The problem
Every month you chase clients for bank statements and missing receipts, and ask what an unknown payment was. If you do 12 clients with 3 emails each and writing each from scratch takes 6 minutes, that's 36 emails and 216 minutes, 3.6 hours a month.
What the AI does
Use ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini to write a small set of reusable templates: a first reminder, a firmer second reminder, a short query asking what a payment was, and a missing-receipt request. Describe the tone you want and the placeholders you will fill in, such as client first name, month and cut-off date. Save the templates in your email app. Don't paste real transactions or client names into the assistant; you add those yourself when you send.
A worked example
A bookkeeper in Cardiff looks after 12 clients. Each month she sends each client about 3 emails: a records reminder, a query about unclear payments and a nudge. She now uses saved templates written with an assistant and fills in the month, the cut-off date and the specific items herself.
Before
6 minutes to write each of 36 emails: 3.6 hours a month
After
About 3 minutes to fill in a template and add the queries: 1.8 hours a month
What it's worth
About 1.8 hours a month saved (36 emails x 3 minutes = 108 minutes), worth around £54 if your time is worth £30 an hour. Cost is free to about £20 a month for one person, depending on the assistant and plan; free plans have usage limits, so check them. The saving is modest and mostly consistency.
How to set it up
- Ask ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini for four templates, giving the tone and the placeholders, with no real client details.
- Read each template and edit it into your own voice; remove anything that sounds like tax or accounting advice.
- Save them in your email app as snippets or drafts.
- Fill in the client name, month, cut-off date and the specific items each time before sending.
- Review the templates every quarter against what clients actually reply to.
What goes wrong
- Never paste client transactions, bank details or names into a consumer AI plan. The templates should be generic.
- A template that sounds like advice ('you should claim this') makes you responsible for it; keep chasers to asking for records.
- Free assistant plans have usage limits, and paid plans cost between about £4 and £20 a month depending on the vendor.
- A reminder sent with the wrong month or cut-off date looks careless; check each one before sending.