The Quarterly BAS Document Checklist Your Clients Will Actually Follow
A copy-and-paste BAS document checklist, plus the wording that gets clients to send everything the first time.
Table of contents
Every BAS agent has lived this conversation: 'Did you send the bank statement?' 'Yes.' 'Which account?' 'The one you asked for.' Three days, four emails, one statement — and the BAS still isn't lodged.
The fix isn't a better client. It's a checklist that's so unambiguous they can't half-do it. Below is the one we use, plus the cover note that gets a 70%+ first-time response rate.
The checklist
- Bank statements for every business account (1 [Quarter Start] – [Quarter End]) — PDF, not screenshots
- Credit card statements covering the same period
- Loan statements showing interest charged
- Sales summary or POS export if not in your accounting file
- Any cash sales not yet recorded (with date, amount, description)
- Receipts for purchases over $82.50 not on a bank feed
- Motor vehicle logbook update (or kilometres if using cents-per-km)
- Payroll summary if STP isn't auto-finalised
- Anything you're unsure about — send it, we'll work it out
The cover note that works
"Hi [Name], your [Quarter] BAS is due on [Date]. To lodge on time, I need everything below by [Date – 10 days]. Upload here in one go: [link]. If something is missing or you're not sure, send it anyway — it's faster for both of us than a back-and-forth."
Three small details do most of the work. The deadline is 10 days before the real deadline. The link is single — no 'reply with attachments'. And the last line gives the client permission to over-send, which removes their fear of getting it wrong.
What to do when they're late
- Day 0 (deadline): polite reminder, same link, same checklist.
- Day 3: short message naming the specific item still missing.
- Day 7: switch channel — if you've been emailing, send an SMS.
- Day 10: phone call with a yes/no question ('Can you send it today?').
Notice what isn't on this list: rewriting the email each time, apologising for chasing, or threatening fees in the first reminder. Steady, predictable nudges work better than escalating frustration — for you and for the client.
The one rule that changes everything
Send the checklist before the BAS period ends, not after. A client who sees the list on day one of the quarter has time to gather things in the background. A client who sees it the day after the quarter closes is already behind, and so are you.
Stop chasing. Start lodging.
DocChase sends the reminders, follows up on the right schedule, and lands every document in one place — so you can spend EOFY doing the work, not asking for it.
Start your 14-day free trialThe DocChase team writes practical playbooks for Australian bookkeepers and BAS agents who want their evenings back. We work alongside solo practices every quarter — every tip here has earned its spot in a real client workflow.
