Prospective client call checklist
Run smoother discovery calls. Convert the right clients. Protect your practice.
Why this matters
Your first call with a prospective client can make or break the relationship. Without a structure, it’s easy to:
- Miss important details that affect pricing and compliance
- Forget to check for dealbreakers or red flags
- Leave your team without the right notes to move forward
- Struggle to pull together an accurate proposal afterwards
This checklist fixes that. It gives you a professional, repeatable framework to capture everything you need from day one.
What’s inside
A practical, ready-to-use template designed for accountants and bookkeepers:
✔️Client profile section – capture business structure, turnover, profits, software, payroll, and more
✔️ Service & pricing matrix – tick-box breakdown of accounts, tax, payroll, bookkeeping, and extras
✔️ Dealbreaker tracker – prompts for HMRC debts, overdrawn loans, overdue returns, or frequent accountant changes
✔️ Risk assessment framework – identify cash-based businesses, complex structures, overseas clients, and unusual activity
✔️ Notes & meeting log – space for pre-call context and detailed call notes to share with your team
Delivered as a fully customizable downloadable word document (ready to print or edit digitally)
Why you need this checklist
Professional first impression
Show prospects you’re thorough, organized, and confident
Save time
Never chase missing details after the call again
Better pricing
Quote accurately with all the facts in front of you
Reduced risk
Stop red flag clients slipping through the net
Scalable process
Your whole team can follow the same structure
Take the next step: build your full client process
This checklist gets you through the first conversation with a prospect. But what happens after they say “yes”?
That’s where the Client Onboarding Playbook comes in. It gives you a complete, step-by-step system to welcome new clients with confidence — from engagement letters to handovers. Together, the checklist and playbook create a joined-up client journey:
Discovery call → Onboarding → Long-term relationship.
About the author
Rachel Harris is disrupting what it means to be an accountant, a business owner and an employer in 2024. She is a TEDx speaker, content creator, author, business owner and most importantly... an accountant! As the official accounting personality of the year 2023 & breakout star of the year 2023, Rachel adds value to her audience of 80,000 by creating completely free long and short form content delivering financial education! She is passionate about free financial education for everyone, she is the founder of @accountant_she, her £1m firm striveX accountants, striveX audit, striveX consulting and striveX mortgages..