Bringing on a new client touches a dozen small steps: engagement letter, ID and verification, software access, opening balances, prior-year files, and the first few deadlines. Miss one and the relationship starts on the back foot, or worse, you discover a gap weeks later when you need the information and it was never collected.
This checklist gives your team one repeatable path for every new client, plus an editable intake form you can copy and adapt for your own firm.
What’s inside the onboarding checklist template
- Engagement setup — engagement letter, scope confirmation, fee agreement, and authority forms.
- Identity & compliance — ID verification, beneficial ownership, and any onboarding due diligence your jurisdiction requires.
- Access & systems — accounting software access, document portal invite, and bank-feed or statement access.
- Historical records — prior-year financials, opening balances, and prior filings.
- Intake form template — an editable sheet to capture client details, contacts, and key dates in one place.
Who it’s for
Accounting and bookkeeping firms that onboard new clients regularly and want consistency across the team, so onboarding doesn’t live in one person’s head.
How to use it
Copy the intake form template for each new client, work top-to-bottom through the checklist, and use the sign-off rows so review is a hard gate rather than an afterthought.