# OLVA Client Meetings FAQ: Contexts, Follow-up, Handoff

> Plain answers about OLVA in accounting client meetings: contexts, Follow-up questions, agenda coverage, Live insight and the preparer handoff.

Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/olva-client-meetings-faq · Updated 2026-10-21 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com)

Quick answer

OLVA is a third-party [AI meeting assistant](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/ai-note-taker) from olva.ai that listens through your own computer instead of joining the call as a bot. In a client planning meeting you load the agenda and open items as a context before the call, ask OLVA privately for a follow-up question when an answer is vague, check which [agenda items](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/meeting-agenda) you haven't covered, and afterwards ask for a team handoff and a list of open questions for the client. The free [OLVA client meetings lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/olva-ai-accounting-client-meeting-notes) walks through all of it in about 8 minutes on real OLVA screens.

Last updated October 21, 2026

[Take the free module →](https://learn.ynteractive.com/courses/ai-for-accounting-firms/16)Module 16 of the free [AI for Accounting & Bookkeeping Firms](https://learn.ynteractive.com/courses/ai-for-accounting-firms) course, about 8 minutes. No account needed.

By [Robert Breen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about) · Published October 21, 2026 · Updated October 21, 2026 · 5 min read

OLVA · Accounting · Meetings · FAQ

The example is made up. You are Jordan, a tax manager at Larkspur Tax & Advisory, meeting Elena Vasquez, the owner of Northline Design Studio, a six-person design agency. The screens are the real OLVA desktop app (Windows, Pro plan), captured on October 13, 2026 in our own test call, with that call's text blurred. Anything you type in the lesson is marked Example. Our test did not capture what **Follow-up**, **Create a team handoff** or **What open questions?** return, or any Fact Check card, and the lesson says so where it matters. Stepthrough is not affiliated with OLVA beyond this free lesson.

## What problem does OLVA solve in a client meeting?

A year-end planning meeting is where the work for tax season gets decided. If you are typing notes, you only half listen. The follow-up question about the equipment purchase never gets asked, and the list of documents the client promised to send lives in your memory. Two weeks later the preparer is emailing the client for things you already discussed. OLVA keeps the record so you can listen, and it starts the handoff and the client follow-up from what was actually said.

## How do I load the client's agenda?

Make one OLVA context per client meeting:

1. Click **Manage contexts**, the blue button next to the context picker.
2. Click **Add context**. A new context starts as **Untitled**, with the name selected, and saves itself. Name it after the client and the meeting. The lesson uses *Northline Design: year-end planning*.
3. Click **Add a note** and paste the client, the numbered agenda, last year's open items and your meeting rules. Click **Save**.
4. Click **Add document** and pick the client's document checklist (PDF, Word, text or [Markdown](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/markdown)). OLVA converts it and shows it as text, with **Make shorter**, **Save** and **Cancel**. Check it, then click **Save**.
5. Click the **back arrow** next to **Contexts**.

The lesson's agenda has five numbered items: profit so far vs last year, equipment she plans to buy, estimated tax payments made, the new contractor, and documents still needed. Its rules say no final tax answers in the meeting, anything that needs research goes on the open list, and never put account numbers or SSNs in notes.

## How do I start OLVA in the meeting?

Click the context picker and, under **CHOOSE CONTEXT**, pick the client's context. Tell the client you are taking AI notes, then click **Start OLVA**. The first time, OLVA says **Language detection is automatic**; click **Start Olva**. The live window opens beside your call. Turn on **Live insight** at the top right.

## Try it free, step by step

**OLVA: Run Client Planning Meetings Without Losing a Single Follow-up**. Load the client's agenda and open items into OLVA. In the meeting it suggests follow-up questions privately and tells you which agenda items you haven't covered, then helps you write a handoff for… You do every step yourself in a practice copy of OLVA, it checks your work as you go, and “Do it for me” finishes any step you get stuck on. Free, and nothing touches your real accounts.

[Start the free lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/olva-accounting-client-meetings)

[Or read the full step-by-step guide](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/olva-ai-accounting-client-meeting-notes)

## How do the Follow-up and agenda questions work?

When Elena says she is thinking about buying new computers and a large-format printer "sometime soon", click **Follow-up** under the transcript. Suggestions show in **Chat**, where only you can see them. Our test did not capture a Follow-up answer, so ask your follow-up in your own words: what she plans to buy, roughly what it costs, and when it will be in use. Don't promise a deduction on the spot; it goes on the open list.

Later, click **Ask about this call**, type *Which agenda items haven't we covered yet?* and click the **send** arrow. The client doesn't see this. OLVA answers in Chat from the transcript and your notes. If the new contractor and the missing documents aren't covered yet, raise them before time runs out.

## What happens after the meeting?

Click **End**, then **Stop Meeting**. The meeting opens on **Summary** while OLVA writes it up. Click the **Chat** tab. Under **Try asking OLVA**, click **Create a team handoff** for the preparers, and **What open questions?** for the documents the client still owes and the items you said you would research. Every answer in Chat ends with a **copy** button. We didn't capture either answer in our test, so read both against your notes and fix names and numbers before you share them.

## Key takeaways

- One context per client meeting: numbered agenda, open items, your rules and a document checklist.
- Tell the client you are taking AI notes before you click **Start OLVA**.
- **Follow-up** and **Ask about this call** answer privately in Chat.
- Don't give final tax answers in the meeting; put them on the open list.
- Read the handoff and open questions against your notes before you share them.

## Frequently asked questions

**Does OLVA join the meeting as a bot?**

No. OLVA listens through your own computer and opens beside the meeting, so it does not appear as a participant. That is why telling the client is up to you.

**Do I need to tell the client?**

Yes. Tell clients you are taking AI notes, or get their consent, as the law where you work requires, and follow your firm's rules on putting client information into outside apps. Read AI note taker consent for more.

**Should I attach the client's tax return?**

No. The lesson attaches a document checklist, not the return. OLVA only needs what you plan to discuss.

**What does Live insight show?**

With **Live insight** on, the **AI Assist** tab collects cards as the meeting goes. In our test a **Define** card explained a specialist term the moment it was said. OLVA can also add **Fact Check** cards, but none came up in our test, so don't count on one. If a number the client gives doesn't match your notes, note it yourself to confirm against her records.

**Can I see the transcript and cards together?**

Yes. Click the **layout** button left of the timer, and the transcript sits on the left with the cards on the right.

**What do I need to use OLVA for real?**

The OLVA desktop app for Windows or Mac, an OLVA account, and a Zoom, Google Meet or Teams call. OLVA is a separate product with its own plans, so check [olva.ai](https://olva.ai) for current plans. The practice lesson needs none of that: nothing listens, records or joins a call.

**Where can I learn more OLVA basics?**

Start with the [OLVA live meeting assistant lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/olva-ai-meeting-assistant-client-calls), or read OLVA's own [how-to guides](https://olva.ai/how-to). For the write-up side, see follow-up email after a client meeting.For the slip-ups to avoid, read [OLVA client meeting mistakes](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/olva-client-meetings-mistakes). Then [try the practice](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/olva-accounting-client-meetings).

## Free lessons in this post

- [OLVA: Run Client Planning Meetings Without Losing a Single Follow-up](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/olva-ai-accounting-client-meeting-notes): Load the client's agenda and open items into OLVA. In the meeting it suggests follow-up questions privately and tells you which agenda items you haven't covered, then…

## Watch it in a free lesson: OLVA: A Private AI Assistant on Your Client Calls

### OLVA: a private AI assistant on your client calls: video walkthrough

Full walkthrough · 3:06 · with captions

Give OLVA your client notes, get private answers and fact checks during a Zoom call, then turn the meeting into minutes, a follow-up email and a PowerPoint deck. The whole lesson narrated step by step, recorded in Stepthrough’s simulated practice environment.

[Watch it with chapters and the full transcript](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/olva-ai-meeting-assistant-client-calls#watch)

From the free lesson [OLVA: A Private AI Assistant on Your Client Calls](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/olva-ai-meeting-assistant-client-calls)

## Related terms

Plain-English definitions, each with an example from a free lesson.

[AI note-taker](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/ai-note-taker) · [Meeting agenda](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/meeting-agenda) · [Markdown](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/markdown)

[The full AI glossary](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary)

## Keep reading

- [OLVA Client Meetings: 7 Mistakes to Avoid](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/olva-client-meetings-mistakes): OLVA mistakes in accounting client meetings: no context, the whole return uploaded, no consent, tax answers on the spot and an unread handoff.
- [ChatGPT Bookkeeping Assistant FAQ: Rules, Emails, Notes](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/chatgpt-bookkeeping-assistant-faq): Plain answers on using ChatGPT as an AI assistant for a bookkeeping firm: project rules, client email replies, call notes and what to check.
- [AI Automation for Accountants: 12 Questions Answered](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/ai-automation-for-accountants-faq): How accountants use AI for client replies that don't overpromise, invoice logging with approval and overdue reminders. Answers from free lessons.

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