What should be in a bookkeeping engagement letter?

The scope of services, what is explicitly excluded, the fee and how it changes, payment terms, what the client is responsible for providing and by when, turnaround times, and the monthly cut-off. The exclusions matter as much as the inclusions. Most scope disputes are about something nobody wrote down either way.

Should I price catch-up work separately?

Yes, always. Catch-up or clean-up work is a project with an unknown depth; ongoing bookkeeping is a predictable monthly service. Bundling them means quoting a monthly fee against work you have not yet scoped, which is how a practice ends up subsidising the first six months of a client.

Do I need to be a registered BAS agent?

To charge a fee for BAS services — including lodging a BAS or advising on GST and PAYG obligations — yes. Doing bookkeeping as an employee of the business is different. Confirm your registration covers the scope before you sign the engagement letter.

Why verify opening balances if the previous bookkeeper gave me a trial balance?

Because the moment you build on top of it, you have adopted it. Every error in the prior period becomes visible in your period, and the client will experience it as your work. Reconcile the bank, agree the trial balance to the last financial statements, and agree the GST control account to the last lodged BAS. Then you know what you took on.

What if I cannot verify something?

Document it and tell the client in writing before you start processing. Name what you could not verify and what you would need to resolve it. That one email is the difference between a known limitation and an argument six months later about whose period a problem belonged to.

What should I check in an inherited payroll setup?

Which modern award or agreement covers each employee, how classifications were assigned, whether base rates match current award rates, and whether penalty rates, overtime and casual loading are configured. Then confirm superannuation is calculated on ordinary time earnings, STP is connected and reporting, and leave balances carried across correctly.

What if I find a historic underpayment?

Raise it with the client in writing promptly, and do not quietly correct it going forward as though nothing happened. The exposure is the client, but you now have knowledge of it. Recommend they take advice, and agree the scope and fee for any remediation work separately before you start it.

How do I check award rates quickly?

Identify the award and the classification first — that is where most errors originate, not in the arithmetic. The award pay checker and the award rates guides give you current rates by classification. For a client with rostered staff, checking a handful of employees across different classifications and shift patterns will usually tell you whether the setup is sound.

FREE EXCEL CHECKLIST Last updated 28 August 2026

Client onboarding checklist for bookkeeping practices

Fifty-three steps from the first conversation to the first completed period — engagement, access, records, opening balances, payroll setup and the monthly rhythm. Built so you do not inherit a problem you did not price for.

Client onboarding checklist

Excel (.xlsx) · 53 steps · no signup

53 steps across 7 stages

Opening balance verification built in

Award and payroll setup checks

Owner, date and notes columns

General information only, not tax or accounting advice.

This template is general information for Australian businesses. GST treatment, account coding, reporting obligations and deduction eligibility depend on your circumstances — confirm them with your accountant, a registered BAS agent or the ATO. It does not constitute legal, HR, or professional advice and should not be relied on as a substitute for advice specific to your business, workforce, or circumstances.

References HR Hub disclaimer Modern Awards Fair Work

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What's in the onboarding checklist

Seven stages, in the order that stops work being redone.

1. Before you accept

Understand the business, confirm the work is within your registration, assess the file, and price catch-up work separately.

2. Engagement and terms

Scope, exclusions, fees, client responsibilities, turnaround and cut-off — signed before work starts.

3. Get access

Software, bank feeds, payroll, ATO portal, POS and document storage. Plus removing the previous bookkeeper.

4. Collect the records

The eight documents worth having before you touch anything, including four BAS lodgements and the fixed asset register.

5. Verify the opening position

Reconcile, agree the trial balance, confirm GST and payroll liabilities. Document whatever you cannot verify.

6. Payroll setup

Award identification, classification checks, rates, penalties, super on OTE, STP and leave balances.

The records to request before you start

Requesting these on day one is far easier than reconstructing them in month three.

Record	Why you need it
Last two years of financial statements	Agrees your opening trial balance
Last four BAS lodgements	Confirms the GST control account
Current chart of accounts	Tells you how the file has been coded
Fixed asset register and depreciation schedules	Painful to rebuild, easy to request
Trial balance at handover date	The line between their period and yours
Prior year tax return and accountant journals	Year-end adjustments you would otherwise miss
Employee records, TFN declarations, super choices	Payroll setup depends entirely on these

Verify rather than accept. A trial balance handed to you is a starting point — reconcile the bank and agree the GST control account to the last lodged BAS before you rely on it.

Why onboarding is the highest-leverage hours you spend

Almost every problem that costs unbilled time later was avoidable in the first week.

Unclear scope

The most expensive words in a practice are "I thought that was included". An engagement letter naming exclusions is what you point at in month three.

Missing access

Chasing bank feed authorisation during a BAS week costs multiples of setting it up on day one.

Unverified opening balances

If you did not verify it, you have adopted it. Every error in the prior period becomes yours the moment you build on top of it.

Inherited payroll setups

Award classifications and rates configured by someone else, never checked. This is where underpayments hide.

Shift-based clients need the payroll stage done properly

If the client has staff on rosters, check which modern award applies, how classifications were assigned, and whether penalty rates, casual loading and overtime are actually being applied — before you run a pay.

Inherited payroll configurations are where underpayments hide. The exposure lands on the client, but the work of finding and fixing it lands on you, usually unbilled. The award pay checker is a fast first look.

Only registered BAS agents can charge for BAS services

Confirm your registration covers what you are agreeing to do before you sign the engagement. Providing a BAS service for a fee without registration is not a paperwork problem.

That includes advising on GST or PAYG obligations, not only lodging.

Who uses a client onboarding checklist

Bookkeeping practices

A consistent onboarding across the book, so quality does not depend on who did it.

Practices hiring

The checklist is the training document. Hand it to a new starter and review the notes column.

Accountants taking on compliance work

Same discipline applies when a tax practice picks up the bookkeeping.

For accountants & bookkeepers

Taking on a client with staff on rosters?

Shift-based clients are the ones where payroll setup takes longest and goes wrong quietest. Bookkeepers who bring those clients onto RosterElf earn recurring monthly income for every employee managed — and get award interpretation handled before the first pay run, not after.

Recurring monthly income

$1.00–$2.00 per active employee

Signup bonus

$100 per new client business

Tiered rates

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FAQ

Client onboarding questions

The scope of services, what is explicitly excluded, the fee and how it changes, payment terms, what the client is responsible for providing and by when, turnaround times, and the monthly cut-off.

The exclusions matter as much as the inclusions. Most scope disputes are about something nobody wrote down either way.
Yes, always. Catch-up or clean-up work is a project with an unknown depth; ongoing bookkeeping is a predictable monthly service.

Bundling them means quoting a monthly fee against work you have not yet scoped, which is how a practice ends up subsidising the first six months of a client.
To charge a fee for BAS services — including lodging a BAS or advising on GST and PAYG obligations — yes. Doing bookkeeping as an employee of the business is different.

Confirm your registration covers the scope before you sign the engagement letter.

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