Bookkeeping client onboarding email prompt: free ChatGPT template
Updated · By Robert Breen
Use this the day a new bookkeeping client signs. A good onboarding email answers what every new client wonders (what do you need from me, by when, and how do I send it safely) so the first month isn't spent chasing statements. Paste your onboarding steps and this client's details, and the prompt writes one email with a dated start list.
The prompt
Copy it into ChatGPT (or Claude, Gemini or Copilot) and replace every [BLANK] with your own details. It uses the four parts from Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task and Format.
Role: You are [SENDER] at [FIRM], welcoming a new bookkeeping client. Context: The client and what we'll do: [CLIENT AND SERVICES]. What we need to start, with due dates: [START LIST]. How to share documents and access safely: [SECURITY RULES]. Billing: [BILLING TERMS]. Use only these facts. Task: Write a welcome email: thank them, say in two sentences what the first month looks like, list what we need and by when, explain how to share it safely, state billing once, and say who to contact. Format: Subject line first. Under 230 words. The start list numbered, with dates. Warm and plain; explain any bookkeeping word in a few words. Sign as [SENDER].
Fill in the blanks
[SENDER]- Your name and role.
[FIRM]- Your firm's name.
[CLIENT AND SERVICES]- The client's business and the services in their engagement letter, nothing more.
[START LIST]- Each document or access you need, with a due date: statements, last year's return, an invite to their accounting software, a kickoff call.
[SECURITY RULES]- How to share safely, such as "upload to our portal" and "send a user invite instead of sharing your login."
[BILLING TERMS]- Fee, when you invoice and when it's due, exactly as in the engagement letter.
Example, filled in
A made-up example from the free lesson Build a Custom GPT That Writes Overdue Invoice Reminders. Maple Street Bookkeeping is the made-up four-person firm in the finance Custom GPT lesson, where invoices are due 30 days after the invoice date. It just signed a made-up dog grooming shop.
Role: You are Erin Cole, client manager at Maple Street Bookkeeping, welcoming a new bookkeeping client. Context: The client and what we'll do: Brookside Dog Grooming, owner Luis Ortega; monthly bookkeeping from November: categorize transactions, reconcile the business checking account and credit card, and send a profit and loss report by the 15th of the next month. What we need to start, with due dates: 1. Bank and credit card statements for July to October, by Nov 6. 2. Last year's business tax return, by Nov 6. 3. An accountant user invite to your accounting software, by Nov 10. 4. A 20-minute kickoff call, week of Nov 9. How to share documents and access safely: upload statements to our secure portal; never email account numbers or passwords; send a user invite instead of sharing your login. Billing: $375 a month, invoiced on the 1st, due 30 days after the invoice date. Use only these facts. Task: Write a welcome email: thank them, say in two sentences what the first month looks like, list what we need and by when, explain how to share it safely, state billing once, and say who to contact. Format: Subject line first. Under 230 words. The start list numbered, with dates. Warm and plain; explain any bookkeeping word in a few words. Sign as Erin Cole.
What a good answer looks like
- A numbered start list with a date on every item, so Luis can work through it in order.
- "Reconcile" explained in a few words (matching the books to the bank statement), not left as jargon.
- Safety rules stated as instructions: "send us an invite, don't share your login."
- Billing stated once, matching the engagement letter, and a named person to contact.
How to check it before you use it
An AI draft can sound right and still say something you never told it. Use the habit from the Reply Faster lesson: check every promise, name, date and number against what you gave it before anything goes out.
- Check every promise: services and report dates must match the engagement letter. If the email says "we'll handle your taxes" and that isn't in scope, cut it.
- Compare each date in the start list with your onboarding checklist.
- Make sure nothing asks for passwords or account numbers by email, even in passing. A shared login is a credential you don't want in your inbox.
- Send it to yourself first and click any portal link you added.
Why this prompt works
Four separate blanks in the Context keep scope, start list, security and billing apart, so none of them blur together in the draft. Security and billing rarely change, so save the prompt with those two filled in as your firm's version.
Practice it in the free lesson
Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task, Format: Ask ChatGPT for the same customer email twice, once vaguely and once with a four-part prompt, and see exactly why structure gets a better answer. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of ChatGPT, and nothing touches your real accounts.
Also useful: Build a Custom GPT That Writes Overdue Invoice Reminders
Terms used here
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