A bookkeeping client welcome packet should hold four things a new client needs early: who to contact for what, how to send bank statements, a monthly calendar with your dates and theirs, and what happens in the first ninety days. Keep it to a few pages, send it after signing, and walk through it on a call.
What goes in a bookkeeping client welcome packet?
A bookkeeping client welcome packet holds the practical information a new client will look up again: contacts, document instructions, the monthly calendar, the first-ninety-days plan and your communication rules. It is a reference, not a sales piece. The client has already signed; now they need to know how to work with you.
A packet that gets used is short. Four to six pages, with one topic per page, is enough for most practices. A client should be able to find "where do I send my statements" in under ten seconds.
A contents checklist
Use this checklist to build or review your packet:
- A one-paragraph welcome with the start date of the engagement
- Contact page: names, roles, email and phone, hours
- Statement and document instructions, with one address or portal
- A list of accounts you have on file for the client, for them to confirm
- The monthly calendar: statement due date, close date, report date
- The first-ninety-days plan
- Your communication rules: channels, reply times, urgent cases
- What is in scope and what is not, in plain words
- Billing date and how to pay
The accounts list is the item most packets miss. Listing every bank and card account you know about, with the last four digits, invites the client to say "you forgot the savings account" in week one rather than month four.
Leave out anything that belongs in the engagement letter, such as liability terms. The packet should point to the letter, not repeat it.
The contact page of a welcome packet
The contact page of a welcome packet tells the client who handles what, how to reach them and when. List each person by name and role, with one main channel each, and give one fallback for when the main contact is away. A client who knows who to ask sends fewer messages to the wrong person.
A small practice might have one name on the page. A larger one might list a lead bookkeeper, an assistant who handles documents and a billing contact. Either way, organize the page by the client's need, not by your org chart:
| If you need to (example) | Contact | How |
|---|---|---|
| Ask about your books | Lead bookkeeper | |
| Send statements or receipts | Document inbox | Forwarding address or portal |
| Book a call | Lead bookkeeper | Calendar link |
| Ask about an invoice | Billing | |
| Report fraud on an account | Your bank first, then us | Phone |
Add your working hours and time zone at the bottom of the page. If the practice closes for set holidays, list them.
When the main contact changes
People leave, go on leave and change roles. Say in the packet how the client will be told if their contact changes, and keep the document inbox stable so statement sending never breaks when a person moves on.
Statement sending instructions for new clients
Statement sending instructions for new clients should name one route, say what format to send, and give the due date. One route means one place to check and one habit for the client to build. Ask for the bank's downloaded PDF statement rather than screenshots or photos, because the original file is clearer and complete.
Write the instructions as numbered steps the client can follow without calling you:
- Log in to your bank's website, not the app, after the statement closes each month.
- Download the PDF statement for each account on the list in this packet.
- Forward or upload all of them to your statement address by the 5th.
- Do the same for each credit card and any payment app that offers a monthly statement.
If you use AutoBankConvert, clients can forward statements to your firm's inbox, where each file is matched to its client, and they never need an account of their own. Whatever tool you use, the instruction to the client should be the same: one place, every account, by one date.
What happens if they send a statement twice
New clients often resend a statement because they are unsure it arrived. Tell them that is fine. A repeated file is easy to catch before it doubles a month, and the post on how duplicate bank statement uploads get caught explains what to check. Saying so in the packet removes the worry that leads to extra emails.
Clients with a backlog
If the client joins months behind, the instructions above apply going forward, and the backlog needs its own request. List the months and accounts you need on a separate page so the two jobs do not mix.
How does the monthly calendar in a welcome packet work?
The monthly calendar in a welcome packet shows the client four dates each month: when statements are due, when you close, when the report arrives and when questions must be answered. Fixed dates turn the bookkeeping cycle into a routine. The client stops wondering when things happen, and late items become visible on both sides.
Here is an example calendar for a client on a calendar month. Change the days to match your practice.
| Day of month (example) | What happens | Who |
|---|---|---|
| 1st to 5th | Send all statements for the month just ended | Client |
| By the 8th | Statements converted, reconciled and categorized | Bookkeeper |
| 9th | Questions about unclear transactions sent | Bookkeeper |
| By the 12th | Answers to questions | Client |
| 15th | Monthly report and closed books delivered | Bookkeeper |
| 20th | Invoice for the month | Bookkeeper |
Explain the knock-on effect in one line under the table: "If statements arrive late, every later date moves by the same number of days." That sentence does more than any reminder email.
Accounts with odd statement dates
Some accounts close mid-month, especially credit cards. Note those in the calendar so the client knows a card statement dated the 18th still belongs to that month's batch. If many accounts close on different days, a short "statement close dates" list per account saves confusion.
What can a new client expect in the first ninety days?
A new client can expect the first ninety days to be setup, a first close and a settled routine. Month one is collecting access, statements and history. Month two is the first full close, usually with more questions than later months. By month three, the calendar runs and questions drop to a handful.
Write the plan as three short blocks so the client knows the extra work is temporary.
Month one
You collect statements and prior records, confirm the account list, set up categories and rules, and agree the chart of accounts. The client sends more documents this month than any other.
Month two
You close the first month. Expect more questions than usual, because rules are new and you do not yet know the client's vendors. Say so in the packet, so the client is not alarmed by a long list.
Month three
The calendar runs as normal. Most vendors are known, questions are fewer and the report arrives on the set date. This is a good time for a short check-in call.
If the client's engagement starts with catch-up work, the ninety-day plan should say so and say how progress will be reported. The guide to catch-up project status updates shows a format for keeping the client informed during that work.
Welcome packet mistakes that cause first-month confusion
Welcome packet mistakes are usually about too much, not too little: long packets nobody reads, several ways to send documents, dates that the practice itself does not keep, or jargon the client does not know. Each one creates a question in month one that the packet was supposed to answer.
The common ones:
- Several routes for documents. "Email, portal or text" sounds helpful but means statements arrive in three places. Give one.
- Jargon. "Reconciliation" and "accrual" mean nothing to many owners. Say "checking the books against the bank" instead.
- Dates you cannot keep. If your close date is the 15th but you often deliver on the 20th, the packet teaches clients your dates are soft.
- A sales tone. Testimonials and service lists belong on your website. The packet is for working together.
- No account list. Without one, a missing account can go unnoticed for months.
- Sending and forgetting. A packet nobody walks through is a packet nobody reads.
When a client still does not respond
Some clients read nothing and answer nothing, even with a good packet. The packet still helps, because it gives you a clear record of what was agreed. The guide to handling unresponsive bookkeeping clients covers what to do next.
Sending the welcome packet and confirming it was read
Sending the welcome packet works best as a PDF attached to a short email right after signing, followed by a fifteen-minute call within a week to walk through it. The call is how you confirm it was read. Ask the client to check the account list during the call, which forces them to open it.
A short sending email:
Subject: Welcome, and how we will work together
Welcome aboard. Attached is a short guide to working with us: who to contact, how to send statements, our monthly calendar and what the first three months look like.
Please check the list of accounts on page 3 and tell us if anything is missing. We will walk through the guide on our call on [date].
During the call
Go through three pages only: contacts, statement sending and the calendar. Ask the client to send one statement while you are on the call, if they can. A client who has done it once will do it again.
After the call
Note in the client file that the packet was sent and reviewed, along with any changes to the account list. Update the packet itself when your process changes and resend it to existing clients once a year, so the version in their inbox matches how you actually work.
When the first month's statements arrive, AutoBankConvert converts them in one batch with balance checks, which helps the first close land on the date your calendar promised.