Ask the client for something mid-month
Who does this: Payroll Executive · Payroll Lead When: A check on the month needs an answer or a document only the client has, or the month is waiting on the client and you want to remind them now Result: A message you have read and approved goes to the client, word for word, on the right thread. Their reply shows on the Work page; the platform follows up on its own if they go quiet.
There are two ways to write to the client from a payroll month, both on the month's Work page (/dashboard/work/<id>):
- Ask client — a question about one check (or Ask about N together for several checks in one numbered message).
- Send reminder — the reminder for whatever the month is waiting on the client for, from the Client reminder section.
Both open the same dialog: the platform drafts the wording, you read and edit it, and nothing goes until you press Send to client. What is in the box is exactly what the client receives.
NOTE
The old Request info from client button, its POST /ops/payroll/cycles/:cycleId/request-info route and the payroll.intake-reminder job have been removed. There is no portal link in these messages: the client answers by replying.
If the check genuinely doesn't apply to this month, see Override a blocking issue instead.
Ask client — a question about a check
Before you start
- [ ] The check is open.
- [ ] The check is one a client can answer. Checks that are internal to the payroll team have no Ask client button (the API refuses them with "This issue is internal to the payroll team and cannot be put to the client.").
Steps
- Open the month's Work page and find the check under its section.
- Click Ask client on the check's row (it reads Ask again or Ask client again once you have asked).
- The dialog Ask the client opens with a drafted question and a To: line saying who it goes to. If you have asked before, the dialog says so first.
- Edit the wording if you need to, then click Send to client.
To ask about several checks at once, click Ask about N together above the list (offered when two or more checks have not been asked yet; at most 6 in one message). Keep each question on its own numbered line: the client can answer by number ("1 yes, 2 no") and each answer is put on its own check.
A field read with low confidence (OCR_LOW_CONFIDENCE) is asked about the same way. The platform no longer sends an automatic "please send a clearer copy": use Ask client on that check.
Where it goes
- A question about something the client sent goes back on the thread it came on, to the person who sent it.
- A question nothing the client sent prompted goes to whichever payroll sender wrote to us last, on that thread.
- If nobody has written yet, it goes by email to the first payroll sender who can be reached.
- A WhatsApp thread is used only within 24 hours of the client's last message on it.
If nobody can be reached, nothing is queued and you see "Nobody to ask: … Add their email or link their chat on the company's People tab."
What happens next
- The client's reply appears under the check. It does not close the check — you still clear it (fix and Re-check, Resolve…, or a Lead override).
- While the month is in
ACTION_REQUIRED, the hourly reminder sweep follows up on day 3, 5 and 7 after the newest ask still waiting: "Just a reminder — we're still waiting on the items we asked you for so we can finish your {Month YYYY} payroll." It goes only on the thread(s) the question went on, and it stops as soon as the client has answered or written anything on that thread.
Send reminder — while the month waits on the client
The Client reminder section appears on the Work page whenever the month is waiting on the client:
| Month is… | The reminder is about… |
|---|---|
REQUESTED / INTAKE_IN_PROGRESS | This month's inputs |
ACTION_REQUIRED with a question waiting | The items we asked for |
REVISION_REQUESTED | The updated details after the approver's changes |
A reminder you send goes where the automatic one would: a reminder about questions you asked goes on the thread(s) they were asked on; one after the client asked for changes goes to the approver who asked; any other goes to each payroll sender, by email on their thread for the month (their own chat only if they have no email address). See Reminders (P-12).
The section says when the next automatic reminder falls due ("Next reminder falls due … (day N of waiting)"), and shows A reminder is waiting to be sent when one fell due but was held (automatic messages off) or could not be delivered.
- Click Send a reminder now (or Review and send reminder when one is waiting).
- The dialog Send the client a reminder opens with the standard wording for the month's stage. Edit it if needed.
- Click Send to client.
A reminder you send is a staff click, so it goes even when automatic messages are off. Once it is delivered, the "reminder is waiting" task clears itself. If the month has moved on (the client answered between your click and the send), nothing is sent.
How to know it worked
- The check shows when it was asked; the client's reply appears under it.
- A reminder that went is recorded on the month.
GET /ops/cycles/:cycleId/client-noticeslists every month-level message the client was told, newest first, with the words each person was sent (links left out) and whether it went by itself. - A message that could not be sent becomes a staff task on the month saying why, in plain words (for example "… is emailed (…), but no payroll mailbox is set up to send from (Settings › Integrations)").
Common situations
| If you see… | It means… | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| No Ask client button on a check | The check is internal, or already closed | Resolve it yourself, or override it (Payroll Lead) |
| "Nobody to ask: …" | No payroll sender can be reached: no email and never wrote, or WhatsApp's 24 hours have passed | Add the person's email, or link their chat, on the company's People tab |
| A task says no payroll mailbox is set up | The person has an email, but the firm has no payroll mailbox to send from. They are not moved to chat instead | Choose the payroll mailbox in Settings › Integrations |
| No Client reminder section | The month is not waiting on the client | Nothing to remind them of; for a new question use Ask client |
| The dialog says "This cycle is not waiting on the client …" | The month moved on since the page loaded | Reload the page |
| The client replied but the check is still open | Replies never close a check by themselves | Read the reply, then clear the check (Resolve a blocking validation issue) |
Related runbooks
- Resolve a blocking validation issue — what to do once the client answers
- Override a blocking issue — when the rule shouldn't apply at all
- Reminders (P-12) — the automatic day-3/5/7 reminders
- The client says they didn't receive the email
- Add or edit client contacts — fix who can be reached