Writing Client Onboarding Emails and Checklists with AI

New clients tend to ask the same questions. Who do I send things to? What do you need? When will I hear from you? An onboarding message answers them before they're asked, and an AI tool can draft it quickly.

The two messages a new client needs

A welcome message says who you are, what happens next and who to contact. It's short.

A what-we-need list names the documents and details to collect. It's a checklist, not a letter.

Keep them separate. The US plain-language guidance recommends a clear topic sentence, organised information and lists.¹ A welcome note that carries a long list inside it gets skimmed. A list with its own heading gets used.

What goes in the welcome message

• A warm first line that says what the message is for
• The name of the person who'll deal with their work
• What you'll do first, in plain terms
• How and where to send documents
• When they'll hear from you next
• Who to contact with questions

Leave out fees, scope of work and terms. Those belong in your engagement paperwork, which is a legal document. Use your professional body's or your own adviser's version, not a tool's invention.

What goes in the what-we-need list

The list is yours to define, because it depends on the work you've agreed to do. A typical starter list might cover:

• Bank and card statements for the period
• Sales invoices and supplier bills
• Payroll records, if you handle payroll
• Prior-period reports from the previous bookkeeper
• Logins or access you've agreed to set up

For what counts as a good record, send the client to the official source. The Internal Revenue Service says you may choose any recordkeeping system suited to your business that clearly shows income and expenses.² That's a US statement. In Australia, the Australian Taxation Office has its own record-keeping pages, and other countries have theirs.

Don't ask the tool what records a client must keep. Ask it to format the list you already have.

A prompt to try

Write a friendly welcome email from a bookkeeper to a new small-business client. Include these points only: who will handle their work, how to send documents, and when they'll hear from me next. Use plain words and short sentences. Leave blanks in square brackets for names and dates. Don't mention fees or give any tax advice.

Then a second prompt for the list:

Turn these items into a tidy checklist a business owner can tick off. Group them under short headings. Use everyday words. Don't add anything that isn't on my list.

A privacy point, before you collect anything

Onboarding is when you gather personal details. That makes it the right time to say how they'll be handled.

In the UK, GOV.UK says data protection rules apply to a business that stores or uses personal information.³ It adds that on collecting personal data, you must tell people who you are and how you'll use what they give you.³

The Australian privacy regulator takes a similar line on AI. A secondary use may be within a person's reasonable expectations if it was expressly outlined in both a notice at the time of collection and the business's privacy policy.⁴ The OAIC adds that it may be difficult to establish this for an AI-related secondary purpose, and it points to seeking consent or offering an opt-out.⁴ It also advises updating privacy policies and notices so they say clearly how AI is used.⁴

You can't settle what your own notice should say by asking a chatbot. Read the OAIC's guidance page on commercially available AI products, or ask an adviser. For a list of official places to check, see where to look.

Check each draft

• Does it name the right person and contact route?
• Are the list items things you actually need?
• Is there anything promised that your practice doesn't do?
• Are the placeholders all filled in?

Once a pair of messages works, keep them as templates with blanks. Storage tips are in saving your templates.