Bookkeeping Client Intake Form Template
Sizes a bookkeeping engagement in one pass — entity type, software, transaction volume, how far behind the books are, and payroll reality.
Messy books are our day job — no judgment, just facts. Answer roughly where exact numbers are hard; we'll firm things up together.
Bookkeeping is priced on three numbers most prospects have never been asked out loud: transaction volume, months behind, and payroll headcount shape. This intake collects all three without a meeting, plus the two context facts — entity type and current software — that determine which bookkeeper on the team should even look at it.
The shame-neutral design. The intro says it plainly: messy books are the day job. The "how far behind" select goes to "more than a year" without flinching, and "a drawer of receipts" is a legitimate software answer. This wording is not decoration — prospects with the messiest books are the highest-value engagements and the most likely to abandon a form that feels like a judgment. Every option label here is calibrated so the worst-case client can answer honestly and keep going.
Volume bands price the engagement. Under 50 transactions a month is a different product than 500-plus, and the bands let a firm quote monthly work from the form alone in most cases. Entity type routes complexity (nonprofit fund accounting, partnership allocations), payroll shape flags compliance scope, and the services multi-select separates the recurring engagement from the one-time cleanup — two quotes, often two teams.
The optional statement upload. A year-end statement or trial balance, when it exists, converts the quote from banded estimate to firm number. The upload is deliberately optional and framed with "if handy" — requiring documents at intake stage kills completions. Uploads accept PDF or a phone photo, capped at 10MB, and land attached to the response.
Never collected here. Bank logins, accounting-software credentials, tax IDs, or voided checks. No credential belongs in a form, full stop — access flows through the accounting platform's own invite system after engagement, and saying so in your follow-up email marks you as a firm that takes custody seriously.
Who uses it. Solo bookkeepers gate their calendar with it. Firms put it behind the pricing page's "get a quote" button. Fractional CFOs use the behind-and-volume answers to decide whether to bring a cleanup subcontractor. Tax practices clone it each January and let the close rules shut intake automatically when capacity is reached — the closed message points overflow to a waitlist.
Make it yours. Rename software options to what your practice actually supports. Add a Logic rule that reveals cleanup-specific questions (which years? prior bookkeeper?) only when the books are more than a year behind. Enable email notifications so intakes reach you same-day, and export the volume and behind columns quarterly — they are your demand forecast.
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe for clients to upload financial statements?
Uploads are validated by file type, capped at 10MB, and visible only to the form owner. Never ask for credentials or bank logins in any form field.
Can we ask extra questions only for big cleanups?
Yes — a Logic rule can reveal cleanup questions only when "more than a year" is selected, keeping the form short for up-to-date clients.
How does the intake reach our practice management tool?
Configure the webhook to post each submission as signed JSON, or export responses to CSV and import — both include every answer and upload reference.
Can we shut off intake during tax season crunch?
Set a close date or response cap in Settings with a custom closed message — reopening later is one toggle, and the link never changes.