Weekly Live Session - October 2, 2025

This Weekly Live session was a free-ranging Q&A, with questions covering tracking which clients file their own MTD for Income Tax updates, Companies House ID checks for ACSPs, sending any PDF for e-signature, email integration requirements, referrals and GDPR, repeating record requests, dashboard timers and notes, meeting logs, and building payroll pricing formulas.

Key Takeaways

To track which clients file their own MTD for Income Tax quarterly updates versus which the firm files, add a custom dropdown field (for example "MTD IT filing responsibility") in Settings > Client Data > Custom Fields, set it per client, then filter clients by that field to send a bulk reminder email, saving the wording as a reusable template and setting a repeating task to resend it each quarter. (2:28)
Companies House has published consequences for ACSPs (authorised corporate service providers) that misidentify a client during an ID check, which is pushing some firms to let clients complete their own free ID verification directly via the Companies House website or app (scanning a passport's NFC chip), shifting that liability away from the firm. (8:35)
Any PDF, not just one generated inside Engager, can be sent for e-signature: upload it to the client's Files, then request e-signing directly from that document. (10:35)
Email integration only connects to Microsoft or Google email domains; once connected, incoming and outgoing mail is pulled in and auto-linked to the matching client record by sender address, with unmatched emails still readable, replyable, and linkable to a client manually. (12:35)
RQ, a referral platform for financial partners (mortgage brokers, solicitors, wills and trusts providers, lenders), is free for Engager users instead of its usual monthly fee; referrals go through a client e-signed authorisation, which protects the firm from a GDPR complaint about sharing client details without consent. (16:40)
An automated MTD IT record-request reminder can be set up as a global reminder on the MTD service (for example sent one month before the filing deadline and then repeating every seven days until records are received), stopping once the records-received date or a chosen job status is set. (18:41)
Countdown timers on the dashboard (for VAT, bookkeeping deadlines, etc.) are visible to the whole firm, so they are not suitable for anything you would not want colleagues to see; personal notes on the dashboard, by contrast, are private to you, can include emojis, and can be resized and repositioned. (26:50, 37:05)
Meeting logs under a client's Communication tab record which staff and client attendees turned up, arrived late (and by how long) or did not attend, alongside a description where an AI meeting-recorder's summary can be pasted; this creates a record to refer back to if a client later claims promised meetings never happened. (41:07)
Engager does not include a built-in AI meeting recorder; third-party tools (Read AI, Otter, Fireflies, or a standalone recording device such as Plaud) are used instead, with the resulting summary pasted into a client's meeting notes. (47:10)
Complex payroll pricing (a minimum fee covering a set number of employees, then a per-employee, per-payslip rate across weekly, fortnightly and monthly frequencies) needs the Advanced pricing mode rather than the Wizard, combining a base fee, a banded "number of employees" custom field starting above the included headcount, and a payroll frequency multiplier within a single formula.

Full Transcript

The session opened with greetings before moving into a question about tracking which clients handle their own Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD IT) quarterly filing versus which the firm files on their behalf, so that bulk reminder emails can be targeted correctly. The suggested approach was to add a new custom dropdown field in Settings > Client Data > Custom Fields (for example "MTD IT filing responsibility", with options such as client, accountant, or client's bookkeeper), set the answer on each client's General Information page, then use that field as a filter when selecting clients for a bulk email. The reminder wording can be typed out once and saved as a reusable template (for example "MTD IT quarterly filing reminder"), and a repeating task can be created to prompt resending it each quarter, timed to the relevant quarterly deadline (the first deadline mentioned was 5 August, covering April to July).

A related point was raised about Companies House's published consequences for ACSPs (authorised corporate service providers) who misidentify a client, or fail to spot a fake document, during an identity check: firms risk losing their ACSP status over an error. Because of this, some firms are now encouraging clients to complete their own free ID verification directly through the Companies House website or app rather than the firm doing it on the client's behalf, since the process is straightforward (entering details as a director or person with significant control, receiving a text link, downloading the Companies House app, and scanning a passport's NFC chip via a phone camera) and shifts the liability for an incorrect ID check onto Companies House and the client rather than the firm.

Hannah asked whether a document such as a VAT return PDF uploaded to a client's portal can be sent for e-signature, or whether it has to be generated through Engager's own PDF tool. It does not need to be generated in Engager: any PDF can be uploaded to a folder in the client's Files and then have e-signing requested directly against that uploaded document.

Steven asked about filtering which incoming emails land in Engager so that client-related messages come through while non-client emails stay in Outlook. Email integration only connects to Microsoft or Google-owned domains; if your provider is neither, the integration cannot connect at all, and only outgoing email via SMTP is possible. Where the domain is Microsoft or Google, connecting your inbox pulls in all mail and automatically links each message to a client record where the sender's email address matches one already saved; unmatched emails (shown with a red "no message links" indicator) can still be read and replied to, and can be linked to a client manually, which is useful for messages such as HMRC correspondence received during a client investigation.

A new user asked how the Companies House feed works for prospects and what minimum information is needed. Entering the same level of detail you would use to search Companies House directly, such as the company number or name, is enough; Engager then pulls in the company name, number, registered address, date of incorporation, and SIC codes automatically.

Peter mentioned signing up for RQ after finding out at a conference that it is free for Engager users rather than its usual roughly £99 a month. RQ is a referral-tracking platform for introductions to financial partners such as mortgage brokers, solicitors, and wills and trusts providers. Beyond any declaration some governing bodies require about benefiting from a referral, the main benefit is GDPR protection: RQ requires the client to authorise and e-sign the referral before it goes through, giving the firm evidence of consent if a client later disputes that their details were shared. RQ can be reached from the Engager toolbar via your name, and new users can get the free arrangement by mentioning they are an Engager user when booking a demo with RQ.

Sarah asked how to send an automated reminder for MTD paperwork. On the relevant recurring service (for example an MTD IT service recurring every three months), a global reminder can be set using a saved template, timed to send a set period before the filing deadline (one month was used as an example) to chase outstanding paperwork, and configured to stop once the records-received date is set or a chosen job status is reached; the reminder can also be set to repeat (for example every seven days) until records come in.

Andrew asked whether all MTD clients need to be on accounting software or whether spreadsheets are accepted. Spreadsheets are accepted; the approach described was to file returns either through the client's own accounting software (FreeAgent, QuickBooks, Xero, or a landlord-specific tool) or through TaxCalc for clients on spreadsheets, reserving the effort of moving a client onto software for those who are receptive to it (noting that FreeAgent is included free with certain business bank accounts, which also nudges clients towards a proper business account), while accepting that some low-value or less tech-savvy clients will simply continue on spreadsheets or paper given the difficulty of changing established habits.

Steven asked for a link to set up inbox syncing after already connecting his outbox. The same Microsoft or Google authorisation sets up both inbox and outbox together; if the domain is not owned by Microsoft or Google, this is not possible and the domain would need to move to one of those providers (at roughly $9.99 a month per account) to enable it.

Peter asked whether Engager will pull expiry dates for passports and driving licences now that the identity-verification provider's app can read passport chips. This is not currently pulled automatically, since it was not available via the API when the integration was originally built; it remains on the list to revisit, but in the meantime expiry dates can be recorded manually using custom fields.

A new user asked why a signed letter of engagement is not automatically saved into the client's folder, only into the letter of engagement area. The signed document can be downloaded from there and manually uploaded into the client portal if wanted, though the client is also automatically emailed a PDF copy once they sign, so a portal copy is not strictly necessary.

A question was asked about batch-uploading Companies House registration numbers from Excel rather than entering them one by one. The recommendation was to use the full client data import tool in Settings rather than importing registration numbers alone, since most other client data (names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, UTRs) does not come from Companies House and is better imported in one pass; the weekly Friday 10am "Getting Started" webinar and the help centre's import guidance both cover this in detail.

Andrew asked about managing the volume of support queries expected around FreeAgent and MTD. No noticeable spike in queries had been seen; well-trained clients and clear boundaries on what is and is not included in a service help, along with pricing that reflects expected support demand. One previously popular offering for clients who want to do their own bookkeeping but need occasional help was a paid bookkeeping support service (three 10-minute calls per quarter, unused calls not carried over, plus a periodic health check using Xenon with a report and quote to fix anything found), which in practice often converted clients onto a full paid bookkeeping service.

Peter asked whether Apron can be used to collect documents for MTD IT and export a CSV into TaxCalc for traders and landlords. Yes in theory: TaxCalc provides a template for this, so transactions collected and categorised in Apron can be exported, summarised by category, and imported via that template, or alternatively a custom spreadsheet can be mapped to TaxCalc's own fields without using the template.

A question was asked about finding the link for the weekly Getting Started webinar. All recurring webinar links are posted weekly in the Engager Facebook group, and a link is also included in the welcome emails sent when first signing up to Engager; past recordings of the Getting Started session specifically are not published, since the scripted content is the same each week bar the live Q&A at the end, but anyone who registers and cannot attend is emailed the recording afterwards.

Hannah asked how to add the countdown timers shown on the dashboard (for VAT, bookkeeping deadlines, and similar). These are added via "add a new timer", naming it and setting the relevant deadline date and time; timers reorder automatically so the soonest deadline sits at the top. These timers are visible to everyone in the firm, so they should never be used for anything inappropriate to share (the example given was not setting one counting down to a staff member's last day).

John asked whether personal notes on the dashboard are visible to the whole firm. Unlike the countdown timers, notes are private to the individual user; any number of notes can be created, titled, resized, repositioned, and given emoji, and deleted when no longer needed.

Returning to meeting logs: under a client's Communication tab, alongside logged emails and text messages, calls and meetings can also be logged, recording which staff members and client attendees turned up, arrived late (and by how many minutes), or did not attend, with a reason if known. A free-text description field can hold a summary pasted from a third-party AI meeting recorder, and documents and tasks can be linked to the same log entry. This creates a clear record to refer back to if a client later disputes that agreed meetings took place, and was highlighted as a favourite feature for exactly that reason, alongside keeping a jobs board grouped by due period visible at a glance throughout the day to track team progress without needing to actively check in.

Melissa asked how to change a jobs board card's countdown display (a clock showing days remaining) to a fixed date instead. In Settings > Jobs > General Settings, switching the date display from relative (a countdown) to absolute (a fixed date) updates how dates show on job cards; this can be switched back at any time.

Steven asked how to get an email button added to the Engager toolbar. This only appears once Microsoft or Google email integration has been connected, since Engager has built dedicated integrations only for those two providers (covering roughly 90% of email domains in use), rather than building bespoke integrations for every possible provider.

Andrew asked how the AI recorder and notes feature works. Engager does not have a built-in AI meeting recorder; a separate third-party tool is used instead (examples given included Read AI, Otter, Fireflies, and a standalone recording device such as Plaud, which can record any conversation, not just online meetings), with the resulting AI-generated summary then copied into the meeting notes described above.

Sarah asked for help building a payroll pricing formula charging a minimum £42 covering up to five employees, then £4.75 per employee per payslip beyond that, across weekly, fortnightly and monthly frequencies. This level of formula needs the Advanced pricing mode rather than the Wizard. The approach built live was: a base fee of £42, plus a banded custom field for "number of employees" where the banding starts counting only from the sixth employee upward (so the first five are already covered by the base fee) multiplied by £4.75, with the whole total then multiplied by a payroll frequency custom field (a dropdown of weekly, fortnightly, monthly etc., each mapped to its own multiplier, such as 52 for weekly). The underlying formula took the shape: base fee, plus (number-of-employees-band × per-employee rate), all multiplied by the payroll frequency multiplier.

The session closed with thanks and a reminder that the next Weekly Live would run at the same time the following week.