Onboarding a new client involves more moving parts than most practitioners account for.
There is the engagement letter, identity checks, anti-money laundering compliance, risk assessment, and, depending on the outcome, Enhanced Due Diligence before any work begins. Miss one step, and you are not just behind on admin. You have a compliance gap that regulators will find before you do.
This post gives you three profession-specific client onboarding checklists, each free to download and ready to use on your next client. Pick the one that fits your role, work through it from top to bottom, and every step is covered.
What Is a Client Onboarding Checklist & Why Do You Need One
A client onboarding checklist is a structured record of every step your practice completes before a new client engagement begins. It covers identity verification, anti-money laundering checks, risk assessment, due diligence, and the administrative setup required to actually start the work.
Most practices do most of these things. The problem is doing them consistently, in the right order, and with a record that proves it happened.
Here is why that record matters:
Client Onboarding Checklist for Accountants (Free Download)
Accounting practices take on clients across a wider range of entity types than most other professional services firms. A sole trader, a limited company, an LLP, and a trust each require a different engagement letter, a different set of identity documents, and, in some cases, a different risk profile from the outset.
This checklist is built around that reality. It confirms entity type early, prompts professional clearance from the previous accountant before work begins, and walks through KYC, AML, risk assessment and Enhanced Due Diligence in the right sequence. It then moves into practice setup: accounting software access, bank feed connection, filing deadlines, and a clear split of responsibilities between the firm and the client.
Download the Client Onboarding Checklist for Accountants and use it on your next new client.
Client Onboarding Checklist for Bookkeepers (Free Download)
Bookkeeping engagements vary more than almost any other professional service. One client wants full-service monthly bookkeeping, including payroll and VAT returns. Another wants quarterly reconciliation only. The scope changes, and if the engagement letter does not reflect exactly what was agreed, the bookkeeper ends up doing work with no fee agreement behind it.
This checklist puts scope definition first, before anything else moves forward. It then covers KYC and AML checks, risk assessment, and EDD where required, followed by systems setup: software access, bank feeds, VAT scheme confirmation, payroll setup if in scope, and the receipt capture process. It closes with a workflow agreement that sets out what the client provides, when they provide it, and how communication works throughout the engagement.
Download the Client Onboarding Checklist for Bookkeepers and build a consistent process from day one.
Client Onboarding Checklist for Tax Advisers (Free Download)
Tax advisers deal with a layer of onboarding that accountants and bookkeepers do not always face to the same degree. Before any advice is given or any correspondence sent, HMRC agent authorisation needs to be in place. Acting without it creates problems with HMRC and exposes the adviser to liability. Yet it is one of the most commonly delayed steps in tax onboarding.
This checklist addresses that directly. It confirms HMRC agent authorisation is submitted and received before any client-facing work begins. It also prompts a review of the client’s tax history, including any open enquiries, outstanding liabilities or previous penalties, before the adviser forms a view. Filing deadlines across Self Assessment, the CGT 60-day reporting window, Corporation Tax and VAT are all logged at the outset, so nothing is missed in the first weeks of the engagement.
Download the Client Onboarding Checklist for Tax Advisers and start every engagement on solid ground.
What Each Checklist Covers
All three checklists follow the same client journey that well-run practices already use. The difference is that they turn that journey into a repeatable process with a record at every stage.
The pathway looks like this:
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Step 1: Send the engagement letter.
The client reviews it, agrees to the scope and fees, and signs. Nothing moves forward until this is in place.
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Step 2: Run KYC and AML checks.
Identity is verified, documents are reviewed, and the client is screened against sanctions lists and PEP databases. You receive a result.
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Step 3: Assess the risk.
Based on the KYC and AML outcome, you assess the client against your firm's risk appetite and assign a rating: low, medium or high.
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Step 4: Apply the right level of due diligence.
A low or medium rating means standard due diligence applies, and onboarding proceeds. A high rating triggers Enhanced Due Diligence, which must be completed and signed off by senior management before the engagement goes any further.
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Step 5: Set a review date and close the file.
Onboarding is complete, but the client's risk profile is not forgotten. A review date or trigger condition is logged so the file is revisited when circumstances change.
That is the path every compliant practice follows. These checklists make sure your firm follows it consistently, and that every step is on record when someone asks to see your process.
How to Use These Checklists in Your Practice
Download the client onboarding checklist that fits your role and save it somewhere accessible before your next client comes in.
How you use it depends on how your practice is structured.
- If one person handles client onboarding, assign the checklist to them at the point the engagement letter goes out. They work through it stage by stage and sign it off when every step is complete. It stays with the client’s file.
- If onboarding is split across multiple people, copy the checklist into your client’s working folder, whether that is a shared drive, a client Excel file, or your practice management system. Each person marks their steps as done when completed. Nobody closes the file until every stage has a tick against it.
Either way, no client gets marked as fully onboarded until every stage is signed off, and that includes referred clients, low-risk clients, and clients who feel familiar from day one.
Helpful Client Onboarding Resources
- Here’s A Simplest & Reliable Way to Onboard MTD Clients: Streamline Your MTD Client Onboarding Journey | FigsFlow
- Streamline Your Client Onboarding in AML & KYC with FigsFlow: AML & KYC in Client Onboarding | FigsFlow
- These 5 Client Onboarding Mistakes Are Hurting Your Business Growth: 5 Client Onboarding Mistakes Costing You Clients
- How to Talk About Fees Without Losing Clients: Nail Your Price Communication or Keep Losing Clients!
- Price Your Bookkeeping Services Without Guesswork: Bookkeeping Pricing Made Easy for UK Accountants | FigsFlow
Conclusion
Onboarding does not need to be complicated. It needs to be consistent.
A new client should receive the same thorough process whether they come through a referral, a cold enquiry, or a marketing campaign. The partner who has been in practice for twenty years and the team member who joined last month should follow the exact same steps, produce the same records, and close the file the same way.
That consistency is what protects your practice when a regulatory review comes, when a client disputes scope, or when someone new picks up a file and needs to understand what was done and why. It is also what allows a practice to grow without onboarding quality, depending on who happens to be available.
Download the checklist that fits your practice and use it on your next client.
Frequently Asked Questions
Client onboarding is the process of bringing a new client into your practice in a structured and compliant way. It means understanding who you are doing business with, verifying their identity, assessing the risks involved, and putting the right paperwork and checks in place before any work begins.
A client onboarding checklist is a structured list of steps a practice completes before formally taking on a new client. It covers everything from the engagement letter and identity verification to AML checks, risk assessment and due diligence, ensuring nothing is missed, and every step is recorded.
KYC is one stage within the broader onboarding process. It is the part where you verify who your client is through identity documents and address verification. Onboarding also includes AML checks, risk assessment, engagement letters and due diligence, all of which sit around and beyond the KYC stage.
Yes. Bookkeepers providing bookkeeping services as a business fall within the scope of the Money Laundering Regulations 2017. They are required to carry out Customer Due Diligence, including identity verification and AML screening, before taking on any new client, regardless of how small or straightforward the engagement appears.
Enhanced Due Diligence is required when a client is assessed as high risk following the standard risk assessment. It involves additional verification steps, including source of funds and source of wealth, and must be approved by senior management before the engagement proceeds.
