bookkeeping client folder template

Developing bad habits is easy to do in the early days of running your accounting firm. It’s also understandable. Who has time to keep everything in order when your focus is on growing your firm?

One of the more common “bad habits” is unorganized and incomplete client folders, which vary from one client to the next.

As your firm grows, this will likely cause several issues, including:

  • Endless back-and-forths with clients
  • Missed deadlines
  • Erroneous mistakes on crucial documents
  • Undue frustration for your employees  

Instead, having comprehensive and well-organized client folders means knowing exactly where to find important information for any given task. It makes your work as a bookkeeper easier, more accurate, and more efficient, leading to greater satisfaction for you and your clients.

This guide provides you with a straightforward client folder template that many bookkeepers use to operate more accurately and efficiently. 

 

Key Components of a Comprehensive Bookkeeping Client Folder Template

Keeping your bookkeeping clients’ folders organized means having all the information on hand to do a quality job, staying on track with deadlines, and keeping your work free from errors. Below is the folder structure you can utilize, featuring all the components necessary to offer the best possible service to your clients. 

 

Client Information

The first thing to include in each client folder is basic facts like their contact information and business details. You’ll likely collect this information during your new client onboarding process, but be sure to keep track of these particulars throughout your client engagement. 

These details make it easier to get in touch with clients when you need additional documents or relevant information, request e-signatures, or ask follow-up questions so you can complete your work. Having their business elements noted will help you keep a consistent paper trail and properly file any required documents on their behalf. 

Make sure you have the following information on hand in each client folder, in addition to other important documents like your engagement letter or signed contract: 

Contact Details

  • Name
  • Address
  • Phone number
  • Email

Business Information

  • Business name
  • Tax ID or EIN
  • Business structure
 

Financial Statements

You also need your clients’ most recent financial statements in their folders. This financial data allows you to quickly refer back to the previous years’ performance should your client request to see it.  

Here are the three principal financial statements you should keep track of for each bookkeeping client and the individual items that make up each statement:

Balance Sheet

  • Assets
  • Liabilities
  • Equity

Income Statement

  • Revenues
  • Expenses
  • Net income

Cash Flow Statement

  • Operating activities
  • Investing activities
  • Financing activities
 

General Ledger

As you know, managing a client’s general ledger is one of the most critical tasks of bookkeeping services. However, this task requires you to maintain organized and detailed information on the client’s debits, credits, and balances of various accounts. 

In your client folders, make sure you have dedicated sub-folders where you track the following items so you can easily update the general ledger as you go: 

  • Chart of accounts
  • Journal entries
  • Trial balance
 

Bank Statements and Reconciliations

Each client folder should also have a dedicated section for bank statements. Having this data handy allows you to more easily complete reconciliations each period and check the accuracy of your work. 

This sub-folder is pretty straightforward and should include documents like the following: 

  • Monthly bank statements
  • Bank reconciliation reports
 

Payroll

To complete payroll accurately and efficiently for your bookkeeping clients, you should have their employee information organized and readily available for each pay period. 

These payroll details also include the necessary information and documents for tax purposes so the client’s business can stay compliant and on top of their payroll tax obligations. 

Here’s what you should keep in each payroll sub-folder for your clients: 

  • Employee information
    • Personal details
    • Tax forms
    • Pay rates
  • Payroll registers
  • Payroll tax filings and payments
 

Accounts Receivable

Accurately managing your clients’ accounts receivable ensures they get the cash they’re entitled to in a timely manner. 

This process isn’t always routine and can depend on the nature of a client’s business and the products or services they sell. You need to maintain detailed records of their invoices, the credit terms they offer customers, payment due dates, and more, including: 

  • Customer invoices
  • Aging reports
  • Collections and payment records
 

Accounts Payable

Staying on top of your clients’ accounts payable helps them make on-time payments and avoid any late penalties or dings to their credit score. 

To ensure they’re paying their suppliers on a timely basis, you should keep track of the following items in a sub-folder for each client:

  • Vendor bills
  • Purchase orders
  • Payment records
 

Tax Documents

Keeping your clients’ previous tax documents well organized means you can easily access them for transparency and audit purposes. These are some of the documents you should include in each client folder:  

  • Income tax returns
  • Sales tax returns
  • Tax payment records
 

Expense Receipts

Each client folder should have a dedicated section where you can track all the transactions clients have made. You can keep more accurate track of expenses as you go rather than having to track down all receipts at the end of the period. 

In this sub-folder, retain the original or scanned copies of all receipts, and categorize and sort them by type for the most efficiency. 

 
 

Digital vs. Physical Folder Organization

Depending on your existing tech stack and your personal filing preferences, you may organize client folders digitally, physically in your office, or use a hybrid of both. 

 

Digital Folders

If you choose to create digital folders of the above information for your bookkeeping clients, there are several options you can choose from for reliable cloud-based storage solutions, like: 

  • Dropbox
  • Google Drive
  • OneDrive

Whichever program you choose, create a folder and file naming convention and stick to it so it’s consistent and easy to follow for all your clients. Use a uniform labeling pattern like the following examples: 

            Joe’s_Tire_Shop – Accounts Receivable

            Hometown_Floral – Accounts Receivable

            Roger’s_Bakery – Accounts Receivable

Avoid inconsistent labeling practices like these: 

           Joe’sTireShop_AR

           Hometown_Floral – Accounts Receivable

           RB – AR

To manage data privacy concerns of sensitive client information, set up the proper access controls and permissions in these storage programs. These measures help ensure that only the rightful parties can access and alter the client’s information. 

 

Physical Folders

The more traditional method is to maintain physical records for your clients. To stay organized, create an individual binder for each client or dedicate a specific filing cabinet to larger clients. Then, use tab dividers and labels to separate the sub-folders and components we described above. 

Be sure you know how long you legally need to hold on to client documents like payroll records and tax returns. If possible, store all documents in a safe and secure location that’s fire and waterproof, and lock up any filing cabinets so your clients’ sensitive information stays private. 

 

BONUS: Simplify Your Accounting Workflows with This Free Resource

Creating custom workflows and templates manually for your accounting firm can be tiring and time-consuming. Instead, download this free and convenient collection of 32 customizable accounting workflow templates and checklists

 

This resource contains numerous helpful templates popular among accounting firms, like common tax return forms, weekly accounting analysis, monthly bookkeeping, and more. 

See Jetpack Worflow In Action

Get under the hood of Jetpack Workflow’s accounting workflow and project management platform. See some of the top features and how it helps your firm standardize, automate, and track client work more efficiently.
cpa tools

You already know about the standard suite of CPA tools available: QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, and others. But are there other tools you should consider to help run your business and be more productive? 

Reliable software tools can make your job easier and scale with you as you grow your firm rather than limit your potential or overcomplicate operations.

This guide will help you discover the 10 essential software solutions and tools for CPA firms that countless firm owners use to integrate and enhance their workflows and help save valuable time.

Customer Relationship Management

Keap

Keap is a CRM platform for small businesses that helps users become more efficient and productive with its powerful sales and marketing automation tools. 

This all-in-one CRM allows CPA firms to build and manage client relationships easily. Firms can use the platform to set appointments, onboard and collect essential information from new clients, and send reminders when deadlines are near or additional documents are needed.

Pros: 

  • Simple interface
  • User-friendly 
  • Comprehensive tools for marketing campaigns

Cons: 

  • Less affordable than other CRM tools
  • No customer service capabilities

Pricing: Keap has two plans for its CRM platform. The Pro plan is $149/month when billed annually, which includes 2 users and 1500 contacts. The Max Plan is $199/month when billed annually and allows 3 users and 2500 contacts, in addition to offering more advanced marketing features. 

Zoho

Zoho is a feature-rich, cloud-based tool with accounting, CRM, and project management tools in one platform. Specifically, its CRM tool streamlines the client relationship management process with task reminders, call logs, and custom automation features. 

CPA firms can leverage Zoho’s integrated features for more efficient invoicing, expense tracking, and financial metrics reporting—even as you scale operations. 

Pros: 

  • Free version for small teams
  • Automation features
  • Multiple integrations with other tools
  • Mobile app available

Cons: 

  • Learning curve to get started
  • Limited customization
  • Free plan doesn’t support integrations

Pricing: Zoho’s pricing for its CRM platform varies depending on the features you need. They even offer a free version that supports up to 3 users with limited features. 

Paid plans start at $14/month per user for the Standard plan and range up to $52/month per user for the Ultimate plan when billed annually. Each tier includes a 15-day free trial to test the platform before committing. 

Project Management

Jetpack Workflow

Jetpack Workflow Dashboard

Jetpack Workflow is a task and productivity tool built specifically for accountants. Unlike other solutions, Jetpack Workflow seamlessly integrates with your accounting software for easy task management and workflow automation across your team. This allows CPA firms to streamline operations, team communications, and more. 

The platform has dozens of free pre-built templates to help your team get organized quickly. Plus, you’ll receive regular progress reports and easily view all your current and upcoming tasks in one place. You can meet critical client deadlines and map out projects so nothing falls through the cracks. 

With Jetpack Workflow, you can automate repetitive tasks easily and track what each team member is working on. These powerful features give you peace of mind that all crucial tasks are accounted for and completed when due, saving you precious time each week. 

Jetpack Workflow Adding Tracking

This tool integrates with over 2,000 different applications, supports unlimited storage and clients, has convenient messaging capabilities, plus much more to keep you and your team on schedule. 

In addition, Jetpack Workflow offers free training and exceptional customer support and can scale with your accounting firm as it grows. 

Pros: 

  • Improves accuracy
  • Easy integration with other applications
  • Mobile app available
  • Free training
  • Designed for accountants
  • Enhances operational efficiency

Cons: 

  • No free version, but pricing is reasonable

Pricing: The Organize plan starts at $36/month per user when billed annually. The Scale plan is $39/month per user and includes capacity management and team scheduling features. Each plan offers a 14-day free trial to get started. 

Asana

Asana is a project management software with helpful scheduling, reporting, and collaboration features. Asana provides teams the transparency they need to see which members are responsible for which tasks and stay organized on team goals and milestones. 

This tool can help CPA firms monitor progress on team tasks and utilize the platform’s rules-based automation to simplify workflows and become more efficient and accurate. 

Pros: 

  • Collaboration capabilities
  • Task visualization
  • Free version
  • Integrations with other tools and applications

Cons: 

  • Free version has limited features
  • No pre-built templates for accounting purposes

Pricing: There is a free version of Asana for teams of 15 or fewer with basic functionalities. The Premium plan starts at $10.99/month per user when billed annually. The Business plan is $24.99/month per user when billed annually, which includes resource management features and more advanced reporting capabilities. 

Document Management

SmartVault

SmartVault is an online document management and secure file-sharing application. CPA firms can use the secure SmartVault client portal to easily collect and share documents, request e-signatures, and organize client data.

Businesses can also customize the SmartVault client portal with their own branding, messaging, and logo to create a seamless client experience. 

Pros: 

  • Brandable client portal for accountants
  • Easy to use
  • Safe and secure file storage
  • Integrations with accounting software

Cons: 

  • No free version

Pricing: SmartVault has several different plans, with free trials for each. Specifically, their Accounting Pro plan is $40/month per user when billed annually, which supports up to 2 users and includes a private and secure client portal. 

Dropbox

Dropbox is a trusted and reliable cloud-based file-sharing platform. It includes features for e-signatures, document tracking, storage, online document editing, and data backup and recovery. The platform’s high-security measures protect sensitive personal information and data sent through the tool. 

Dropbox allows CPA firms to request documents and files from their clients and easily share them among their teams. They can also manage and edit documents within the platform through its seamless integration with Google Workspace and Microsoft Office applications. 

Pros: 

  • Integrations with other applications
  • Ease of use
  • Easily send and track documents securely
  • Ability to send large files
  • Data backup and recovery

Cons: 

  • Not specifically designed for CPA firms
  • Cheaper options available

Pricing: Dropbox offers a 30-day free trial for each of its plans. For small teams, the Standard plan allows 3 or more users and is $15/month per user when billed annually. For bigger teams with more extensive storage needs, pricing can range up to $24/month per user, billed annually, with custom pricing options available for Enterprise users. 

Communication & Collaboration

Google Workspace

Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) is a suite of productivity applications like Google Sheets, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Google Drive, and more to support collaboration across your organization. The platform seamlessly integrates with other tools, including accounting software, which helps accountants manage data from multiple sources all in one place. 

Within Google Workspace, CPA firms can communicate and collaborate with team members and clients alike. Firms can use Google Docs to create and edit documents, manage their schedules with Google Calendar, and meet with clients online using Google Meet.

Pros: 

  • Collaboration tools
  • Supported on multiple devices
  • Easy to use

Cons: 

  • Customer support could use improvement
  • No free trial

Pricing: Plans range from the Business Starter plan, at $6/month per user, to the Business Plus plan, at $18/month per user. The higher tier plan is useful if you have more storage needs or need to host larger meetings. Enterprise clients can contact Google for custom pricing. 

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams includes collaboration and communication tools like video conferencing, live chat, and file sharing. Firms offering CPA services can utilize the platform to meet and collaborate with colleagues in real time and chat with clients. 

The platform supports easy integration with other business applications, including accounting software. Firms that use Microsoft 365 for documents and spreadsheets can easily access and edit files from within the platform. 

Pros: 

  • Integrated chat feature
  • Simple interface
  • Free add-on if you already have Microsoft 365

Cons: 

  • Learning curve to get started
  • Lacking some of the features similar platforms offer

Pricing: Microsoft Teams is available at no additional cost if you already have a Microsoft 365 subscription. Though it’s free to sign up, plans can cost an extra $4/month per user to $12.50/month per user when billed annually, depending on the features included. 

Time Tracking Software

Time Doctor

Time Doctor is a time-tracking software that can help CPA firms monitor how much time each team member spends working on an individual task, project, or client. The app provides tracking accuracy down to the second, which helps with precise and accurate billing for each client. 

Overall, the Time Doctor app helps you monitor and track how many billable hours your team works for payroll and client billing purposes. 

Pros: 

  • Free trial available
  • Each plan includes unlimited users and projects
  • Reporting features on all plans
  • Easy time tracking for employees and client work

Cons: 

  • No free plan

Pricing: Each Time Doctor plan includes a 14-day free trial, with paid plans starting at $5.90/month per user for basic features and ranging to $16.70/month per user for more advanced features. 

Clockify

Clockify is a time tracking and timesheet application that CPA firms can use to track hours spent on projects. You can also create invoices for billable hours directly in the platform. 

Time can be entered manually or on a timer while users work, providing flexibility for firms. Plus, they have a calendar view for data visualization showing how much time each team member spent on each project. 

Pros: 

  • Free version supports unlimited users
  • Calendar view of time tracking
  • Desktop and mobile app
  • Invoice feature

Cons: 

  • No integrations with payroll applications
  • Only basic functionalities in the free version

Pricing: Clockify is completely free for teams of all sizes and an unlimited number of projects. They also have paid plans should you want to access advanced security and administrative features, which start at $3.99/month per user when billed annually. Paid plans increase to $11.99/month per user billed annually for Enterprise clients. 

See Jetpack Worflow In Action

Get under the hood of Jetpack Workflow’s accounting workflow and project management platform. See some of the top features and how it helps your firm standardize, automate, and track client work more efficiently.