Collecting client documents without mailbox imports
Whether Achekam can pull clients' documents in from e-mail, Google Drive or SFTP by itself, and the request routine an accounting firm can use instead.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Accountants & audit firms in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya
Every bookkeeping team dreams of the same thing: the client's invoices, statements and slips arriving in the right folder by themselves, without anyone forwarding an e-mail or chasing a WhatsApp photo. Software vendors know this, and "automatic document collection" appears on a great many feature lists.
It is worth knowing precisely what Achekam does and does not do here, because planning a monthly process around a connector that is not there wastes a month. This article sets out the gaps, the one connection that is offered, and the request routine that does the job reliably in the meantime.
What is not connected
Achekam does not collect documents automatically from a mailbox, from Google Drive, from SFTP or on a schedule. When you open the intake launcher, these channels appear as not configured. There is no setting that switches them on today.
In practice that means:
- a client cannot forward invoices to a special address and have them appear in Achekam;
- a shared Google Drive folder the client drops files into is not watched;
- a client's system cannot push a nightly file over SFTP;
- nothing runs on a timer to fetch documents from anywhere.
None of those routes should appear in an engagement letter or a client onboarding pack as something the firm offers through Achekam.
Microsoft 365 when it is connected
One source is offered: Microsoft 365, meaning OneDrive and SharePoint, appears in the intake launcher when the firm has connected it. If your firm works in Microsoft 365 and has made that connection, it is offered in the launcher as a source for intake. Try it in your own workspace and see how it behaves before promising clients any process built on it.
Separately, a firm administrator can point the workspace's own file storage at the firm's S3-compatible bucket, SharePoint, OneDrive or Google Shared Drive, and copy existing files across, under SETTINGS > Cloud Storage. Be clear about the difference. That setting decides where Achekam keeps the firm's files. It does not make Achekam collect clients' documents from those places.
A standing monthly request
Without a connector, the dependable route is to ask the client, through Achekam, at the same point every month.
Staff create, send and track requests for documents, answers and confirmations in one RFI console under RFI & CLIENT REQUESTS, whichever screen a request was raised from. Reusable request templates live under RFI Templates, so a bookkeeping request can be built once and sent every month with little effort.
A monthly bookkeeping request might ask for:
- bank statements for every account, for the full month;
- sales invoices issued, or the sales report from the client's system;
- supplier invoices and receipts;
- payroll changes: starters, leavers, pay changes;
- answers to any questions the team raised last month.
The client opens the request from a personal e-mailed link, with no Achekam account needed. Links last 14 days by default, and the firm can require a one-time code sent to the client's e-mail. Automatic reminders go every 3 days by default, up to 5 per request, and can be switched off. Staff can accept or reject each item the client sent and return the request saying what is still missing.
A request that arrives on the same day each month, asks for the same things and reminds politely by itself does most of what a connector would, with the advantage that the firm knows exactly what was asked for and what came back. A fuller monthly routine is in monthly bookkeeping requests, and the client's side of a request is covered in requesting documents without a login.
Where uploads land
On the request page the client can upload files or whole folders and answer questions. What they send is filed in that client's folder in the vault. Executable file types are blocked, and files are limited to 100 MB each by default. Files are virus-scanned only when the server operator has configured ClamAV; otherwise structural checks run and the record says so.
The Document Centre is that vault: a folder per client and lead, where staff upload files and folders, keep versions, tag, archive and restore with a reason, and search. When documents are sent on for intake, the originals are filed in the client's "Uploads for processing" folder, so the original always sits beside whatever was read from it.
Setting client expectations
Clients who have used other providers may ask why they cannot just e-mail everything. Give them a straight answer and a simple routine:
| The client asks | The firm answers |
|---|---|
| Can I forward invoices to an address? | Not into Achekam. Please use the monthly request link. |
| Can you watch my Google Drive folder? | No. Upload from the folder through the request page instead; whole folders can go at once. |
| Do I need an account? | No. The link in the e-mail opens the request. |
| What if I forget? | The request reminds you, and we will follow up. |
| Do you need the paper originals? | Keep them safe; we will tell you if we need to see any. |
On the last question, South Africa's ECT Act deals with when an electronic record satisfies a duty to keep information: section 16 on retention covers accessibility, integrity and origin. Nigerian and Kenyan clients should keep records in line with their own tax administration laws.
Build the monthly request template this week, send it to three bookkeeping clients as a trial, and adjust the list of items before rolling it out to every client the team looks after.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
