Start with a written collection rule.
Receipts and invoices often arrive in several places: a supplier sends a PDF by email, a driver shares a photo on WhatsApp, and an employee forwards the same file later. Automation cannot make that process reliable until the business chooses the channels it will monitor and tells staff where every document should go.
Write down the approved WhatsApp number, the approved mailbox, the submission deadline and the person responsible for unresolved items. Kai Can Do currently works with WhatsApp and email, so those two sources can form a clear collection boundary.
Decide what belongs in the workflow.
Define the document types you accept before choosing fields or folder names. A tax invoice, card receipt, credit note, quote and delivery note are not interchangeable. State whether screenshots are accepted, whether one message may contain several expenses, and what happens when a file is unreadable or incomplete.
Then list the information your accountant actually needs. That might include supplier name, document date, total, currency, tax amount, category and source file. Requirements differ by business and jurisdiction, so this list should come from your own accountant rather than a generic template.
Design an exception queue, not silent guesses.
A useful workflow separates confident records from exceptions. Define how to flag an unreadable photo, a missing date, an uncertain total or two files that may be duplicates. Every exception should have a named owner and a simple next action: request a clearer copy, confirm a field, merge a duplicate or exclude the document.
Agree the handoff before activation.
Decide how often the accountant should receive files, how documents should be named, which folder structure they prefer and whether the handoff includes a spreadsheet or only the original documents. Also decide what remains open at the cutoff date and who resolves it.
Kai's Finance role is available for onboarding, but the exact collection, data capture, duplicate handling and handoff workflow must be confirmed for each client before activation. The broader capabilities overview explains the channels and owner controls, while the current operating profile separates live work from planned roles.
Preserve the source document.
Keep the original file or image unchanged, even when a person corrects a field in the working record. Record what was corrected and who made the decision. This gives the accountant a source to review instead of forcing them to trust a transformed value without context. Ask the accountant how long source files and correction notes should be kept; retention requirements depend on the business and its jurisdiction.
Use this setup checklist.
- Approved WhatsApp number and mailbox
- Accepted and excluded document types
- Required fields supplied by the accountant
- Duplicate and unreadable-file rules
- Named owner for exceptions
- Folder, naming and delivery format
- Handoff date and unresolved-item process
For related setup decisions, read how to define business rules clearly and why every live agent needs an owner stop button.