The Most Outrageous Ways Clients Have Submitted Documents

In the world of professional services, we often encounter a myriad of document submissions from clients. While many come through in standard formats, occasionally we receive submissions that leave us scratching our heads. Today, I’m inviting you to share your most outrageous experiences.

To kick things off, I’ll share one of my own. A client once emailed me a photo of a PDF displayed on their iPad, captured using a Samsung phone. Yes, you read that right! Not only did I have to decipher the image, but I also ended up processing that invoice manually. Talk about a tedious task!

Now, I’m curious to hear from you. What’s the strangest or most frustrating way a client has sent you a document? Perhaps you’ve received handwritten notes that looked like they were written during an earthquake or scans that were upside down. Maybe documents came through as generic file names like “Image(345).jpg,” leaving you wondering what lay inside.

I’m not seeking solutions here; rather, I want to gather these stories to understand just how common this chaos is in our industry. It’s important to know that we’re not alone in this struggle. Share your experiences, and let’s commiserate over the bizarre side of document submissions!