Attachments leave staff inboxes
Bank statements and ID copies stop piling up in personal mailboxes, Sent folders and chat apps during the busiest weeks of the year.
Accountants and bookkeepers
A client upload portal for accountants, with a deletion date on every file
Sunset Docs gives your practice one upload link and one email address for the payslips, bank statements, IDs and invoices clients send you. Your team reviews watermarked previews, files what it needs in your own systems, and Sunset Docs deletes the intake copy on schedule.
No card required. Up to 10 received files.
How it works
From request to deletion
- Send clients your upload linkAdd it to your engagement letter, your season reminder email or your website. Clients upload from a phone or computer without creating an account, or send to your workspace email address.
- Set a deletion date that fits the jobChoose 1, 8 or 24 hours, or 7, 30 or 90 days. Team and Business also allow 365 days or an exact date. Plan around how long your review really takes.
- Review, then move what you must keepStaff see watermarked page images, not the original file. If the owner allows it, a team member downloads the original for your tax software or file, and the download is logged.
- Let the intake copy expireOn the deletion date Sunset Docs removes the original, previews, keys, file name and sender details. Your system of record keeps the version you are required to keep.
Previews before originals
Most checks only need to read the page. The browser gets watermarked images, and original download stays off until the owner turns it on.
Clean-up without a reminder
Every submission has an end date from the moment it arrives, so last season's payslips are not still sitting in a shared folder next spring.
Who it is for
Accountancy practices, bookkeepers, tax advisers and payroll bureaus that receive sensitive files from clients and do not want those files to live forever in email. It suits small firms with a handful of staff as well as teams that share one intake address across the office.
Sunset Docs is not a full client portal. Clients cannot log in, see earlier uploads or message your team. It covers one job: receiving the documents safely, letting the right people review them, and deleting the intake copy on a fixed date.
The moments when the inbox fills up
Client documents arrive in waves. This table shows where a temporary intake inbox helps and a sensible starting deletion date for each.
| Moment | What clients usually send | Suggested deletion date |
|---|---|---|
| Personal tax return season | Payslips, annual income statements, bank and pension statements, receipts for deductions | 30 days |
| New client onboarding and identity checks | ID document, proof of address, company documents | 7 days, after you file the copy you must keep |
| Payroll onboarding of a new employee | ID, tax and social security details, bank account details, contract | 7 days |
| Monthly or quarterly bookkeeping | Sales and purchase invoices, bank statements | 30 days |
| One-off queries | A single letter from the tax office, a missing invoice | 24 hours or 7 days |
In the EU, external accountants and tax advisers are among the professions covered by anti-money-laundering rules that require client due diligence. National law decides what you must record and for how long. Sunset Docs is where the documents arrive, not where you keep that record.
How it works in practice
A bookkeeper sends the season reminder with the upload link and a short list: "last year's P60 or annual salary statement, your pension statement, and receipts above 100 euros". The default deletion date is 30 days.
Clients upload from their phones. The team receives a notification without file names or contents, opens the submission and checks each page as a watermarked preview. If the owner has enabled original download, the preparer downloads the statements needed for the tax software. Every open, print and download goes into the activity log.
When the return is filed, the preparer deletes the submission. If nobody does, Sunset Docs deletes it on day 30. Deletion removes the original, previews, temporary print files, keys, file name and sender details. Encrypted database backups expire within 30 days, not instantly.
What it does not do
- It does not replace your document management system, tax software, e-signature tool or archive.
- It does not verify a client's identity or whether a document is genuine. Your identity checks still happen in your own process.
- It cannot delete copies outside Sunset Docs, such as the client's photo roll or a file a colleague downloaded.
- Watermarks discourage and trace reuse. They do not stop someone from photographing a screen.
- File checks and malware scanning reduce risk but cannot catch every harmful file.
Checklist before the next season
- List the documents each type of engagement really needs, and drop the "just in case" items.
- Decide which documents may be downloaded as originals and who may do it.
- Choose default deletion dates per type of request.
- Agree where records you are legally required to keep will live, and move them there before the deletion date.
- Invite everyone who reviews documents and ask them to turn on two-step verification.
- Replace "reply with attachments" in your templates with your upload link.
Plans start at EUR 12 a month per workspace with unlimited members. Read how we protect files on the security page.
Frequently asked questions
Does Sunset Docs replace our practice management or tax software?
No. It is a temporary intake inbox. It has no client logins, messaging, task lists, e-signature or bookkeeping features, and it is not an archive. Use it for the moment a client sends sensitive files, then move what you need into the systems you already use.
Do clients need an account or an app?
No. Clients open the upload link in a browser, or email your workspace address. You decide whether their email address is required or optional. Up to 10 files per submission, 20 MB each and 25 MB in total.
We must keep client ID copies for anti-money-laundering checks. Does that conflict with automatic deletion?
No, as long as the copy you are required to keep lives in your compliance file, not in Sunset Docs. Let the owner allow original download, save the document where your procedures say, and let the intake copy expire.
Which deletion date should we use during tax return season?
Match it to your turnaround. A sensible starting point is 30 days for a return and 7 days for a quick query. You can always delete earlier, and you cannot extend beyond your plan maximum.
Can we use it for sick notes or medical certificates in payroll?
Not by default. Health data, criminal records, children's data, full card numbers and passwords are outside what the service is designed for. Keep those in a channel built for them.
Set up your sensitive document inbox
Start with a document inbox that accepts files through an upload portal or dedicated email address, with automatic deletion for every new submission.
Start 14-day trial