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Client onboarding for accountants, run to your checklist

We take a new client from "yes" to a ready file: engagement letter signed, AML evidence collected, the previous accountant contacted, HMRC and Companies House access in place and the first deadlines in your diary. Your practice decides whether to accept the client and approves every letter that goes out.

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Client onboarding checklist for accountants

Eight stages, and who does each one

This is the checklist we run for a typical new client, whether a sole trader, a landlord or a limited company. We adapt it to your own templates and the services in the engagement.

Example onboarding checklist. Each practice agrees its own stages, templates and sign-off points before we start.
StageWhat gets doneWe handleYour practice
1. Enquiry logged Prospect recorded with contact details, entity type, Companies House number, UTR and the services they want. Logs the enquiry in your practice software, sends your onboarding questionnaire, chases missing answers. Scopes the work and sets the fee.
2. Engagement letter via SignWell Letter of engagement and terms of business issued for e-signature, with a schedule of services. Prepares the letter from your template, sends it through SignWell, chases signature, files the signed copy. Approves the wording, services and fees before it is sent.
3. AML customer due diligence Identity and address evidence for the client, and for companies the directors and beneficial owners. Requests documents, runs checks in your AML tool, assembles the CDD file and flags gaps. Risk assessment and the decision to accept, by your MLRO or responsible partner.
4. Professional clearance letter The client's written authority obtained, then a professional enquiry sent to the previous accountant along with a request for handover information. Drafts the letter on your letterhead, sends it once signed, diarises the follow-up, logs what comes back. Signs the letter, reads the reply and decides whether anything affects acceptance.
5. HMRC agent authorisation Authorisation requested for each tax the engagement covers. Raises requests through your agent services account or HMRC Online Services for Agents, then chases the client to approve the link or pass on the posted code. Owns the agent credentials and confirms which taxes to request.
6. Companies House access and ID status Company authentication code obtained for online filing; identity verification status recorded for each director and PSC. Requests the code from the client, records who has verified and who has a personal code, chases those who have not. Carries out any identity verification itself under its own ACSP registration.
7. Software set-up Client created in Bright Manager, IRIS or QuickBooks with the right services, year end and naming. Creates the records, links them to the services engaged, requests bank feed or bookkeeping access. Approves any new template, chart of accounts or recurring job set-up.
8. First deadlines diarised Year end, accounts and CT600 dates, confirmation statement, VAT quarters, MTD quarterly updates, Self Assessment. Enters every deadline in your practice software and hands over a status note. Assigns the accountant and confirms the job plan.

Sources: ICAEW helpsheet "Change of professional appointment: incoming accountant" (Code of Ethics Section 320); GOV.UK "How to use the digital handshake to get authorised as a tax agent" and "How to use the online agent authorisation to get authorised as a tax agent"; GOV.UK "Verifying your identity for Companies House"; Money Laundering Regulations 2017, regulation 30, legislation.gov.uk.

Where onboarding stalls

The four waits that hold up a new client

Most onboarding delays come from waiting on someone outside the practice. Each wait has a rule behind it, so we diarise the follow-up the day the request goes out.

  1. ID that has not arrived

    Under regulation 30 of the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, identity is normally verified before the business relationship is established. Until the evidence is in, the work cannot properly start, so we chase on a set rhythm and tell you who is outstanding.

  2. A silent previous accountant

    ICAEW guidance says that if the existing accountant does not reply, the incoming firm can write again by recorded delivery giving a reasonable deadline, and that less than two weeks is unlikely to be reasonable. We track both letters and prompt you when the period has run.

  3. HMRC authorisation that expires

    An authorisation link from the agent services account expires after 21 days. For taxes still handled through HMRC Online Services for Agents, HMRC posts a code to the client within 7 working days and it usually has to be used within 30 days. Lost codes mean starting again.

  4. Directors who have not verified

    Existing directors give their Companies House personal code in the company's next confirmation statement. A new client with unverified directors needs chasing well before that filing date.

How it runs

From a signed proposal to a ready file

You tell us a new client has said yes. We run the stages and report progress where your team already looks.

  1. New client trigger

    Your team sends the name, entity type and services agreed, by email, Teams or a task in Monday.com or your practice software.

  2. Stages worked and tracked

    We send the letters, collect the documents and request the authorisations, with each stage marked as it closes so you can see what is outstanding at a glance.

  3. Handover note

    When every stage is complete or waiting only on your decision, the assigned accountant gets a short note listing what is on file, what came back from the previous accountant and the first deadlines.

The handover file

What the accountant receives

A complete file means the first job on a new client starts with the work itself.

For the full stage-by-stage reasoning, read our client onboarding checklist for UK accounting firms. If you want the AML stage handled as a standing service for existing clients too, see AML checks.

  • Signed engagement letter and terms of business, with the SignWell completion record.
  • CDD file with identity and address evidence and check results, ready for your risk assessment.
  • Previous accountant's reply and any handover information received, such as prior-year returns, accounts, workings and balances.
  • Authorisation log showing each HMRC service requested, when, and whether it is active.
  • Companies House record: authentication code held, and verification status for each director and PSC.
  • Deadline schedule for the first twelve months, entered in your practice software.
Questions

Client onboarding questions from UK practices

What should an accountant's client onboarding checklist include?

At minimum: a signed engagement letter, AML customer due diligence with your risk assessment, a professional enquiry to the previous accountant, HMRC agent authorisation for each tax, Companies House access for company clients, software set-up and the first deadlines in your diary. Our onboarding checklist guide explains each step.

How long should client onboarding take for an accounting firm?

It depends mostly on people outside the practice. HMRC posts some authorisation codes to the client within 7 working days, and ICAEW guidance treats less than two weeks as unlikely to be a reasonable deadline for a previous accountant's reply. We start every stage on day one so the outside waits run in parallel.

What is a professional clearance letter?

It is the letter an incoming accountant sends to the previous accountant, with the client's permission, asking whether there is any reason they should not accept the appointment. ICAEW calls it a professional enquiry, because the decision to accept stays with the incoming firm. It is also the usual moment to ask for handover information.

Can we start work before AML checks are complete?

Regulation 30 of the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 says identity should be verified before the business relationship is established. There is a narrow exception where verification is completed during set-up because it is necessary to avoid interrupting normal business and the risk is low. Whether that applies is a judgement for your MLRO.

How does an agent get authorised with HMRC for a new client?

For services such as VAT, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax on UK property, you send a link from your agent services account, which expires after 21 days. For Self Assessment and Corporation Tax, HMRC Online Services for Agents posts a code to the client, or the client can sign form 64-8.

Do you verify directors' identities for Companies House?

No. Identity verification is done directly with Companies House or through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider such as your practice. We record each director's and PSC's verification status, chase people who have not verified, and keep their personal codes on file for your filings.

Related services

AML checks

Customer due diligence for new clients and ongoing monitoring for existing ones.

HMRC and Companies House portal admin

Authorisations, filing status checks and correspondence once the client is live.

Billing

First invoice and recurring fees set up to match the engagement letter.

Next step

Hand us your next new client

Tell us how your practice onboards today and we will show you how we would run it.

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