We’ve worked with legal advisors and proofreaders to create an accounting contract template to help protect your practice while also growing your client list.
We’ve worked with legal advisors and proofreaders to create an accounting contract template to help protect your practice while also growing your client list.
What’s in this template?Accountants are highly qualified professionals who help individuals and businesses meet their tax obligations, improve financial processes, and offer advice.
Being an accountant comes with a massive responsibility as clients across all industries depend on their expertise to improve their financial situation and remain compliant with government authorities.
An accounting contract is a formal agreement between accountants and clients detailing the terms and conditions of the nature of work that is to be completed.
DISCLAIMER: We are not lawyers or a law firm and we do not provide legal, business or tax advice. We recommend you consult a lawyer or other appropriate professional before using any templates or agreements from this website.
We’ve created a simple template to save you time and money when it comes to managing client relationships.
Our document is entirely free and editable to suit your needs. Click here to grab a copy of our accounting agreement sampleAccounting requires incredible attention to detail, access to client records, and acute knowledge of taxation law. If accounting services are mismanaged or inaccurate, it could cost clients thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars to fix.
Furthermore, as accountants are seen as trusted advisors with granted access to sensitive financial information, accountants could breach business conduct and privacy, which could have a devastating impact on all parties.
An accounting agreement offers protection for clients and accountants when it comes to financial compliance and advice. A formal contract aims to hold all parties accountable to maintain accurate and up to date financial records.
We’ve designed an accounting agreement template that’s straightforward to use for any practitioner. However, we’ve identified three best practices to get the most out of your contract with interacting with clients.
Balance sheets and profit and loss statements are based on universal accounting principles. But while the foundations are the same, each client presents a unique set of requirements depending on their situation.
So even before you can present your offerings on a contract, you need to conduct a client assessment to understand what services are necessary to help your clients reach their goals.
See if you can access client spreadsheets, accounting systems, or paper records to get an idea of how much work is involved.
In addition to an assessment, interview your client to understand their workflows and objectives. Below are some questions to help get you to get started:
Once you’ve interviewed your client and assessed their books, you’re in a position to list all of your relevant services in your accounting contract template.
The main objective of your accounting business is to secure ongoing client work, enabling you to grow and scale your practice.
However, with new client engagements, it may take some time to build trust and loyalty. For this reason, it’s a good idea to include an end date in your accounting services contract. Work with your client to select a time that makes sense, for instance, after a tax office cut-off date, or after an auditing period.
With an end date, you and your clients know you have a set period to see if the relationship is going to work. This is sensible as it gives parties an out if things don’t go as planned.
Alternatively, if everyone is happy with the work leading up to the end date, you can consider presenting an agreement with ongoing work.
Like any service provider, an accountant can choose to charge a fixed rate or by the hour. As accounting needs change depending on the type of work that needs to be done, we suggest you start by charging an hourly rate.
Hourly rates are standard in the accounting industry, as many firms use time tracking for all advisors to bill clients accurately.
The simplest way to charge clients is to provide an invoice at the end of each month with the hours your firm worked.
We also recommend you charge a penalty for late-payments and add it to your contract terms. That way, you reduce late payments and improve your cash flow.
We’ve created a simple template to save you time and money when it comes to managing client relationships.
Our document is entirely free and editable to suit your needs. Click here to grab a copy of our accounting agreement sample Frequently Asked QuestionsAn accounting agreement letter, also known as an engagement letter, is effectively a shortened and abbreviated contract summarising accounting services and compensation.
Using an accounting engagement letter is common practice in the industry when liaising with new clients.
An accounting contract conversely, is a formal agreement that requires a signature from both the accountant and client.
Accountants use a combination of a letter and a contract depending on what they’re used to doing.
We recommend you use both when engaging with new clients, as the letter is a simple document to interpret while the contract provides legal proof of the commitments each party has made.
We all want every client project to run smoothly. However, it’s not always the case. Sometimes you get an unreasonable client or, even worse, a lawsuit.
A contract protects you against those situations and gives you a reference document to be accountable to.
So while it’s not a requirement to have an accounting contract, it’s a good idea to have one.
We acknowledge that you may need to adjust your accounting contract depending on the needs of your clients. That’s why we’ve made our template available in Word so you can make changes as needed.
However, if you intend to make significant modifications, we advise you to consult with a lawyer for compliance.
