Client Onboarding - Kickoff Meeting & Other Onboarding Meetings
0/6 steps
The following steps need to be completed to ensure all Kickoff and Onboarding Meetings are scheduled, prepared for, and followed up on correctly as part of the client onboarding process.
1.Schedule Kickoff Meeting
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Coordinate with the applicable internal team members and client contacts to schedule the Kickoff Meeting:
a.Confirm the attendees for the Kickoff Meeting (internal team members and client contacts)
b.Schedule the Kickoff Meeting via the applicable calendar platform and send invites to all attendees
c.Confirm the meeting has been accepted by all required attendees before proceeding
2.Prepare Kickoff Meeting Agenda
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Prepare the Kickoff Meeting agenda and share with all attendees in advance:
a.Introduction of the FFO team and client contacts
b.Overview of the engagement scope and services
c.Review of the onboarding timeline and key milestones
d.Systems and access requirements (Accounting Software, Banks, Payroll, Apps)
e.Document management and file structure overview
f.Communication preferences and cadence
g.Open questions and next steps
Share the Kickoff Meeting agenda with all attendees at least 24-48 hours in advance to allow time for review and preparation
3.Conduct Kickoff Meeting
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Conduct the Kickoff Meeting per the prepared agenda and document the following:
a.Key decisions made during the meeting
b.Action items and responsible owners
c.Outstanding questions requiring follow-up
d.Any additional onboarding meetings required (e.g. systems walkthrough, team intro, historical review)
4.Follow Up on Kickoff Meeting Action Items
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Following the Kickoff Meeting, complete the following:
a.Send a follow-up email to all attendees summarizing key decisions, action items, and next steps
b.Track all open action items and confirm completion before moving to the next onboarding step
c.Schedule any additional onboarding meetings identified during the Kickoff Meeting
The follow-up email should be sent within 24 hours of the Kickoff Meeting — timely follow-up sets the tone for the engagement and demonstrates professionalism
Schedule and conduct any additional onboarding meetings identified during the Kickoff Meeting:
a.Systems Walkthrough Meeting — review all platforms and tools used by the client
b.Team Introduction Meeting — introduce all internal team members to the client’s team
c.Historical Review Meeting — review prior period financials and identify any historical issues
d.Any other onboarding meetings as needed based on the client’s specific requirements
6.Confirm Kickoff & Onboarding Meetings are Complete
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Before flagging for Reviewer, confirm the following:
a.Kickoff Meeting has been conducted and documented
b.Follow-up email has been sent to all attendees
c.All action items from the Kickoff Meeting have been tracked and assigned
d.All additional onboarding meetings have been scheduled and confirmed
Do not proceed with any other onboarding tasks until the Kickoff Meeting has been completed and all action items have been documented and assigned. All additional onboarding meetings should be scheduled and completed before proceeding to the systems and access setup tasks.
The following steps need to be completed to ensure all required system access has been obtained, set up, and saved in 1Password for the client before any onboarding tasks can begin.
1.Obtain & Set Up Accounting Software Access
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Obtain access to the client’s Accounting Software and set up in 1Password:
a.Request access from the client’s applicable contact via email
b.Once access is granted, login to the Accounting Software and confirm access levels are correct (Admin or equivalent)
c.Save login credentials to 1Password under the client’s vault
d.Confirm all required team members have been granted access to the Accounting Software
If the client is not yet on an Accounting Software or needs to migrate to a new platform, flag to the Reviewer immediately — platform setup or migration will need to be completed before any other onboarding tasks can begin
2.Obtain & Set Up Bank & Credit Card Portal Access
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Obtain access to all client Bank and Credit Card portals and set up in 1Password:
a.Request access from the client’s applicable contact for each Bank and Credit Card portal
b.Once access is granted, login to each portal and confirm access levels are correct (View / Download access at minimum)
c.Save login credentials for each portal to 1Password under the client’s vault
d.Confirm access has been obtained for all bank accounts and credit card accounts identified during the Kickoff Meeting
Confirm that bank feed / sync access is included in the bank portal access — view-only access may not be sufficient for bank feed setup in the Accounting Software
📝 Auto-populate the list of bank and credit card account names from this client’s QBO chart of accounts
3.Obtain & Set Up Payroll Software Access
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Obtain access to the client’s Payroll Software and set up in 1Password:
a.Request access from the client’s applicable contact via email
b.Once access is granted, login to the Payroll Software and confirm access levels are correct
c.Save login credentials to 1Password under the client’s vault
d.Confirm all required team members have been granted access to the Payroll Software
4.Obtain & Set Up Bill Pay Platform Access (if applicable)
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Obtain access to the client’s Bill Pay Platform(s) (e.g. Ramp, Bill.com, Expensify) and set up in 1Password:
a.Request access from the client’s applicable contact for each Bill Pay Platform
b.Once access is granted, login to each platform and confirm access levels are correct
c.Save login credentials for each platform to 1Password under the client’s vault
5.Obtain & Set Up Any Additional App & Platform Access
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Obtain access to any additional apps or platforms used by the client and identified during the Kickoff Meeting:
e.Any other platforms relevant to the engagement scope
f.Save login credentials for each platform to 1Password under the client’s vault
6.Confirm All Access & Systems Setup is Complete
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Before flagging for Reviewer, confirm the following:
a.Accounting Software access has been obtained and saved to 1Password
b.All Bank and Credit Card portal access has been obtained and saved to 1Password
c.Payroll Software access has been obtained and saved to 1Password
d.Bill Pay Platform access has been obtained and saved to 1Password (if applicable)
e.All additional app and platform access has been obtained and saved to 1Password
f.All required team members have been granted access to all applicable platforms
Do not proceed with any other onboarding tasks until all required system access has been obtained and saved to 1Password. If access to any platform is denied, delayed, or requires additional verification, flag to the Reviewer and escalate to the client immediately — missing access will block downstream onboarding tasks.
Historical Validation
0/5 steps
The following steps need to be completed to ensure the client's historical financial data has been reviewed and any issues or errors have been identified and documented before the ongoing close process begins.
1.Determine Historical Validation Period
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a.Confirm the period to be validated with the Reviewer and client (prior 12 months, prior fiscal year, all available history, or client-specific period)
b.Document the agreed validation period in the Client Folder
2.Run & Save Historical Financial Reports
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a.Balance Sheet, Income Statement (P&L), Trial Balance, General Ledger Detail — for each period in the validation range
b.AR Aging Report, AP Aging Report — as of the start of the engagement
c.Bank Reconciliation Reports — for each bank account for the validation period (if available)
3.Review Historical Financial Data for Issues & Errors
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a.Balance Sheet: unexplained balances, accounts that should be zero, negative balances in wrong accounts, unreconciled accounts, stale AR or AP
b.Income Statement: unusual balances, incorrect coding, significant unexplained variances between periods
c.General Ledger: missing descriptions, Ask My Accountant / Uncategorized transactions, duplicates, journal entries without support
d.Bank Reconciliations: unreconciled accounts, outstanding items open too long, unresolved differences
4.Document Historical Validation Findings
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a.For each issue: Description of the issue, account(s) affected, period(s) affected, estimated dollar impact, recommended resolution, priority level (High / Medium / Low)
b.Save the Historical Validation Findings Log to Client Folder/Controllership/Accounting Workpapers
5.Confirm Historical Validation Is Complete
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a.All historical financial reports have been pulled and saved for the agreed validation period
b.All identified issues and errors have been documented in the Historical Validation Findings Log
c.Historical Validation Findings Log has been saved to Client Folder/Controllership/Accounting Workpapers
Do not begin Historical Validation until all Accounting Software access has been obtained and confirmed per the Access & Systems Setup task
Do not attempt to correct any historical issues during the validation process — the purpose is to identify and document issues only
Prioritize findings by impact — High priority items materially affect the financial statements and should be addressed before the first close period begins
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The following steps need to be completed to ensure all Vendor Bills entered for the current period have been assigned to the correct vendor category and payment grouping.
1.Assign Payment Method & Vendor Payment Details
✓ Matt — 2026-06-01
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a.Login to Bill Pay Platform and/or Accounting Software using 1Password
b.For each bill confirm: Payment Method (ACH, Check, Wire, Credit Card), Payment Due Date, Vendor ACH / banking / mailing information is on file and up to date, Memo / Reference entered
2.Flag Any Bills Requiring Special Handling
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a.New Vendor Payments: Confirm vendor setup and W-9 are complete before flagging for payment
b.Updated Vendor Banking Information: Flag for Reviewer independent verification before processing
c.Unusually Large Payments: Flag for client confirmation before processing
d.Rush / Same Day Payments: Flag for Reviewer immediately
e.Wire Transfers: Flag for Reviewer — wires require additional verification and client authorization
f.Disputed Invoices: Do not include in payment batch until resolved
3.Confirm All Bills Have Been Coded
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a.Payment method assigned correctly, payment due dates correct, vendor payment details confirmed and up to date, memo / reference entered, all bills requiring special handling flagged
When in doubt about any bill or payment, flag it for the Reviewer — it is always better to delay a payment than to process an incorrect or fraudulent one
a.Login to Accounting Software and Bill Pay Platform using 1Password > Navigate to Vendors > New Vendor > Enter: Vendor Name, Contact Name, Address, Email, Phone, Payment Method, Banking/Mailing Information, Payment Terms
2.Update Existing Vendor Information
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a.Update the vendor record in both the Accounting Software and Bill Pay Platform if applicable
b.Flag all vendor information changes for the Reviewer — particularly any changes to vendor banking or payment details
3.W-9 Collection & Documentation
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a.For any new vendors, confirm a W-9 has been received and saved to Client Folder/Controllership/1099 & W-9 Documentation using the W-9 - Vendor Name - MM.DD.YY naming convention
b.If W-9 not yet received, send a W-9 request to the vendor via email and flag as outstanding
4.1099 Tracking & Flagging
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a.Confirm whether the new vendor is subject to 1099 reporting and flag accordingly in the Accounting Software
b.Update the 1099 Tracking Workpaper in Client Folder/Controllership/Accounting Workpapers
5.Vendor Deactivation / Termination
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a.If any vendors are no longer active, deactivate or terminate the vendor record in both the Accounting Software and Bill Pay Platform
Do not process any payments to a new vendor until a W-9 has been received and saved
Generally, any unincorporated vendor paid $600 or more in a calendar year is subject to 1099 reporting — when in doubt, confirm with the client's CPA
Never update vendor banking or payment information based solely on an unsolicited email or request — this is one of the most common vendor fraud schemes
a.Login to Bill Pay Platform and/or Accounting Software > Review all bills entered and coded for the current period > Identify all bills due or coming due for the current payment run
b.Confirm the payment schedule with the client before preparing the payment batch
2.Prepare ACH Payments
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a.Navigate to Bills / Payments > Select all bills to be paid via ACH > Create ACH payment batch > Confirm vendor ACH / banking information is correct for each payment
3.Prepare Check Payments
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a.Navigate to Bills / Payments > Select all bills to be paid via Check > Create check payment batch > Confirm vendor mailing address is correct
4.Prepare Wire Transfer Payments
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a.Prepare wire payment details for Reviewer submission and client authorization
b.Do not initiate any wire transfers — all wire payments must be flagged to the Reviewer and require explicit client authorization
5.Generate Payment Summary for Approval
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a.Generate a Payment Summary Report broken out by payment type (ACH, Check, Wire) and save to Client Folder/Controllership/Vendor Invoices using the Payment Summary - MM.DD.YY naming convention
b.Submit the Payment Summary to the Reviewer for approval
Do not prepare any payments until the Enter Vendor Bills, Code & Classify Vendor Bills, and Vendor Setup & Maintenance tasks have all been fully completed and reviewed
Never prepare an ACH payment to a new vendor or a vendor with recently updated banking information without flagging for Reviewer independent verification first
Do not initiate any wire transfers — all wire payments require explicit client authorization
a.Confirm: Vendor Name is correct, Contact information is complete, Payment Method set correctly, Payment details independently verified directly with the vendor, Payment Terms set correctly, 1099 / W-9 flag set correctly
2.Review Existing Vendor Updates & Confirm W-9 / 1099 Tracking Is Up to Date
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a.Confirm updates are accurate and independently verified; confirm a W-9 has been received and saved for all new vendors; confirm all new vendors subject to 1099 reporting have been flagged and added to the 1099 Tracking Workpaper
Always independently verify new vendor banking information directly with the vendor before approving for payment
Do not approve payment to any new vendor without a W-9 on file
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