A bookkeeping client onboarding checklist covers everything a new client sends before the work starts: the signed engagement letter, formation documents, the EIN notice, owner details, bank and card statements, and IRS authorization. Kveldo's checklists come free as three printable PDFs, one each for business clients, individual tax clients, and payroll clients.
The lists are based on checklists a working firm uses. Each one splits what every new client sends from what depends on the client's situation, such as a business that already runs payroll or already collects sales tax. A client with neither skips those sections and never has to wonder whether they apply.
What should a new bookkeeping client checklist include?
A new bookkeeping client checklist should include the signed engagement letter, formation documents file-stamped by the Secretary of State, the IRS EIN notice, each owner's identity and ownership details, and bank and credit card statements or read-only access. Kveldo's business client checklist adds sections for established businesses, businesses running payroll, and businesses collecting sales tax.
Use it as the bookkeeping onboarding checklist for any business client, new or established. The PDF is written to the client, so it can go out as it is.
Always needed
- Signed engagement letter
- Formation documents, file-stamped by the Secretary of State: Articles of Incorporation for a corporation or Articles of Organization for an LLC, plus the name reservation letter if one was filed
- The IRS EIN notice (CP575), or Letter 147C if the original is lost
- For each owner: full legal name, Social Security number, date of birth, a copy of their driver's license, address, and ownership percentage
- Bank and credit card statements, or read-only access to those accounts
- IRS Form 8821 or Form 2848, if the client wants the firm to see or act on the business's IRS account
Existing businesses only
- Last year's tax return, with the depreciation schedule
- Access to the current bookkeeping software
- Contact details for the previous bookkeeper or accountant, for the handoff
If the business already runs payroll
- This year's quarterly reports: federal Form 941, state withholding, and state unemployment (Department of Labor)
- State revenue portal access
- State unemployment agency portal access
If the business already collects sales tax
- State sales tax license
- Local (city or county) tax account numbers
- State revenue portal access
Two items are IRS paperwork a new client may not know by name. CP575 is the IRS notice that confirms the business's EIN, and if the original is lost, the checklist asks for Letter 147C instead. Form 8821 lets the firm see the business's IRS records. Form 2848 authorizes one of the firm's CPAs, enrolled agents, or attorneys to represent the business before the IRS.
Download the new business client checklist (PDF)
What should a new tax client checklist include?
A new tax client checklist should include a signed engagement letter; a driver's license copy for the client and a spouse filing jointly; the full name, Social Security number, and date of birth of everyone on the return; last year's tax return; and every tax form the client received. Kveldo's individual tax client checklist puts those five first.
The tax forms are spelled out as W-2s, 1099s, interest statements, and brokerage statements, so a client who would have sent only the W-2 sees the rest by name.
If they apply
- For 1099 income, a list of the expenses against that income
- Mortgage interest statement and property tax paid
- Charitable contributions, with each charity's name and the amount
- Out-of-pocket medical expenses, as a total
- Out-of-pocket health insurance premiums, as a total
- IRS Form 8821 or Form 2848, if the client wants the firm to deal with the IRS for them
The list opens with a line worth keeping in any version you send: "Once we have these, we will tell you if anything else is needed." The client hears up front that a follow-up question is part of the plan.
Download the new individual tax client checklist (PDF)
What goes on a tax client intake form?
A tax client intake form collects the facts a preparer needs before the documents arrive: who is on the return, each person's Social Security number and date of birth, and which kinds of income and deductions apply. Kveldo's individual tax client checklist covers the document side of a tax intake form, so the two work as a pair.
A bookkeeping client intake form does the same job for a business: who the owners are, what share each one holds, the EIN, and which bank and card accounts the books will cover. The business client checklist above asks for every one of those.
When clients return filled-in forms, Kveldo's AI intake reads four kinds: Company Info, Personal Tax Intake, W-4, and W-9, including handwritten and scanned PDFs. Your staff review what it read before anything saves.
What does a new payroll client need to provide?
A new payroll client needs to provide a signed engagement letter or service agreement, a voided check for the payroll account, an enrollment form for every employee, two ACH authorizations, formation documents, the IRS EIN notice, and each owner's identity and contact details. Kveldo's payroll client checklist adds what a client switching from another provider should send.
Always needed
- Signed engagement letter or service agreement
- A voided check for the account payroll will be drawn from
- A completed employee enrollment form for each employee
- ACH authorization form for the monthly service payment
- Signed ACH clearinghouse authorization
- Formation documents: Articles of Incorporation for a corporation, or Articles of Organization and the Operating Agreement for an LLC
- The IRS EIN notice (CP575), or Letter 147C if the original is lost
- For each owner: full name, Social Security number, address, phone, email, and a copy of their driver's license
If applicable
- State unemployment agency power of attorney
If the client is switching from another payroll provider
- Payroll reports already run this year
- This year's quarterly payroll tax reports
- Contact details for the previous payroll provider, for the handoff
Download the new payroll client checklist (PDF)
How does the accounting firm client onboarding process work?
The accounting firm client onboarding process works in four steps: sign the engagement letter, send the checklist that fits the client, collect the documents through a secure client portal, and check what arrived before the first piece of work begins. Kveldo covers the sending and the collecting with document requests and its client portal.
- Sign the engagement letter first. It's the first item on all three checklists. Get the signature before the client hands over a Social Security number. Kveldo has e-signature built in, so the letter goes out and comes back signed in the same place as everything else.
- Send every checklist that fits. A business client buying bookkeeping and payroll gets both lists. An owner who also wants a personal return gets the tax list too.
- Collect through the portal. Each checklist ends with the same instruction: upload them through your secure client portal.
- Check what arrived, then ask once. Compare the uploads to the list before work starts, and send one request for whatever is missing.
For the follow-ups, Document chasing is a process problem lays out a four-touch reminder schedule that ends with a staff member's phone call on day 30.
How should clients send their onboarding documents?
Clients should send onboarding documents through a secure client portal, because Social Security numbers, driver's license copies, and bank statements are too sensitive for an email thread. In Kveldo, the checklist goes out as document requests, the client uploads into the portal, and automated reminders follow up on anything still outstanding.
- Many clients at once. Bulk document requests go to every new client in a batch, such as each new tax client in January.
- Reminders that know when to stop. Kveldo's reminders escalate automatically and quit the minute the client uploads, so nobody gets chased for a document they already sent.
- A login for every client contact. Client portal users are free and unlimited on every tier, so each owner on a business checklist can upload their own driver's license.
- Protected in transit and at rest. Documents are encrypted in transit and at rest, and tenant isolation is designed to keep one firm's data apart from another's. How Kveldo handles security.
Is a CPA client onboarding checklist different from a bookkeeping one?
A CPA client onboarding checklist starts from the same documents as a bookkeeping one: the engagement letter, identity details, the EIN notice for a business, and IRS authorization when the firm will deal with the IRS. Kveldo's three checklists split by service instead of by firm type, so a CPA firm sends the lists that match the work.
The same holds for an accounting client onboarding checklist. A client buying a personal tax return gets the individual list. A client buying monthly books gets the business list. A client buying both gets both, and payroll adds the third.
Whichever lists go out, every client onboarded by email leaves Social Security numbers and bank statements sitting in an inbox. Download the three checklists above, then see how document requests work in Kveldo and send your next new client's checklist through the portal. Kveldo is priced per firm, never per seat, and your clients use the portal free.