Deposit before work starts, invoices due within 14 days, expenses at cost with approval.
03
Client responsibilities
The client is responsible for the completeness and accuracy of the records provided. The practice relies on that information and doesn’t audit it.
04
Termination
Either party can end the agreement with written notice; work done to date is paid.
What a bookkeeping engagement letter should cover
A bookkeeping engagement letter sets out what you’ll deliver, what the client must do, how you’re paid and what happens if things change. For bookkeepers and accountants, the clauses that matter most are usually client responsibilities, professional obligations.
Clause
Why it matters
Services and exclusions
Defines the work and stops scope creep before it starts.
Client responsibilities
Makes dependencies explicit and ties your dates to them.
Fees and payment
Deposit, payment terms, expenses and late payment.
Client responsibilities
The client is responsible for the completeness and accuracy of the records provided. The practice relies on that information and doesn’t audit it.
Professional obligations
The practice follows its professional body’s rules and anti-money-laundering requirements, including identity checks before work starts.
Termination
How either side can end it and what’s owed.
The template
Letter
Date: [Date]
To: [Client name and address]
Re: Bookkeeping services
Dear [Name], this letter sets out the services we’ll provide and the responsibilities on both sides.
1. Services
Service
Frequency
Deadline
[Bank reconciliation and categorisation]
[Monthly]
[By the 15th]
[Payroll]
[Monthly]
[Pay date]
[Sales tax / VAT return]
[Quarterly]
[Filing deadline]
[Management report]
[Monthly]
[By the 20th]
2. Not included
[Tax advice beyond the listed returns]
[Audit or assurance work]
[Work on records before the start date unless quoted]
3. Your records
Read-only bank feeds or statements each month
Receipts and invoices by the 5th of the following month
Prompt answers to queries on transactions
You are responsible for the completeness and accuracy of the records you give us; we rely on them and don’t audit them.
4. Identity and anti-money-laundering checks
We must verify your identity and, where relevant, your business’s ownership before we start, and keep those records as the law requires.
5. Fees
Monthly fee: [Amount, covering up to [150] transactions]
Extra work: [Hourly rate]
Billing: [Monthly in advance by direct debit / card]
6. Data and confidentiality
We keep your information confidential and process personal data in line with our privacy notice and data protection law.
7. Professional obligations
[Name your professional body and any rules you follow.]
8. Ending the engagement
Either of us may end it with [one month’s] written notice. We’ll hand over your records once fees are paid.
Acceptance
Signed for the client: [Name, signature, date]
Signed for the practice: [Name, signature, date]
How to fill it in
Fill in both parties’ legal names and addresses, and the effective date.
Describe the services and deliverables, or reference a signed statement of work.
List exclusions and the client’s responsibilities, with dates where they affect yours.
Set the fee, deposit, payment terms, expenses and late payment terms.
Review the bookkeeping and accounting-specific clauses, such as client responsibilities, and adapt them to the project.
Have a lawyer review the template for your jurisdiction, then sign it before work starts.
Use it in Word, Google Docs or PDF
Microsoft Word
Download the Word (.docx) file and open it. If Word opens it in Protected View, select Enable Editing.
Use Find (Ctrl+F or Cmd+F) and search for “[” to jump between the placeholders you need to replace.
Save a clean copy as a Word template (File → Save As → Word Template) so every new document starts from it.
Google Docs
Upload the .docx file to Google Drive.
Right-click it and choose Open with → Google Docs, then File → Save as Google Docs to keep an editable copy.
Use File → Make a copy for each new client so your master stays clean.
PDF
Use Print or save as PDF in the template section above to print just the template, or fill it in Word or Google Docs first and export it (File → Save As → PDF in Word, File → Download → PDF document in Google Docs).
Example: key terms for Ledgerline Accounting and Moss & Pine Landscaping
How the main clauses read once filled in for a monthly bookkeeping and year-end accounts. Both companies are fictional.
Parties and dates
Provider: Ledgerline Accounting
Client: Moss & Pine Landscaping
Effective date: 1 March
Services
Reconciled monthly books
Monthly management report
Payroll and payslips
Tax returns as listed
Not included
Tax advice beyond the listed returns
Audit or assurance work
Work on records before the start date unless quoted
Fees and payment
Fee: $927.00 excluding tax, as itemised in the proposal
Deposit: $278.00 (30%) before work starts
Payment terms: Invoices due within 14 days
Notice: 14 days’ written notice by either party
Client responsibilities
The client is responsible for the completeness and accuracy of the records provided. The practice relies on that information and doesn’t audit it.
Professional obligations
The practice follows its professional body’s rules and anti-money-laundering requirements, including identity checks before work starts.
Common mistakes
Starting work before it’s signed. Most disputes start on projects where the terms were “agreed on a call”.
A scope described in one line. Reference a detailed scope or statement of work.
No change process. Without one, every extra request becomes a negotiation.
Copying clauses you don’t understand. If you can’t explain a clause to the client, ask a lawyer about it.
Angelwood’s proposal software builds proposals and agreements from your own templates, shows when the client has opened them and collects e-signatures, with a countersignature to execute the agreement.
Most professional bodies expect them, and they protect you by recording the scope, the client’s responsibilities and the fee. Check your body’s requirements.
Is a contract template legally binding?+
A template becomes binding once the parties agree and sign it, if it meets the legal requirements where you are. Whether it protects you depends on what it says, so have a lawyer review it for your jurisdiction.
Can contracts be signed electronically?+
In most countries, yes: electronic signatures are generally valid for business contracts like this one, with some exceptions for specific document types. Check the rules that apply to you.
Can I edit this template in Word or Google Docs?+
Yes. Download the Word (.docx) file and open it in Microsoft Word, or upload it to Google Drive and choose Open with → Google Docs. There’s also a Markdown version for any text editor. No account or email address is needed.
How do I save it as a PDF?+
Fill it in, then export it: File → Save As → PDF in Word, or File → Download → PDF document in Google Docs. On this page you can also print just the template or save it as a PDF from your browser’s print dialog.