Accounting firm · Client services
Accounting client onboarding
Take a new client from signed engagement letter to their first period of work with every record, access and deadline in place. The client shares what you need through one shared link, and no work starts before a senior accountant approves the setup.
- Duration: 2 to 3 weeks
- How often: For every new client
- Steps: 8 steps
- AI agents: 1 AI agent
- Approvals: 1 approval
Free plan, no credit card needed.
What changes with this template
Without it
Records from the previous accountant arrive late, after repeated requests.
Access to the accounting software and the bank feeds is sorted out one email at a time.
Work starts on opening balances that nobody has checked.
The client hears about the monthly routine when the first reminder arrives.
With it
The handover request and the open filings are on the run in the first week.
The client grants access and shares links through one shared link.
The first period stays locked until the senior accountant approves the setup.
The client confirms the routine and the day they share records each month.
The template, step by step
Each step says who does it: someone on your team, an AI agent, or the client through a shared link. An approval keeps every later step locked until it is given.
- Done by your team
- Done by an AI agent
- Done by the client, through a shared link
Starts when
The engagement letter is signed. The client manager starts a run with the client name and the first deadline.
- 1
Welcome the client and share the onboarding link
Day 1Client manager · Team
Send the welcome message with the shared run link, so the client sees what you need from them and by when.
Checklist
- Welcome message sent
- Shared link sent to the client contact
- Onboarding call booked
Fields to fill in
- Client name (required)
- Client contact email (required)
- First deadline (required)
- 2
Share records and grant access
Days 1 to 7Client contact · Shared link
Through the shared link, the client shares a link to last year's accounts and returns, grants access to the accounting software and bank feeds, and lists their bank accounts, loans and payroll.
Checklist
- Accounting software access granted
- Bank feeds connected
- Previous accountant asked to hand over records
Fields to fill in
- Link to last year's accounts and returns (required)
- Bank accounts and loans (required)
- Payroll provider and number of employees
- 3
Request the handover from the previous accountant
Week 1Client manager · Team
Ask the previous accountant for the closing figures, the open filings and anything you should know before you act, and record what comes back.
Checklist
- Handover request sent
- Closing trial balance received
- Open filings listed
Fields to fill in
- Previous accountant email
- Open filings and deadlines (required)
- 4
Check that everything is in
Week 2Onboarding checker · AI agent
The onboarding checker compares the client's ticked checklist and answers with the onboarding list in its instructions, and lists what is missing and the deadlines known so far, earliest first.
Fields to fill in
- Missing items (required)
- Deadlines known so far
Checked by: The bookkeeper confirms the list in step 5, and the senior accountant approves the setup in step 6.
- 5
Set up the client file and opening balances
Week 2Bookkeeper · Team
Confirm the missing list, set up the chart of accounts and enter the opening balances from last year's accounts. If something is still missing, mark the run blocked and note what.
Checklist
- Missing list confirmed
- Chart of accounts set up
- Opening balances agree to last year's accounts
- Bank feeds tested
Fields to fill in
- Link to the client file (required)
- 6
Approve the setup
Hidden from the shared linkWeek 2Senior accountant · Team
Check the opening balances, the deadlines and the services set up against the engagement letter, and approve the client for regular work.
Checklist
- Opening balances agree
- Every deadline in the practice calendar
- Services match the engagement letter
Fields to fill in
- Review notes
Approval: The first period of work does not start until the senior accountant approves the setup.
- 7
Hold the onboarding call and agree the routine
Week 3Client manager · Team
Walk the client through how regular work runs: what they share each month, by which day, and who to contact.
Checklist
- Monthly routine explained
- Contacts on both sides confirmed
Fields to fill in
- Day of the month the client shares records (required)
- Call notes
- 8
Confirm the routine
Week 3Client contact · Shared link
Through the shared link, the client confirms the monthly routine and the contacts agreed on the call, rates the onboarding and notes anything you missed.
Fields to fill in
- Routine confirmed (required)
- Onboarding rating
- Anything we missed
Done when
The firm has the records, access and opening balances it needs, the deadlines are in the calendar, and the client has confirmed the monthly routine.
Make it yours. Rename steps, change owners and add checklist items, fields or approvals. The template is a starting point for the way your team works.
The AI agents in this template
An agent only works on its own steps, and a person on your team checks what it did. Anything an agent writes to a connected app waits for approval unless you allow it.
Onboarding checker
Compares what the client has shared with the onboarding list and lists what is missing and which deadlines come first.
What it does
- Reads the onboarding list in its step instructions
- Reads the client's ticked checklist and the answers on the run
- Records the missing items and the deadlines in its step
Checked by: The bookkeeper confirms the list in step 5, and the senior accountant approves the setup in step 6.
Questions this template answers
Ask for the closing figures and open filings in writing before you act, and record what comes back. Step 3 sends the handover request and records the open filings and deadlines, and step 5 sets up the opening balances from last year's accounts.
Ask for everything once, on one list, instead of in a string of emails. In step 2 the client shares links, grants access and lists bank accounts, loans and payroll through the shared link, and step 4 lists what is still missing.
Agree the opening balances to last year's signed accounts and have a second person approve them. Step 5 enters and agrees the balances, and step 6 is an approval gate where the senior accountant approves the setup.
Record the first deadline when the run starts and collect every open filing during the handover. Step 1 records the first deadline, step 3 lists the open filings, and step 6 checks that every deadline is in the practice calendar.
Let AI check what is in and what is missing, and keep the setup decisions with your team. In step 4 the onboarding checker lists the missing items and the deadlines, and the bookkeeper and the senior accountant check them in steps 5 and 6.
Agree the routine in a call and have the client confirm it in writing. Step 7 records the day each month the client shares their records, and in step 8 the client confirms the routine through the shared link.
Run this workflow in OKiDO
Set up the steps, owners and approvals once, then start a run for every new case.