Bookkeeping Client Onboarding Checklist

A bookkeeping client onboarding checklist records the agreed work, software access, bank feeds and records you need before the first job. Use the template below to assign each item and separate routine bookkeeping from catch-up work.

Agree Scope Before Touching the Books

Agree the services and get the bookkeeping engagement letter signed before you start changing the client’s books. Record the work frequency, who prepares and lodges BAS, payroll responsibilities and how you charge for catch-up work. Use the bookkeeping engagement letter guide to set those terms.

Preparing or lodging BAS for a fee requires registration as a BAS or tax agent, subject to applicable exemptions. The Tax Practitioners Board’s BAS services guidance also covers advice and work that applies BAS provisions. An independent unregistered bookkeeper must leave that work to a registered agent. Pure data entry without calculating activity statement figures is a different service. Name the registered agent who takes responsibility, instead of assuming a separate lodgement signature covers your work.

Collect the legal entity name, trading name, ABN, GST registration and GST accounting basis. Add BAS frequency, payroll status, the authorised contact and the previous bookkeeper’s handover details.

Copy this bookkeeping client onboarding checklist template into your job record. Add a named owner and due date to each row. Mark an item complete only when its completion evidence exists.

Item	Completion evidence	Owner	Due date	Status
Scope and engagement	Signed letter and separate catch-up scope	Assign	Enter	Open
Client details	Entity, ABN and tax settings recorded	Assign	Enter	Open
Software access	Named user can open the correct file	Assign	Enter	Open
Bank feeds	Each account mapped and statement gaps listed	Assign	Enter	Open
Payroll	Employee balances and reporting settings checked	Assign	Enter	Open
ATO access	Required agent link and accounts visible	Assign	Enter	Open
Catch-up or cleanup	Periods, problems and quote agreed	Assign	Enter	Open
Documents and apps	Receipt route and subscription owners recorded	Assign	Enter	Open

How to Invite Your Accountant to Xero

Ask the client’s Xero subscriber, or a user with permission to manage users, to send a named invitation. You can forward these steps to the client.

1. Select your organisation name, then Settings.
2. Open Users and choose Invite a user.
3. Enter the bookkeeper’s name and work email address.
4. Under Business and accounting, choose Advisor for work needing full accounting access. Agree a narrower role when the work is limited.
5. Add Payroll admin only when payroll is in scope. Grant Manage users only when the practice needs to administer access.
6. Send the invitation. Ask the bookkeeper to accept it using their own Xero login.

Xero lists separate permissions for payroll and user management. An accounting role alone does not establish payroll access. Record who owns the subscription and which authorised user can remove practice access.

Your own login identifies your activity and lets the client revoke access without changing their password. Keep client passwords out of the handover.

Open the accepted organisation and confirm its legal entity, accounts and agreed permissions. If the invitation fails, check the email address and whether it expired, then ask the authorised user to resend it. Mark access complete after that check. Use the Xero bookkeeping procedure for new-organisation setup and the first reviewed period.

Getting Access to MYOB

Request a named MYOB invitation for the correct business or company file. The client needs the permissions shown in MYOB’s invitation guidance.

For MYOB Business, forward these steps.

1. Open the settings menu and choose Users and permissions.
2. Select Create advisor.
3. Enter the bookkeeper’s name and unique email address.
4. Select Save and send invitation.

The Advisor user type receives the Administrator role and access across businesses under that serial number. Agree that scope before sending.

For an online AccountRight file, the business owner with the Administrator role follows these steps.

1. Open the file and select Setup, then User Access.
2. Select New Advisor and Create an online MYOB login for this user.
3. Enter the bookkeeper’s name and MYOB login email.
4. Select the Accountant/Bookkeeper role. Choose online administrator access only when the agreed scope needs access across online files under the serial number.
5. Select Save and Invite User.

Accept the invitation and open the intended file. Check access to the agreed work.

A legacy desktop file needs a different handover. Ask for the exact version, file location, a current backup and an individual file user. Agree who controls the working copy before editing.

Connecting Bank Feeds

List every business bank and credit card account before connecting bank feeds. Include NAB, ANZ and CBA accounts the client uses, plus loans, savings and payment-clearing accounts. Record the account holder and the client representative who can authorise data sharing.

For MYOB Business, use Banking, then Banking hub, then Connect bank or credit card. Select the bank and follow its prompts.

In AccountRight, start at Banking command centre, then Bank Feeds. Select Connect your bank account for a first feed. For another feed, use Manage Bank Accounts, then Add or remove a bank account. The connection continues in the browser.

MYOB requires an online file for this connection. The business owner or Online Admin can complete setup. Open Banking requires a valid ABN in the business settings. Business bank accounts need an authorised nominated representative. Other connections use online banking authorisation or an application form, depending on the account.

Xero also supports online authorisation and signed application forms for some feeds. Keep bank-specific configuration in the Xero bookkeeping procedure.

Complete an account-by-account record before the first reconciliation.

Record	What to enter
Account	Bank, account type and matching software account
Authorisation	Client authoriser, connection method and status
Start	First transaction actually received
Missing periods	Statement ranges to collect or import
Reconciliation	Responsible staff member and first review period

Historical coverage depends on the bank, account type and connection. Do not assume a new feed fills the entire catch-up period. Compare the first imported transaction with the statements, and check for overlapping imports. Assign a manual statement route when a feed is unavailable. A connected feed is complete only when its transactions reach the intended account and gaps have an owner.

Payroll, STP and Super Settings

Collect the payroll records and check carried-forward balances before running the client’s first pay.

• Employee details and existing TFN declarations, collected through a secure document route.
• Super fund details, member information and applicable super choice records.
• Award or agreement, classification, pay rates and allowances.
• Leave balances, accrual settings and employee start details.
• Year-to-date wages, withholding, super and payroll reporting figures.
• Pay cycle, payment approver and the account that funds payroll and super.

Reconcile year-to-date figures to the previous payroll records. Confirm the Single Touch Payroll (STP) connection, employer identity and reporting settings. Agree who sends and approves reports, and review any rejected or unfinished reports before the next pay run.

Under the ATO’s Payday Super rules, super moves to each payday. Contributions generally must reach the employee’s fund within seven business days, with extended timeframes for specified cases. The commencement boundary and exceptions are set out in the ATO guidance.

Budget super alongside each pay cycle. Check the payroll software’s qualifying earnings treatment, payment route and handling of rejected contributions. Assign someone to monitor receipt and repair errors within the required timeframe. Use the Payday Super checklist for the employer’s detailed changeover work.

GST, BAS and ATO Access

Match the accounting file’s tax settings to the client’s actual registrations and reporting obligations before preparing BAS figures.

• Confirm cash or non-cash GST accounting and BAS reporting frequency.
• Record PAYG withholding registration and reporting obligations.
• Record PAYG instalment settings and notices where applicable.
• Identify fuel tax credit claims and the supporting records the registered agent needs.
• List outstanding activity statements and who will prepare and lodge each one.

ATO access is separate from an accounting software invitation. Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM) connects a person’s myID authority to the business ABN. It is not where the client completes the agent nomination.

Where client-to-agent linking applies, the authorised client signs into Online services for business. They select Profile, then Agent details and nominate the registered agent. The client tells the agent when nomination is complete. The agent then adds the client and confirms the required accounts are visible in Online services for agents.

Follow the ATO’s agent nomination instructions for the applicable client. Use the agent linking help when authority or nomination fails. Keep the software invitation, client nomination and agent account-access checks as separate checklist items.

Ask whether the client pays contractors for services covered by taxable payments annual reporting. The ATO’s taxable payments reporting guidance covers construction and specified services such as cleaning, IT, courier and road freight. Security, investigation and surveillance services are also covered, subject to the applicable rules and exemptions. Record the taxable payments annual report decision and annual reporting task. The BAS preparation checklist covers records for each recurring BAS period.

Scoping Catch-Up and Cleanup Work

Catch-up bookkeeping enters periods that were never recorded. Bookkeeping cleanup repairs entries already made. A new client can need both, so quote each part after inspecting the file.

Question	What the answer establishes
Which periods have no entries?	Catch-up period and missing source records
When did each account last reconcile?	Reliable starting point and reconciliation backlog
How many transactions and accounts are involved?	Volume of work
Which balances disagree with statements or reports?	Cleanup work needing investigation
Which BAS and payroll reports are outstanding?	Lodgement risks and reporting dependencies
Are bills, receipts and payroll records complete?	Work waiting on the client

Inspect unreconciled accounts, large suspense balances and duplicate transactions. Check GST codes applied to wages, unreconciled payment-clearing accounts and unlodged BAS. A balance that looks plausible does not prove the entries behind it are correct.

For a fictional example, a business has six months with no transactions entered and two earlier months with duplicate bank imports. Scope six months of catch-up separately from repairing the duplicates. Agree the starting balances and obtain statements covering both jobs before estimating the work.

Give the client a separate catch-up or cleanup quote. State the periods, included accounts, assumptions and how missing records affect the job. The registered agent must assess corrections to previously lodged figures. Agree the order for preparing and lodging overdue BAS with the client, allowing for dependencies and existing ATO obligations.

Receipts, Documents and Apps

Record each app that sends information into the books and who owns its subscription. Include receipt capture, payroll, point-of-sale, payments and any stock system used by the client. Record the authorised users and who can disconnect each integration.

If the client already uses Hubdoc or Dext, keep one agreed receipt route while you assess the handover. Check whether bills are already entering the accounting file before enabling another connection. Two collection routes can create duplicate bills if nobody owns the review.

Give the client a rule they can use immediately. Send supplier bills and receipts to the agreed capture address or document folder as they arrive. Add the business purpose where the document does not show it. Use the same route each week and send missing bank statements through the agreed secure channel.

Before closing the onboarding job, confirm the first work period, its responsible staff member and every open item’s owner. Start the recurring job with the signed scope, working access and a clear list of records still needed from the client.