Once you’ve gathered all the information and documentation you need from the client to begin working, then link them up to any software you use, or share them into any reports you’ll be using. Use our product selector to find the best accounting software for available for sale securities definition you. Reassure them that you understand the problems they are facing, and you can provide the services or assistance they need to get through them. This may seem an obvious service that you provide, but they may not know that, so you should articulate it.
- Show everything that you will need from the client, but ask for that information incrementally.
- This way, you can get a better picture of how previous accounting systems handled inventory and how your accounting firm should now go about it.
- Then assign each team member a task and attach deadlines and instructions on how you want the project done.
- As you get things set up, you should complete a health check of your client’s records.
Let them know your days and hours of operation so clients know when they can reasonably expect responses from your office. Depending on your practice, you can assign an internal team to the client, such as an onboarding specialist and bookkeeper. This part of the process comes before the main onboarding process; it’s an opportunity to be clear about your services and get the contract signed. Use CoraCloud practice management software with the branded client portal and document management to remain organized while meeting client expectations. Every business has long and short goals, which they create at different times.
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The sooner you know how many accounts the company has, the better your bookkeeping firm can prepare for the workload. It is also essential to see if they have a primary banker in the event of multiple bank accounts. Start by collecting all your client’s financial data, including past accounting software files, spreadsheets, bank statements, invoices, and expenses. Ensure all of their financial data is accurately migrated or converted to your client’s QuickBooks Online account. Without making adjustments there’s the chance that your client will feel that your firm doesn’t understand their wants and needs and look elsewhere for accounting support.
- This allows you to establish a connection between QuickBooks and the client’s bank account to streamline and automate data entry.
- This part of the process comes before the main onboarding process; it’s an opportunity to be clear about your services and get the contract signed.
- We recommend you make a specific checklist for each different service you offer.
- A client’s first impression of a business sets the tone for a relationship that you hope will last a long time.
- Covering things like not mixing personal and business bank accounts, what is and isn’t a business expense, and how to record receipts and paperwork.
Standardizing your onboarding process for new clients will help to ensure every client relationship starts off on the right foot, as well as allow your firm to increase efficiency and effectively scale. This is a collaboration of thought leaders in the accounting and bookkeeping profession, including our Co-founder Judie McCarthy. Together they developed this comprehensive guide to help firms standardize their onboarding processes. When we look past the paperwork and job-specific training, onboarding is really about getting to know someone new.
Client on boarding is a productive step to establish long-term relationships, up selling services, and referral gaining. You can establish it by uploading client’s documents and information in minimal days by dedicated accounting software tools. That said, we want to help you create your own accounting client onboarding process, so we are going to give you an example onboarding checklist for you to begin putting together your own checklist.
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You can use Zapier’s pre-built new client intake form template to give your clients a seamless experience from the moment of purchase. It includes a simple client hub to simplify onboarding for you and your customers. Creating the bookkeeping onboarding questionnaire from scratch can be overwhelming, considering the amount of information required to onboard a new bookkeeping client. It will give you a sense of their accounts receivable situation and workload.
This way, you can get a better picture of how previous accounting systems handled inventory and how your accounting firm should now go about it. This step also includes accessing the most recent account reconciliations to get a better overview of the financial health of the company. For example, the client’s firm might use a credit card account for supplier transactions and a banking account for receivables. Your marketing effort and fabulous sales pitch landed you a brand-new client.
Get Accounting Clients with an Accounting Client Onboarding Checklist
Make sure you have a signed contract before beginning any work on the client. You will want to follow up with the client to collect any signed documents and payments if necessary. Not only do fewer issues arise, when they do, everyone understands what needs to be done.
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For example, you likely have your own accounting or invoice software to manage, but you might need to work within your client’s payment platform of choice. In the excitement of a new project, it’s easy to forget all of the little details to get a client set up. You get clients up to speed faster, show off your organizational skills, and save mental space for the work clients hired you to do. Some companies will only operate with one bank account; others will have two or more for various reasons. The more bank accounts, the greater the workload in terms of data entry and bank reconciliations.
Bookkeeping Client Onboarding Checklist (Free Template)
No matter where you keep it, just make sure that your new client onboarding checklist is somewhere that’s convenient for you to access. This location will mostly depend if you’re handling your workflow manually or if you are using workflow software. To get you started, we’ve created a free onboarding checklist template, which you can download below. It has the most essential steps in, but you’ll want to customize it for your practice. Many accounting and financial planning firms think of the onboarding process as little more than an admin task they are burdened with as part of their compliance responsibilities. But those firms are missing the strategic potential of optimising their onboarding process and using it as a strong foundation on which they can build a strong working relationship with a new client.
Checklist for a Client Onboarding Bookkeeping Work
For your records, put together a more detailed write-up of your findings and any lingering questions or concerns you need to address in the upcoming meeting. Set up your client’s file structure in your file storage system, e.g., Google Drive. Setting all customers up with the same file structure makes it a breeze for colleagues to work across multiple clients. Make it easy on yourself by creating a template that can be copied each time you need a new file structure. Ideally, keep a signed copy of your client’s contract in this file, or if you’re using an online tool such as Ignition, it will be saved automatically.
At this stage, the client may intend to sign with you, but it’s not official until the contract is signed. You can use this pre-onboarding period to remind them how your firm will help solve their issue or tell them a little more about the wider team working on their project. Getting
new clients is always a moment to celebrate, but for many practices, the effort stops once the sale is made. Sadly, it’s too common for the onboarding process to be a last-minute thought.
Inventory management can be demanding and requires in-depth skills and knowledge. Understanding your client’s inventory situations helps you provide the best inventory management services, if needed. Different types of business entities affect the business’s bookkeeping, accounting, and tax reporting structures. Therefore, it is essential to know whether the new client’s company operates as a sole-proprietorship, partnership, an LLC, C-Corp, or S-Corp. You want to know about them as much as possible within a short span while allowing them to expound more about their business and accounting situation. Having a list of questions ready ensures you achieve each of these goals.