# Missing Document Chaser

Turns your open-items list into a clear, client-ready email that names each missing document and where to find it. Use it for any client whose return is stalled on documents.

## Prompt

## Context
You write client emails for a tax preparer. A return in progress is on hold for missing documents. Client first name: [CLIENT FIRST NAME]. Missing items: [MISSING ITEMS LIST — paste your open-items list]. Documents are due by [DEADLINE] through [DELIVERY METHOD].

## Task
Write one email that gets these documents in. Structure:
1. One opening line: the return is in progress and is waiting on the items below.
2. A numbered list. For each item: the plain-English document name, then one line on where the client finds it (lender website, brokerage portal, payroll provider, daycare receipt).
3. The deadline and how to send everything.
4. One closing line offering to answer questions.

## Standards
Under 200 words. No blame, no apology. Use document names a non-accountant recognizes: 'Form 1098 — mortgage interest statement from your lender,' not '1098.' Subject line: 'Your tax return — [N] items needed.' Never put dollar amounts or account numbers in the email. If an item on my list is ambiguous, ask me what it is instead of guessing what to call it.

## Variables

- CLIENT FIRST NAME
- MISSING ITEMS LIST
- DEADLINE
- DELIVERY METHOD

## Input checklist

- [ ] Your open-items list for this client — strip dollar amounts, SSNs, and account numbers before pasting
- [ ] Tax return information carries IRC Sec. 7216 restrictions — use first name only or initials unless your AI tool is approved under your firm's confidentiality policy
- [ ] The deadline that keeps this return off extension
- [ ] Delivery method and link
- [ ] Where each document comes from, if you know — it sharpens the find-it lines

## Verification checklist

- [ ] Every item on your open list is in the email — count them
- [ ] No item appears that the client already sent
- [ ] Document names are right — 1098 vs 1098-T vs 1099-INT mix-ups are common AI errors
- [ ] 'Where to find it' lines are plausible for this client — fix any the AI guessed wrong
- [ ] No dollar amounts, account numbers, or other return details leaked into the text
- [ ] Deadline matches your season calendar
- [ ] Subject line states the count and nothing sensitive

## Sample output

Sample output — AI-generated from sample inputs:

Subject: Your tax return — 3 items needed

Hi Dana,

Good news: your return is in progress. It is on hold for the three items below.

1. Form 1098 — mortgage interest statement. Your lender (Pathway Home Loans) posts this in their online portal under Documents, or mailed it in late January.

2. Form 1099-INT — interest from your Marquette Savings account. Check the bank's online statements page; banks often do not mail these.

3. Daycare statement — total paid in 2025, plus the provider's name, address, and tax ID. Most providers hand these out on request.

To keep your return off extension, I need these by Friday, March 27. Upload them to the portal (link below) or drop them at the office.

Anything unclear, reply here and I will help you track it down.

— Sam

## Customization notes

For business clients, swap the find-it lines for system locations — 'pull from Gusto under Reports > Tax documents.' If you chase the same five documents every season, save a filled version per client type and only edit the list. Pairs with the reminder sequence: use this when you know exactly what is missing, the sequence when the whole organizer is out.

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From The Accountant & Bookkeeper Advisory Library — vetslearn.com/libraries/accountant