Money · free template

Bookkeeping Client Intake

Onboard a bookkeeping client: entity and trading details, software and bank feeds, transaction volume, sales tax position, payroll and services wanted.

A ready-to-use finance, insurance & tax form for advisers, brokers and finance teams: 35 questions, 3 pages, 5 conditional rules.

Questions
35
Pages
3
Layouts
classic
Time to complete
≈ 12 min
Conditional rules
5
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Live preview and test console

This is the real form. Answer it to test the flow — nothing is sent or stored.

Page 1 of 3 — The business

Who we would be working with

Include your country code.

Business structure
How the business takes payment

This template runs as a straight sequence — no branching rules.

Compliance checklist

Ready to publish
  • Payment items priced — passingEvery payment question charges a real amount, so a submission always records a payment.
  • Conditional logic resolves — passingEvery rule points at a question or page that exists in this template.
  • Financial disclaimer present — passingThis form does not provide financial, tax or legal advice. Any figures shown are indicative only and are not an offer of credit or a guarantee of terms. Please seek advice from a regulated adviser before making a decision.
  • Question labels unique — passingLogic and exports address questions by label, so duplicates are ambiguous.

What happens after submit: nothing is stored in this preview. On your own copy, every response triggers an instant email notification and lands in your response dashboard, ready to export or forward.

Happy with it? Take a copy into your workspace — every question, rule and setting comes with it.

Who this template is for

Bookkeeping Client Intake is built for advisers, brokers and finance teams who need to collect structured financial detail with a clear audit trail.

  • Advisers, brokers and finance teams working in finance, insurance & tax.
  • Teams who need to collect structured financial detail with a clear audit trail without writing code or paying for a custom build.
  • Anyone replacing incomplete applications that fail compliance review with one structured record per enquiry.
  • Respondents are clients and applicants — the form asks them 35 questions across 3 screens.

Why this form is useful

It removes the cost of incomplete applications that fail compliance review and turns each submission into a record your team can act on immediately.

  • 26 questions are required, so submissions arrive complete instead of needing a follow-up email.
  • It collects a verified email address so replies and confirmations land.
  • It captures a phone number for urgent follow-up.
  • It pins the request to a specific date.
  • It captures a full postal address.
  • It allows multiple selections without free text.
  • It captures a numeric value you can filter and sort on.
  • Conditional logic hides 5 questions until they are relevant — shorter forms convert better than long ones.

How to use this template

From copy to live form is a few minutes of work, and every step is reversible.

  1. 1Press “Use this template” — a fresh copy of Bookkeeping Client Intake lands in your workspace, ready to edit.
  2. 2Rename or delete any question, and change what is required. Nothing here is fixed.
  3. 3Open Notifications and add the email addresses that should be alerted on each submission; add an auto-reply to the respondent if the form collects an email address.
  4. 4Publish it, then either share the link directly or paste the embed snippet into your site — the embedded form resizes to fit and loads no marketing or advertising trackers.
  5. 5Watch responses land in Submissions, where you can filter, label and export them to CSV or PDF.

Logic and conditions blueprint

Exactly how this form behaves as it is answered — 5 conditional rules ship with it.

  • Features conditional validation: if “Are you registered for VAT or sales tax?” is Yes, “Registration number and filing frequency” becomes mandatory before the form can be sent.
  • Features conditional validation: if “Do you run payroll?” is Yes, “Number of employees and pay frequency” becomes mandatory before the form can be sent.
  • Features conditional validation: if “Are your records up to date?” is No, “How far behind you are” becomes mandatory before the form can be sent.
  • Features conditional validation: if “Are you replacing a previous bookkeeper or accountant?” is Yes, “Their name and whether we may contact them” becomes mandatory before the form can be sent.
  • Features conditional validation: if “Is any filing overdue?” is Yes, “Which filing is overdue and the deadline” becomes mandatory before the form can be sent.
  • All 5 rules are editable in the Logic tab, and the built-in checker warns about rules that contradict each other.

About this template

Bookkeeping is quoted on volume and mess, and almost every underpriced engagement started with an intake conversation that skipped both. This form asks for the numbers. The first page establishes the entity: trading name, structure, registration number, financial year end, trading start date, sector and how the business takes payment. The second page is the part that actually sets the fee — which software is in use and whether the bookkeeper will be given access, how many bank and card accounts feed in, monthly transaction volumes, how many sales invoices and supplier bills there are, whether receipts arrive as photos, paper or nothing at all, and how far behind the records currently are. It asks whether a previous bookkeeper is being replaced, and whether there is an outstanding filing, because both change the first month's work substantially. The third page covers tax and payroll position, the services being requested, how often reports are wanted, and who the bookkeeper may speak to on the client's behalf. The form is explicit that it is not tax advice and that scope and fees are confirmed in an engagement letter.

What this form asks

Every question is editable — rename it, make it optional, or delete it entirely.

Page 1 — The business

  • Your namerequired
  • Your role in the businessrequired
  • Email addressrequired
  • Contact number
  • Trading namerequired
  • Business structurerequired
  • Company or registration number
  • Business address
  • Sector or what the business doesrequired
  • Date the business started tradingrequired
  • Financial year endrequired
  • How the business takes paymentrequired

Page 2 — Volumes and systems

  • What software do you use?required
  • Will we be given access to the software?required
  • Number of business bank accountsrequired
  • Are bank feeds connected?required
  • Bank transactions per monthrequired
  • Sales invoices you raise per monthrequired
  • Supplier bills per monthrequired
  • How do receipts reach you?required
  • Are your records up to date?required
  • How far behind you are
  • Are you replacing a previous bookkeeper or accountant?required
  • Their name and whether we may contact them

Page 3 — Tax, payroll and services

  • Are you registered for VAT or sales tax?required
  • Registration number and filing frequency
  • Do you run payroll?required
  • Number of employees and pay frequency
  • Is any filing overdue?required
  • Which filing is overdue and the deadline
  • Services you would likerequired
  • How often would you like reports?required
  • May we speak to your accountant or tax authority on your behalf?required
  • Date you would like us to startrequired
  • Anything else we should know

35 questions in total.

Example of a completed bookkeeping client intake form

This shows how a small business owner sets out their current records so a bookkeeper can scope the work.

Trading name
Millbrook Joinery
Business structure
Sole trader
Sector or what the business does
Bespoke furniture making
Financial year end
31 March
What software do you use?
Spreadsheets
Are your records up to date?
No
How far behind you are
About four months
Are you registered for VAT or sales tax?
Yes
Services you would like
Monthly bookkeeping and VAT returns

Sample data — no real people, addresses or records are shown.

How the form changes as it's filled in

This template ships with 5 conditional rules, grouped into 5 behaviours driven by 5 questions. Everything below is already set up — edit or delete any rule once the template is in your workspace.

Driven by “Are you registered for VAT or sales tax?”

  • Makes answers required

    If “Are you registered for VAT or sales tax?” is Yes, “Registration number and filing frequency” becomes required before the form can be submitted.

Driven by “Do you run payroll?”

  • Makes answers required

    If “Do you run payroll?” is Yes, “Number of employees and pay frequency” becomes required before the form can be submitted.

Driven by “Are your records up to date?”

  • Makes answers required

    If “Are your records up to date?” is No, “How far behind you are” becomes required before the form can be submitted.

Driven by “Are you replacing a previous bookkeeper or accountant?”

  • Makes answers required

    If “Are you replacing a previous bookkeeper or accountant?” is Yes, “Their name and whether we may contact them” becomes required before the form can be submitted.

Driven by “Is any filing overdue?”

  • Makes answers required

    If “Is any filing overdue?” is Yes, “Which filing is overdue and the deadline” becomes required before the form can be submitted.

Set it up step by step

  1. 1

    Ask for volumes as ranges

    Transaction and invoice counts are what a monthly fee is built on, and ranges get answered where exact numbers do not.

  2. 2

    Find the backlog before quoting

    Catch-up work is a separate project, and discovering it in week two is how engagements go wrong.

  3. 3

    Ask how receipts arrive

    "They mostly do not" is a real answer and it changes the fee and the first conversation entirely.

  4. 4

    Confirm authority to speak for the client

    Getting that agreed at intake avoids delays every time a tax office or accountant needs to be contacted.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Quoting a monthly fee before knowing transaction volumes and how far behind the records are.
  • Missing an overdue filing at intake, so the first month becomes an emergency.
  • Presenting intake answers as tax advice rather than as information for an engagement letter.

What it pairs with

Most teams don't run this form on its own. These are the forms and systems it sits next to.

What to do with the responses

Confirm scope and fee in an engagement letter, complete your client verification checks, get software access, and agree the first month's catch-up plan.

Works in this layout

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Privacy & compliance

This form collects identity or financial details. Enable encrypted answers on the sensitive fields, avoid emailing full values in notifications, and delete responses once the check is complete.

Frequently asked questions

Is this an engagement letter?

No. It gathers the facts needed to scope and price the work. The engagement letter follows and sets the terms.

Does it give tax advice?

No. It records the client's tax and payroll position so the right advice can be given by the right person.

Why ask about the previous bookkeeper?

Because a handover, records access and any professional clearance affect how quickly you can start.

Can it be used for non-profits?

Yes. Non-profit is a structure option, though fund accounting and reporting usually need additional questions.

Is the Bookkeeping Client Intake template free to use?

Yes. You can preview and test Bookkeeping Client Intake on this page without an account, and take a copy into your own HelloForms workspace on the free plan. There is nothing to install and no card required to publish it.

What does the Bookkeeping Client Intake template ask for?

It asks 35 questions across 3 pages, 26 of which are required. Every question is listed in full further down this page, and each one can be renamed, reordered, made optional or deleted after you copy the template.

Can I edit the Bookkeeping Client Intake form after copying it?

Yes — the copy is entirely yours. Change wording, add or remove questions, switch between the classic layout, restyle it to match your brand, and set who gets notified on each submission.

How does the conditional logic in this finance, insurance & tax form work?

5 conditional rules ship with the template: Features conditional validation: if “Are you registered for VAT or sales tax?” is Yes, “Registration number and filing frequency” becomes mandatory before the form can be sent. Features conditional validation: if “Do you run payroll?” is Yes, “Number of employees and pay frequency” becomes mandatory before the form can be sent. Features conditional validation: if “Are your records up to date?” is No, “How far behind you are” becomes mandatory before the form can be sent. All rules are editable in the Logic tab.

Where do responses to the Bookkeeping Client Intake form go?

Submissions land in your workspace under Submissions, where you can search, filter, label and export them to CSV or PDF. You can also email a notification to your team on every submission and send the respondent an auto-reply.

Can I embed the Bookkeeping Client Intake form on my own website?

Yes. Publish the form and paste the embed snippet into any page or share the direct link. The embedded form resizes to fit its container and loads no advertising or marketing trackers inside the iframe.

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