fbpx

Free Bookkeeping Engagement Letter Template for Accountants, Bookkeepers, and CPA's

Engagement Letter Template

Outline your responsibilities and establish credibility with your client with our professional bookkeeping engagement letter for accountants, bookkeepers and CPA’s!

 

Download Your Free Bookkeeping Engagement Letter
Bookkeeping Engagement Letter

If you are an accounting firm owner, you know that it’s vital to impress first-time or potential clients. A client’s first impression of your business could make or break a deal 

To make a good impression, you have to:

  • Appear professional
  • Communicate clearly
  • Make it easy for the customer to work with you

You must exhibit these qualities in all your interactions with your clients, whether it’s an in-person meeting, a phone call, or an engagement letter. 

At Financial Cents, we understand the importance of a first impression, and we’re here to help. Our FREE bookkeeping engagement letter template will help you craft a professional accounting engagement letter that impresses your clients instead of confusing them.

How will a solid engagement letter help you impress clients?

A Solid Bookkeeping Engagement Letter Will Help You: 

  1. Present a professional image
  2. Establish credibility
  3. Set clear expectations
  4. Outline your services and fee structure
  5. Outline responsibilities for both you and your client
  6. Mitigate risk by clearly describing terms and conditions 

Let’s take a look at each of these 6 goals.

1. Present a professional image

The first step to making a good impression is to appear professional, competent and assured. An official engagement letter outlining all your terms and conditions is just the ticket! 

But this only works if your letter looks and sounds polished.   

An accounting engagement letter template, like the one we are offering, allows you to fill in your logo and information so you can quickly create a clear-cut, professional-looking letter. 

Trust us—your clients will notice! 

Engagement Letter Template For Accountants &Amp; Bookkeepers 1

2. Establish Credibility 

Second, you want to establish credibility. Your client needs to know that you are trustworthy and competent. 

A clear, confident accounting engagement letter helps assure potential clients that you are capable and will do a good job. 

Does a good engagement letter guarantee that you will get the sale and client?

No, but we all understand the importance of initial impressions.

Promptly sending a solid letter of engagement will also let your client know that your accounting business is well run and organized

3. Set clear expectations 

Clarity is key! 

The primary purpose of a bookkeeping engagement letter is to clearly state the expectations of your agreement. 

If you don’t state your expectations clearly, you could run into confusion in the future. 

If you state them clearly, your client will be satisfied, not confused, and more likely to keep working with you. 

Having a clear initial engagement letter is one of the best ways to provide clarity and eliminate all confusion right off the bat. 

Also, if you have a clear engagement letter that eliminates doubts about your agreement, you reduce your risk of litigation. But more on that in a bit.

Engagement Letter Template For Accountants &Amp; Bookkeepers 2

4. Outline your services and fee structure 

Your accounting engagement letter will help you clarify what services you will provide and how you would like to be compensated for these services. 

A good bookkeeping engagement letter lets your client know exactly what services they can expect to receive from you, what you expect them to pay for it, and other terms and conditions. 

If your engagement letter plainly outlines this information, it helps remove potential confusion and forgetfulness, saving you time, stress, and potentially from an upset client.

If you intend to increase your prices in the future, you should learn how to write a price increase letter for bookkeeping, accounting or CPA clients.

5. Outline responsibilities for both you and your client

Again, the purpose of an engagement letter is to eliminate confusion and clearly state expectations for an agreement. 

Your accounting engagement letter should outline not only your responsibilities but the responsibilities of your client. 

For example, you may need certain bookkeeping or financial records from the client by a set time of the month in order to complete your tasks on time.

Or, you may state that your accounting firm does not include any procedures designed to discover fraud or theft and cannot be relied on to find those things, and that this is your client’s responsibility. 

Stating clear deadlines and tasks saves you trouble, and maybe even a customer, in the future.  

6. Mitigate risk by laying out terms and conditions 

A clear, explicit bookkeeping engagement letter is your first line of defense when it comes to avoiding legal trouble. 

An engagement letter is not a binding agreement like a contract, but it’s a written paper that states your terms and conditions and eliminates confusion. 

An engagement letter is a good safeguard to help you avoid confusion, anger, and ultimately, a lawsuit.

An bookkeeping engagement letter template like this one will help you make sure that you have all the bases covered so you can avoid unpleasant situations in the future.  

Conclusion 

Your first interactions with a customer matter

First impressions lay the foundation for your relationship. It’s important to appear professional, clear, and polished. 

Sending a well-written engagement letter will help you to do this. 

It will also help you build a good relationship with your client and avoid unpleasantness by eliminating confusion and clearly stating expectations. 

The sample bookkeeping engagement letter we offer at Financial Cents makes it easier to present a professional image. 

Download your template letter today and continue building solid relationships with your clients! 

We also offer other free templates, including:

We can’t wait to help you streamline your firm and impress your new client

Download Your Free Engagement Letter

Get organized and hit your deadlines

Collaborate on client work and track your accounting deadlines with our easy-to-use cloud-based practice management software

Free 14-day trial. No credit card required

Check out our other workflow templates & forms – Accounting Templates & Forms

Track client work and hit your deadlines
Start a free trial today to start using this and other
templates in seconds