TLDR: Before you open a client’s QuickBooks file, collect their entity details, fiscal year, bank accounts, payment processors, payroll setup, and access credentials through a structured intake form. This article gives you the complete field-by-field template so you can start clean and avoid the nasty surprises hiding in unreconciled books.

You just signed a new bookkeeping client. They’re excited. You’re ready to start. And then you open their QuickBooks file and discover it hasn’t been reconciled in nine months, there are three bank accounts you didn’t know about, and they’ve been categorizing owner draws as “miscellaneous expenses.”

Every bookkeeping nightmare starts with an incomplete intake.

The problem isn’t that bookkeepers don’t ask for information. It’s that they ask for the wrong information, at the wrong time, through the wrong channel. A generic intake form doesn’t cut it when you’re dealing with QuickBooks-specific setup, multi-entity structures, and the dozen integrations modern businesses connect to their accounting software.

Here’s a QuickBooks client intake form built specifically for bookkeepers and accounting professionals. Every field exists because skipping it will cost you hours later.

Why QuickBooks Clients Need a Specialized Intake Form

Generic client intake forms work fine for consultants and agencies. But bookkeeping has unique requirements:

• You need access to financial systems before you can assess the work. Unlike other service businesses, you can’t scope accurately until you see the books.
• The information is sensitive. Bank logins, EIN numbers, payroll details — this isn’t something that belongs in an email thread.
• The data has regulatory implications. Incorrect entity information or missed filing deadlines have legal consequences.
• QuickBooks setup choices affect everything downstream. Chart of accounts, class tracking, sub-customers, sales tax settings — decisions made at intake compound over time.

That’s why you need an intake form designed specifically for what you do.

Section 1: Business Entity Information

This section seems obvious until you realize how many bookkeepers start work without confirming the basics.

Pro tip: Ask for a copy of their most recent tax return. It confirms entity type, EIN, fiscal year, and revenue range in one document — and you can collect it securely through a portal instead of email.

Section 2: QuickBooks Access and Setup

This is where your intake form diverges from a generic template. These questions are specific to getting into their QuickBooks environment.

For QuickBooks Online Clients

For QuickBooks Desktop Clients

For Both

Section 3: Bank and Financial Accounts

Incomplete bank information is the number one reason bookkeepers spend their first month cleaning up instead of moving forward.

Collect bank statements alongside this form. Request the last 3 months of statements for every account listed. If they need to upload statements, having them do it through a client portal keeps everything organized and in one place.

Section 4: Revenue and Sales

How money comes in determines how you set up QuickBooks tracking.

Section 5: Expenses and Vendors

Section 6: Payroll

Payroll adds significant complexity. You need to know the full picture before you start.

Section 7: Integrations and Connected Apps

Modern businesses connect everything to QuickBooks. You need an inventory of what’s connected and what should be.

Section 8: Reporting and Expectations

This is the section that prevents scope creep and sets the engagement up for success. Similar to the expectations questions in a general intake, but tailored for bookkeeping.

How to Deliver This Intake Form

A 60-field intake form sent as a Google Doc attachment will get abandoned. Here’s how to actually get it completed.

Break It Into Phases

Don’t send everything at once. Structure it into two phases:

Phase 1 (Before you start): Sections 1-3. You need entity info, QuickBooks access, and bank accounts before you can do anything useful. Give the client 5 business days.

Phase 2 (First week): Sections 4-8. Revenue, expenses, payroll, integrations, and reporting expectations. These can come in during your first week of work.

Use a Client Portal

Email-based intake is where documents go to die. You send the form. The client fills out half. They email some bank statements. They text you the QuickBooks password. Nothing is in one place.

A client onboarding portal lets you assign each section as a task, track completion in real time, and automate reminders for overdue items. The client sees exactly what’s done and what’s still pending.

With OnboardMap, you can build a branded intake portal where each section is a step. Clients upload documents, fill in fields, and see their progress — all through a magic link with no account creation required. No more chasing clients for documents.

Collect Documents Inline

Several sections require supporting documents: tax returns, bank statements, W-9s from contractors, vendor contracts. Your intake form should allow document uploads right alongside the questions so everything stays together.

Template It

Once you’ve built this intake form, save it as a reusable template. Every new bookkeeping client gets the same thorough onboarding experience. That consistency is what scales your practice. Having a documented onboarding SOP means any team member can run the intake process.

The First-Month Payoff

Here’s what happens when you collect all of this before day one:

• You start clean. No surprises hiding in unreconciled accounts.
• You scope accurately. The engagement fee matches the actual complexity.
• You set expectations early. The client knows what you’ll deliver and when.
• You look professional. A structured intake process builds confidence that you know what you’re doing.
• You save 5-10 hours per client. Hours you’d otherwise spend chasing information, discovering accounts you didn’t know about, and fixing integration issues nobody mentioned.

The bookkeepers who struggle aren’t less skilled. They just start with less information. Fix the intake, and the bookkeeping takes care of itself.

Build Your Bookkeeping Intake Process

Stop sending intake forms through email and hoping for the best. Build a structured, trackable intake process that collects everything you need before you open QuickBooks.

OnboardMap gives bookkeepers and accountants a branded client portal for intake forms, document collection, and onboarding checklists — with automated reminders and no client login required. Get early access.