EOFY Document Chase: The 6-Week Countdown for Solo Bookkeepers
A week-by-week EOFY document chase plan for solo Australian bookkeepers — what to ask for, when to send it, and how to land 30 June without weekend work.
Table of contents
- 1. Week -6 (mid-May): build the master chase list
- 2. Week -5: send the heads-up email
- 3. Week -4: send the formal request with a single upload link
- 4. Week -3: first triage
- 5. Week -2: switch channels on the stragglers
- 6. Week -1: lock the doors
- 7. Week 0 (30 June): work the queue, don't chase
- 8. What changes when you run this system
- 9. How to handle the three client types that always slow you down
- 10. Tooling: what to use for the chase itself
- 11. Pricing the work fairly so the system pays for itself
- 12. The Monday-morning checklist for every week of the countdown
If you run a solo practice, the difference between a calm EOFY and a chaotic one isn't talent — it's timing. Start six weeks out and June feels procedural. Start three weeks out and June owns your weekends. This is the exact countdown we use with solo Australian bookkeepers serving 30–60 clients.
Every step below assumes one principle: chase documents on a schedule that you set in May, not in reaction to a panic email on 28 June.
Week -6 (mid-May): build the master chase list
Open one spreadsheet. One row per client. Columns for every document you'll need: bank statements, loan statements, PAYG summaries, motor vehicle logbooks, investment property summaries, Div 7A reconciliations, crypto reports, private health statements, trust distributions.
Don't personalise yet. The point of this week is visibility — knowing the total volume before you start the conversation.
Week -5: send the heads-up email
One message per client. Not a request — a heads-up. Tell them what's coming, when, and how to send it. Set the expectation that the first formal request lands next week with a deadline.
"Hi [Name], just a quick note: EOFY is six weeks away. I'll send you a single list of everything I need from you on [date], with a deadline of [date – 10 days before 30 June]. Nothing to do right now — just letting you know it's coming so you can start pulling things together."
Clients who hate surprises love this email. It does more to reduce June chaos than any other single action.
Week -4: send the formal request with a single upload link
Now the real ask. One message per client containing the full document list, a hard deadline, and a single upload link. No 'reply with attachments'. No 'send what you can'. One link, one folder, one date.
Schedule the follow-ups now, before any client replies — Day 3, Day 7, Day 10, Day 14. You won't have the energy to write them in week zero.
Week -3: first triage
- List every client into three buckets: complete, partial, silent.
- Complete clients get a thank-you and a confirmation of next step.
- Partial clients get a message naming the specific missing items.
- Silent clients get a short, friendly nudge with the original link.
Week -2: switch channels on the stragglers
If email hasn't worked twice, it won't work a third time. Send an SMS. Pick up the phone. Both take less time than rewriting another email and produce dramatically better response rates.
Week -1: lock the doors
Send a final-call message to remaining clients. Be explicit: 'Anything received after [date] will be lodged as part of an extension, with the additional fee that applies.' Most clients respond to a real deadline. The ones who don't were going to be late regardless.
Week 0 (30 June): work the queue, don't chase
This week is for processing the documents you have, not chasing the ones you don't. Anything outstanding rolls into your July recovery plan. The clients who get prioritised in June are the ones who respected your deadlines.
What changes when you run this system
- First-time response rates climb from ~30% to ~70% because the request is one message, not five.
- Your hours in June drop by roughly a third — chase work is what burns evenings, not actual bookkeeping.
- You lodge on time without the panic premium of working until midnight on 29 June.
EOFY rewards calendars, not heroics. Set this countdown up once and run it every year — by the third EOFY, your clients are trained and your June looks suspiciously like March.
How to handle the three client types that always slow you down
The perfectionist
Won't send anything until everything is ready. Give them explicit permission to upload partial batches and tell them you'll come back for the rest. Removing the perfection tax usually unlocks 80% of the file within 24 hours.
The avoider
Knows something is missing and is embarrassed about it. Lead with empathy in your message — 'no judgement on what's there or not' — and they'll send what they have. Chasing harder makes this client disappear, not respond.
The disorganised
Has the documents scattered across three email accounts, two phones, and one ex-bookkeeper. Offer to jump on a 15-minute screen-share and walk them through finding each item. Faster for both of you than a fortnight of one-line email replies.
Tooling: what to use for the chase itself
You don't need a CRM. You need a list, a calendar, a shared upload link, and a templated set of messages. DocChase, Karbon, FYI, and even a Notion board can all run this — pick whichever you'll actually open every Monday morning in May and June.
Pricing the work fairly so the system pays for itself
If EOFY is currently a loss-leader for you, this is the year to price it like the specialist work it is. Quote a separate EOFY fee in your April engagement letter and frame it around the calm delivery, not the hours. Clients who value on-time lodgement say yes immediately. The ones who don't will train you out of the late-night habit by self-selecting out.
The Monday-morning checklist for every week of the countdown
- Open the master spreadsheet first thing — before email, before Xero.
- Update the status column for every client based on what arrived on Friday.
- Send that week's scheduled messages before 10am.
- Block the afternoon for processing, not chasing.
- Close the laptop by 5:30pm — chase work that runs late breeds more chase work.
Frequently asked questions
When should I actually start the EOFY chase as a solo bookkeeper?+
Six weeks before 30 June is the sweet spot. That's enough runway for two formal request rounds plus a friendly nudge cycle, without starting so early that clients forget by the time the deadline arrives.
What if a client has already missed the deadline in week zero?+
Move them to your July recovery plan immediately and lodge on extension. Don't carry the panic — the cost of working until midnight on 29 June is rarely worth the goodwill of one consistently-late client.
How many follow-ups is too many?+
Four is the cap. After the heads-up, formal request, mid-cycle nudge, and final-call message, a fifth email reads as desperate. Switch channels instead — SMS, phone, or a brief Loom video.
Should I send the same email to every client?+
Yes — with the client's name and document list dropped in. Bespoke wording is what makes the chase take five hours. Templated wording with a personalised payload is what makes it take twenty minutes.
How do I get clients to use the upload link instead of replying with attachments?+
Don't offer an alternative. The formal request links to the folder only, with no 'or reply with files' fallback. Clients use what's in front of them — give them one option and most will follow it.
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.
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