Somebody has not filed for three years. It started with one missed deadline, then it was too embarrassing to deal with, then it was too big, and now she opens post standing up because she does not want to sit down with it.
She will not ring an accountant. She will read a website at midnight and decide whether anybody there sounds like they will judge her.
Why these enquiries do not arrive
Shame, mainly. People believe they are unusual, that they will be told off, and that the first conversation will involve a number they cannot pay. All three beliefs are wrong and none of them are addressed on a typical firm's website.
What the client is actually afraid of
Not the penalty figure. The conversation. Being made to feel stupid, being refused, and finding out the position is worse than they imagine. The page has to answer the fear before it answers the question.
The cost of getting the page wrong
A page that opens with deadlines and penalty rates confirms every fear and closes the tab. A page that opens with this is common and it is fixable produces the enquiry.
Lead with the reassurance
Say plainly that late filing is common, that firms deal with it routinely, that it can be put right and that nobody will be lectured. Then get practical.
Explain the first step honestly
A conversation, an assessment of what is outstanding and a plan. Make it clear the first conversation does not require documents they have not gathered.
Publish the fee
A fixed fee for a catch up assessment, and how returns are priced once the scope is known. Fee fear is the second barrier after shame, and somebody who cannot see a figure assumes the worst one they can imagine.
Never quantify the penalty
What is owed and what penalties apply depends on the case and the circumstances. Anything automated should say plainly that this is a matter for the firm rather than produce a figure.
Explain that circumstances matter
Illness, bereavement, a business failure or a mental health crisis are real and there are established routes for explaining them. Saying so gives somebody a reason to make contact today.
Capture only what is needed
Name, contact, roughly which years are outstanding and whether anything has been received in writing. Enough to prioritise, and nothing that amounts to taking instructions.
Escalate anything with a deadline
Correspondence with a stated date, enforcement action or anything urgent goes to a person immediately rather than into a queue.
Explain what happens after
Bringing filings up to date, arranging payment where needed and then a system that prevents it recurring. People want to know the ending, not just the beginning.
Related situations come from the same clients
Property income is a common cause of quiet non filing, as in landlord and rental income tax enquiries and rental income questions from accidental landlords.
Handle worry the way other advisers do
Calm, specific and fast, as in security questions from clients worried about a breach and how financial advisors use chatbots to answer client questions.
Getting started
Publish a reassuring catch up page with a fixed first fee, then capture the years outstanding and any deadline at any hour without quantifying anything. SpideyChat for accountants answers from your published pages. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about capture on the features page.