What to Put on a "Preparing for Your BAS" Page So Clients Actually Send Their Documents on Time

04 October 2026·5 min read

Quick answer: A dedicated "Preparing for Your BAS" page gives clients a single link you can text, email or drop in a reminder when the quarter rolls around, instead of you retyping the same list of documents every time. It works because it removes the thinking from the client's side — they click, see exactly what's needed and where to send it, and you spend less time chasing. It won't fix a chronically late client on its own, but it removes "I didn't know what you needed" as an excuse. 📱

Every bookkeeper and accountant we've worked with has the same quiet dread around the fifteenth of the month: the client who swears they'll "get it all together this weekend" for the third quarter running. You can't fix human nature, but you can fix how much of your own time gets burned chasing the same five documents over text, email and a confused phone call 💖. A proper prep page is one of the smallest website additions that actually saves admin hours.

What most firms get wrong

Most firms either have no prep page at all — the document list lives in someone's head and gets re-typed into an email every quarter — or they bury a generic checklist three clicks deep in a "Resources" section nobody opens. Neither version is built to be sent. The page needs to be short enough to read on a phone while someone's standing in a queue, specific enough that "bank statements" means "all business account statements for the quarter, including the savings account you also run payments through," and it needs a URL you can paste into a text message without explaining what it is.

The page structure that actually gets used:

One-line reminder of the due date — "Due to us by the 15th so we can lodge on time" beats the ATO's actual deadline, which gives you buffer.
The document list, grouped by how clients find them — bank and loan statements, sales records/invoices not yet reconciled, any new asset purchases over a set value, wages and super summaries if not already in your software.
"Already using Xero/MYOB and connected?" note — tell clients exactly what you still need from them even when software is connected, since this is the most common confusion point.
One clear upload method — a single link to your client portal or a dedicated email address, not three options that let people pick the slowest one.
A line on what happens if documents are late — honest, not threatening: late documents may mean a late lodgement and the ATO's own penalties, not yours.

Please note: general information, not tax or financial advice — what's required for a specific BAS depends on the client's circumstances, so check current ATO guidance or your own professional judgement before finalising any checklist content.

Small bookkeeping and BAS agency: A two-person BAS agency built a prep page and started texting the link as a calendar reminder two weeks before each due date. They still chase, but the chasing message is now "just a nudge on that page I sent" rather than re-explaining the list — a five-minute saving multiplied across forty clients a quarter.

Mid-sized accounting firm with trades clients: A firm with a lot of tradie clients added a specific line about fuel tax credit records and vehicle logbooks, since that was the single most common missing item. Documents arriving complete on the first ask went up noticeably once that line existed.

Solo practitioner with retail clients: A sole practitioner linked the prep page directly from her automated quarterly reminder email, with the document list repeated in the email body too — belt and braces for clients who never click links.

How to actually build and use it

Write the list from your last year of "can you please also send me" follow-up emails — that's your real document list.
Keep it to one scroll on mobile. If it needs tabs or an accordion, it's too long.
Give it its own short URL so it's easy to text, not buried three folders deep.
Link it from your invoice footer and reminder emails so it keeps surfacing without you resending it manually.

💡 This page won't fix a genuinely disorganised client on its own. It removes the "I didn't know what you wanted" excuse, but some clients need a phone call and a firm deadline regardless of how good your page is — be realistic about who that page alone will actually help.

Mistakes to avoid

Making it a PDF instead of a page. PDFs get saved, lost and go out of date. A web page you can update takes seconds to fix when the ATO changes something.
Writing it in accountant language. "Source documents" means nothing to a client standing at the counter trying to remember what you need.
Forgetting the upload instructions. A perfect document list with no clear "send it here" line just creates a second question.
Treating it as a one-off build. Update it whenever your intake process changes, or it quietly becomes the wrong list.

Frequently asked questions

Will a prep page actually reduce late documents?

It tends to help disorganised clients, but it won't change behaviour for clients who are consistently late regardless of how clear the ask is. It's a tool, not a fix for every client relationship.

Should the page be public or client-only?

Public is usually fine — prospective clients searching "what do I need for my BAS" can land on it and see how organised your process is.

Do we need a different page per industry?

Not necessarily a separate page, but adding industry-specific line items (like fuel tax credits for trades clients) to one page is often enough.

How often should we update the document list?

Whenever your own intake process changes, and at least once a year to make sure it still matches current ATO requirements.

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Written by

Kate, founder of Chronically Online

I help Gold Coast and Brisbane businesses grow with branding, websites and marketing that actually works.

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