Conveyancer/Solicitor requesting potentially 100+ invoices for mortgage deposit – is this excessive?

[BeQuaintLion]

Hi everyone,
I’m currently in the process of purchasing a property and my conveyancing solicitor has requested evidence of the source of funds for my deposit.
I’m self-employed and also run a limited company. The deposit money has been accumulated through legitimate business earnings, mainly customer payments received by bank transfer and cheque into my business accounts.
I completely understand that solicitors have legal obligations regarding anti-money laundering checks, and I have absolutely no issue providing bank statements, tax returns, SA302s or other reasonable evidence.
However, my understanding of the request is that I may need to provide individual invoices corresponding to customer payments received over the past six months.
Given the nature of my work, this could potentially mean supplying upwards of 100 individual invoices, alongside six months of business bank statements.
It seems like an enormous amount of paperwork, particularly when the payments are traceable through the banking system and I can demonstrate that the money has come from my trading activities.
My mortgage lender has also already carried out its own checks.
I’m just wondering:

• Has anyone else who is self-employed been asked to provide this level of documentation?
• Is requesting potentially 100+ individual invoices normal or does it seem excessive?
• Would bank statements, tax returns, accountant confirmation and a breakdown of customer payments usually be sufficient?
• Is there any flexibility in how conveyancers satisfy their source-of-funds requirements?

I’m not trying to avoid the checks whatsoever. I’m simply wondering whether this is a proportionate request, especially considering how much documentation it could involve. I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has experienced something similar, particularly self-employed people or anyone working in conveyancing. Thanks!

No way, produce your accounts, tax returns etc. You can't go sharing your customers private financial information.

she sent me the email at 2am this morning and i’ve not long seen it. It caused me a massive stress as she wants these documents aswell as 6 months of bank statements for 4+ banks and an accountants letter !

What has your mortgage lender asked for as POF?

they just asked for a couple of invoices (3-4) where there wasn’t a clear bank reference and bank statements.

All i know is it’s going to be a very long weekend for me !

particularly when the payments are traceable through the banking system and I can demonstrate that the money has come from my trading activities.

Might it be worth pointing out banks do their own ML checks on funds coming in?

Your conveyancer is under more duties than your mortgage lender. Yes its normal - a customer putting money in your account doesn't establish it is legitimate money. Read the money laundering regulations and the rules conveyancers/solicitors are subject to and you will see they are just doing what they are obliged to do.

i understand that, but come on 100+ invoices and an accountants letter!

That's the type of lunacy you get when not using a Solicitor. A conveyancer is different. A lot of them just use a checklist and don't think about the consequences and then rely on the other party to correct their mistakes.

i feel like crying over the amount of paperwork she is expecting me to produce. Like most self employed people i don’t keep perfect paperwork and it’s just so stressful and it seems like she’s taken the overkill approach

Wouldn’t you normally keep this paperwork for a period of time for your accountant / HMRC anyway?

Yes i do of course, it will just take a lot of organising to reconcile every invoice with the corresponding payment and it seems excessive to me but there’s not much else i can do!

What's the nature of your business OP?

I do funds evidence sign offs for the property law firm that I work for (experienced resi solicitor, now internal auditor).

On the face of it, she is being excessive. Would she accept a sample of say 1 invoice per month for the last 6 months?

The thing is, solicitors and conveyancers are personally liable for money laundering so we are extremely careful.

@Soontoomuch do you work in the industry?

I'm self employed and have just taken out a mortgage. My solicitor needed three months' bank statements for my current account and statements from my savings accounts showing where the deposit funds were coming from. My mortgage broker needed my tax return. I certainly wouldn't be sharing customer invoices with anyone.

If you don’t reconcile how do you know if everyone is paying you? Using a basic account package that generates invoice and meshes with your bank account can really assist with reconciliation and produce you nice clear accounts to submit for tax return.

Hi, i operate a trades management business, so basically i provide trades services non directly to estate agents and residential customers as a main contractor using sub contractors - sort of an umbrella company. I have all the records but they are on different apps and systems and it just feels as though she hasn’t given her request any thought!

Money laundering checks for funds can be a 'how long is a piece of string' situation. It's often not a case of simply getting 6 months' bank statements.

I'd trying asking your solicitor if she really needs all that because of what you put in your OP then see what she says. Ultimately though, if she's not confident she has all the information she needs to be sure you're not attempting to launder money without those invoices, you'll have to provide them.

I'm not self-employed but I had to submit over 180 sheets of A4 (scans) for conveyancing, as my savings were built up over 10 years and had been moved over different accounts and providers. So solicitors are used to dealing with big bundles of paperwork for AML and 100 invoices won't faze them. Just collate the scans and send them, it's a pain but it's the AML regulations which are demanding it and all solicitors have to abide by them.

My conveyancing was done by a solicitor not a conveyancer btw so I don't think it would be less onerous with a solicitor. They can lose their licence to practice if they don't do thorough checks so if anything they'd be more likely to demand more evidence.