# How financial advisors request a pay stub from clients

Source: https://dokutrak.com/requests/financial-advisors/pay-stub
Author: Arthur Teboul, DokuTrak
Published: 2026-11-14
Language: en-US

> Ask for the client’s most recent pay stub from each job, the full PDF with year-to-date totals. It confirms current income and shows the retirement deductions: 401(k) or 403(b) deferrals, pre-tax versus Roth, and HSA contributions, which tell you how much of this year’s contribution room is already used.

## Why financial advisors need a pay stub

The W-2 shows last year; the pay stub shows this year in progress. Deduction lines reveal what the client puts into the workplace plan from each paycheck, whether it goes in pre-tax or as Roth, and what is taken for health insurance and an HSA. Year-to-date totals let you project the year, so the savings conversation starts from real numbers rather than what the client remembers choosing at enrollment.

## What exactly to ask for

The latest stub from each employer, for the client and a working spouse, showing both current period and year-to-date columns. Some stubs show the employer match; when it is missing, the 401(k) website or the plan summary shows it. Ask for the PDF from the payroll site rather than a photo of a printed stub.

## What to check when it arrives

- The stub is recent and shows year-to-date figures, not only the current period.
- Each retirement deferral line is identified as pre-tax or Roth, with its per-paycheck amount.
- HSA and other pre-tax deductions are noted, since they lower taxable wages for the year.

## Email to send your client

Subject: Your latest pay stub

```text
Hi [Client name],

To see what you are already saving through work this year, I would like your most recent pay stub from each job, and your spouse’s if they work too.

The PDF from your payroll website is best, as long as it shows the year-to-date column. The deduction lines for your 401(k) and benefits are the part I look at most.

Could you send it by [date]? If you cannot find the year-to-date figures, send what you have and I will tell you what else to look for.

Thank you,
[Your name]
```

## Ask once. DokuTrak does the chasing.

- Your client uploads from one link, with no account and no password.
- Reminders go out on a schedule, by default 2, 5, 10 and 14 days after the request, until the file arrives.
- With AI review switched on in your workspace (it is off by default), each upload gets a first pass that flags a file that is not a pay stub, an unreadable or blurry scan or a copy where one of these is missing or cut off: the employee’s name, the net pay, the pay period dates. It says so when it is not sure.
- You accept every file or mark it for re-upload, and your client gets the note by email. The AI never accepts a file.

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