Free Bookkeeping Engagement Letter Template
This bookkeeping engagement letter template sets out monthly scope, the client's responsibility for source documents and cut-off dates, the fee basis and what happens when records arrive late. The full text is on the page with a download.
This bookkeeping engagement letter template sets out monthly scope, the client's responsibility for source documents and cut-off dates, the fee basis and what happens when records arrive late. The full text is on the page with a download.
Last updated: September 2026
What is included in this template?
- Monthly or quarterly scope, stated as a list of deliverables
- The cut-off date by which the client must supply records each period
- Explicit exclusions: tax returns, payroll filings, audits, advisory
- Fee basis and what happens when volume grows
- Software and access arrangements
- Termination and handover of the accounting file
When should you use it?
- Before the first month of any recurring bookkeeping or CAS engagement.
- Annually, at the point you review pricing against transaction volume.
- When a client adds entities, bank accounts or payroll to the arrangement.
Section-by-section explanation
What each part is for, and the mistakes that show up most often when it is written badly.
Monthly scope
List the deliverables per period, not the activity. 'Reconciled bank and credit card accounts and a monthly financial statement package by the 20th' is a commitment both sides can measure.
Cut-off dates
This is the section that saves bookkeeping firms the most grief. Name the date by which statements, receipts and payroll data must arrive, and state what happens when they do not.
Exclusions
Bookkeeping engagements drift into tax and advisory faster than any other service. Exclude return preparation, payroll filings, sales tax filings and advisory explicitly, then charge for them separately when they are wanted.
Volume and repricing
Tie the fee to a stated transaction or account volume and include a review clause. Otherwise the price you agreed in year one quietly funds double the work by year three.
Handover
State who owns the accounting file and what happens on termination. Clients accept this readily at the start and rarely at the end.
The full template
The complete text is below so you can read it before downloading. Replace everything in square brackets with your own details.
[FIRM LETTERHEAD] [DATE] [CLIENT NAME] [CLIENT ADDRESS] Dear [CLIENT CONTACT NAME]: ENGAGEMENT LETTER — BOOKKEEPING SERVICES, COMMENCING [START DATE] This letter confirms the terms on which [FIRM NAME] will provide bookkeeping services to [CLIENT NAME]. 1. SERVICES Each [month/quarter] we will: a. record transactions from the accounts listed in Schedule A; b. reconcile [NUMBER] bank accounts and [NUMBER] credit card accounts; c. maintain accounts payable and accounts receivable ledgers; d. process [NUMBER] transactions per month, on average; e. deliver a financial statement package comprising a balance sheet, income statement and [OTHER REPORTS] by the [ORDINAL] day of the following month. 2. SERVICES NOT INCLUDED This engagement does not include: preparation or filing of any federal, state or local tax return; payroll processing or payroll tax filings; sales and use tax determination or filing; audits, reviews or compilations; controller or CFO advisory services; representation before any taxing authority; software implementation beyond the initial setup described in section 5; or catch-up work for periods before [START DATE]. Catch-up work for prior periods, if required, will be quoted separately at $[RATE] per hour. 3. CLIENT RESPONSIBILITIES AND CUT-OFF You will provide, by the [ORDINAL] day of each month for the preceding month: a. all bank and credit card statements; b. supporting documentation for transactions over $[AMOUNT]; c. payroll reports for the period; d. details of loans, new assets, owner contributions and distributions; e. answers to any outstanding queries from prior periods. Where records are received after the cut-off date, delivery of that period's financial statements may be delayed to the following cycle. Repeated late delivery may result in a revised fee or termination under section 8. You remain responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the underlying records, for authorizing all payments, and for reviewing the financial statements we deliver. 4. FEES Our fee is $[AMOUNT] per [month/quarter], billed [IN ADVANCE/IN ARREARS] on the [ORDINAL] of each month, payable within [NUMBER] days. The fee assumes the volumes stated in section 1. If actual volumes exceed those figures by more than [PERCENTAGE]% for two consecutive periods, we will contact you to agree a revised fee. We review fees annually with effect from [MONTH]. Work outside the scope of section 1 is billed at $[RATE] per hour with your prior approval. 5. SOFTWARE AND ACCESS The accounting records will be maintained in [SOFTWARE]. The subscription is held by [FIRM/CLIENT] and billed to [FIRM/CLIENT]. You will provide read-only bank feed access or timely statements as agreed. We will maintain appropriate access controls over your data. 6. LIMITATIONS Our services do not constitute an audit, review or compilation, and we will not express any assurance on the financial statements. The engagement cannot be relied upon to disclose fraud, error or illegal acts, though we will inform you of anything that comes to our attention. 7. RECORDS AND OWNERSHIP The accounting file and underlying records belong to you. Our working papers remain our property. We retain engagement records for [NUMBER] years. 8. TERMINATION AND HANDOVER Either party may terminate on [NUMBER] days' written notice. On termination, and provided fees are settled, we will transfer administrative access to the accounting file and provide a trial balance as at the effective date. Assistance beyond this is billed hourly. 9. ACCEPTANCE Please sign and return a copy of this letter to confirm these terms. Sincerely, _______________________________ [PARTNER NAME], [CREDENTIAL] [FIRM NAME] ACCEPTED AND AGREED: _______________________________ ____________________ [CLIENT SIGNATORY NAME], [TITLE] Date SCHEDULE A — ACCOUNTS IN SCOPE [LIST BANK AND CREDIT CARD ACCOUNTS]
Download the editable copy
Enter your work email and the plain-text file downloads straight away. Have your own counsel review any engagement or disengagement letter before you send it to a client.
This template is a starting point, not legal advice. Have your own attorney and, where relevant, your insurance carrier review any engagement or disengagement letter before you send it to a client.
How Remindoo automates this
A template is a document. The reason firms still miss the thing the document describes is that nobody owns the follow-up. This is where software helps.
- Hold the monthly scope and cut-off date on the client record so every recurring job inherits the same terms.
- Send the record request automatically on the cut-off date each period, with reminders, instead of one person emailing forty clients.
- Flag clients whose actual volumes have outgrown the stated fee so the annual review is based on data, not memory.
- Attach the signed letter to the client so any team member can see the agreed scope without asking a partner.
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Frequently asked questions
What should a bookkeeping engagement letter include?
The monthly deliverables and their delivery date, the accounts in scope, the client's cut-off date for supplying records, explicit exclusions such as tax and payroll filings, the fee and the volume it assumes, software and access arrangements, and handover terms on termination.
How do you handle clients who send records late?
Put the cut-off date in the letter and state the consequence: delivery moves to the following cycle. Most late-record problems come from the firm absorbing the delay silently for a year and then trying to raise it as a complaint.
Should the letter cover catch-up work?
Mention it and price it separately. Catch-up work is a different job with a different risk profile, and folding it into a monthly fee is one of the fastest ways to lose money on a bookkeeping client.
Does an engagement letter have to be signed?
A countersigned letter is far easier to rely on if fees or scope are later disputed. Electronic signature is standard practice in US firms. Keep the executed copy with the client record rather than in an individual's email.
How often should engagement letters be reissued?
Annually for recurring services, and immediately whenever scope, fees or the responsible parties change. Reissuing yearly also gives you a clean moment to reprice work that has quietly grown.
Stop maintaining templates by hand
Remindoo turns documents like this into recurring work with owners, internal due dates and automatic client follow-up. Per client, unlimited users.