The problem
Every tax season, an accounting firm needs a signed engagement letter from each client before work starts. For a small firm, that can mean hundreds of letters in a few weeks, each with the client's name, the services covered and the fee. Letters go out by email as attachments, come back as phone photos or not at all, and partners spend time chasing signatures when they should be preparing returns.
How they set it up
- 01Create one template per engagement type
Build templates for personal returns, small business returns and bookkeeping. Add the roles Client, Spouse or partner, and Partner, who countersigns. Add variables for client name, tax year, services and fee.
- 02Prepare the client list
Export your client list to a CSV with one row per engagement. Include names, email addresses, phone numbers and the variable values. Use the same column names as your template variables so they match automatically.
- 03Bulk send at the start of the season
Open the template, choose Bulk send, upload the CSV and review the previews. Fix any flagged rows, then schedule the send for a weekday morning with Send later.
- 04Handle joint returns
For couples filing together, put both people in the same signing group so they can sign at the same time, each with their own link and their own identity check.
- 05Countersign in a batch
The partner role signs last. Partners see a list of letters waiting for them and can sign each one in a few clicks once the client has signed.
- 06Track before you start work
Filter the batch by status. Clients who have signed are ready to start. For the rest, the reminder schedule does the chasing, and you can send a reminder now when a client says they will sign today.
What changes
The whole season's engagement letters go out in one afternoon instead of trickling out over weeks. Partners see at a glance which clients are ready, and the reminder schedule handles most of the chasing. Every letter has a Certificate of Completion, so there is no question about what the client agreed to or when. Note that some tax authority forms, such as CRA authorization forms, have their own rules for electronic signatures, so check current guidance for those before adding them to a template.