Notes for owners · Industry playbooks
How bookkeeping firms scope a new client before quoting
Quoting a bookkeeping fee from turnover alone leaves the firm doing unpriced clean-up work. A short scoping call, a look at the records and a written list of inclusions make the quote hold.
The GullySales team · Updated 6 Oct 2026 · 6 min read
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A bookkeeping firm should scope a new client before it quotes, because the fee that looks right on turnover is often wrong once you see how the records arrive. A short call, a look at the state of the books and a written list of what is included give you a quote that holds. Without them, the firm quietly absorbs clean-up, reminders and extra entities that nobody priced.
Why does quoting from turnover go wrong?
Turnover tells you how large the business is, not how much work its books create. Two companies with the same sales can differ widely in the number of bank accounts, vendors, invoices, expense claims, cash transactions and entities. A trading company with a neat Tally file and a restaurant group with six outlets, petty cash and delivery-platform payouts are different jobs.
The mistake shows up months later. The fee was set, the client signed, and the firm discovers that half the bills arrive as WhatsApp photographs and the previous accountant left the ledger unreconciled. The firm either swallows the cost or asks for more money and damages the relationship.
What should the scoping call cover?
Keep it to about the questions below, and write the answers in the CRM against the enquiry, not in a notebook.
- What software are the books in today, and who has the file?
- Who kept them so far, and in what state?
- How many bank accounts, cards and payment gateways are there?
- How do bills and receipts reach you: courier, email, WhatsApp, an app?
- Does the client have more than one GST registration or more than one entity?
- What does the client expect from you: only entries, or also payroll inputs, MIS for the owner, bank reconciliation, query handling?
- Who is the one point of contact, and who approves?
Resist the urge to sell during the call. The client who answers these questions honestly is telling you what the job is.
What do you look at before you quote?
Ask for read-only access, or a trial balance and the last bank statement. Look for three signs: whether the bank balance in the books matches the statement, whether vendor and customer balances look sane, and whether the same expense is booked in different heads. You are not auditing. You are judging how much clean-up the first few weeks will need.
For example, a Coimbatore garment exporter asks for a quote. On the call she says her books are "mostly fine". The trial balance shows a large suspense entry and three bank accounts last reconciled before the previous financial year closed. That does not mean you decline. It means the quote has two parts: catch-up, and regular work.
How should the quote be set out?
Separate what is regular from what is one-off, and write both in a table the client can read in a minute.
| Item | Say plainly |
|---|---|
| Regular work | The entries, reconciliations and reports included, and the format the client receives them in |
| Catch-up or clean-up | The period, the work and whether it is priced separately |
| What the client supplies | Documents and approvals, in what form and by when |
| Out of scope | Items that cost extra, such as extra entities, audits support or notices |
| Who to contact | The named person and the way queries are raised |
| Review of scope | When the scope will be reviewed, and what triggers a change |
Rules for your own profession differ by state and body and change, so check with your own council or adviser on how you describe the services and what the client may expect from you. Keep the quote to the work you do, and do not describe outcomes you cannot control.
How does a clear scope help you win the enquiry?
Prospects who compare firms usually compare a number. When your quote lists inclusions, the other firm's lower number begins to look like a quote for less work. Ask the prospect what the other quote covers and let the comparison do the explaining.
A written scope also shortens the signing stage. The owner is not wondering what they are buying, and the finance person is not looking for surprises. The post on how to follow up on a quotation covers the routine once the quote has gone.
What happens after the client signs?
The first weeks decide whether the client keeps you. Agree the document routine with the one person who sends bills, and tell the owner what they will receive and in what form. A client who knows what to send and what to expect rarely leaves over fees.
Review the scope when the business changes: a new outlet, a new GST registration, a new product line. This is also where renewal comes from. The customer retention page and the referral marketing page for the trade cover how satisfied clients become introductions. For switching clients specifically, see how to win clients from another accountant.
What to do next
Take your last three quotes and check each against the table above. Mark the lines you never wrote down. Mark the work you did without charging for. Turn both into a scoping checklist for the first call. If you would like to see where enquiries are lost before they reach a quote, book the free audit.