Engagement letter checklist for UK accountants
Everything a UK engagement letter should cover, so you can check your letters are complete before every new client signs.
Free to copy and adapt. Last updated October 2026.
Engagement letter · checks
What should an engagement letter include?
A UK engagement letter should set out who the client is, the services you'll provide and those you won't, the responsibilities on both sides, your fees and how they're paid, and the terms covering money laundering, data protection, complaints, liability, record keeping and ending the engagement. Most firms start from their professional body's model letters and use a checklist to make sure nothing is missed.
The checklist
Start from your professional body's model engagement letters, such as those from ICAEW, ACCA, AAT, CIOT or ATT, and use this checklist to make sure each letter is complete.
1. Parties and scope
- The client's full name, and the legal entity if it's a company, partnership or trust
- Who in your firm is responsible for the work
- The services you'll provide, in a schedule for each service
- The period the services cover, such as the year ending [date]
- Services you won't provide, to avoid any doubt
- When the engagement starts
2. Responsibilities
- What the client must provide, and by when
- That the client is responsible for the accuracy of the information they give you
- Directors' responsibility for the company's accounts, where relevant
- What you're responsible for, and the limits of that responsibility
- Key HMRC and Companies House deadlines, and who is responsible for penalties if information is late
3. Fees and payment
- How fees are worked out, such as a fixed monthly fee
- When and how fees are paid, such as by direct debitstrively automates this
- How work outside the agreed scope is charged
- When fees will be reviewed
- What happens if fees aren't paid
4. Legal and regulatory
- Your duties under the Money Laundering Regulations, including identity checks and reporting obligationsstrively automates this
- Data protection under UK GDPR, with your privacy noticestrively automates this
- Your professional body, its rules and how to complain to it
- Your own complaints procedure
- Your professional indemnity insurer and the territorial coverage, as required by the Provision of Services Regulations
- Any limitation of liability, if you use one
- Which law applies, such as the law of England and Wales
5. Practical terms
- How you'll communicate, including email and electronic signatures
- How long you'll keep records, and how the client can get them
- How either side can end the engagement, and what happens when it ends
- How changes to the engagement will be agreed
- Signatures from both sides, kept on filestrively automates this
How to use it
Start from a model letter
Your professional body's model letters are kept up to date with the rules. Adapt them rather than writing your own from scratch.
Use a schedule for each service
Keep the main terms the same for every client and add a schedule for each service they take.
Update it when things change
Send a new letter or schedule whenever services change, and review your letters at least once a year.
Get every engagement letter signed automatically
In strively, the engagement letter follows straight after a proposal is accepted, and clients sign it online.
Frequently asked questions
What should an engagement letter include?
The parties and scope of the work, services excluded, both sides' responsibilities, fees and payment, money laundering and data protection terms, your professional body and complaints procedure, professional indemnity insurance details, liability, record keeping and how the engagement ends.
Do accountants have to issue engagement letters?
Most UK professional bodies, including ACCA and ICAEW, expect members to agree the terms of an engagement in writing before work starts. An engagement letter is the usual way to do this, and it protects both you and the client if there's a disagreement later.
Where can I find a model engagement letter?
Professional bodies such as ICAEW, ACCA, AAT, CIOT and ATT publish model engagement letters and schedules for their members. Start from your body's model letter and adapt it to your practice.
How often should engagement letters be updated?
Whenever the services you provide change, and when the rules change. Many firms review their letters at least once a year.
Can engagement letters be signed electronically?
Yes. Electronic signatures are widely used for engagement letters in the UK. strively sends the engagement letter straight after a proposal is accepted, and clients sign it online.
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