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Pathak Associates

The process

How working with us actually goes

Seven steps from first message to filed return, each with what you have to do at that step — which for most of them is nothing. That is the whole promise: our staff do the work.

  1. You tell us

    One sentence

  2. Fixed quote

    Same working day

  3. You upload

    From your phone

  4. We do the work

    A named person

  5. Filed

    Acknowledgement in your account

  1. 1

    You tell us what you need

    Minutes

    Through the quote form, on WhatsApp, or on the phone. One sentence is enough to start — we will ask the two or three questions that actually decide the price rather than sending you a form with thirty fields.

    Your part: Describe the situation. No documents required yet.

  2. 2

    We come back with a fixed quote

    Same working day, if you asked before 4pm

    Not a range, and not a price that moves once we see the papers. The quote states what is included, what is not, and what it costs. Nothing is charged until you accept it, and a first conversation costs nothing whether or not you go ahead.

    Your part: Read it and say yes or no. There is no follow-up if you say no.

  3. 3

    Your account opens with a document checklist

    As long as it takes you

    The checklist is specific to your case rather than a generic list — a salaried return asks for different things from a GST registration. Documents are uploaded from your phone straight into private encrypted storage; nothing goes through email or WhatsApp.

    Your part: Upload what the checklist asks for. Photographs of documents are fine.

  4. 4

    A named person starts the work

    Begins the day the checklist is complete

    Your engagement is assigned to someone and their name is on it in the portal. You are not calling a general line and explaining your situation again to whoever picks up. Where the work requires a chartered accountant — an audit, a certification — it is done by the CAs we employ and partner with.

    Your part: Answer questions if any of your papers do not add up. There usually are one or two.

  5. 5

    You watch it move

    Through the engagement

    The portal shows which stage the work is at, and the stage changes as it happens rather than when someone remembers to update it. If something is waiting on you, it says so.

    Your part: Nothing, unless a document was rejected — in which case you will be told why.

  6. 6

    We file, and you get the acknowledgement

    Within the turnaround quoted for the service

    The filing acknowledgement, the challan, the certificate — whatever the engagement produces — lands in your account and stays there. You do not have to ask for it, and you do not have to keep the email.

    Your part: Verify where the law requires you to, which we will prompt you about.

  7. 7

    We stay with it afterwards

    For as long as the year stays open

    If a notice arrives on something we filed, dealing with it is part of the engagement rather than a new invoice. Thirty years of notice and scrutiny work is the reason the firm exists.

    Your part: Forward the notice. That is all.

What you end up holding

Every engagement ends in a document, and it stays in your account. You do not have to ask for it, and you do not have to keep the email.

  • Form 16

  • ITR acknowledgement

  • GST certificate

  • Notice reply

  • Invoice

  • Tax challan

Step one is a sentence

Tell us what you need. We will ask the rest.

Request a callback