The bank feeds provide a complete picture of the transactions in the bank, although they need to be reviewed for accuracy through regular reconciliations. If you want to streamline your client onboarding workflow, you can use Zapier to connect your favorite apps. Start by choosing one step in your onboarding flow to automate, and go from there. Automating even a few steps in your process can clear up mental space for more high-impact tasks. Creating a special folder, channel, or label for the new client in your inbox or chat app helps you stay organized. And if there are still some details to sort out, use this step of the client onboarding template to schedule a kickoff call with your favorite meeting scheduler.
Step 9: Import the initial set of data and reconcile the accounts.
Now that you’ve almost finished onboarding your client, it’s time to get set up to work. Having an in-person meeting with the client is advisable to get to know one another better and grow trust.
Create QuickBooks Online customers with sales receipts for new Stripe payments
- Having an established agreement and NDA process also makes it clear you’re on top of everything, even if your left eye is twitching from too much coffee.
- The success of the onboarding with a new bookkeeping client checklist project depends on how collaborative the team members are during the processing.
- However, doing so means that you will spend significantly less time on data entry and will provide more efficient and accurate bookkeeping services.
From there, you can schedule regular touchpoint meetings to update your client on their projects. This step can also include discussion about whether QuickBooks managed payroll services are right for the business. The success of the onboarding with a new bookkeeping client checklist project depends on how collaborative the team members are during the processing. To make work easier for your team members when onboarding a client, introduce the best collaborative tool that makes communication easier. If you want to make bookkeeping easier (and less prone to human error), you can connect your payment processor to your accounting app. This way, income tracking is automatic, and you can avoid manually transferring numbers between apps.
How to Create an Effective Onboarding Checklist for Accounting and Bookkeeping Clients
Whether the prospective client is a new or established business, using the following standardized steps will make your life (and theirs!) easier. Enter all relevant information on the client, including the full company name, address, and preferred contact details. Quickbooks permits the connection of multiple bank and credit card accounts, streamlining the tracking of transactions. If the client has employees, configure payroll settings, including employee information, pay rates, and tax withholdings. Begin populating Quickbooks with historical financial data, either by importing data from spreadsheets or manually inputting transactions.
This is also a good time to take inventory of any personal accounts that are linked to the company accounts that regularly contribute funds and take withdrawals. You need to make sure these payments and deposits are not incorrectly entered as income or expenses. Remember to note important details during the client onboarding meeting and follow up later to ensure everything runs smoothly. If you’re planning to develop a new bookkeeping client checklist for onboarding, this guide is for you, as we’ll delve deeper into that and much more.
If your client does not have a need for these, they can start off at a lower tier, save money, and upgrade later if adp run pricing demo reviews features need be. Also, let the client know if you need anything, like accessing the internal systems to work seamlessly. Review the project’s details and answer any client questions during the meeting. Sales tax rates and rules can change, so it’s essential to regularly update these settings to ensure accurate calculations and compliance. Before fully transitioning to Quickbooks, perform test transactions to validate that all accounts and settings are functioning correctly. Create professional, branded invoices with custom templates that suit the client’s business style.
Being onboarded with a standardised process from start to finish helps to build your clients’ confidence in your business, saves time and keeps things moving. For the purposes of this article, onboarding is defined as the process of bringing a new client on board, incorporating training and orientation. You can access accounts, previous accounting systems, and inventory records through the communications system. Knowing the taxation and reviewing previous invoices, financial statements, or documents can also be easier. When developing the bookkeeping onboarding checklist, ensure you know your client’s expectations or goals.
Any agency or freelancer that’s ever dealt with a clingy client or a ghosting collaborator knows the importance of communication. In addition to setting expectations around response times, it helps to establish communication channels right from the start. And you’ll want to have a central location where you log agreed-upon rates for clients (if there’s any variation). If you require a deposit or payment upfront, now is the time to set that up, too. And even if your app of choice saves the contracts within its system, make sure you save copies of all agreements in your client/project management app as well. To make this step even easier, include a link to the intake form in your welcome document.