How A Simple Email Automation Ends Most W9 Headaches

Your inbox shouldn’t implode with W-9 requests every December. We walk through a tiny, high‑leverage automation that sends clients your W9 at exactly the right moment and keeps that info easy to find all year. If you’ve ever re-sent W-9 forms in a week, this workflow will feel like a breath of fresh air.

First, set up a single source of truth: a shared Google Drive or Dropbox folder with your current, signed W9. 

Then plug that link into Dubsado’s “after contract signed” email so every new client automatically receives a clear, professional note with the download link. No extra clicks, no remembering to attach a file, no scrambling during tax season—just a simple system that works in the background while you focus on delivery.

Bonus tip: add a Zapier automation that tags or subscribes every booked client to a year-specific list. 

In November, send a quick reminder email to that list with the same W9 link so bookkeepers and ops teams can file it ahead of deadlines. 

One final step create a recurring December task inside your Project Management tool to refresh the W9, replace the file in the same folder, and use a year-stamped filename for instant clarity. The link never changes, the file stays current, and your onboarding stays tidy. (Mic drop!)

If you’re ready to reclaim your year-end, tune in, take the steps, and set it once. 

Like this kind of clean, quiet automation? Subscribe, share the episode with a freelancer friend, and leave a review telling us which workflow you want simplified next.

Stay in Touch with Us

Book a Free 15 Minute Discovery Call to Learn How I Can Help You Work Less, Make More & WOW Clients: www.amysgould.com/book-a-call

Website: www.amysgould.com

Watch me on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SystemsforCreatives

Share your take-aways by email: amy@amysgould.com

Connect with us on Instagram: amyspearson_

Chapters

• 1:17 The Year-End W9 Problem
• 1:40 Who Amy Helps And Why Automation
• 2:03 Why Automate W9s
• 3:03 Set Up The Shared Folder
• 3:25 Edit Dubsado Email Template
• 4:18 Bonus: Zapier List And Year-End Send
• 5:08 Annual W9 Refresh Workflow
• 5:42 Recap, Resources, And CTA

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:38

You know that moment in December when your inbox fills up with clients asking for your W9 again? Yeah, same. And honestly, if I never had to send that form manually again, I'd be thrilled. So today I'm sharing one of my favorite tiny but mighty automations. One that doesn't get talked about nearly enough, but makes a huge difference at the end of the year. Before I dive in, if you're new here, I'm Amy Gould, certified Dub Sato specialist and honeybook educator, and I help creative entrepreneurs work less, make more, and while they're clients through smart systems and automation. And if you've been here a while, you know I love an automation that quietly takes care of business behind the scenes. This one, it's a perfect example. Here's why I love automating my W9s. It saves me from that year-end chaos when everyone's trying to wrap up projects and close their books. And deal with holidays and new year and planning for the next year all at the same time. Now, will this system stop every request for a W9? Probably not. But it will stop most of them. And everyone you don't have to manually send is a win. I'm also gonna share a little bonus tip at the end that will help make that number even smaller. So keep listening till the end. If you're a freelancer or creative entrepreneur who works with multiple clients or contractors, you absolutely need this system in your business. It's professional, it's easy, and it saves future you a ton of time. So let me tell you, future you is gonna thank yourself for this. Plus, it's a small thing that communicates big energy. Like I've got my business together. So here's how it works. First of all, you'll need a folder in Google Drive or Dropbox that works too. You want to set it so everyone who has the link can access the folder. And then you'll need to complete a W9 and upload that to the folder. Then you're gonna want to go into your automatic emails in Dub Sato. That is in your canned email templates section. If you look up at the top, there's a button called Edit Templates. When you click on that, there's a drop-down for all of the automated emails inside Dubsado. These are the emails that go out when you say send a contract or someone signs a contract or things like that. So you're gonna want to find the after a contract is signed email and go in there and add something like here's a copy of my W9. Make sure to download this and save it in your bookkeeping files for the next time that you do taxes. Then add that link to the Google Drive folder and you're done. Now, bonus tip for you save all of your clients that you work with each year on a list. Maybe it's called 2025 clients, for example. You can actually create a zap with Zapier that will send clients to an email list or tag them when they book with you. So if you need help with that, book a discovery call with me at amiesgould.com backslash book dash a dash call, and I will tell you exactly how to do that. So that way when you get to November, you can send an email to everyone that you've worked with and say something like, hey, it's coming up to the end of the year. I know we're all getting ready for taxes and closing books and things. Here's a copy of my W9 again, just in case you need it. Feel free to download that and save it with all of your tax documents. Those two things together should eliminate 99.9% of the people that are gonna ask for W9s and make your life easier. And then to keep this whole system running and working well, each December you're going to want to add a recurring task in your project management tool to update your W9 for the new year. So you'll simply download the W9 form, add your information, and sign it, scan it, and upload it into your folder with the new year on the end of the file name so you know that's the updated one for the year without having to open it. And that one little automated task keeps you ready and saves you a future headache. So, quick recap: create your Google Drive folder, make sure it is shareable so that anyone can edit it. Edit the canned email template inside of your Dub Sato account that sends after a contract is signed, and make sure to add the text that lets them know that you're sending them the W9 form and link out to the Google Drive folder with that shared link that we created in the previous step. So they can easily click into your Google Drive and grab that W9 form. Make sure to upload your W9 to the Google Drive folder and then set a reminder to refresh it yearly so you always have that year's date on your W9. If you'd like to see a video of me walking you through exactly how to set this up, head on over to my YouTube channel, Systems for Creatives, and watch the full walkthrough there. This quick five-minute setup will save you hours later and help your business run like the organized pro you are. And if you want me to help you set this up or map out other easy automations that'll simplify your business, book a systems strategy session with me at amieschool.com backslash book dash a dash call. We'll find the hidden time wasters in your workflow and turn them into streamlined systems that work on autopilot. Until next week, work less, make more, and wow clients.