A bookkeeping firm’s website should let a prospective client decide whether the firm fits before anyone books time. Say who you serve, what is in and out of scope, how an engagement starts, which documents you will ask for, and how client information is handled. Then explain what the first call is for and keep the booking form to the few questions you need to prepare for it.
Owners often treat the first call as the place where all of this gets explained. That works for the clients who book, but it also means every unsuitable inquiry costs you a call, and every suitable one arrives unsure what to prepare. A page that answers these points in plain language filters the first group and prepares the second.
Say who you serve and what is in scope
Name the kinds of businesses you work with, in words a client would use about themselves: “restaurants and cafés,” “contractors with fewer than ten employees,” “online sellers.” If you do not take certain work, say so. Clients usually search for a task, not a firm type, so list the tasks as well.
- Monthly bookkeeping, catch-up or cleanup of past months, payroll entry, accounts payable and receivable, and reconciliations are separate services. State which you offer.
- Say which accounting software you work in, and whether you will set it up or only maintain an existing file.
- Say whether you prepare tax returns, work alongside the client’s tax preparer, or do neither. Do not leave this to inference.
- List what you do not do, such as legal advice or audits, so the boundary is stated once and in writing.
Explain how an engagement and onboarding work
A prospective client wants to know what happens after they say yes. A short numbered sequence is enough, and the table below is our own planning aid for one possible order. Replace the steps and timings with your real process, and do not publish timings you cannot meet.
| Step | What the page should state |
|---|---|
| First call | Purpose, length and what you will not decide on it |
| Written scope | Services covered, how often you work, and how scope changes are handled |
| Access and documents | What you will request and how the client sends it |
| Setup or catch-up | What is reviewed first and who confirms the opening balances |
| Ongoing rhythm | When documents are due and when the client hears from you |
Fees need a decision. If you publish prices, say what they include. If you do not, say what determines a quote, such as transaction volume, number of accounts and months of catch-up. Naming those drivers lets a client judge whether the conversation is worth having.
List the documents you will ask for
A visible checklist reduces the first round of back-and-forth. Group it so a client can see what applies to them: bank and card statements, prior-year financial statements or tax returns, payroll reports, loan statements, and receipts or invoices for the period. Say what format you accept and how far back you need to go.
Mark which items are needed to start and which can follow. Our guide on simplifying bookkeeping document follow-ups covers how to chase what is missing once the engagement is running.
Describe how client information is handled
Clients are being asked to send bank and payroll details to a stranger. Tell them, specifically, how they send documents, who in the firm can see them, and how long you keep them. Do not claim a security level you cannot back up; a short accurate description is better than a badge.
The FTC’s Protecting Personal Information: A Guide for Business sets out five principles: take stock of the personal information you hold, scale down to what you need, lock it, dispose of it properly, and plan ahead for a breach. It is a useful way to check what your page can honestly say. If your firm also prepares tax returns, the IRS tax professional security page says Federal Trade Commission regulations require professional tax preparers to create and enact security plans and points to IRS Publication 4557, Safeguarding Taxpayer Data. This is general information, not legal advice; confirm your own obligations with a qualified adviser.
Ask your developer to confirm that the page and form are served over HTTPS, that any upload feature stores files privately, and that form submissions are not left in an inbox anyone can open.
State what the first call is for
Give the call a job. For example: confirm the firm is a fit, understand the state of the books, and agree whether a written scope should follow. State the length, who attends, and whether it is free. Also state what it is not: a tax opinion or a quote read out on the spot.
Tell the prospect what to have ready. Usually that is the software they use, the number of bank and card accounts, and the month they would like to start from. Leave out the documents themselves; those come after the scope is agreed.
Keep the booking form short
Ask only what you need to prepare. A workable set follows, and you should trim it to your firm’s process.
- Name, email and business name.
- Type of business and how many people it employs.
- What help they want: ongoing, catch-up, cleanup or a second opinion.
- Current software, or “none.”
- Earliest month the books need to be current from.
- Anything else you should know before the call.
Do not ask for account numbers, Social Security numbers or tax IDs on this form. Nothing in a first-call booking requires them, and every sensitive field is something you must then protect. Say plainly on the form that those details are not wanted yet.
If your site does not yet answer these points, the 1968 Labs bookkeeper website approach can be scoped around your services, onboarding steps and booking form. The small business website quote checklist lists what to settle with any developer before work starts.