Onboarding a bookkeeping client is different from most freelance work, because you need access to sensitive financial systems and a clear picture of how messy the books already are before you can quote or start. A bookkeeping client intake form gathers all of that in one structured pass, so you are not discovering surprises three weeks in. Here is what to include on a bookkeeping or accounting intake form, and a sample you can adapt.
What a bookkeeping intake form is
A bookkeeping client intake form is a questionnaire you send a new client to collect the business, financial, and access details you need to take on their books. It does two jobs at once: it gathers the practical information to start the work, and it reveals the current state of the books, which is what tells you how much work you are actually signing up for.
That second job is the one that protects your pricing. A client whose books are a year behind is a very different engagement from one with clean, current records, and the intake form is where you find that out before you commit to a rate. For the general onboarding sequence this fits into, the client onboarding process guide covers the full workflow.
What to include on a bookkeeping intake form
A thorough form covers the business, the financials, the access, and the scope.
Business and entity details
Legal business name and structure (sole proprietor, LLC, corporation)
EIN or tax ID
Industry and a brief description of the business
Primary contact and who has financial authority
Financial details
Accounting software currently in use (QuickBooks, Xero, spreadsheets, none)
Fiscal year and reporting needs
Number of bank and credit card accounts
Rough monthly transaction volume
Whether they handle payroll, and how
Current state of the books
Are the books up to date, and if not, how far behind?
When were they last reconciled?
Has a previous bookkeeper or accountant been involved?
Are there known problem areas?
Access and scope
What services do they need: monthly bookkeeping, cleanup, payroll, reporting?
What access can they provide, and when?
Deadlines or upcoming needs, such as tax filing
The current-state and transaction-volume questions are the ones that determine your price, so never skip them. A monthly rate quoted before you know the volume and the mess is a rate that can trap you.
A sample bookkeeping intake form
Condensed, the form flows like this:
Business: Name, entity type, EIN, industry, primary contact.
Software: What are you using now? (QuickBooks / Xero / spreadsheets / none)
Accounts: How many bank and credit card accounts? Roughly how many transactions a month?
Payroll: Do you run payroll? How many employees?
Current books: Up to date, or behind? Last reconciled when? Any known issues?
Services needed: Monthly bookkeeping / catch-up cleanup / payroll / reporting / tax prep support.
Access: What can you grant, and when?
Every field either helps you do the work or helps you price it correctly, which is exactly what an intake form should do.
Handle financial access carefully
Bookkeeping intake involves sensitive information, so gather it securely rather than over plain email, and only ask for the access you actually need to start. Request read access first where you can, and be clear about how you store and protect the client's data.
The information you collect should set up the client cleanly rather than sitting in an inbox. FileCurrent's intake forms create the client record automatically, so once a client completes the form, they are set up in the system and ready to receive an engagement letter and an invoice, with their details attached. If you are setting your prices for this work, the freelance bookkeeper rates guide covers the going ranges, and pricing cleanup separately from ongoing work is what the intake form makes possible.
Frequently asked questions
What is a bookkeeping client intake form?
It is a questionnaire you send a new bookkeeping or accounting client to collect the business, financial, and access details you need to take on their books. It gathers the practical information to start and reveals the current state of the books, which tells you how much work the engagement actually involves before you commit to a rate.
What should be on an accounting client intake form?
The business and entity details, the accounting software in use, the number of accounts and monthly transaction volume, payroll details, the current state of the books, the services needed, and what access the client can provide. The transaction volume and current-state questions matter most, since they determine how much work you are taking on.
Why does a bookkeeper need an intake form?
Because bookkeeping requires access to sensitive financial systems and a clear picture of how current the books are before you can quote or start. The intake form gathers the access and reveals the state of the books in one pass, so you can price the work accurately, especially separating cleanup from ongoing bookkeeping, rather than discovering the mess later.
How do I price bookkeeping after intake?
Use the transaction volume, the number of accounts, and the current state of the books from the intake form to scope the work. Price ongoing bookkeeping as a monthly retainer based on volume and services, and price any catch-up cleanup separately as a one-time project, since the intake form is what tells you how much cleanup is involved.
How should I collect financial information securely?
Gather it through a secure form rather than plain email, ask only for the access you need to start, and request read access first where possible. Be clear with the client about how you store and protect their data. Handling financial information carefully from the first form builds the trust the whole engagement depends on.
A bookkeeping intake form is what lets you price and start an engagement accurately instead of guessing. FileCurrent turns your intake questions into a form that creates the client record automatically, so onboarding a new bookkeeping client flows straight into an engagement and an invoice. $15/month or $129/year. 7-day free trial, no card required.