Module 2: Meetings and client files
Meeting notes into a file note
25 minutes. Last checked 9 November 2026.
Lesson 1 of 5 in this module
Everything in this lesson is fictional: the firm (Ashdown Wealth Planning), its clients, their meetings and the note-taking tool described. Do not paste real client data to follow along.
What you will do
Turn the notes you wrote during a client meeting into a file note that keeps three things apart: what the client told you, what you talked about, and what was actually agreed.
When to use it
A client meeting leaves you with a page of half sentences, arrows and question marks. The file note is often written days later from memory, or it reads "discussed retirement plans, client happy" and says nothing a colleague could act on. This replaces writing the note from a blank page, or tidying your notes by hand into sentences.
The record matters. The FCA's general record-keeping rule is in SYSC 9.1.
A firm other than a common platform firm must keep orderly records of its business, sufficient for the FCA to check it has met its obligations to clients (SYSC 9.1.1R).
A meeting note is where the gap between "we talked about it" and "we agreed it" is easiest to lose. A tidy draft that turns an option you mentioned into a decision is worse than no draft, because it reads as the record. So the prompt below does one thing above all: it keeps the client's words as the client's, and it never records something as agreed unless your notes say it was.
On your next working day, try it on one real meeting:
- On the same day as the meeting, type up your notes as they are, without tidying them.
- Leave out what the task does not need, and check whether the AI tool's terms make its provider your processor. Lesson 0.2 shows how. Use placeholders such as [CLIENT] and [PARTNER] for the real names.
- Mark the client's own words with quotation marks where you wrote them down.
- Paste the prompt below with your notes, and check the draft against your notes line by line (see "What to check").
- Put the real names and details back yourself, outside the AI tool, then file the note.
The prompt
Weak version: the prompt most people write
Turn my meeting notes into a proper file note.
The tool fills the gaps in your notes with what meetings like this usually cover. Expect a smooth paragraph in which the client "agreed to consider" something nobody agreed, a question the client asked has been answered for you, and the client's own words have been paraphrased into yours.
Good version
Prompt parts:
- Role
- Context
- Task
- Inputs
- Constraints
- Format
- Questions first
Part 1. Role: You are helping a UK financial adviser at a small firm turn their own meeting notes into a record for the client file. Use plain British English and the past tense, and refer to people by their placeholder or their role.
Part 2. Context: I met an existing client at our office today to talk about how he will manage when he cuts down to a four-day week next year. No recommendation was made at the meeting. The notes below are mine, typed up from what I wrote during the meeting, with client details replaced by placeholders and details the note does not need left out. A colleague may read this note before the next meeting.
Part 3. Task: Write a file note of the meeting from my notes.
Part 4. Inputs: My meeting notes, pasted below.
Part 5. Constraints: Work only from my notes. Where my notes put the client's words in quotation marks, keep them word for word, in quotation marks, as the client's. Record an option we talked about as discussed, never as agreed, unless my notes say it was agreed. If the client asked a question my notes do not answer, record the question and do not answer it. Keep every figure and placeholder exactly as written, and give each date in full with its weekday, worked out from the meeting date. Do not add any reason, advice or view on what the client should do. If my notes record no recommendation, include the sentence "No recommendation was made at this meeting." Under 300 words.
Part 6. Format: A first line giving the date and time, who attended and where or how we met. Then a table with the columns Topic, What the client told us, What was discussed and Agreed, one row per topic in the order my notes raise them, with "Nothing agreed" in the Agreed column where my notes agree nothing and "Not in my notes" in any other empty cell. Then the no-recommendation sentence. Then a numbered list headed "Actions", one line each saying who does what and by when, with "no date agreed" where my notes give no date.
Part 7. Questions first: If you cannot tell from my notes who said something, or whether it was agreed, ask me before writing.
[paste your meeting notes here]
Why this prompt works
| Part | What it does |
|---|---|
| Role (a record for the client file, past tense, placeholders and roles) | Tells it the reader is the file, not the client, so it writes a record and not a letter |
| Context (who you met, why, no recommendation, whose notes) | Gives it the facts it cannot read from rough notes: what the meeting was for, and that no advice was given |
| Task (one file note of one meeting) | One job. The follow-up email to the client is a separate prompt (lesson 2.5) |
| Inputs (your notes, typed up untidied) | Your notes are the only source. The note can hold nothing your notes do not |
| Constraints (the client's words kept, discussed is not agreed, questions left unanswered, nothing added) | The part that protects the record. It stops an option becoming a decision, and stops the tool answering the client for you |
| Format (a date line, a four-column table, the no-recommendation sentence, owned and dated actions) | Puts "told us", "discussed" and "agreed" in separate columns, so a colleague can see each one at a glance, and fixes the words for every gap |
| Questions first (who said it, whether it was agreed) | Rough notes often leave both unclear. It asks you instead of guessing |
The notes replace the client's and partner's names with placeholders and leave out what the note does not need, but a placeholder alone does not make notes anonymous. Lesson 0.2 covers what else to leave out, and the processor check to run first.
Sample input
Paste this under the prompt, in place of "[paste your meeting notes here]".
Sample input
FICTIONAL SAMPLE FOR COURSE PRACTICE. Not a real client.
Ashdown Wealth Planning, my notes of a client meeting, client details replaced with placeholders, details the note does not need left out
Tue 10 Nov 2026, 2pm, our office. [CLIENT] (he) and [ADVISER NAME]. [PARTNER] not there.
- going to 4 days a week next year, employer has agreed, start date not fixed yet. salary drops to about £44,000
- wants to keep paying into workplace pension at the same %, asked if he can
- "I don't want to touch the pension yet unless I have to"
- talked about using savings to cover the gap vs taking some pension. I said we'd look at both once we have the figures. not decided
- old pension from previous employer, [OLD SCHEME], no recent statement. letter of authority signed today, agreed I send it tomorrow
- risk questionnaire last done 2023, agreed to redo before we look at options
- wants [PARTNER] at the next meeting
actions: me send LOA to [OLD SCHEME] tomorrow. client send new contract when he has it. me email new risk questionnaire, client back by Fri 27 Nov. I'll book next meeting with both, date tbc
Example output
Example output. Yours will differ in wording.
(Fictional, written for this course.)
Tuesday 10 November 2026, 2pm, at our office. Attended: [CLIENT] and [ADVISER NAME]. [PARTNER] did not attend.
| Topic | What the client told us | What was discussed | Agreed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working pattern | He is going to a four-day week next year. His employer has agreed. The start date is not fixed yet. His salary drops to about £44,000. | Not in my notes | Nothing agreed |
| Workplace pension | He wants to keep paying in at the same percentage, and asked whether he can. | Not in my notes | Nothing agreed |
| Covering the drop in income | "I don't want to touch the pension yet unless I have to" | Using savings to cover the gap, or taking some pension. [ADVISER NAME] said we would look at both once we have the figures. | Nothing agreed |
| Previous employer's pension | He has no recent statement for [OLD SCHEME]. | Not in my notes | He signed a letter of authority, and [ADVISER NAME] is to send it to [OLD SCHEME] on Wednesday 11 November 2026. |
| Attitude to risk | Not in my notes | The risk questionnaire was last done in 2023. | The risk questionnaire is to be redone before we look at options. |
| Next meeting | He wants [PARTNER] at the next meeting. | Not in my notes | Nothing agreed |
No recommendation was made at this meeting.
Actions
- [ADVISER NAME] to send the letter of authority to [OLD SCHEME]: Wednesday 11 November 2026.
- [CLIENT] to send his new contract when he has it: no date agreed.
- [ADVISER NAME] to email the new risk questionnaire; [CLIENT] to return it by Friday 27 November 2026.
- [ADVISER NAME] to book the next meeting with [CLIENT] and [PARTNER]: no date agreed.
What to check
- Discussed is not agreed. Your notes mark two things as agreed at the meeting, sending the letter of authority and redoing the risk questionnaire, so only those two rows fill the Agreed column. The savings-or-pension row must say "Nothing agreed". If the note says the client "agreed to use his savings first", or "will consider taking some pension", the tool turned an option into a decision. Change it back before the note goes on file.
- His question, left open. He asked whether he can keep paying in at the same percentage, and your notes give no answer. The note must record the question and nothing more. If it answers it, delete the answer.
- The client's words, word for word. "I don't want to touch the pension yet unless I have to" should appear exactly as you wrote it, in quotation marks. A paraphrase ("the client is reluctant to draw his pension") reads as your view of him, not his words.
- Every line of your notes, accounted for. Count the lines that went in and find each one in the table or the actions. A dropped line, such as the partner not attending, is the commonest fault.
- Dates and weekdays. "Tomorrow" should have become Wednesday 11 November 2026 and "Fri 27 Nov" Friday 27 November 2026. Check each weekday against a calendar, because a tool that works out a date can get the weekday wrong.
- Nothing added. No reason for the change in hours, no view on whether he can afford it and no suggested next step that your notes do not give. The "no recommendation" sentence is there because your notes record none.
- Real names, back in by you. Swap each placeholder for the real detail outside the AI tool, and read the finished note through before it goes on file.
Variations
- Two clients in the meeting. Add to the Constraints: "Where my notes show which client said something, name that client's placeholder in the What the client told us column." Add to Questions first: "If you cannot tell which client said something, ask me."
- A meeting where you did recommend something. Take out the no-recommendation sentence and add a row headed "Recommendation" to the Format, with the recommendation in your words from your notes and nothing about why. The reasons belong in the suitability report, which module 3 covers.
- A colleague's notes. If a colleague took the notes and you led the meeting, change the Context to say whose notes they are, and add to Questions first: "If a line could be either my colleague's view or the client's words, ask me."
Checking a note that a note-taking tool wrote
Some firms connect a note-taking tool to video calls. It records the meeting, transcribes it and writes a summary note. The summary can read well and still be wrong for the file: it can put a sentence in the client's mouth that the adviser said, merge two topics, record an option as agreed, or leave out a "not yet". The note is not a record until someone has checked it against the recording.
Before that tool joins any meeting, check whether its terms make its provider your processor, as lesson 0.2 shows, and follow your firm's procedures on recording meetings and telling clients. Then, for each note it writes:
- Open the recording or the full transcript beside the note. The summary is not the source; the recording is.
- For every line the note gives to the client, find the place in the recording where the client says it. If the client did not say it, correct the line or delete it.
- For every line under "agreed", "next steps" or "actions", find where it was agreed, and by whom. Change anything that was only discussed.
- Check every figure, date and name against the recording and your own notes.
- Check that nothing said in passing has gone in that the file note does not need. Take it out.
- Add a line to the file saying the note was written by a tool, who checked it against the recording and what was changed (lesson 0.3 covers that record).
If the transcript is long, you can paste the tool's note and the transcript into a fresh chat (after the same processor check) and ask: "For each sentence in the note, quote the line of the transcript it comes from, or write 'Not found in the transcript'." That gives you a list to check. It does not replace listening to the parts that matter yourself, especially every "Not found" line and everything under "agreed".
Try it
About 10 minutes. A different meeting: an existing client is moving abroad next year, and you spoke to her by video call. Write the Context part for this meeting. It needs to say who you met and how, what the meeting was about, that no recommendation was made, and whose notes these are and how they were prepared. The rest of the prompt stays as it is.
Fictional notes to use:
Sample input
FICTIONAL SAMPLE FOR COURSE PRACTICE. Not a real client.
Ashdown Wealth Planning, my notes of a client meeting, client details replaced with placeholders, details the note does not need left out
Wed 18 Nov 2026, 11am, video call. [CLIENT] (she) and [ADVISER NAME].
- moving to Portugal next year with [PARTNER], house sale under way, no completion date yet
- has stocks and shares ISA on [PLATFORM] and personal pension with [PENSION PROVIDER]
- "Can I keep my ISA when I'm living there?"
- I said I would find out what we can and cannot do for clients who live abroad, and that she will need tax advice in Portugal. nothing decided on the ISA or the pension
- wants to keep us as her advisers if we can
- happy for us to email her while she is abroad
actions: me check the firm's position on clients abroad, reply by Wed 25 Nov. client send moving date once she has it. me send her a change of contact details form, date tbc
Prompt parts:
- Role
- Context
- Task
- Inputs
- Constraints
- Format
- Questions first
Part 1. Role: You are helping a UK financial adviser at a small firm turn their own meeting notes into a record for the client file. Use plain British English and the past tense, and refer to people by their placeholder or their role.
Part 2. Context: [write the Context part]
Part 3. Task: Write a file note of the meeting from my notes.
Part 4. Inputs: My meeting notes, pasted below.
Part 5. Constraints: Work only from my notes. Where my notes put the client's words in quotation marks, keep them word for word, in quotation marks, as the client's. Record an option we talked about as discussed, never as agreed, unless my notes say it was agreed. If the client asked a question my notes do not answer, record the question and do not answer it. Keep every figure and placeholder exactly as written, and give each date in full with its weekday, worked out from the meeting date. Do not add any reason, advice or view on what the client should do. If my notes record no recommendation, include the sentence "No recommendation was made at this meeting." Under 300 words.
Part 6. Format: A first line giving the date and time, who attended and where or how we met. Then a table with the columns Topic, What the client told us, What was discussed and Agreed, one row per topic in the order my notes raise them, with "Nothing agreed" in the Agreed column where my notes agree nothing and "Not in my notes" in any other empty cell. Then the no-recommendation sentence. Then a numbered list headed "Actions", one line each saying who does what and by when, with "no date agreed" where my notes give no date.
Part 7. Questions first: If you cannot tell from my notes who said something, or whether it was agreed, ask me before writing.
[paste your meeting notes here]
Model answer
Prompt parts:
- Role
- Context
- Task
- Inputs
- Constraints
- Format
- Questions first
Part 1. Role: You are helping a UK financial adviser at a small firm turn their own meeting notes into a record for the client file. Use plain British English and the past tense, and refer to people by their placeholder or their role.
Part 2. Context: I spoke to an existing client by video call today about her plan to move abroad next year. No recommendation was made at the meeting. The notes below are mine, typed up from what I wrote during the call, with client details replaced by placeholders and details the note does not need left out. A colleague may read this note before we next speak to her.
Part 3. Task: Write a file note of the meeting from my notes.
Part 4. Inputs: My meeting notes, pasted below.
Part 5. Constraints: Work only from my notes. Where my notes put the client's words in quotation marks, keep them word for word, in quotation marks, as the client's. Record an option we talked about as discussed, never as agreed, unless my notes say it was agreed. If the client asked a question my notes do not answer, record the question and do not answer it. Keep every figure and placeholder exactly as written, and give each date in full with its weekday, worked out from the meeting date. Do not add any reason, advice or view on what the client should do. If my notes record no recommendation, include the sentence "No recommendation was made at this meeting." Under 300 words.
Part 6. Format: A first line giving the date and time, who attended and where or how we met. Then a table with the columns Topic, What the client told us, What was discussed and Agreed, one row per topic in the order my notes raise them, with "Nothing agreed" in the Agreed column where my notes agree nothing and "Not in my notes" in any other empty cell. Then the no-recommendation sentence. Then a numbered list headed "Actions", one line each saying who does what and by when, with "no date agreed" where my notes give no date.
Part 7. Questions first: If you cannot tell from my notes who said something, or whether it was agreed, ask me before writing.
[paste your meeting notes here]
What changed: only the Context. A video call in place of our office, her plan to move abroad in place of his four-day week, "during the call" in place of "during the meeting", and "before we next speak to her" in place of "before the next meeting". The no-recommendation sentence and the line on how the notes were prepared stayed, because both are still true. The Constraints part now has real work to do: her ISA question has no answer in your notes, so the note must record it and leave it open, and "she will need tax advice in Portugal" must stay your words in the What was discussed column, not become advice in the Agreed column.
This is a free sample from AI for Financial Advisers. See the full course.
Already bought it? Go to your course.