Why the meeting note matters more than it used to
Section 30 of the Tax Agent Services (Code of Professional Conduct) Determination 2024 requires registered tax agents and BAS agents to keep records that correctly record the tax agent services they provide to each client. The obligation applied from 1 January 2025 for larger practices, and from 1 July 2025 for practitioners with 100 or fewer employees as at 31 July 2024.
Much of what an accountant does for a small business client happens in conversation. The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) is clear that those conversations belong on the file. Its guidance statement TPB(GS) 52/2024 says section 30 requires records to include all advice received from the client and provided to the client, "in writing and orally". It says a practitioner may need to create a record where none exists, "for example, a file note about advice provided verbally".
On timing, the TPB says practitioners should keep "a timely and accurate record" of the service, "either as they deliver the service or as soon as practicable after they do so". An AI note taker helps here because the first draft is ready the same day.
What a client meeting file note should hold
Section 30(2) sets the tests for the client record as a whole. TPB(GS) 52/2024 then lists the minimum details the TPB expects to be captured. Put together, a meeting note for an accounting practice should cover the following.
| Part of the note | What to write | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Who, when and how | Client name, who attended, date, phone or meeting, how long. Who in the practice gave the service. | TPB(GS) 52/2024: who the service was provided to and by, and when, including key dates. |
| Why the meeting happened | The question or event that prompted it, and the tax obligation involved. | TPB(GS) 52/2024: why the service was provided, including relevant tax obligations. |
| What the client told you | Facts, figures and instructions the client gave, and any documents they said they would send. | Section 30(2)(e): all advice received from the client. |
| What you told the client | The advice in plain terms. For a complex matter, the facts, assumptions and reasoning behind it. | Section 30(2)(f): all advice provided to the client. |
| What you relied on | Source documents sighted, legislation, rulings or ATO guidance referred to. | Section 30(2)(d): information reasonably considered in providing the service. |
| Scope and outcome | What is inside and outside the engagement, any fee discussed, decisions made and why. | Section 30(2)(c): the nature, scope and outcome of the service. |
| Next steps | Who does what by when, on both sides. | TPB(GS) 52/2024: key client communications, including requests for further information. |
| When the note was made | The date the note was written and the date of any later change. | TPB(GS) 52/2024: date that the record was made and the date of any modifications. |
Records must be in English or easily convertible into English, and kept for at least 5 years after the service has been provided (section 30(2)(a) and (b)). They can be paper or electronic, as long as an electronic record is readily accessible and can be retrieved when needed. See also how long to keep file notes in Australia.
A worked example
The client, the business and the practice below are invented. The last section, one line on how the note was made and who checked it, is worth copying.
- Why we met
Regular quarterly catch-up before the September quarter business activity statement (BAS). Mei also wanted to talk about taking on her first staff member and whether she should change her business structure.
- What the client told us
- Sales are up since the wholesale contract with two local cafes started in July. Mei will send the signed wholesale agreement.
- She wants to bring on a part-time baker from November, about 20 hours a week. She has someone in mind who has asked to be paid as a contractor on an Australian Business Number (ABN).
- She bought a second-hand delivery van in August. She uses it for deliveries on weekdays and privately on weekends. She has not kept a logbook so far.
- A friend told her she should "become a company to pay less tax".
- Advice given
- The new baker. Explained that whether someone is an employee or a contractor depends on the rights and obligations in the agreement between them, and that having an ABN does not settle it. On what Mei described (set hours, her equipment, her recipes, working under her direction), the role may well be employment. If so, she will need to register for pay as you go (PAYG) withholding before the first pay, pay superannuation guarantee, and report through Single Touch Payroll. Told her we would confirm once we see the proposed terms.
- The van. Explained that only the business share of the van costs can be claimed, and that she needs records to support the split. Recommended she start a logbook now.
- Company structure. Explained that a change of structure has costs and consequences as well as possible benefits, and that we cannot advise on it properly in this meeting. This is outside our current engagement and would be a separate piece of advice with its own fee.
- What we relied on
Mei's description of the proposed role and the van use, given in the meeting. No documents sighted yet for either. Sales figures taken from her accounting file as at 16 September 2026.
- Decisions and scope
Mei asked us to help set up payroll if the baker is an employee. She wants a fee estimate for the structure advice before deciding whether to go ahead. No advice on structure has been given.
- Next steps
- Mei to send the wholesale agreement and the proposed terms for the baker by 26 September 2026.
- Mei to start a logbook for the van from today.
- Sarah to review the baker's terms and confirm the employee or contractor position in writing.
- Sarah to send a fee estimate and scope for the structure advice by 3 October 2026.
- Sarah to prepare the September quarter BAS once the bank feeds are reconciled.
- How this note was made
Drafted by an AI note tool from the Teams transcript. Mei gave permission for this in her engagement letter signed 3 July 2026. Sarah reviewed the draft against the meeting and corrected the next steps on 17 September 2026.
See what a finished file note looks like.
Pick your line of work and we'll send a sample note written from a mocked call. No account, no card, and nothing from your own client files.
One sample note, plus the occasional CallNote update. Unsubscribe any time by replying. We never ask for your call recordings or client files.
The three Code questions to settle first
The TPB's guidance statement on AI, TPB(GS) 55/2026, was issued on 22 July 2026. As at October 2026 it is the current statement. We go through it in full in the TPB AI guidance for accountants. For meeting notes it comes down to three questions.
1. Has the client given permission?
Code item 6 says you must not disclose information relating to a client's affairs to a third party without the client's permission, unless you have a legal duty to. The TPB says that "can include entering client information into AI models and tools, depending on how these tools are configured and used", and that a third party is any entity other than you and the client. A note tool that receives a transcript or a recording is a third party.
2. Who reviews the draft?
The TPB says practitioners should "verify and review AI generated content for accuracy" and should not treat AI output as a substitute for their own analysis. For a meeting note, review means the person who was in the meeting reads the draft and fixes what is wrong or missing. Look hardest at figures, dates, who agreed to do what, and advice the tool has stated more firmly than you gave it.
3. Is the result a proper record?
The TPB says the review steps "should be documented", which helps meet sections 30 and 40 of the Determination. The finished note needs to live on the client file, stay readable for at least 5 years, and show when it was made and changed.
The options, compared
There are three kinds of tool an accounting practice is likely to weigh up. The Microsoft details below are from Microsoft's own support pages, checked in October 2026.
| Teams recap and Copilot | Meeting bots | Transcript-based tools such as CallNote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How it gets the conversation | Teams transcribes or records the meeting itself. | A bot joins the meeting as a participant and records it. | Receives a transcript your phone or meeting system already made. Does not record. |
| Phone calls | Only calls made in Teams. | Varies by product, so check with the vendor. The ones we have looked at are marketed mainly for online meetings. | Yes, where the phone system produces a transcript, or by voice memo after the call. |
| What you get | AI-generated notes and follow-up tasks in the meeting recap. | A meeting summary and action items. | A file note in your own headings. |
| New third party to disclose | Microsoft is the third party. If your practice already keeps client email and files in Microsoft 365, it may not be a new recipient, but check that the permission you hold covers AI features. | Yes. | Yes. |
| Fixed record | Microsoft says AI-generated notes and tasks expire according to your organisation's policies. | Varies by vendor. | Sealed and locked on publish, with an audit log. |
Teams recap and Copilot
If your practice runs on Microsoft 365, this is the first thing to look at. Microsoft says recaps are available after meetings and calls "that were recorded or transcribed", and that the AI-generated notes and follow-up tasks, which it calls intelligent recap, come with Teams Premium, an add-on licence, or "as part of the Microsoft Copilot license". Copilot can also be set to "Only during the meeting", which works without a transcript or recording. Microsoft says that after such a meeting Copilot is not available in the Recap tab unless transcription or recording was turned on, and that Copilot prompts and responses "may be retained in accordance with your org's Microsoft Purview retention policies".
As a general observation, a practice that already runs on Microsoft 365 has usually assessed Microsoft as a provider, so there may be no extra vendor to vet. That is not the same as having client permission for AI features, so check your engagement letter. The limits for a client file are these. Microsoft warns that "some AI-generated content might be inaccurate, incomplete, or inappropriate", so review is still on you. The recap follows Microsoft's layout, which is built around topics and tasks. And the notes expire under your organisation's policies, so you need a step that moves the reviewed note onto the client file. It does nothing for calls on a mobile or a desk phone outside Teams.
Meeting bots
These are the note takers that appear in the participant list. In our experience they are marketed mainly for online meeting platforms such as Zoom, Teams and Google Meet. That is a general observation about the category, and products differ. For client work, check on the vendor's own site where the recording and transcript are stored, how long they are kept, and whether your data is used to train models. Each of those goes to Code item 6. The bot also records, so the consent rules above apply to every client meeting it joins. We compare this category in detail in the best AI note takers in Australia.
Transcript-based tools
The third kind does not capture audio at all. It takes a transcript that already exists and writes the note from that. CallNote is ours. It never records calls, never joins a meeting as a bot and never stores call audio. More on the category is in AI note takers that do not record.
- Transcripts from Microsoft Teams, automatically. Each person connects their own Microsoft account. Your Teams admin has to turn on Transcript API access once, and transcription has to be on in the meeting.
- Aircall and Dialpad, automatically. Aircall needs its AI Assist switched on for transcripts. Dialpad needs a Pro or Enterprise plan.
- Everything else, by hand. Paste a transcript, upload a .vtt or .txt file from Zoom, Google Meet or Teams, forward it by email, or dictate a voice memo after an in-person meeting. Zoom and Google Meet are not automatic.
You review the draft, then publish it. Publishing seals the note with a SHA-256 checksum and locks it. Later changes are added as dated amendments, and there is a full audit log. Data is hosted in Sydney, encrypted, and not used to train AI.
CallNote's limits for an accounting practice
- No accountant template. CallNote has no template built for accounting or bookkeeping. You start from the general call note template, or paste one of your own past notes and it builds a template with your headings and order in about 20 seconds. Nothing about the client in that pasted note is kept.
- No native integration with Xero Practice Manager, MYOB or Karbon. The note gets to your practice system by copy and paste, by PDF export, or through Zapier where your system supports it. That is a manual step on every note unless you build the Zap.
- It needs a transcript. If your phone system does not produce one and you do not want to dictate a voice memo, there is nothing for it to work from.
- It does not check your tax advice. It writes down what was said.
- It is a third party. You need client permission to send it transcripts, the same as any other tool.
CRM delivery is available for HubSpot, Clio and Microsoft Dynamics 365, plus Slack and Notion on publish. Pricing is $149 a month for Solo and $99 per seat a month for Team, in Australian dollars, with a 14-day free trial and no credit card.
Setting it up in a small practice
- Pick one tool and find out where the data goes. Provider, storage location, retention, model training. Write down what you found and the date.
- Add it to your engagement letter and get permission from existing clients. Our TPB guide has example disclosure wording.
- Settle your note headings. Use the table above, or take the best file note anyone in the practice has written and make that the template.
- Tell the client at the start of each meeting that it is being transcribed and why.
- Review the draft the same day, while you still remember the conversation.
- Add the "how this note was made" line, then save the note to the client file in your practice system.
- Write the process into your quality management system. Section 40 of the Determination requires your policies to be documented and enforced. An AI note taking policy template is a starting point.
If your practice also provides services caught by the Tranche 2 anti-money laundering reforms, the client file carries extra records. See Tranche 2 AML records for accountants.
Common questions
Can accountants use an AI note taker in Australia?
Yes. The Tax Practitioners Board accepts that tax agents and BAS agents can use AI tools, and its guidance statement TPB(GS) 55/2026 sets the conditions. You need the client's permission before their information goes to a third-party tool (Code item 6), you must review the output with your own professional judgement, and you should document that review. Recording laws apply separately if the tool records the meeting.
What should an accountant's client meeting file note include?
Who attended and when, why the meeting happened, what the client told you, the advice you gave, what you relied on, what is inside and outside the engagement, the outcome, next steps, and the date the note was made. Those points follow section 30 of the Tax Agent Services (Code of Professional Conduct) Determination 2024 and the minimum details listed in TPB(GS) 52/2024. For complex matters, add the facts, assumptions and reasoning behind the advice.
How long do tax agents have to keep meeting notes?
At least 5 years after the tax agent service has been provided, under section 30(2)(b) of the Determination. The TPB treats a service as provided when it is complete, which depends on the scope of the engagement. Records can be electronic if they stay readily accessible and can be retrieved when needed. Other laws may require you to keep some records for longer.
Is the Microsoft Teams recap enough as a client file note?
It can be a good first draft. Microsoft says intelligent recap produces AI-generated notes and follow-up tasks, needs Teams Premium or a Microsoft Copilot licence, and that the notes expire according to your organisation's policies. It also warns the content may be inaccurate or incomplete. To use it as a client record, review it, add what you relied on and the scope of your advice, and save the reviewed version to the client file.
Does CallNote integrate with Xero Practice Manager, MYOB or Karbon?
No. CallNote has no native integration with Xero Practice Manager, MYOB or Karbon. You can copy the note, export it as a PDF, or use Zapier where your practice system supports it. Native CRM delivery is limited to HubSpot, Clio and Microsoft Dynamics 365.
Does CallNote have a template for accountants?
No. There is no template built for accounting or bookkeeping practices. You can use the general call note template, or paste one of your own past file notes and CallNote builds a template with your headings and order in about 20 seconds, without keeping anything about the client.