New client onboarding is the most high-leverage activity in a bookkeeping practice. Done well, it prevents months of corrective work, sets clear expectations, and establishes the working relationship on a professional footing. Done poorly, it results in incomplete records, miscoded history, and a client who blames their bookkeeper for problems that trace back to a rushed start.
This is the onboarding checklist that prevents those problems.
Before You Start Work
Engagement letter signed. Do not begin work without a signed engagement letter. The letter should define: scope of services, fees, payment terms, what the client must provide (and when), what you are not responsible for, and how disputes are handled. An engagement letter that is clear about scope protects you from scope creep claims and the client from misunderstandings about what they are getting.
Identity verification. For new clients, verify their identity and ABN. ABN Lookup (abr.business.gov.au) confirms whether the entity is registered and active, and shows the registered entity name. This takes 30 seconds and protects you from onboarding entities whose ABN has been cancelled or whose business details don't match what they've told you.
Previous accountant/bookkeeper records request. If the client has previous records, request access before starting. Ask for: the last two years of financial statements, the last four BAS lodgements, the current chart of accounts, any fixed asset register or depreciation schedules, and the trial balance as at the handover date. Getting these before you start means you're working from a reliable opening position, not guessing.
Access to accounts. Set up access to their banking portal, accounting software, and any other platforms you'll need (payroll, POS systems, payment gateways). Use your own login credentials — never use the client's personal login. Most modern banking and accounting platforms support multi-user access with granular permissions.
Account Setup and Configuration
Chart of accounts review. If the client is transitioning from another bookkeeper or from DIY bookkeeping, review the existing chart of accounts before accepting it. Look for: duplicate accounts, incorrectly classified accounts (e.g., super contributions in the wrong category), excessively granular or excessively consolidated accounts that don't match the business's reporting needs.
Set up your practice's standard chart of accounts template as the base, then adjust for the client's industry and specific needs. The goal is a chart of accounts you can work with confidently across dozens of client files without having to relearn the structure each time.
Opening balances. Reconcile opening balances to the previous period's closing balance sheet or trial balance. Every account — bank, receivables, payables, liabilities — should tie. If they don't, investigate before proceeding. Unreconciled opening balances create problems that persist for years.
Bank feed connections. Connect the client's bank accounts via bank feed. Verify that the feed is pulling transactions correctly and that the account balance in the accounting software matches the bank balance at the connection date. Set up any required transaction rules for regular, predictable transactions (direct debits, recurring payments).
GST setup. Confirm the client's GST registration status and lodgement frequency (monthly, quarterly, or annual). Set the accounting software's GST configuration to match. For new GST registrants, confirm the registration effective date — GST must only be reported for periods after the registration date, not before.
Client Information Gathering
Business activity overview. Spend 30–60 minutes with the client understanding their business: what they sell, who they sell to, how they get paid, their key suppliers, and their seasonal patterns. This investment pays dividends in every subsequent reconciliation — you'll be able to distinguish normal transaction patterns from anomalies without asking every time.
Payroll setup. If the client has employees: confirm the number of employees, their employment types (full-time, part-time, casual), their award or agreement, their pay frequency, and their super fund details. Review the existing payroll setup against the applicable Modern Award to catch any award non-compliance before it becomes your problem.
Industry-specific requirements. Different industries have specific bookkeeping requirements. Confirm:
- Hospitality: daily cash reconciliation procedure, tronc/tips handling
- Construction: TPAR obligations, job costing requirements
- Healthcare: GST-free supply classifications
- Property/real estate: trust account requirements (not your responsibility, but be aware)
First Month Review Points
At the end of the first complete reconciliation month:
Reconciliation sign-off. Present the reconciled accounts to the client and confirm they review and approve them. Establish the habit of client review from month one — this is your documentation that the client has seen and accepted the work.
Exception flag review. Note any unusual transactions, unidentified vendors, or coding decisions you made with limited information. Ask the client to confirm or correct these at the first review.
Outstanding queries resolved. Close out any items that required client input during the month (bank charges not on statement, unidentified receipts, missing invoices). Establish the expectation that client responses to queries are expected within 48–72 hours.
Fee review. At 30 days, confirm whether the actual work volume matches what was scoped. If the client's transaction volume or complexity is materially different from what was quoted, this is the time to raise it — not at six months when the gap has compounded.
A structured onboarding takes more time upfront, but it eliminates the rework, disputes, and professional risk that come from starting a new engagement without proper foundations. The practices that invest in onboarding are the ones that keep clients — and the bookkeepers working for them — for years.