Do all trustees need to be in the same envelope?

That is the simplest approach. Add each trustee as a signer and the letter is complete only once all of them have signed.

Can clients sign without creating a login?

Yes. Each person gets their own secure link by email and needs no account.

Can I change the scope for one client?

Yes. Use the template, then swap in that client's scope schedule before you send.

Guides · By document

Sending client engagement letters for signature.

Accounting practices, bookkeepers and advisers send engagement letters at onboarding and often again at the start of each financial year. The letter is simple; getting every director, trustee or partner to sign it is not. Here is how to send your own letter so the whole client signs it, without the chasing.

The pack that goes with the letter

An engagement letter rarely travels alone. You might also send your standard terms of business, a scope of services schedule, and a form collecting the client's details. Put them in one envelope so the client works through the full pack once instead of returning several files.

The engagement letter, signed by each client representative.
Your terms of business, acknowledged with initials.
A scope schedule listing the services, such as annual accounts, income tax returns or payroll.
A client details form with text fields for IRD numbers and contact people.

Companies, trusts and couples

This is where engagement letters get slow. A family trust may have three trustees; a company may have two directors; a husband-and-wife partnership needs both. Add each as a signer in the same envelope. They can all sign at once, and the envelope completes only when the last one has finished, so you never file a letter missing a trustee.

Copy in the client manager who looks after the relationship so they see the finished letter without needing a field.

A partner review before it goes

Many practices want a partner to check the scope and terms on new engagements. Add the partner as an approver at the start: the letter reaches the client only once it is approved. For renewals that do not change, skip the approver and send straight away.

The annual round

If you reissue letters to the whole client base each year, build a template with roles for up to the number of signers your largest clients need. Each envelope then takes a minute: choose the template, enter the people and send. AI help with the covering message saves writing the same email two hundred times, while still sounding like your practice.

Reminders do the follow-up. Set them to go out automatically and the stragglers are nudged without anyone on your team keeping a list.

Filing the signed letter

Connect Xero and signed documents can be filed there for you, with new signers added as Xero contacts. The audit trail and completion certificate stay with the envelope in SignAndGo, so a reviewer asking when the client accepted your terms gets a precise answer.

Common questions

Do all trustees need to be in the same envelope?: That is the simplest approach. Add each trustee as a signer and the letter is complete only once all of them have signed.
Can clients sign without creating a login?: Yes. Each person gets their own secure link by email and needs no account.
Can I change the scope for one client?: Yes. Use the template, then swap in that client's scope schedule before you send.