A clear start for each accounting client

Give every new client one accountable owner, one list of prerequisites and one explicit readiness decision. A signed engagement alone does not mean the first bookkeeping or reporting job can begin. Start by separating acceptance, information collection, access setup and operational readiness. If your existing practice system can hold those states, test it before adding another subscription. The main purchase criterion is whether your team and client can see what is missing and who must act next. Create a new-client record with the agreed service, intended first period, internal owner and target start. Record each prerequisite separately, with its requester, due date and acceptance condition. Distinguish a file received from a file checked. A partner or nominated reviewer decides readiness; an automation may prepare the checklist but should not silently mark the client ready. For each blocked item, record the reason and next action instead of sending the same reminder indefinitely. When work starts, hand over unresolved matters explicitly to the delivery team.

Do not migrate a whole practice for a handful of disorganised onboarding cases. A shared checklist and a clear owner may solve the immediate problem.