Client onboarding checklist for bookkeeping firms
Bookkeeping client onboarding is where the firm establishes the operating rules for the relationship: which accounts are in scope, how source documents arrive, who approves questions, how transactions should be categorized, and when the monthly close is due.
This checklist covers the setup work required before recurring bookkeeping can run cleanly, from securing platform access and connecting feeds to standardizing the chart of accounts and documenting client-specific accounting rules.
Frequently asked questions
How do you onboard a new bookkeeping client?
Take them from a signed engagement to their first clean month-end close: sign the engagement letter, set up billing, send a welcome packet, collect their details and documents, get access to their accounting platform, bank feeds, and payroll, standardize the books, then hold a kickoff call and schedule the first close. The checklist above walks through all 13 steps.
What documents and access should you collect from a new bookkeeping client?
Accounting-software access, bank and credit-card feeds, payroll and payment-processor logins, the last year or two of financials and tax returns, the EIN, and signed engagement and confidentiality agreements. Ask for everything in one request early. Trickling access requests out one at a time is the most common cause of a stalled onboarding.
What should you ask a new bookkeeping client before you start?
Entity type and EIN, fiscal year-end, how many monthly transactions and accounts they have, the software they use now, whether prior filings are current, and how they prefer to communicate. A short intake form up front saves a lot of back-and-forth later.
How long should bookkeeping client onboarding take?
Usually one to three weeks from signed engagement letter to ready for recurring work, depending on the catch-up scope. Platform access and bank feeds are the slowest part, so start them early. The goal is to be ready for the first clean monthly close.
How do you make sure every onboarding step actually gets done?
Give every step an owner and a due date, then check it off when it's done, so it doesn't depend on someone remembering. If your team works in Slack, Chaser can do this for you: it assigns each step, follows up with the owner, and tracks what's still open.
