A Client Onboarding Checklist Accounting Firms Reuse

A client onboarding checklist for accounting firms covers five things for each new tax client: a signed engagement letter, contact and identity details, prior-year returns, IRS transcripts and any authorization forms, and a first document request built from the prior return. Give every item an owner and a due date so nothing waits until filing season.

What goes on a new tax client intake checklist?

A new tax client intake checklist records who the client is, what the firm will do for them, and how they will be billed. It holds contact details for every taxpayer on the return, a signed engagement letter, identity details checked against a document, and the agreed fee. These items come first because everything after them depends on them.

Contact details. Full legal name, mailing address, phone, email and preferred contact method for each taxpayer, including a spouse on a joint return. Note who makes decisions and who gathers documents; in many households they are different people.

Engagement letter. The engagement letter says what the firm will prepare, for which years, what the client is responsible for providing, and what falls outside the job. Get it signed before work starts. A client who expected bookkeeping clean-up as part of a return fee is easier to talk to before the work than after.

Identity details. Collect Social Security numbers and dates of birth for the taxpayers and every dependent, and compare names against an identity document the client shows you. Names that differ from the Social Security card, such as a married name not yet updated, cause problems later and are easier to catch now.

Fees and payment. Write down the fee or the basis for it, when it is due and how the client will pay. Put it on the checklist so the person handling onboarding knows the conversation happened.

Communication. Tell the client how documents should reach the firm. A single place for every file, explained once at onboarding, saves sorting later. The posts in the client document collection category cover the first request and how files arrive.

Prior returns and IRS transcripts for first-time tax clients

First-time tax clients should hand over at least last year's complete federal and state returns, and ideally the last three years. Last year's return sets the expected documents, carryovers and payments for this year. IRS transcripts confirm what the IRS has on file, which catches amended returns, notices and payments the client forgot to mention.

How many prior years to collect

The IRS page on how long to keep records says records should generally be kept until the period of limitations for a return runs out, and gives three years as the general period. Collecting three prior returns gives the firm the same window and shows carryovers, such as capital losses or depreciation, that started before last year.

A complete return means every page and schedule, including state returns and any worksheets the prior preparer attached. A two-page summary is not enough to build a checklist. If the client only has the summary, ask for the full copy from the prior preparer or use transcripts to fill gaps.

Why transcripts help

A transcript shows the IRS's record rather than the client's copy. The IRS Transcript Delivery System page says eligible tax professionals can request account transcripts, wage and income documents, return transcripts, record of account information and verification of non-filing letters. A wage and income transcript lists the information returns filed under the client's number, which is a useful cross-check against the documents the client remembers.

Account transcripts also show payments. A client who made estimated payments but cannot find the dates can check their own IRS online account; the IRS page on viewing your tax account says it shows up to five years of payment history, including estimated tax payments.

Turning the prior return into this year's list is its own task. The post on reading last year's return line by line walks through it.

Authorizations to include in client onboarding

Client onboarding should include the IRS authorization the firm needs for the work it was hired to do. Form 8821 lets the firm receive and inspect a client's tax information. Form 2848 lets an eligible practitioner represent the client before the IRS. Request the one that fits the engagement during onboarding, when the client is already signing paperwork.

The IRS About Form 8821 page says the form authorizes a designee to inspect and/or receive the taxpayer's confidential information for the tax types and periods listed on it. That is enough to pull transcripts and discuss account information.

The IRS About Form 2848 page says the form authorizes an individual to represent the taxpayer before the IRS, and that the individual must be eligible to practice before the IRS. A firm that will answer notices or speak for the client on an open matter needs this form, and only eligible practitioners can be named.

A client who switched from another firm may still have an older authorization on file naming the prior preparer. The About Form 8821 page notes that the form can also be used to delete or revoke prior tax information authorizations. Ask the client whether they want the old one left in place, and record the answer on the checklist.

The Transcript Delivery System page adds that a properly executed Form 2848 or Form 8821 must be on file before a professional uses that system. If transcripts are part of onboarding, the authorization has to come first.

On the checklist, record which form was requested, the tax years it covers, the date it was signed and the date it was submitted. Authorizations cover specific periods, so a form signed for three past years will not cover next year's issue unless it lists that year.

What should first-time tax clients bring to the first appointment?

First-time tax clients should bring their last three years of returns, identity documents for every taxpayer, Social Security numbers and dates of birth for dependents, any IRS or state letters, records of estimated payments, and this year's forms received so far. A short, specific list sent before the meeting gets more of it through the door.

A list for the documents to bring to a tax appointment can be short enough to fit in an email:

• Prior-year federal and state returns, all pages, for the last three years.
• A photo ID for each adult on the return.
• Social Security numbers and dates of birth for everyone on the return.
• Any letter from the IRS or a state tax agency in the past three years.
• Dates and amounts of any estimated tax payments.
• Bank routing and account numbers if the client wants a refund deposited.
• Any tax forms already received this year, such as W-2s and 1099s.

The full list of income, deduction and credit forms, with who issues each one, is in what documents you need from tax clients.

Clients with a business or a rental need more. A self-employed client should also bring income records and expense totals; the Schedule C checklist for sole proprietors lists them. An owner of an LLC or other small business needs books, statements and payroll filings, which the small business tax prep checklist covers.

Send the list a week before the meeting, not the day before. Clients who have to search a filing cabinet or log into an old account need time, and a reminder two days out catches the ones who set the email aside. If the meeting is by video, ask the client to upload the prior returns beforehand so the preparer can read them before the call rather than during it.

Tell clients that missing items are fine at the first meeting. The goal is to see enough to set the checklist, not to finish the return.

Client onboarding gaps that surface at filing time

The client onboarding gaps that surface at filing time are usually items the firm assumed and never confirmed: no prior return on file, estimated payments nobody recorded, an unknown carryover, or an authorization that was never signed. Each one costs more to fix in March than it did to ask about at onboarding.

No prior return. The client said they would send it and never did. The checklist for this year is then built from memory, and the first sign of a missed account is a notice months later.

Unknown estimated payments. The client paid quarterly but did not mention it. Without the payment record, the return overstates the balance due. Ask at onboarding and record the answer, even if it is "none".

Carryovers nobody saw. Capital loss carryovers, depreciation on business assets and unused credits live in prior returns and worksheets. A summary page hides them.

A missing authorization. The firm planned to pull transcripts and never sent the form. The transcript arrives after the return is drafted, or not at all.

Dependents' details. A dependent's number or date of birth is wrong or missing. It is a small thing to check at intake and a slow back-and-forth with the client to fix during the season.

Once onboarding is done, the prior return becomes the baseline for documents. Schema CPA reads uploads from a new client against that baseline and drafts a list of what is still outstanding for the firm to review and send; the workflow section of the homepage shows the steps.

A reusable onboarding checklist

The checklist below is an example for one fictional new client, the Delacroix household, onboarded by a fictional firm. Copy the structure and fill in your own owners and dates.

Owners are roles, not names, so the same checklist works for the next client. The due dates count from the day the client said yes.