Client Inquiry Support Virtual Service AssistsPractice admin for UK accountants
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Client and practice admin

Client inquiry support for accounting firms

First-line client support for your practice: we answer the routine questions from your own records and templates, and pass anything that needs an accountant to the right person with the facts already gathered.

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The triage table

What we answer, and what reaches your accountant

These are the questions that fill a practice inbox. Before we start, you agree a version of this table with us, and it becomes our rulebook for your clients.

Example triage rules. Your practice sets the final rules, the templates and the response windows. Response windows run on our GMT working day, Monday to Friday.
Client asksWe answer directlyGoes to the accountant whenResponse window
"Where is my tax refund?" Confirm from your records when the return was filed and that it showed a repayment, and point the client to their HMRC online account to track it. The refund is lower than the return showed, HMRC has opened a query, or it has been set against another liability. Agreed with your practice
"Can you send my SA302 or tax year overview?" Send the tax calculation printed from your tax software, using your cover email, and explain that the tax year overview comes from the client's HMRC online account. The return is not yet filed, or a lender wants an accountant's reference letter or certificate. Same-day attention if a mortgage or lending deadline is mentioned
"What's my UTR?" Give it from the client record once your identity checks are passed, or direct the client to their personal tax account or the HMRC app. The client has never registered for Self Assessment and needs advice on whether to. Agreed with your practice
"When is my bill due?" Confirm the invoice amount and due date from your billing system, resend a copy, give your payment details. The client disputes the fee, asks for a discount or wants a payment plan. Agreed with your practice
"When do I pay my tax?" Give the Self Assessment dates (31 January and 31 July) and the amounts shown on the computation your accountant approved. The client wants to reduce payments on account or says they cannot pay. Agreed with your practice
"Have you got everything you need for my return?" Give the job status from your practice software and list any documents still missing. The accountant has an open technical question for the client. Agreed with your practice
"I've had a letter from HMRC" Acknowledge, ask for a copy, log it with any deadline printed on the letter. Always. Penalty notices, enquiries and payment demands go to the accountant on the same day. Same-day attention
"Can I claim this as an expense?" Acknowledge and confirm who will reply. Always. This is tax advice. Agreed with your practice
"Please update my bank details" Follow your verification procedure before changing any record. The request looks unusual, comes from a new address or asks for money to be sent somewhere new. Same-day attention

Sources: GOV.UK "Get your SA302 tax calculation" (documents can be printed 72 hours after the return is sent, for the last 4 years); GOV.UK "Find a lost UTR number"; GOV.UK "Understand your Self Assessment tax bill: payments on account".

Ground rules

How first-line support stays safe

A client who gets a wrong answer from your firm holds your firm responsible. These rules are agreed in writing before we read a single email.

  • Identity first. Personal data such as a UTR or a tax figure is only given out after the checks your practice already uses for phone and email requests.
  • Approved wording only. Direct answers use your templates and the figures already signed off by your accountants.
  • No advice. Anything that needs interpretation of tax law or the client's position goes to a qualified member of your team.
  • Logged where you work. Each reply and escalation is recorded against the client in Bright Manager, IRIS or your shared mailbox, so the history is in one place.
  • Your mailbox, your logins. We work from accounts you issue and can remove, so clients keep writing to the address they know.
Escalation

What an escalation note contains

An accountant should be able to act on an escalated query in a couple of minutes. Each note we pass on has three parts.

What the client asked

The question in the client's own words, the date it arrived and any deadline they or HMRC have mentioned.

What we have checked

Job status, filing dates, the relevant invoice or computation, and any earlier correspondence on the same point.

What we need from you

The decision or answer required, and whether the client has been told to expect a reply from you directly.

Hours and channels

Covering your inbox during your working day

Ghana keeps GMT all year, so from late October to late March we keep the same hours as your London office. During British Summer Time we are one hour behind.

Senior staff losing hours to routine email is a common pattern; our article on client inquiry support and billing admin looks at where that time goes.

  • Shared mailbox. We work your client inbox through a login you issue.
  • Practice software messages. Status questions are answered against the job record in your system.
  • Teams or Zoom. Your team can raise a query with us live during the day.
  • Phone lines. Agreed with each practice during scoping.
  • Out of hours. Messages that arrive after our working day are picked up at the start of the next working day.
Questions

Client inquiry support questions

What is first-line client support for an accounting firm?

It is the first response to every client email or message: answering what can be answered from records and approved templates, and routing the rest. Status updates, copy documents, payment dates and reference numbers are first-line work. Advice, disputes and HMRC correspondence go to a qualified member of the practice.

Can a virtual assistant answer client emails for an accounting firm?

Yes, for routine questions, provided the firm sets clear rules: which questions can be answered directly, which templates to use, what identity checks come first and what must be escalated. We agree those rules with you in a triage table before we take over any inbox.

How quickly should an accounting firm reply to client emails?

Each firm sets its own service standard, and many aim to at least acknowledge every message within the working day. We give urgent items, such as HMRC letters with deadlines or lending requests, same-day attention. Other response windows are agreed with your practice when we set up the service.

How can a client get their SA302 for a mortgage?

If the practice files through commercial software, GOV.UK says the tax calculation should be printed from that software. The client can download the tax year overview from their HMRC online account. Both are available 72 hours after the return is sent, for the last 4 years.

Where can a client find their UTR?

GOV.UK lists the personal tax account, the HMRC app and previous tax returns or HMRC letters. Limited companies can request their Corporation Tax UTR online and HMRC posts it to the registered office. If the practice holds the UTR, we give it after your identity checks.

Will clients know they are talking to an outsourced team?

That is your choice. We write from your mailbox using your sign-off and templates, and your engagement terms and privacy notice should describe how you use suppliers. Many practices name their support team in the signature so clients know who is replying.

Related services

Billing

Invoices issued and chased, so fee questions have a clear answer.

Client onboarding

New clients set up with the records our replies depend on.

HMRC and Companies House portal admin

Status checks and correspondence behind "where is my refund" answers.

Next step

Show us what lands in your client inbox

Bring a list of the questions your team answers most often and we will draft your triage rules on the call.

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