Accounting firm · New business
Client acceptance and engagement letter
Turn an enquiry into a signed engagement letter with the same checks for every new client. The prospect answers your questionnaire through one shared link, and nothing goes out before a partner accepts the client and approves the scope and fee.
- Duration: 1 to 3 weeks
- How often: For every new client or new service
- Steps: 8 steps
- AI agents: 1 AI agent
- Approvals: 1 approval
Free plan, no credit card needed.
What changes with this template
Without it
The fee is quoted on the phone before anyone knows how many entities or transactions there are.
Identity and conflict checks happen when someone remembers.
Each engagement letter is edited from another client's copy.
Work starts on a verbal yes, and the signed letter turns up months later.
With it
The prospect answers a questionnaire first, and the partner prices from the answers.
Every new client goes through the same acceptance checks before a letter goes out.
An AI agent drafts the scope, and the partner corrects and approves it.
The client shares the signed letter on the same link before setup starts.
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
A prospective client asks for a quote, or an existing client asks for a new service. The client manager starts a run with the name and the services requested.
- 1
Record the enquiry and share the questionnaire
Day 1Client manager · Team
Record who the prospect is and what they ask for, and send them the questionnaire with the shared run link.
Checklist
- Shared link sent to the prospect
- Discovery call booked
Fields to fill in
- Prospect name (required)
- Contact email (required)
- Services requested (required)
- 2
Complete the client questionnaire
Days 1 to 5Prospective client · Shared link
Through the shared link, the prospect describes the business and its entities, the year end and monthly volumes, names the owners and the current accountant, and shares a link to last year's accounts.
Checklist
- Owners and directors listed
- Year end and known deadlines given
- Current accountant named
Fields to fill in
- Business and entities (required)
- Transactions per month (required)
- Link to last year's accounts
- Current accountant
- 3
Run the acceptance checks
Hidden from the shared linkWeek 1Client manager · Team
Verify the owners' identity, check for conflicts of interest and rate the client's risk under your firm's acceptance policy. If a check cannot be finished, mark the run blocked and note why.
Checklist
- Owners' identity verified
- Conflict check done
- Previous accountant contacted where your rules require it
Fields to fill in
- Client risk rating (required)
- Acceptance notes
- 4
Draft the scope of services
Week 1Scope writer · AI agent
The scope writer drafts the scope from the questionnaire and the services requested: the work included, what the client provides and by when, and what is out of scope, in your firm's engagement letter format.
Fields to fill in
- Draft scope of services (required)
Checked by: The partner corrects the scope and sets the fee in step 5.
- 5
Accept the client and approve scope and fee
Hidden from the shared linkWeek 1Partner · Team
Review the acceptance checks and the draft scope, correct the scope and set the fee.
Checklist
- Acceptance checks reviewed
- Scope matches the questionnaire
- Fee covers the volume and complexity
Fields to fill in
- Annual fee (required)
- Fee basis (required)
Approval: Nothing goes to the prospect until the partner accepts the client and approves the scope and fee.
- 6
Send the engagement letter
Week 2Client manager · Team
Send the engagement letter with the approved scope and fee for signature, and record where it can be signed.
Checklist
- Terms of business included
- Privacy notice included
- Sent for signature
Fields to fill in
- Link to the engagement letter (required)
- Date sent (required)
- 7
Sign the engagement letter
Weeks 2 to 3Prospective client · Shared link
Through the shared link, the client confirms they have read the engagement letter the client manager sent, notes any questions about the scope and shares a link to the signed copy.
Fields to fill in
- Link to the signed engagement letter (required)
- Questions about the scope
- 8
Set up the client and start onboarding
Week 3Client manager · Team
Check the signed letter, create the client in your practice management system and start the client onboarding run.
Checklist
- Signed letter checked
- Client created in the practice system
- Onboarding run started
Fields to fill in
- Engagement start date (required)
- Responsible partner (required)
Done when
The client has signed the engagement letter, the acceptance checks are recorded, and the client is ready for onboarding.
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.
Scope writer
Drafts the scope of services for the engagement letter from the prospect's answers.
What it does
- Reads the services requested and the prospect's answers on the run
- Follows the firm's engagement letter format in its step instructions
- Writes the draft scope into its step
Checked by: The partner corrects the scope and sets the fee in step 5.
Questions this template answers
Put identity, conflict and risk checks in the workflow before anything is sent. Step 3 records the checks and a risk rating, and step 5 is an approval gate where the partner accepts the client before the letter goes out.
Start from the prospect's own answers and a fixed letter format, not from another client's letter. In step 4 an AI agent drafts the scope from the questionnaire, and in step 5 the partner corrects it and sets the fee.
Price from the client's real volume and complexity, not a guess on the phone. Step 2 collects entities, monthly transactions and deadlines, and in step 5 the partner sets the fee and the fee basis against them.
Make the signed letter the trigger for setting up the client, not a verbal yes. In step 7 the client shares the link to the signed letter, and step 8 has the client manager check it before the client is set up.
Record the checks, the risk rating and the partner's decision on the same run as the signed letter. Step 3 records the identity, conflict and risk checks, and step 5 records the partner's acceptance with name and time.
Keep the questionnaire, the scope and the signed letter in one run that onboarding can read. Step 8 starts the onboarding run once the letter is signed, and the questionnaire from step 2 stays on the record.
Run this workflow in OKiDO
Set up the steps, owners and approvals once, then start a run for every new case.