TLDR: Stop rebuilding your document request list every January. This article provides ready-to-use checklists for new client onboarding, annual tax prep, and monthly bookkeeping — plus a system for actually getting clients to send everything without constant follow-up.

Tax season does not have to mean weeks of hunting down missing W-2s and chasing clients for bank statements. The firms that survive busy season without burning out are the ones with a standardized document collection checklist they use for every single client.

No guessing. No “I think we still need their…” conversations. Just a clear list, sent early, tracked automatically.

Here is the checklist you need.

New Client Onboarding Checklist

Before you touch a single number, you need baseline information from every new client. This applies whether you are handling their taxes, bookkeeping, or both.

Business Information

• Business entity documents — Articles of incorporation, partnership agreement, or LLC operating agreement
• EIN confirmation letter — IRS-issued EIN assignment notice
• Business licenses and permits — State and local registrations
• Prior year tax returns — Last 2-3 years of filed business returns
• Current year financials — Most recent profit and loss statement and balance sheet

Personal Information (for individual tax clients)

• Government-issued photo ID — Driver’s license or passport for all filers
• Social Security cards — For filer, spouse, and all dependents
• Prior year personal tax returns — Last 2-3 years of filed 1040s
• Bank account information — Routing and account numbers for direct deposit of refunds

Access and Authorization

• Signed engagement letter — Scope of services agreement
• Form 8821 or 2848 — Tax information authorization or power of attorney
• Accounting software access — Login credentials or invitation for QuickBooks, Xero, etc.
• Bank and credit card read-only access — For bookkeeping clients

This baseline checklist applies to every accounting firm’s onboarding process. Customize it to your practice, but do not skip items.

Annual Tax Preparation Checklist

This is the checklist you send to existing clients at the start of every tax season. Send it in January. Do not wait until March.

Income Documents

• W-2s — From all employers
• 1099-NEC / 1099-MISC — Freelance and contract income
• 1099-INT / 1099-DIV — Interest and dividend income
• 1099-B — Brokerage and investment sale statements
• 1099-R — Retirement distributions
• 1099-G — State tax refunds and unemployment compensation
• K-1s — From partnerships, S-corps, estates, and trusts
• Rental income records — Rent received, broken down by property

Deduction and Credit Documents

• 1098 — Mortgage interest statements
• 1098-T — Tuition statements
• 1098-E — Student loan interest
• Property tax statements — Annual county or municipal tax bills
• Charitable donation receipts — Cash and non-cash contributions over $250
• Medical expense records — Out-of-pocket costs exceeding the AGI threshold
• Childcare expense records — Provider name, address, EIN, and amount paid
• Business expense receipts — For Schedule C filers

Estimated Payments and Withholding

• Estimated tax payment records — Federal and state quarterly payments made
• Prior year refund applied — Amount of prior year refund applied to current year

Monthly Bookkeeping Checklist

For bookkeeping clients, you need documents on a recurring basis. Set the expectation upfront that these are due by the 5th of each month.

• Bank statements — All business checking and savings accounts
• Credit card statements — All business credit cards
• Invoices issued — Sales invoices for the month
• Bills and receipts — Vendor invoices and expense receipts
• Payroll reports — Pay stubs, payroll tax deposits, and quarterly reports
• Loan statements — Monthly statements for any business loans or lines of credit

How to Actually Get These Documents

Having the checklist is half the battle. The other half is getting clients to actually send everything without constant follow-up.

Here is what works:

Send the checklist early

For tax clients, send the document request in the first week of January. Not the last week. Early requests get completed before clients get busy or distracted.

Make it specific

“Send your tax documents” is too vague. List every item by name. Clients do not know what a 1099-DIV is, so add a one-sentence description: “This is the form your brokerage sends showing dividend income.”

Give them one place to upload

Do not ask clients to email documents. Give them a dedicated portal where they can see the checklist, upload files next to each item, and track their own progress.

Automate the follow-up

Set up automated reminders for missing items. If a client has uploaded 8 of 12 required documents, the system should nudge them about the remaining 4 — not you.

Stop Rebuilding This List Every Year

Most accounting firms recreate some version of this checklist every January. They copy last year’s email, update the dates, and hit send. Then they manually track responses in a spreadsheet.

That is a waste of your time.

OnboardMap lets you build reusable document collection templates with specific items, descriptions, and file type requirements. Assign a template to a client, and they get a clean portal showing exactly what to upload. You get a dashboard showing exactly what is outstanding.

Browse templates and get early access to stop rebuilding your checklist from scratch every season.