Before moving bookkeeping preparation to a delivery partner, agree access, chart of accounts, coding rules, the review standard, query workflow, calendar, first batch, security terms, reporting, escalation and exit. Use the eleven points below as a starting checklist, then adapt them to the work and the firm's professional obligations.
1. Access: named logins and agreed data handling
- Create a named user for each member of the partner's team on your accounting software, receipt capture tool and payroll system. Never share credentials.
- Turn on two-factor authentication for every login.
- Set the role to the minimum the work needs. A bookkeeper does not need to be a subscription owner or to see other clients.
- Specify where source records and working papers may be accessed, created, stored and transferred. Check any cross-border access and retention requirements before sharing data.
- Write down the process for removing access at the end, and who owns it.
2. Chart of accounts: freeze it, then document it
A changing chart of accounts makes consistent coding harder. Before handover, tidy unused codes and decide which tracking categories or departments matter. Then write a short note per client explaining transactions a new preparer could not infer: how the director's car is coded, how the Amazon account is treated, and what belongs in "sundry".
3. Coding rules: recurring ambiguous transactions
Some clients have transactions that are ambiguous without context: a Shopify payout that nets fees, a loan repayment split between capital and interest, or a supplier that may be stock or equipment. Record the agreed treatment and when the preparer should raise a query. Compare review points after the first batch to see whether the note is sufficient.
4. The review standard: what "done" means
This is the document that determines whether the engagement works. It answers: which reconciliations are performed each batch, what supporting schedules are expected, how differences are presented, and what the cover note contains. If your firm has a working-paper template and review checklist, that is the standard. If not, ask the partner for its default and edit it. Either way, write it down before batch one, and expect to revise it after batch one.
5. The query workflow: who asks the client what
- Default: queries come to your reviewer in a cover note, and you go to the client.
- Alternative: a shared mailbox in your firm's name, from which the partner sends routine queries in your voice, copied to you.
- Either way: agree a standard query format (date, amount, what is needed, why) and a cut-off, so that an unanswered query does not hold the whole batch.
- Agree what the partner does with an unresolved item: park it in suspense with a note, or leave the transaction unreconciled and flag it. Never guess.
6. The calendar: batches with dates
Decide the rhythm per client: weekly, fortnightly or monthly. Fix the day the data is available, the day the batch is due back, and the turnaround for clearing review points. Put it in a shared calendar. The calendar is also your first measure of the engagement: batches either land on the day or they do not.
7. The first batch: small, boring, same-type
Choose a batch small enough for your reviewers to assess: similar clients in one software, or one recurring task across several clients. Start with relatively clean files to test the review standard and coding notes. Track review points, errors and reviewer time from the first batch, then decide whether the process is ready for harder work.
8. Security and confidentiality: in writing
The engagement letter or a separate agreement should cover: confidentiality for people with access; where work is performed and on which devices; permitted storage and transfers; incident notification; access revocation and data return or deletion on exit; and client-contact boundaries. Check any applicable processor or international-transfer terms with your privacy adviser. Ask the partner the eight data-security questions and keep its current answers on file.
9. Reporting: what you see about the engagement itself
Ask for a short monthly summary: batches delivered against calendar, review points per file, reviewer time, open queries by age and any standing issues. Use it to spot patterns while continuing to review files to the standard the firm requires.
10. Escalation: one name each side
A named delivery lead on the partner's side and a named engagement owner on yours. Anything that is not a routine query goes between those two people. When something goes wrong, and something will, the fix is a conversation between two named people, not a thread with eight.
11. Exit: decide it now, while nobody needs it
Agree the notice period, working-paper handover, access revocation, return or deletion of partner-held copies, any required retention and final billing reconciliation. Record who is responsible for each step.
The one-page version
| Item | Owner | Done before batch one? |
|---|---|---|
| Named logins with 2FA on every system | Firm | Required |
| Chart of accounts tidied and documented per client | Firm, with partner input | Required |
| Coding rules for recurring ambiguous transactions | Firm | Required |
| Written review standard and cover-note format | Firm or partner default | Required |
| Query workflow and cut-off agreed | Both | Required |
| Batch calendar with dates | Both | Required |
| First batch selected: small, same-type, clean | Firm | Required |
| Security and confidentiality terms signed | Both | Required |
| Monthly engagement summary format | Partner | By end of month one |
| Named escalation contacts | Both | Required |
| Exit terms agreed | Both | Required |
What losing control actually looks like, and how this prevents it
The checklist makes responsibilities visible. The review standard and points log help test quality; the query workflow and written client-contact boundary define who speaks to clients; access, processing and exit terms set the handling of client records. These controls need to be checked in practice throughout the engagement.
Plan an onboarding with Cadence. Use this checklist to discuss the work, access, review and security terms, then agree the sequence and dates in a written proposal. Request a proposal.
