Open versus received, at a glance
Both sides see which requests are answered, which are outstanding, and which the Client has declined, without a status call.
Document collection
Stop chasing paperwork.
A family law disclosure packet, a bankruptcy petition, an immigration filing, a PI demand: each is built from documents only the client has, and each arrives one email at a time over weeks, after a reminder call your staff had to remember to make. BetterDocket makes every item a Document Request with instructions and a due date, lets the client upload from a phone camera, and reminds them every day until the list is complete.
The problem
Where the time goes today.
Documents arrive in fragments
Tax returns in one email, a pay stub photographed in a text, a statement dropped off on paper. Someone reconciles all of it against the list by hand, and nobody is sure what is still missing.
Reminders depend on memory
The follow-up call happens when a paralegal remembers, which is usually when the filing deadline is close. Clients who never respond are indistinguishable from clients who do not have the item.
Files land in the wrong place
Attachments live in a personal inbox until someone drags them into the file. Display names are whatever the client's phone called them. Finding the right statement later means searching three places.
How it works
Document collection in BetterDocket.
Step by step. Each one is something the product does today.
Request each item with a due date
Create a Document Request with a title, instructions on exactly what is needed, and a due date. On a multi-client matter, send it to one Client, some, or everyone. Requests stay editable after you send them.
See howClients upload from the portal
The request appears in the portal with your instructions. Clients upload from any browser, including a phone camera, and each file lands against the specific request it answers.
Reminders run until the answer arrives
BetterDocket sends a reminder every day a request is open, then stops on its own the moment the Client responds. No one on your team has to remember.
“I don't have this” stops the chase
A Client who does not have an item marks it so with a note. You see the answer immediately, the reminders stop, and you know to look elsewhere instead of waiting on a document that is never coming.
Upload on their behalf
When a client emails the file anyway, drop it straight into the open request yourself. The request closes and the file is filed correctly.
Organize the rest of the file
Beyond requests, drag and drop any file onto the Case. Firm-only folders, firm- or case-scoped tags, inline preview, and rename keep the file navigable. Deleted files go to a per-case Trash, never straight to deletion.
What you get
Included from the first Case.
Prospect document intake
Before you take a matter, open a Prospect Case and request up to five items for your evaluation. The prospect sees only a documents page, and nothing bills until you accept.
Organized by request
Client uploads are grouped by the request they answer. Your team sees a firm-only folder tree; clients see their requests. Display names are yours to set.
Private storage
Case documents live in private storage behind the same database-level access checks as the rest of the Case.
In your practice
Where this matters most.
Bankruptcy
Get the petition packet in without chasing it.
See the fitImmigration
Evidence in one list. Families informed through the wait.
See the fitEstate planning
From intake questionnaire to signing, without the email chase.
See the fitFamily law
Fewer “any news?” calls in every divorce and custody matter.
See the fitDeliberately focused
What document collection does not do.
BetterDocket organizes the administrative work around a matter. The legal work, and the tools you already use for it, stay where they are.
- It does not request records from third parties. Document Requests go to your Clients; provider, employer, and agency records arrive the way they do today and your team uploads them.
- It does not read, summarize, or extract from the documents it collects. Files are stored as the Client sends them.
- It is not e-discovery or document review. It collects what the client has and keeps it organized on the matter.
- It does not assemble or generate documents.
Keep reading
Related guides
How to collect documents from clients without the email chase
Make every request itemized, visible, and self-reminding: one list the client can see, uploads that land in the matter, and automatic follow-up.
Read the guideWhat is a client portal for law firms — and what it isn't
A client portal is a private page where a client sees their case: status, next steps, messages, and requests. What it does, what it isn't, what to look for.
Read the guideHow to keep legal clients updated without spending hours on the phone
Post one visible status update per milestone in a place clients can check themselves — a portal — instead of returning each call. Here is the playbook.
Read the guideQuestions.
How do reminders work?
Each open Document Request reminds the Client by email every day until it is answered, then stops on its own. If the Client marks “I don't have this,” that request stops reminding too. There is nothing for your team to schedule.
Can clients upload from a phone?
Yes. The portal works in any browser, and uploading from a phone camera is the normal path: a pay stub or a passport page photographed and submitted against the specific request it answers.
What if the client emails the document instead?
Drop it into the open request yourself. The request closes, the reminders stop, and the file is organized on the Case exactly as if the Client had uploaded it.
Can I collect documents before I take the case?
Yes. Open a Prospect Case and request up to five items. The prospect sees only a documents page, nothing bills, and if you decline the matter you delete the prospect. Accepting it moves into the full Case workflow.
Is there a limit on storage?
Each open Case includes a generous allowance of document storage, with a small per-gigabyte charge above it. Current figures are on the pricing page.
What does this cost?
It is included. BetterDocket is $10 per Firm plus $1 per open Case each month, prorated by day, with unlimited team members and every capability on this site. There is no add-on, module, or per-seat fee for any of it.
Send your next request list from BetterDocket.
Due dates, phone uploads, and reminders that stop when the client answers.
14 days. No card.