a contact who has left, or a client's mail server rejecting the message. Correct the contact's address and send again, and phone the client if the request is urgent. When the client's server sends a bounce message back, Microsoft's guide to email non-delivery reports and SMTP errors explains what its error code means and how to fix the usual causes.
| What you see | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery failed on one request | The client's mail provider refused it | Check the address, resend, phone if urgent |
| Delivery failed on every request | Most likely no mail provider is set up | Fix the firm's mail settings first |
| Sent, no open, no click | Possibly not read; opens are only an indication | Wait for the reminders, then call |
| Opened and clicked, nothing uploaded | The client has seen it | A short call usually unblocks it |
| Partly answered | Items accepted, others missing | Return the request with what is missing |
A covering e-mail drafted for you
When sending a request or a signing envelope, staff can ask AI to draft the covering e-mail. A person must read it and send it, and the message is recorded as AI-drafted. The prompt carries no e-mail addresses, IP addresses or file contents.
Use the draft as a starting point and make it sound like your firm. Clients respond better to a message that mentions their business and the reason for the request than to a generic one.
Setting up a follow-up routine
- Keep automatic reminders on unless there is a reason not to.
- Review the request console once a week for anything flagged "Delivery failed".
- Accept or reject every item promptly, with a reason for each rejection.
- Return partly answered requests rather than leaving them open.
- Turn your recurring requests into RFI templates.
How clients receive and answer requests in the first place is explained in requesting client documents without a portal login, and the other links clients receive in do clients need a login?.
Start with a test
Send a request to your own personal address today and watch the timeline: delivery, open, click, upload. A short test tells you whether the firm's mail settings work before a client deadline depends on them.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
