House style for client documents: making every page read as your firm

Put three client documents from the same firm side by side and the differences are often obvious. One adviser writes "we", another "the firm", a third "I". One calls the client's pension a SIPP, another calls it a plan, and the paraplanner calls it a personal pension. Dates appear in three formats, headings in two, and the firm's regulatory wording has been retyped slightly differently in each.

None of this is wrong in isolation. Together, it makes a firm look less careful than it is, and it makes documents harder for clients to follow. A house style for client documents fixes it. This guide covers what a style guide should settle, how to build a word list, how branding fits in and how to keep a team using it.

Why a house style for client documents matters

Consistency is partly about reputation. Clients notice when documents look and sound alike, and when they do not. But it is mostly about understanding. PRIN 2A.5.3R requires firms to support retail customer understanding so that communications "are likely to be understood by retail customers" and are "clear, fair and not misleading" (PRIN 2A.5), and PRIN 2A.5.7G refers to "plain and intelligible language".

A client who reads "drawdown" in one letter and "flexi-access" in the next may reasonably wonder whether these are two different things. A single agreed term, explained once, removes the doubt. A house style also cuts rewriting: when everyone writes to the same rules, reviewers spend their time on substance rather than on commas.

What the style guide should settle

Keep it short. Two pages that people read beat twenty that nobody opens. The aim is to make each recurring decision once, so writers do not make it afresh every time.

Voice and person

• "We" for the firm and "you" for the client, throughout.
• Active voice: "we recommend", not "it is recommended".
• A tone the firm is comfortable with: warm and direct, or more formal. Pick one.

Spelling and grammar

• UK English: organise, prioritise, judgement, programme.
• Sentence-case headings.
• Short sentences, and one idea per paragraph.

Numbers, money and dates

• Pounds with a comma for thousands, and a rule on pence (for example, whole pounds above a set amount).
• Percentages to a fixed number of decimal places, always shown alongside pounds where money is concerned.
• One date format, such as 7 October 2026, used everywhere.
• Ranges written with "to", such as "5 to 10 years".

Structure

• A standard order for each document type, starting with what matters to the client.
• A rule for where risk warnings sit: next to the point they relate to, not gathered into an appendix nobody reads.
• Guidance on avoiding unnecessary boilerplate. PRIN 2A.5.7G refers to the need to "avoid unnecessary disclaimers".

Building the word list

The word list is the most useful part of a house style, and the easiest to keep up to date. It has two halves: terms the firm always uses, and terms it avoids.

The examples are illustrative. The right list is the one that reflects your firm's agreements, reports and clients. Add to it whenever someone asks "what do we call this?"

Words to avoid

It helps to keep a short list of words that never appear in client documents: unexplained acronyms, internal shorthand, overstatement such as "guaranteed" used loosely, and any phrase that implies certainty about future returns. Keep the list short enough to remember.

Fixed wording

Some text should never be retyped: the firm's regulatory status wording, its complaints wording and any standard explanations it relies on. Hold these in one place, controlled by one person, and paste them rather than rewriting them. A typo in a firm reference number is an avoidable error.

Branding and layout

A house style also covers how documents look: logo, colours, fonts, covers and the layout of the page. Decide these once and apply them to every document type, so a discovery document, a review and an attitude to risk report are recognisably from the same firm.

In IFA Tools, this is part of the guided first-run setup in every app. The firm enters its company details, its regulatory details (including the FCA firm reference number and its regulatory and complaints wording), its logo, colours and fonts with a live preview, and front and back covers for each document type. Branding can be exported as a .ifabrand file and imported into the other apps, so every app produces documents with the same look.

Making the house style stick

Writing a style guide is the easy part. Keeping a team using it takes a little structure.

1. Give it an owner. One person decides disputes and approves changes.
2. Version and date it. Writers should know which version is current, and older documents can be read against the version that applied.
3. Show examples. A before and after paragraph teaches more than a page of rules.
4. Build it into templates. Headings, fixed wording and layout belong in the templates, not in people's memory.
5. Check it in review. Add a line to the document or file review checklist. Our compliance file review checklist covers the wider file.
6. Include it in induction. New advisers and paraplanners should receive it on day one.

Review it at least once a year, and whenever the firm's agreements, products or regulatory wording change.

Applying the house style automatically

The more documents a firm produces, the harder it is to apply a style by hand. Carbon writes client documents in the firm's own voice, using its house style and word list, with its branding, fonts and logo applied. It produces discovery documents, scopes of work, client value summaries and attitude to risk reports from a recorded Fireflies meeting, fully editable before export to Word or PDF. By our estimate, a document that takes about two hours to draft by hand takes about fifteen minutes. The adviser still reads and approves every word. For more on drafting from the meeting, see client documents from the meeting itself.

Frequently asked questions

What should a house style for client documents include?

Voice and person, spelling, how numbers, money and dates are written, the structure of each document type, a word list of preferred and avoided terms, fixed regulatory wording, and branding and layout.

How long should a style guide be?

As short as possible. Two pages that everyone reads are more useful than a long manual nobody opens. The word list can sit alongside it and grow over time.

Does a house style help with the Consumer Duty?

It can support the consumer understanding outcome by making documents clearer and more consistent. It does not on its own show that clients understood them; that needs testing and monitoring.

See how Carbon applies your house style and word list to every document, or book a twenty-minute demo on Microsoft Teams with Adam Booth, run live on a demo firm with nothing to prepare.