The first 30 days with a new client set the tone for the relationship. Here's how to conduct financial analysis during onboarding that impresses and protects.
Thorough financial analysis at onboarding accomplishes multiple goals: establishes your expertise, identifies issues before they become surprises, sets realistic expectations, and creates baseline metrics for future comparison.
Connect to their accounting system and pull historical data. For QuickBooks Online clients, tools like BizDoc can generate comprehensive analysis instantly.
Analyze 12-24 months of data. Look for trends, anomalies, and patterns. Understand their financial story before discussing it.
Document any concerns: books quality issues, cash flow problems, profitability challenges, compliance gaps. Categorize by urgency.
Present your findings professionally. Lead with positives, then discuss areas for improvement. Frame issues as opportunities, not criticisms.
Based on the analysis, create a prioritized action plan for the first 90 days. Get client buy-in on priorities.
Onboarding analysis also protects you. Document the starting condition of their books. If issues existed before you started, you have evidence. This prevents blame for pre-existing problems.