The awkward part of an HMRC letter is often not the letter. It is discovering that the client’s bank records, card activity and working spreadsheet are months apart.
Do not start by asking for a pile of CSVs. Start by establishing a clean source ledger: which accounts are in scope, what history is actually available, where the gaps are and who owns the review. That can turn an unbounded catch-up into a focused afternoon of reconciliation and questions.
Run a client-records catch-up
Read the notice and verify the client position
Confirm the period, deadline, legal entity and action required. Do not infer an HMRC status from the letter alone.
Set a client-specific access boundary
Use a separate client workspace, portal or destination file. Limit access to the client team and the people handling the review.
Have the client connect the relevant accounts
The client completes the bank or provider-hosted Open Banking flow and selects the required supported accounts. Access is read-only and revocable.
Inspect the available history before promising a date
Check earliest and latest transaction dates per account. History varies by institution, product and consent route; record any gaps for statements or exports.
Write into a controlled source ledger
Keep bank date, description, amount, account and stable transaction ID intact. Put categorisation, notes and query status in separate fields.
Triage before you reconcile
Sort the review queue by missing evidence, uncategorised payments, transfers, large movements and period cut-off issues. Ask the client targeted questions instead of sending a generic chase.
What “current” should mean
Current does not mean blindly imported. It means the available bank source data has been collected, the date window has been checked, gaps are visible, and the review queue tells everyone what remains.
Use a simple three-way division:
- Complete source records: ready for classification and reconciliation.
- Known gaps: statements, cash records or another source still needed.
- Review items: transactions needing a receipt, allocation, explanation or adjustment.
That is a much better handover to the engagement team than a folder of unlabelled exports.
Keep the line between data collection and advice
BankSync retrieves authorised source data; it does not determine accounting treatment, submit returns or decide what an HMRC letter means. Keep evidence, follow the stated deadline and escalate legal or tax questions through the correct professional process.
A useful afternoon triage board
| Queue | Action |
|---|---|
| Date-range gaps | Request statements or exports for the missing account and period. |
| Uncategorised material items | Ask a precise client question with the date, amount and original description. |
| Transfers and card repayments | Match both sides before reporting income or spend. |
| Evidence missing | Request the invoice, receipt or supporting explanation. |
Use the source ledger to make missing work visible, rather than burying it in messages.