Client questions (vraagposten): ready-to-use message templates

How do you write a client question that gets a quick answer?

A client question gets a quick answer when the client can see at once which transaction it is about, what is missing and what they need to do. That means: date, amount and counterparty in the first sentence, one question per message and a concrete request, such as ‘upload the invoice’ or ‘let us know whether this is private or business’. A list of twenty bank lines in one email usually gets half an answer.

Tone matters too. Clients are not bookkeepers and respond better to a friendly, plain sentence than to jargon such as ‘input VAT’ or ‘suspense account’. How to flag, send and process client questions is covered in the guide on handling client questions; this guide is about the wording itself. Use the examples below as a starting point and adapt them to your firm's tone. A few ground rules:

• Start with the facts: date, amount, counterparty and, if useful, the description on the statement.
• Ask one question per transaction or document.
• Say what you need back: a document, a choice or a short explanation.
• Briefly explain why, if that helps the client send the right thing.
• Keep the message short enough to read on a phone.
• Avoid jargon, or explain it in a few words.

Which messages do you use for missing invoices and receipts?

For missing invoices and receipts you ask for the document itself, with a short explanation of why a bank statement is not enough. According to the Dutch Tax Administration (Belastingdienst), a business can only deduct VAT on business expenses with an invoice that meets the requirements for a VAT invoice. For amounts of € 100 or less, the supplier may issue a simplified invoice, such as a detailed till receipt.

With unclear VAT, the aim is not for the client to choose the VAT code, but to arrange a corrected invoice or explain what is going on. An invoice without VAT can be correct, for example from a foreign supplier where VAT is reverse-charged, but it can also be a supplier error. Three template messages, with when to use them and what answer you need:

• Missing purchase invoice. When: a supplier has been paid, but there is no invoice. Message: ‘Hi [name], on [date] € [amount] was paid to [supplier]. We don't have the invoice for this yet. Could you upload it in the portal or the app? Thank you!’ Answer needed: the invoice in the company's name, showing the VAT amount.
• Missing receipt for a card payment. When: a debit or credit card payment without a receipt. Message: ‘Hi [name], we're missing the receipt for the card payment of € [amount] at [shop] on [date]. Could you take a photo of it and send it through the app? If you no longer have it, [shop] can often provide a copy.’ Answer needed: the receipt or invoice, or otherwise a short explanation of what the purchase was for.
• Unclear VAT. When: the invoice shows no VAT, an unusual rate or no separate VAT amount. Message: ‘Hi [name], the invoice from [supplier] dated [date] doesn't show any VAT. Do you know if that's correct? If not, could you ask the supplier for a corrected invoice?’ Answer needed: a corrected invoice or an explanation, for example that the supplier is based abroad.

Which messages do you use for unclear bank transactions?

For unclear bank transactions you first ask what the payment was for, and only then for a document. A client recognises a payment faster by the description on their statement than by a ledger account, so copy that description word for word. For every transaction, also ask whether there is a receipt or invoice, so you do not have to ask twice.

When asking whether something is private or business, it is important to stay neutral and not steer the client. You ask for the facts: what the expense was for. The tax assessment is done by the firm. For an incoming payment without an invoice, you want to know whether it relates to an existing sales invoice, a deposit, a refund or something else, so the bank line can be reconciled correctly.

• Unknown bank transaction. When: a debit or credit that does not match an invoice or relation. Message: ‘Hi [name], on [date] there is a payment of € [amount] with the description ‘[description]’. What was this payment for? A short explanation is enough; if you have a receipt or invoice, please upload it too.’ Answer needed: what the payment was for and, if there is one, the document.
• Private or business. When: an expense that could be private or business, such as at a supermarket or web shop. Message: ‘Hi [name], the payment of € [amount] at [shop] on [date]: is this a business or a private expense? If it's for the business, what did you use it for?’ Answer needed: the choice private or business, and for business use the purpose and the receipt.
• Incoming payment without an invoice. When: money received that cannot be linked to an open sales invoice. Message: ‘Hi [name], on [date] we received € [amount] from [payer]. We can't find an invoice for it. Does this payment belong to an invoice (which number?), or is it a deposit, a refund or something else?’ Answer needed: the invoice number or the nature of the receipt, and for a sale without an invoice, the sales invoice.

How do you ask for a contract and how do you remind a client?

You ask for a contract when a recurring or large payment can only be booked correctly if you know the terms, such as with a lease, rent, a loan or a prepaid subscription. Say why you need it, for example to split interest and repayment or to spread costs over the right period. Uploading the contract once saves a new question every month.

A reminder works best when it is short, states the number of open questions and gives a reason and a date. ‘We can't complete the VAT return for the third quarter without these answers’ tells the client more than ‘there are still open questions’. Also offer an alternative in the reminder, such as a quick call, for clients who are stuck on a question.

• Contract or explanation. When: a recurring or large payment whose terms you do not know. Message: ‘Hi [name], since [month] € [amount] has been paid to [party] every month. To book this correctly we need the agreement, for example the lease, rental or loan contract. Could you upload it in the portal?’ Answer needed: the contract with its term, amounts and any interest and repayment.
• Reminder after no response. When: a client question is open and the client has not responded. Message: ‘Hi [name], just a quick note: there are still [number] questions waiting for you in the portal. Without these answers we can't complete [the VAT return for Q3]. Could you answer them before [date]? Prefer a quick call? Just let us know.’ Answer needed: the answers to the original questions.

How does Autoboeker send client questions, reminders and answers?

In Autoboeker you send client questions from the processing screen itself, using preset message templates or your own templates in your firm's tone. If you notice something missing while booking, you ask one targeted question straight away, next to that document or booking. Autoboeker can also raise questions itself for an unknown payment or a missing invoice, fully automatically or from a confidence threshold. If bank matching cannot find an invoice for a payment, the transaction becomes a client question.

The client sees each question in the client portal or the iOS and Android app, next to the right document or payment, and delivers the answer and evidence there directly. If a receipt arrives via WhatsApp or an invoice lands in a connected mailbox, Connect matches it to the open question. Uploaded receipts are analysed by the AI, given a score and then booked and matched; if the answer is incomplete, you reject it or send the question again. If the client does not respond, Autoboeker follows up automatically, and per client you can see which questions are open, answered or completed. The client questions module works with all four connected accounting packages; questions raised from bank matching require Exact Online, Twinfield or SnelStart.