A tax consultation booking template you can copy in ten minutes

Copy the five blocks below into your booking tool and replace everything in [square brackets]. Each block does one job, so you can reuse them across a Self Assessment appointment, an Australian individual return or a sole trader review.

1. Event name and description

'[Tax year or financial year] personal tax consultation, [duration] minutes, [fee or free]. For [who it is for, e.g. employees with side income, landlords, sole traders]. We will review your income and expenses, answer your questions and agree what we need to prepare and lodge your return by [deadline]. Not suitable for [e.g. company accounts or disputes with the tax office]; please book [other appointment] instead.'

2. Booking questions

• 'Is this your first year working with us?' [Yes / No]
• 'Which of these apply to you this year?' [Employment, self-employment, rental property, investments, capital gains, overseas income, other]
• 'Have you received any letters from [HMRC or the ATO] that you would like to discuss?' [Yes / No]
• 'Is there anything else we should know before we meet?' [Short text]

3. Document checklist

'Please bring or upload to [secure portal name] before [number] days before your appointment: [income documents, e.g. P60 or income statement], [bank and investment interest statements], [rental income and expenses], [receipts for expenses you plan to claim], [pension or super contribution details], [last year’s return or notice of assessment]. Please do not send tax reference numbers or bank details through the booking form.'

4. Confirmation email

'Hi [first name], your [appointment name] with [accountant name] is booked for [date] at [time] [time zone], [online via video link / at our office at address]. Before we meet, please upload the documents listed below to [secure portal name]. If you need to move the appointment, use the reschedule link in this email at least [notice period] before. [Checklist]. Thanks, [practice name].'

5. Reminder email

'Hi [first name], a quick reminder that we are meeting on [date] at [time]. If you have not yet uploaded your documents, please do so by [day] so we can prepare. See you then, [accountant name].'

For the timing and wording of reminders in more detail, see our email appointment reminders best practices.

Tax appointments fail in predictable ways. The client turns up without their P60 or income statement, forgets the rental property they bought in March, or books a 30-minute slot for something that needs an hour. Each of those costs you a second meeting, and in January or October you do not have spare slots to give away.

A template fixes the problem at the point of booking. The description tells people what the appointment is for and who should book something else. The booking questions flag complexity early, so you can extend the slot or assign a more senior colleague. The checklist and reminder mean documents arrive before the meeting rather than during it.

It also protects the deadlines your clients care about. In the UK, online Self Assessment returns are due by 31 January. In Australia, individuals lodging their own return are generally due by 31 October, while clients of a registered tax agent can often lodge later. Stating the relevant deadline in your description, and opening bookings well before it, helps spread demand across the season rather than letting it pile up in the final fortnight.

Missed appointments hurt more at this time of year. A clear reschedule link and a reminder a couple of days before make it easy for clients to move rather than simply not arrive. Our guide to reducing appointment no-shows covers deposits and cancellation policies if you need firmer rules.

Finally, a written template keeps a practice consistent. Every partner and junior sends the same checklist in the same words, so clients know what to expect whoever they see.

Take a fictional sole practitioner in Bristol who prepares Self Assessment returns for around 150 individuals, mostly landlords, freelancers and employees with side income. Here is her template, filled in.

• Event: '2025/26 Self Assessment consultation, 45 minutes, £90 (deducted from your return fee if you go ahead). For freelancers, landlords and employees with extra income. Online returns are due by 31 January; book by mid-December for the best choice of times. Not for limited company accounts; please book a business accounts call instead.'
• Booking questions: 'First year with us? Which of these apply: employment, self-employment, rental property, dividends, capital gains, overseas income? Any recent letters from HMRC? Anything else we should know?'
• Checklist: 'P60 or final payslip, any P11D, bank and savings interest, dividend statements, rental income and expenses, receipts for business expenses, pension contributions, and last year’s return. Upload to our client portal, not by email.'
• Confirmation: 'Hi [first name], your Self Assessment consultation is booked for [date] at [time] GMT by video. Please upload your documents at least three days before. Need to move it? Use the reschedule link at least 24 hours ahead.'

She runs it on Calenix. On the Free plan she could host this single appointment type with email confirmations and basic reminders; she chose Individual so she could add a separate business accounts call, take the £90 fee at booking through Stripe and send an extra reminder with the checklist five days before.

The illustrative maths: if half an hour of each incomplete meeting is lost and 30 clients a season used to arrive without key documents, that is 15 hours she gets back in her busiest months. If you are adapting this for a consultant-style offer, compare it with our booking page template for consultants.