The Client Onboarding Checklist for Bookkeepers and Accountants

Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

Isn’t new client onboarding one of the best parts of your job?

Whether your sales rep finally landed a deal after pounding the pavement to drum up new business, or your latest sale came from a website lead, bringing a new client into the fold is always an opportunity to celebrate 🎉.

But why does onboarding sometimes get fumbled?

There are lots of reasons…

Maybe client experience didn’t get the email from sales that the deal closed. Maybe someone just forgot to send the welcome email. Maybe no one ever clearly communicated the onboarding timeline. Maybe the team didn’t follow the client onboarding checklist (maybe there isn’t one!).

And maybe you have a really good onboarding experience, but you feel like something’s missing. It happens, clients seem pretty happy, but you can sense a lack of consistency in your process – you want it to be even better.

You’re not alone. There’s always room for improvement, and we have the perfect resource to help you shore up your process or build a better experience from scratch.

Meet The Client Onboarding Checklist for Bookkeepers and Accountants!

One step at a time: a phased approach to onboarding

Breaking onboarding up into manageable phases can help you group similar tasks together and ensure seamless transitions from sales to bookkeeping and accounting services. Here’s a bookkeeping client onboarding checklist showing how that could look:

Phase 1: From Proposal Signing to Onboarding Call

• Confirm all phases and steps in your new client onboarding checklist template

• Review/ file signed contract for services

• Sales team adds all sales information from CRM to practice/ project management software

• Confirm timelines, scope, and internal resourcing

• Send welcome email & onboarding checklist with requests for documents and all needed information

• Set up firm software & give access to the firm team & client [if applicable]

  • Examples:

    • QuickBooks Online

    • Xero

    • Uncat

    • Fathom

    • Gusto

• Once document and information gathering is completed, send email to client to schedule onboarding call

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Pro Tip: Make sure to solve the problem of tracking uncategorized expenses early on. Uncat removes the friction of unnecessary back-and-forth efforts to identify and record uncategorized transactions.

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Phase 2: Onboarding Call to Client Transition

• Send a client welcome package (include swag, thank you note, etc.)

• Create preliminary standard operating procedures (SOPs) and communicate those internally and with the client

• Edit tasks in practice/ project management software to reflect what is applicable for client

• Follow up with client to obtain any missing documents or information

• Complete onboarding review To-Dos and follow up with client

• Document any major red flags in a separate task/ work stream in practice/ project management software

Document your process

It’s so helpful to have a clear process in place.

But don’t stop there.

Document your client onboarding process and make sure it’s accessible by every bookkeeper and accountant who’s working with that client. It’s a critical point of reference to guide document and information collection and to set expectations that are manageable and clear.

Store it in your project management software, print hard copies to reference during onboarding calls, and make it a priority to check the boxes until the onboarding sequence is completed.

Delight your new clients

So you’ve developed and documented a process, now what?

Chances are most clients won’t be that impressed with the fact that you have a process - what impresses them and leads to a delightful onboarding experience is whether or not you deliver on their expectations (and exceed them).

Here’s a list of ideas to throw an element of surprise in the mix while also delivering on their ask:

• Set mutual expectations and communicate regularly

• Send a thoughtful onboarding gift that shows them you listen to them (e.g. a book by their favorite author, tickets to a game, dinner at their favorite restaurant, etc.)

• Communicate gratitude - they could have chosen another firm

• Turn on your video during onboarding and subsequent calls

• Enjoy your time with them rather than rushing them along

• Don’t wear them out with emails and spreadsheets - bring Uncat into the onboarding conversation, and save your time and theirs every month by quickly resolving uncategorized transactions.

Keep them coming back for more

At the end of the day, your clients keep the lights on. Your relationship with them can be a joy or it can be challenging. That’s why it’s important to get off on the right foot during onboarding. Keeping them happy shouldn’t come at the expense of your sanity either.

Make sure to grab your copy of The Client Onboarding Checklist for Bookkeepers and Accountants ⬆️, and schedule a call to see how Uncat can make onboarding even better at your firm.