Onboarding new accounting clients: the first three meetings

A smooth onboarding usually fits in three meetings: a short discovery call to see if you're the right fit, a setup meeting where the client hands over records and access, and a first review once you've done the first month or quarter of work. Make the discovery call bookable from your page, book the other two yourself once the client signs, and agree on the rhythm of later reviews at the end of the first one.

The first contact decides whether you take the client and on what terms. Keep it short, 20 to 30 minutes, by phone or video. You want to know the type of business, its size, what it needs (bookkeeping, payroll, annual accounts, tax) and what's happened so far. The prospect wants to know how you work and roughly what it will cost.

On Book, create a service called "Discovery call: new clients", with a description of what you'll cover and what the prospect can prepare. Ask in the booking note for the business type, the legal form, the number of employees and the main need. You receive an email for each new booking, with the note, so you arrive with the right questions.

Once the engagement is signed, the setup meeting is where the work really starts. It takes longer, an hour or more, and it's better held once the client has gathered what you need. Book it yourself from your calendar at a time agreed with the client, choosing a separate service such as "Onboarding: setup meeting" so it's clearly identified in your bookings list.

Send this checklist when you confirm the meeting, not on the day. The meeting then goes into understanding the business rather than hunting for documents.

When a client leaves another firm, the handover adds its own steps: getting the last accounts and returns, understanding what was filed and what wasn't, and sometimes finishing work in progress. Plan it before the setup meeting. Ask in the discovery call's booking note whether the client currently has an accountant, and if so, when the engagement ends. That tells you whether the setup meeting can happen next week or needs to wait until the records arrive.

If the handover is late, don't let the setup meeting become a meeting about missing papers. Move it from your bookings list, tell the client yourself, and use a short call in between to keep them informed.

After the first month or quarter of work, a review meeting closes the onboarding. You go through the first figures, the questions that came up, what the client needs to send differently, and the calendar for the rest of the year. It's also the moment to check that the engagement matches the real workload. Write down the decisions and send a short summary afterwards, so the client knows what's expected before the next review.

At the end of the first review, agree on the rhythm and book the next meetings yourself from your calendar. Book's slots repeat weekly on the weekdays you choose until an end date; for monthly or quarterly reviews, simply book each date. If you prefer clients to choose, open a "Review meeting" service with slots on your review days and send them the link.

Onboarding takes time, and new clients can arrive in waves, for example after the financial year end. Decide how many discovery calls you can take per week and open only those slots. When you're full, close them for a few weeks; the page only offers what you open.

If a meeting has to move, reschedule it from your bookings list and tell the client yourself, since Book doesn't email them when a booking changes. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited bookings and services, no commission and no contract. It doesn't invoice or store documents.