Bookkeeping Client Intake Form (What to Ask Before You Quote)

Practice Runbook · updated 2026-09-23

The intake conversation happens before you name a price. It is the only time you can ask direct questions without it sounding like an interrogation, and it is the only evidence you will get about whether this client will make you money or cost you time.

A good intake form does three things: it gives you the information you need to price accurately, it surfaces the work that is actually there (not what the client described on the phone), and it flags the situations where you should either charge more or say no.

Section 1 — Business basics

This section establishes what you are quoting on. The answers drive everything from software choice to how long reconciliation will take.

What to ask

• Legal entity type: Sole trader / partnership / limited company / non-profit. This determines filing obligations and whether you can even serve them (some bookkeepers will not touch partnerships).
• Trading name and registered name, if different.
• Industry or sector: not for gossip — construction has CIS, hospitality has tips and card fees, ecommerce has inventory.
• Year end: needed for depreciation and tax planning.
• How long has the business been trading? A three-month startup needs different support than a ten-year firm.

Section 2 — Current state of the books

This is where you find out if you are quoting on bookkeeping or on bookkeeping plus six months of cleanup. They are different jobs at different prices.

What to ask

• Are the books up to date? If not, how far behind?
• What accounting software are you using? (Or: are you using software at all?) This tells you if there is a migration cost, and whether you will spend an hour a month fixing duplicates because their previous bookkeeper used a spreadsheet.
• Can I see a trial balance or a P&L from the last closed month? You are not auditing it. You are checking whether "up to date" means reconciled or means "I exported some transactions."
• Why are you looking for a new bookkeeper? Write down what they say. "We outgrew them" and "they kept asking for paperwork" are two very different clients.

If the books are behind, price the cleanup separately and deliver it before the monthly service starts. Folding six months of mess into a monthly fee is the fastest way to work for £8 an hour.

Section 3 — Volume and complexity

Volume questions tell you how long the work will actually take. A client with 600 transactions a month is not three times the work of a client with 200 — they are six times the work, because complexity scales non-linearly.

What to ask

• Roughly how many transactions a month? Sales, purchases, payments — everything that hits the bank or the P&L.
• How many bank accounts and credit cards? Each one adds a reconciliation step.
• Do you take payments by card? Which processor? Stripe, PayPal, and Square all need separate reconciliation, and card fees create extra lines.
• Do you hold inventory or stock? Inventory adds an entire subsystem.
• Foreign currency transactions? FX revaluation is monthly work.
• Do you invoice customers, or is everything cash? Receivables management is different work than cash-based reconciliation.

Section 4 — Payroll and employment

Payroll is often quoted separately, but you need to know whether it exists — the journals and the deadlines affect your month-end.

What to ask

• Do you have employees? How many?
• Payroll frequency: weekly / fortnightly / monthly.
• Who runs payroll now? (You, your accountant, a payroll bureau, nobody.) If the answer is "I think my accountant does?" that is a warning sign.
• Pension auto-enrolment — is it set up? Relevant in the UK; adapt to your jurisdiction.

Section 5 — VAT and tax compliance

• Are you VAT registered? (Or sales tax, GST — whatever applies where you are.)
• Which scheme? Standard / flat rate / cash accounting. This affects how you record every transaction.
• What is your VAT quarter end?
• Are your VAT returns up to date? A missed filing is not your problem to fix unless you agree it is, and then it is a project fee.

Section 6 — Records and workflow

This section tells you whether the client will send you a tidy folder on the 3rd of every month, or whether you will spend a week chasing receipts.

What to ask

• How do you currently organise receipts and invoices? Folder / envelope / "they are somewhere" are three different clients.
• Are your bank feeds connected and working? If not, you will be keying in transactions manually.
• How do you share documents? Dropbox, email, "I'll bring them round" — this determines how much time you lose on administration.
• What is your usual timeline? When do you typically have everything ready after month end? This tells you if their "ready by the 5th" is realistic.

A client who says "I'm not very organised" is telling the truth. Believe them, and either price for the disorganisation or decline.

Section 7 — What you need delivered

Different clients want different things. One wants a monthly P&L by the 10th; another wants a full board pack with variance analysis and cash forecast. Knowing this up front is the only way to price correctly.

What to ask

• What reports do you need each month? P&L, balance sheet, aged receivables, budget variance, cash flow — be specific.
• When do you need them by? Some clients are fine with the 15th. Others need it by the 8th for a board meeting.
• Do you need management accounts, or just the statutory minimum?
• Anything else you expect included: supplier payment runs, invoice chasing, expense claims, journal explanations in plain English.

Warning signs (price higher or walk away)

These are not reasons to refuse work automatically — but they are reasons to charge more, build in contingency time, or decide this is not the client for you.

• "My last bookkeeper left without telling me why." They probably told them. They were not listened to.
• "I've been through three bookkeepers this year." The common factor is not the bookkeepers.
• "It's really simple, should only take an hour." It will not. And they will resent paying for the real time it takes.
• "I'll get you the records when I can." You will spend half your month chasing, and the other half apologising for being late.
• "Can you also do my tax return / set up my company / handle my invoicing?" Scope creep, day one.
• Books are 8+ months behind and they want it all done this month. Urgency on their part is not an obligation on yours. Price the cleanup properly or say no.

After the intake: deciding whether to quote

Not every inquiry should become a quote. If the intake reveals that the client needs tax advisory and you do bookkeeping, refer them. If they need twenty hours a month but their budget is £150, say so plainly rather than underpricing to win the work.

A good intake form does not just gather information — it tells you whether this is a client you can serve profitably, and gives you the evidence to price correctly or to walk away.