Which documents should I request first from a new client?

Start with company documents (registration extract, articles, tax identifiers) and the prior-year balance sheet and returns. They let you open the file and check the tax position before the first production.

How do I avoid chasing the client for each document?

By sending a tracked onboarding checklist via a secure portal: the client sees what's left to provide, uploads with no account, and automatic reminders prevent omissions.

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June 16, 2026 · 8 min read

Documents to request from a new accounting client

When a new client joins the firm, the quality of the file depends on the documents you request at the start. Knowing exactly which documents to request from a new accounting client — on the company, its finances, its tax and its payroll — avoids back-and-forth and lets you produce accurate accounts from the first month.

Here's the complete list of documents to gather, organised by family, with one essential distinction: the recurring documents the client sends every month or quarter, the year-end documents, and the documents to retrieve when taking over a file from another firm. At the end, a method to send an onboarding checklist rather than chasing by email.

The 4 families of documents in a new client file

Whatever the client's profile, an accounting file rests on the same broad families of documents. Knowing them lets you request everything at once at intake, rather than asking for one document at a time during production.

The four families are: company documents (legal and tax identity), financial documents (bank, invoices, annual accounts), tax documents (VAT, results, contributions) and payroll documents (payslips and contracts).

Company documents

These documents establish the client's legal and tax identity. Request them once when opening the file, then update them whenever something changes (new director, registered office, share capital).

Company registration extract less than 3 months old
Up-to-date articles of association
Tax identifiers: company registration number and VAT number
Fixed-asset register and current depreciation schedule
Bank mandate, account details and list of accounts in the company's name

Financial documents

This is the heart of accounting production. These documents feed bookkeeping and bank reconciliation. Some come back every month, others once a year at the close.

Bank statements for all business accounts
Customer invoices (sales) and supplier invoices (purchases)
Card statements and expense reports
Balance sheet and income statement for the prior year
Details of outstanding loans and loan amortisation schedules

Tax documents

These documents let you pick up the client's tax position and ensure continuity of filings. They're essential to check what has already been filed before you took over.

VAT returns for the last months or quarters
Income tax / corporate tax return for the latest year
Director's social-contribution returns (self-employed)
Notices for local business taxes and corporate income tax instalments
Tax-compliance certificate if available

Payroll documents

If the client employs staff, or if you're taking over payroll, these documents are needed to produce payslips and social filings without interruption.

Employment contracts for all staff and any amendments
Payslips for the current year
Social filings (DSN) for previous months
Applicable collective agreement and staff register
Memberships with pension, provident and health-insurance funds

Recurring, year-end or handover: three logics to separate

Not all documents are requested at the same moment. Clearly separating the three cases avoids asking at year-end for documents you should have obtained at intake, or chasing a client for documents only the previous firm holds.

Recurring documents

Every month or quarter, the client sends bank statements, sales and purchase invoices, expense reports and card statements. These are the documents that trigger the most frequent reminders, because they drive VAT and bookkeeping.

Year-end documents

Once a year, the close requires extra documents: stock count, supporting evidence for the year's fixed assets, December bank statements, details of partner current accounts and provisions. Anticipating this list avoids the year-end scramble for supporting evidence. For the complete list of these year-end-specific documents, see our dedicated checklist for year-end closing documents.

Handover of a file from another firm

When the client comes from another firm, you must retrieve the general ledger, the trial balance, the accounting entries file, the latest balance sheet, the tax returns and the year's VAT returns. The handover follows the profession's ethical rules. That accounting entries file — the FEC — has to match the exact year requested and follow a strict format: our dedicated article on the FEC covers that format and the errors that get it rejected.

Send an onboarding checklist rather than chasing by email

Knowing the list isn't enough: the client still has to send each document, in the right format, without the firm chasing ten times. By email, documents arrive out of order, some are missing, and the bookkeeper spends their time running after evidence instead of producing.

The effective method: a reusable onboarding checklist, sent via a secure portal. The client sees exactly which documents to provide, uploads them with no account to create, and automatic reminders handle the rest until the file is complete. The same checklist serves every new client, and adapts for the monthly recurring documents.

Frequently asked questions

Which documents should I request first from a new client?: Start with company documents (registration extract, articles, tax identifiers) and the prior-year balance sheet and returns. They let you open the file and check the tax position before the first production.
What should I retrieve from the previous firm in a handover?: The general ledger, the trial balance, the accounting entries file, the latest balance sheet, the tax returns and the year's VAT returns. The handover follows the profession's ethical rules.
Which documents does the client send every month?: Bank statements, customer and supplier invoices, expense reports and card statements. These are the recurring documents that drive VAT and bookkeeping.
How do I avoid chasing the client for each document?: By sending a tracked onboarding checklist via a secure portal: the client sees what's left to provide, uploads with no account, and automatic reminders prevent omissions.