Document intake automation: a checklist before you start
Document intake automation should help your team see what has arrived, what is missing and what needs review. Start with one familiar problem, such as asking clients for files they already sent. Use the checklist below to work out what the automation should do and how you will judge the result. If some answers are unclear, bring an example to a discovery call and we can work through where to start.
The checklist
1. What arrives, and from where
List the documents and forms that come in, the channels they use (email, uploads, a client portal, scanned paper) and roughly how many arrive in a typical week. Note the formats that cause trouble today.
2. Who owns the process
Name one person accountable for intake, and the people who handle each step. Automation needs someone who knows the process and can say what should happen when something unusual arrives.
3. What "complete" means
Write down the checklist a person uses today to decide whether a file is complete. For a law firm this might be the documents a matter needs. For an accounting firm it might be organizer answers, prior-year records and current uploads.
4. How to check what already arrived
Before asking a client again, check what they have already sent. Agree how a file is matched to the checklist and what happens when a match is uncertain. Uncertain matches go to a person.
5. Exceptions and who handles them
List the cases that need a person, such as unreadable files, conflicting answers and documents that do not fit the checklist. Name who receives them and how quickly they need attention.
6. Where the information goes next
Name the system each piece of information should reach and what that system can support. Confirm access before agreeing on the work.
7. What a person reviews before anything goes out
Choose which messages are prepared for a designated reviewer before they reach a client, and which internal steps can run automatically.
8. How you will know it is working
Count correctly checked documents and requests resolved. Use your volume, time and cost figures to estimate today's work costs. Subtract remaining review and corrections when estimating staff time freed up.
9. Who keeps it working
Forms and connected systems change over time, and checklists grow. Agree who maintains the automation, who monitors it and how changes are approved.
Two examples
A law firm can compare files with its checklist, flag uncertain matches and prepare one follow-up for the items still missing, to reduce repeated requests for documents the client already sent. An accounting firm can compare organizer answers, prior-year records and current uploads to find missing or conflicting information before preparation starts. In both cases the firm's reviewer approves the follow-up, and professional decisions stay with the firm.