How fast can a new client be onboarded?

Onboarding runs from a reusable template — welcome, engagement, intake, and document requests are created automatically as soon as the engagement is accepted.

A work item is a single tracked task in an engagement, such as collecting a document set, preparing a return, or completing a review, with an owner and a due date.

Can work items be templated by engagement type?

Yes. Individual 1040s, monthly bookkeeping, and business returns each get their own template so nothing is rebuilt by hand every season.

Client onboarding and work items that move themselves forward

Repeatable onboarding templates and work items with owners, due dates, and dependencies — so a new client goes from signed proposal to ready-to-prepare without anyone remembering the steps.

Workflow board with task cards moving through stages

Onboarding templates per engagement type and client size
Work items with owner, due date, and dependency
Automatic advance when documents arrive or answers are given
Stalled-work alerts before a deadline is at risk

Onboarding is where firms lose the first month

Engagement letter, identity verification, prior-year return, intake questionnaire, portal access, integration setup, opening balances. Every firm has this list, and almost none of them have it written down the same way twice. New clients wait, and the work starts late.

WeCloseBooks turns onboarding into a template that runs itself: each step becomes a work item with an owner and a due date, triggered the moment a proposal is signed.

Work items that respond to reality

A work item does not wait for someone to notice it is done. When the client uploads the prior-year return, the extraction step starts. When the questionnaire is submitted, the gap review runs and the preparation item unblocks. Staff spend their attention on judgment, not on status maintenance.

Dependencies so preparation cannot start on an incomplete file
Assignment to a POD or an individual, reassignable at any time
Due dates derived from filing deadlines, not typed by hand
Escalation to the POD lead when an item stalls

The same rigor every season

Templates are versioned, so improvements from last season apply to every client this season. When a new preparer joins, the process is in the software rather than in the head of whoever trained them.

Frequently asked questions

How fast can a new client be onboarded?: Onboarding runs from a reusable template — welcome, engagement, intake, and document requests are created automatically as soon as the engagement is accepted.
What is a work item?: A work item is a single tracked task in an engagement, such as collecting a document set, preparing a return, or completing a review, with an owner and a due date.
Can work items be templated by engagement type?: Yes. Individual 1040s, monthly bookkeeping, and business returns each get their own template so nothing is rebuilt by hand every season.

See client onboarding & work items in your firm

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Explore more capabilities

Authentication & User Management

Every partner, manager, preparer, admin, and client signs in through one secure, auditable identity layer — with single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, and controlled onboarding and offboarding of staff.

RBAC/PBAC & Permissions

Define exactly what each role can see and do — then layer policy rules on top so access follows the client, the entity, the pod, and the engagement rather than one flat permission list.

Staff & POD Administration

Group your team into PODs — small pods of preparers, reviewers, and admins who own a book of clients together — then manage assignments, capacity, and coverage from one screen.

Client & Household Management

Link spouses, dependents, trusts, partnerships, and closely held companies into a single household so your team sees the whole relationship instead of six disconnected client records.