If they’re a new business, you’ll want to ensure that they get going on the right foot. And you’ll want to have a central location where you log agreed-upon rates for clients (if there’s any variation). If you require a deposit or payment upfront, now is the time to set that up, too.
In the excitement of a new project, it’s easy to forget all of the little details to get a client set up. Having a documented onboarding process makes sundry income definition your life much easier. You get clients up to speed faster, show off your organizational skills, and save mental space for the work clients hired you to do.
If you use statements of work to manage your project specs, here’s where you’ll sign one for your initial projects. In cases where your projects will be fairly similar, you can use this first statement of work as a base for its future counterparts. Make a copy, personalize it, and reference it every time you land a new client.
- And you’ll want to have a central location where you log agreed-upon rates for clients (if there’s any variation).
- Going through the chart of accounts prior to starting your accounting services means that you will spend less time later reclassifying older transactions and financial statements.
- Instruct clients and their team members on how to manually enter financial transactions into QuickBooks Online, especially for transactions that may not be captured through automated processes.
- You’ll also want a way to track and assign specific tasks and add due dates if you have any.
Step 7: Establish the process for receiving/obtaining statements.
Like evaluating the client’s reporting needs, this step can help you get them set up right from the start. If your client is using a third-party to run payroll, you can skip this step. However, having it in your standard workflow will ensure that you have the conversation with your client as you go through the onboarding process. Many small business owners find QuickBooks intimidating which is where your bookkeeping services come in. If you want to streamline your workflow even more, you can automate your client onboarding. As we break down each step of the onboarding process, we’ll offer some tips on how you can put your operation on autopilot.
This gives your clients a better experience, and helps you grow from small business owner to effective team manager as you add more staff. You’ll also want a way to track and assign specific tasks and add due dates if you have any. If you want to keep your clients or teammates in the loop, you can automate your project management workflows with automations like these that send project updates as messages. You will probably need to assist with linking accounts to your client’s QuickBooks. However, doing so means that you will spend significantly less time on data entry and will provide more efficient and accurate bookkeeping services.
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And even if your app of choice saves the contracts within its system, make sure you save copies of all agreements in your client/project management app as well. Small business clients are often very savvy in their fields but may not understand the finer points of accounting. Giving them a small sample of a couple of months of accounting to review gives them something concrete to provide comments on. Once you’ve set up the chart of accounts, you should import the initial set of data and review the output with the client prior to importing several years of data.
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To make this step even easier, include a link to the intake form in your welcome document. Then, you can speed up the intake process with form automations like the ones below. You can use Zapier’s pre-built new client intake form template to give your clients a seamless experience from the moment of purchase. It includes a simple client hub to simplify onboarding for you and your customers. But if you have a new client that hasn’t been using QuickBooks before, you should have a standard process for making sure that they’re set up correctly in the system. If they’re an established company, you’ll need to make sure that you’re importing all their information from their prior system.
Any agency or freelancer that’s ever dealt with a clingy client or a ghosting collaborator knows the importance of communication. In addition to setting expectations around response times, it helps to establish communication channels right from the start. Whether you’re using the checklist or using our complete guide, you’re on the right track to be an expert in no time. You could track all of these processes using a spreadsheet or Google Docs, but there’s no need to reinvent what is the abbreviation for million the wheel.
New business owners DO NOT use QB for invoicing or processing credit cards from clients. They do take your hard earned money from your clients but do not give it to you like they said they qualitative characteristics of financial statements would. Its beyond the 5 day waiting period , its beyond the 2 day account transaction review, its beyond weeks now! I initiated contact, not them like it should be when they hold your money for no reason with no explanation. DO NOT use them as you will never see your money nor ever get the courtesy of an explanation.