How to build a WhatsApp chatbot for your CA firm

Start from what customers actually send. Clients ask about filing deadlines, which documents are needed, whether their return is filed, and what a notice from the department means.

Then look at what goes wrong today:

• Compliance deadline reminders done manually. Calling 200 clients for GST 3B every month. WhatsApp reminders reach all of them in 2 minutes.
• Document collection chaotic and delayed. "Please send bank statements, TDS certificates, and purchase invoices" — chased over calls for 2 weeks. WhatsApp checklist collects in 3 days.
• New tax notices and advisory not shared proactively.

Each of these is a conversation with a predictable shape — a question, a lookup, a confirmation. That shape is what a chatbot handles well.

Clients messaging from their registered number can ask "when is my next GST due?", "what documents do you still need?", "is my return filed?" and get answers from the practice system. The bot sends the checklist for the current filing and shows what has arrived.

Notice what the business side does: it answers with the specific detail (time, reference, next step), it asks for one thing at a time, and it gives the customer a one-word way to reply. Those three habits matter more than how clever the bot is.

1. The bot sends the checklist for this filing.
2. The client sends files — photos or PDFs — in the chat.
3. The bot confirms each item received and lists what is still missing.
4. When complete, the file is marked ready for the team.

Reputoo supports both, and most CA and finance firms end up using both:

• Keyword flows — a fixed menu or trigger word ("MENU", "BOOK", "STATUS") leads down a set path. Predictable, easy to audit, right for anything with a fixed answer.
• AI chatbot — reads the customer's own words and answers from your knowledge base (website, price list, policies). Right for the long tail of questions nobody wrote a menu item for.

A sensible start for a CA firm: keyword flows for the top two or three tasks, AI for everything else, and a person behind both.

The bot asks what the enquirer needs — ITR for salaried individuals, GST registration and returns, company incorporation, audits, bookkeeping — explains your services and fee structure, and books a consultation with a CA.

"Can I claim this deduction?", "should I choose the old or new regime?", "what does this notice mean?" — these are professional questions for the CA. The bot books a consultation or passes the question to the client's CA, with any documents attached.

• Complaints, refunds and anything where the customer is upset.
• Anything involving money the bot cannot see — a disputed bill, a custom quote.
• Health, safety or legal questions — for CA and finance firms this is most of the clinical or advisory detail.
• Any customer who asks for a human. Do not make them ask twice.

For CA and finance firms specifically: advice on a client's specific tax position, notices and scrutiny, and fee discussions stay with the CA.

Handover on Reputoo moves the chat into the shared inbox with the conversation so far, so staff never ask the customer to repeat themselves.

1. Connect your WhatsApp number to Reputoo (official API; takes minutes).
2. Add your website and documents to the knowledge base so the AI answers in your CA firm's own terms.
3. Build keyword flows for the top tasks above. What to connect: practice or compliance software, or a client sheet with due dates; reminders should come from the same list.
4. Choose who gets handed-over chats, and during which hours.
5. Test from a personal phone, then share the number or a QR code with customers.

The bot tells clients what is due, sends payment links and receipts, and passes fee disputes to the partner.

In the weeks before ITR and GST deadlines, the bot absorbs the flood of "have you received my documents?" and "when will it be filed?" messages, so the team can prepare returns.

Clients write in many languages. The AI chatbot replies in theirs and keeps the terms — GSTR-3B, TDS, ITR-2 — as clients use them.

• Ask the next due date as a GST client and a salaried ITR client.
• Upload documents and check acknowledgements.
• Ask a tax-advice question and check it goes to the CA.
• Enquire as a new client and book a consultation.

For bookkeeping clients, the bot sends the monthly request on a set date, accepts invoices and bills as photos or PDFs, confirms each batch received, and reminds once if nothing arrives by the cut-off.

"Where is my refund?" is answered from the last status the firm recorded, with a note that timing is the department's. Clients who need more get a call from the team.

The bot reminds clients before their digital signature expires, sends the renewal document list, and books the renewal.

Founders asking about incorporation get a clear path: structure options explained in general terms, the documents needed, fees and timelines, and a consultation with the CA for the choice itself.

Advice, notices, fee disputes and complex cases go to the client's CA with the documents and question attached. The bot tells the client when to expect contact.

Watch documents received before deadlines, calls to the office in deadline weeks, and consultations booked by new clients. Read handovers weekly.

From January to March, salaried clients send investment proofs for their employer. The bot tells them which proofs are typically needed for the deductions they claim, accepts the files, and confirms what arrived. Which deductions to claim is for the CA.

Business clients report IRN errors or e-way bill problems. The bot collects the invoice number, error message and a screenshot, and marks the ticket urgent for the team.

Many firms handle a whole family's returns. The bot asks whose return a question is about and answers only for family members the registered number is authorised for.

The bot tells clients what fees are due, sends payment links and receipts, and never asks for card numbers, PINs, OTPs or banking passwords.

Clients need ITR copies, computations or CA certificates for loans and visas. The bot takes the request, explains what the firm can provide and the timeline, and passes it to the team; certificates are issued by the CA after verification.

Firms extend hours before deadlines. The bot answers the current hours and tells clients that uploads are accepted at any time, so they do not wait for office hours to send documents.

Clients use their own words — "income tax file", "GST return", "Form 16 wala" — in many languages. The bot maps these to the right filing and replies in the client's language.

In deadline months, the team reviews handovers and missing documents weekly, and the bot's reminders target the clients most at risk of missing dates.

Deadline reminders carry [Documents sent] [Need help] [Call me]; approval requests carry [Approve] [I have a question]. Each reply is recorded against the filing, and questions go to the CA with the draft attached.

New businesses ask whether they need GST registration and what returns they will file. The bot explains the general process and documents, and books the CA to decide on registration type and timing for their situation.

A client who receives a notice at night is anxious. The bot acknowledges it at once, asks them to send a clear photo or PDF, notes the reply deadline if visible, and tells them the CA will review it first thing — marking it urgent for the morning.

Company clients ask about ROC filings, board meeting minutes and annual returns. The bot answers due dates from their calendar, sends the document list, and passes anything involving directors' decisions to the CA.

NRI clients get the same document flow across time zones, with the checklist for their filing and a CA call booked at a time that suits them for residency and treaty questions.