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Accounting client intake form template

Onboard a new tax or bookkeeping client: personal or business, filing status or structure, the services they need and their current accountant.

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Who is this for? (required)

About you

Your name (required)

Phone (required)

Postal address (required)

How should we contact you?

26 questions · about 6 min · logic · prefill from the link

  • No sign-up to start
  • Unlimited responses on Free

Print it as a PDF Word version

Change the questions in Word, then print.

What you get back

Every response lands in your results the moment it is sent. Turn on email notifications and each one arrives like this, and the same answers become a row in your spreadsheet.

From PulseFormCreator

Subject New response to Become a client

Who is this for?
Me and my business
Your name
Marcus Webb
Email
marcus.webb@example.com
Phone
+15035550148
Postal address
1420 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland OR 97214, United States
How should we contact you?
Email

and 18 more answers

A sample email with made-up answers.
submitted_atWho is this for?Your nameEmailPhonePostal address
22 Sep 2026 09:41Me and my businessMarcus Webbmarcus.webb@example.com+150355501481420 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland OR 97214, United States

Export to CSV or Excel, or send responses to Google Sheets, Notion, Airtable, Slack or a webhook. All free.

What happens after someone submits

Set it up once in the Workflows tab, and each new client reaches the right person.

  1. Submitted

  2. A new client applies

    Email me sends the answers to you and your intake team, with a PDF of the response attached.

  3. They are ready to meet

    The Book a time button on the thank-you screen opens your booking page, with their name and email filled in.

  4. You need a document first

    Reply from their response in Results, and their answer comes back into the same thread.

  5. At the end of the week

    Export the new clients to CSV or Excel for your practice software.

Set this up when you use the template

What this form asks, and why

The last column shows how often real accounting client intake forms ask for it.

Question Why it is there Real forms
Who is this for? Required Asked first. It replaces separate personal and business forms. Our own recommendation
Your name Required Asked on every form. 22 of 22 forms
Email Required Where the engagement letter and portal invitation go. 22 of 22 forms
Phone Required Accountants call to book the first meeting. 22 of 22 forms
Postal address Required For the engagement letter and, later, the return. 22 of 22 forms
How should we contact you? Optional, for firms that text reminders. 6 of 22 forms
Spouse or partner’s name Only when “Who is this for?” is “Me and my spouse or partner” Only the name for now. 13 of 22 forms have a spouse section. 13 of 22 forms
Filing status Only when “Who is this for?” is “Just me”, “Me and my spouse or partner” or “Me and my business” Decides which return and credits apply. 12 of 22 forms
Your occupation Only when “Who is this for?” is “Just me”, “Me and my spouse or partner” or “Me and my business” Hints at deductions and self-employment. 13 of 22 forms
How many dependents do you have? Only when “Who is this for?” is “Just me”, “Me and my spouse or partner” or “Me and my business” A count scopes the work; names and IDs wait. 14 of 22 forms
Business legal name Required Only when “Who is this for?” is “My business” or “Me and my business” The name on the engagement letter. 12 of 22 forms
Business structure Required Only when “Who is this for?” is “My business” or “Me and my business” Decides which return, and so the fee. 9 of 22 forms
What does the business do? Only when “Who is this for?” is “My business” or “Me and my business” Activity and industry in one box. 5 of 22 forms
When did the business start? Only when “Who is this for?” is “My business” or “Me and my business” A new entity, or one with a filing history. 9 of 22 forms
Fiscal year-end Only when “Who is this for?” is “My business” or “Me and my business” Only 2 of 22 forms ask, but a non-calendar year moves every deadline. 2 of 22 forms
How many employees? Only when “Who is this for?” is “My business” or “Me and my business” Payroll is priced on headcount. 3 of 22 forms
Which accounting software do you use? Only when “Who is this for?” is “My business” or “Me and my business” Decides how you get access, and whether a conversion is needed. 6 of 22 forms
Who does your bookkeeping now? Only when “Who is this for?” is “My business” or “Me and my business” Scopes the catch-up work. 3 of 22 forms
Which services do you need? Required The routing question. Edit it to what you offer. 7 of 22 forms
Roughly how many transactions a month? Only when “Which services do you need?” includes “Bookkeeping” Shown for bookkeeping, which is priced on volume. 1 of 22 forms
Do you have an accountant now? Asked on 3 of 22 forms, all of them business questionnaires. 3 of 22 forms
What is prompting the change? Only when “Do you have an accountant now?” is Yes Shown after a yes: what the last firm got wrong. 3 of 22 forms
Have you had letters from the IRS or your state that you need help with? A yes ends on a call-back screen. 14 of 22 forms
Can you give us last year’s return? The answer, not the file. 13 of 22 forms
How did you hear about us? Asked on 9 of 22 forms. 9 of 22 forms
Anything else we should know? The catch-all. 10 of 22 forms

What we left out

  • Social Security and other tax ID numbers. 16 of 22 forms ask on day one; the IRS’s own volunteer sheet does not. Take them in your portal.
  • Bank routing and account numbers. Asked on 10 of 22 forms, for refunds. Take them at filing, never in a form field.
  • Accounting software passwords. 2 of 22 forms ask. Have the client invite you through the software’s accountant access instead.

What 22 real accounting client intake forms ask

How many include each field, from forms organizations use today. Part of the Form Field Index.

  1. Email address 22 of 22
  2. Name 22 of 22
  3. Phone number 22 of 22
  4. Postal address 22 of 22
  5. Government ID number 16 of 22
  6. Date of birth 15 of 22
  7. Dependents’ details 14 of 22
  8. Tax-year checklist 14 of 22
Read September 2026 · US 20, Australia 1, Canada 1 · Sources
  1. UNIQsol (U6E Pty Ltd) · accounting and business advisory firm, Australia
  2. Bluenose Accounting · accounting firm, Canada
  3. Spina & Company · CPA firm, US
  4. Hayes Tax · tax preparation firm, US
  5. BarGraph Solutions · accounting and tax firm, US
  6. Empire Tax Services · tax preparation firm, US
  7. Internal Revenue Service (VITA/TCE Form 13614-C) · government volunteer tax-preparation program, US
  8. Lockshield Partners Accounting Services · accounting firm, US
  9. Rish & Enzastiga, CPAs · CPA firm, US
  10. Worthing & Going, PA · CPA firm, US
  11. John L. Fulcher, CPA LLC · CPA and tax preparation firm, US
  12. Money Matters Accounting · bookkeeping firm, US
  13. Fedyshyn CPA Group · CPA firm, US
  14. Procure Financial · tax preparation firm, US
  15. Redeemed Tax Services · tax preparation firm, US
  16. De'More Tax Service LLC · tax preparation and bookkeeping firm, US
  17. Colacino Tax · tax preparation firm, US
  18. A Tax Office Inc · tax preparation firm, US
  19. Tax What If Doctor · tax preparation firm, US
  20. Midwest Business & Accounting Services · accounting and tax firm, US
  21. Wych Tax (dba Shaw & Associates) · tax and accounting firm, US
  22. Gregg The Tax Guy · tax preparation firm, US

How the form changes as people answer

Most people see a shorter form. These questions and screens only appear when an answer calls for them.

  1. When “Who is this for?” is “Me and my spouse or partner”

    shows “Spouse or partner’s name”

  2. When “Who is this for?” is “Just me”, “Me and my spouse or partner” or “Me and my business”

    shows “Filing status”, “Your occupation” and “How many dependents do you have?”

  3. When “Who is this for?” is “My business” or “Me and my business”

    shows “Your business”, “Business legal name”, “Business structure”, “What does the business do?”, “When did the business start?”, “Fiscal year-end”, “How many employees?”, “Which accounting software do you use?” and “Who does your bookkeeping now?”

  4. When “Which services do you need?” includes “Bookkeeping”

    shows “Roughly how many transactions a month?”

  5. When “Do you have an accountant now?” is Yes

    shows “What is prompting the change?”

  6. When “Have you had letters from the IRS or your state that you need help with?” is Yes

    shows the “Thanks, Marcus. We will call you.” ending

  7. When “Who is this for?” is “My business” or “Me and my business”

    shows the “Thanks, Marcus. Here is what to get ready.” ending

Make it yours

  1. Point each service page at its box

    Add ?service=Bookkeeping to the link on your bookkeeping page and the form opens with it checked.

  2. Link your portal on the thank-you screens

    Personal and business clients finish on separate document lists. Add your upload link to both.

  3. Close to new clients in tax season

    Set a close time under Settings → Access and limits → Schedule, and say when you reopen under “Messages when the form is not open”.

Good practice and the law

  • US

    Using return information for most purposes other than the return needs the client’s signed, dated consent, so there is no marketing checkbox. IRS, section 7216 FAQs

  • UK

    Accountants must identify and verify new clients under the Money Laundering Regulations. Do it in your own verification step. GOV.UK, Money Laundering Regulations

Questions about this template

What does a tax client see, and what does a bookkeeping client see?

As a tax client intake form it asks filing status, occupation and dependents for a personal return, or structure and year-end for a business. Select Bookkeeping and it becomes a bookkeeping client intake form, adding monthly transactions; business clients also say which software they use and who keeps the books.

Should spouses fill in separate forms?

No. “Me and my spouse or partner” asks only the partner’s name. Their own details come with the engagement.

Does it work for UK or Australian practices?

Pick “United Kingdom” or “Australia” above the preview for local structures, services and the tax office’s name.

How is it different from a tax organizer?

The organizer gathers a year’s figures and documents for the return. This form comes first and decides whether, and how, you take the client on.

Which form do you need?

Not quite the job? One of these may fit, or browse all intake forms.

Start with the accounting client intake form template

Open it in the editor, pick your country and link your client portal.

Use this template

By , founder of PulseFormCreator. Updated 22 Sep 2026.