# Client onboarding checklist

Tick each item when it’s done. Delete items that don’t apply, and add an owner and a date to anything still open.

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## Details

Client: [Company name]
Engagement: [Project or service]
Onboarding owner: [Name]
Agreement signed: [Date]
Target kickoff: [Date]

## 1. Handover from sales

- [ ] Signed proposal, engagement letter or statement of work filed where the team can find it
- [ ] Deliverables, exclusions and client responsibilities confirmed against the signed document
- [ ] Fees, billing schedule and payment terms set up; deposit or first invoice sent if agreed
- [ ] Anything promised during the sale passed on to the delivery team
- [ ] Client set up in your own systems: CRM, project tool, time tracking, file storage

## 2. People and communication

- [ ] Day-to-day client contact named
- [ ] Final approver named, if different
- [ ] Billing contact named
- [ ] Your account lead and delivery team assigned and introduced
- [ ] Update cadence and channel agreed (for example, a weekly written update)
- [ ] Review window for feedback and approvals agreed
- [ ] How urgent issues are raised, and to whom, agreed

## 3. Information and documents

- [ ] List of required inputs written, each with a reason, an owner and a due date
- [ ] Requests sent to the client with instructions and the format you need
- [ ] Received items checked for completeness and the right version
- [ ] Missing items recorded with the work they block
- [ ] Sensitive files collected through a secure upload, not email attachments

## 4. Access to tools and accounts

- [ ] List of the services you need access to
- [ ] Client has invited your team as named users in each service
- [ ] Access tested by the person who needs it
- [ ] Record kept of who has access to what, to remove at the end
- [ ] No passwords, API keys or recovery codes shared by email or form

## 5. Kickoff

- [ ] Kickoff agenda sent in advance
- [ ] Goals and success measures agreed
- [ ] Plan, milestones and first deliverable confirmed
- [ ] Open questions and blockers recorded with owners
- [ ] Kickoff notes and decisions sent to the client in writing within a day

## 6. First 30 days

- [ ] First progress update sent on the agreed cadence
- [ ] First deliverable or milestone reviewed with the approver
- [ ] Outstanding inputs chased against their due dates
- [ ] Check-in with the client on how onboarding went
- [ ] Lessons added to this checklist for the next client

## Add for accounting and bookkeeping clients

- [ ] Engagement letter signed, covering the services, period and fees
- [ ] Identity and anti-money-laundering checks completed where your rules require them
- [ ] Prior-year accounts, returns and working papers received
- [ ] Bank, card and loan statements, or read-only feed access, set up
- [ ] Invited as a user to the client’s accounting and payroll software
- [ ] Authority to act with the tax authority set up, where needed
- [ ] Key deadlines (year end, filing and payment dates) added to your calendar

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## Before you tell the team to start

- [ ] The signed scope matches what the team is about to deliver.
- [ ] The client contact and final approver are named.
- [ ] Every required input is received and reviewed, or recorded as a blocker.
- [ ] Access works for everyone who needs it.
- [ ] The kickoff decisions are written down and sent.

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# Example: a new bookkeeping client

A filled-in extract for a fictional client, two weeks after signing.

## Details

Client: Harbour Lane Bakery Ltd
Engagement: Monthly bookkeeping and year-end accounts
Onboarding owner: Sam Okafor
Agreement signed: 3 November
Target kickoff: 17 November

## Progress

| Item | Status | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Engagement letter signed | Done | Filed 3 November |
| Identity checks | Done | Both directors verified |
| Prior-year accounts and working papers | Received | Previous accountant sent them 10 November; review due 14 November |
| Bank statements | Waiting | Business current account received; savings account still due. Owner: Priya (client), by 14 November |
| Access to accounting software | Done | Invited as a user; access tested by Sam |
| Payroll provider access | Open | Client to confirm who runs payroll |
| Year end and filing dates in calendar | Done | Year end 31 March |
| Kickoff call | Booked | 17 November, agenda sent |

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