A deep dive into our seamless, worry-free onboarding experience for established businesses

Why switching accountants seems scary

Changing accounting firms can feel like wrestling a bear: lots of paperwork, unfamiliar logins, fear of data loss and hidden fees. At Zenbooks, we designed our onboarding so you never feel lost or overwhelmed. From your first call to the first routine check-in, here’s exactly what you can expect, and how we back it all up with our 100 % money-back guarantee (so far, zero claims).

1. Initial Consultation: Understanding Your Business

What happens

• A friendly 30-minute video chat with a senior member of our firm.
• We listen to your story: industry, team size, pain points, growth plans
• We take an honest assessment on if we’re even the right fit for what you need before moving forward. We prefer to save everyone’s time and only work with businesses we are really good at helping.

Why it works

You’re not just a client number. We treat every conversation as unique. We let the conversation flow naturally, but we can also draw on our standard 51 questions we can run through if we get stuck. 

2. Scope Confirmation: Crystal-Clear Agreement

What happens

• If you decide it’s worth having another call, we draw up a few ways we could work together in a detailed, but plain-English service agreement.
• Scope, deliverables, timelines and pricing laid out and discussed on a call to make sure we’re committing to doing all the things that matter, and don’t waste our time on stuff you don’t need.
• You review the draft agreement, we iterate. (We use Ignition to create proposals)

Why it works

Clarity up front prevents surprises later. You’ll know exactly what you’re paying for, and nothing extra.

3. Kickoff Call: Meet Your Team

What happens

• A 45-minute live session with your Accountant, Payroll Manager, Senior Tax Accountant, and our onboarding lead is next. A full briefing is given to them to ensure they know everything we’ve talked about and you don’t have to repeat yourself.
• Get access to CRA, accounting records, incorporation docs, and clarifying questions about the nuance of your business.
• We assign you a simple onboarding checklist after the call to keep everyone on track. We use Karbon internally to keep organized and automate as much of the onboarding as possible.
• We get your previous accountant’s details, so we can reach out to them to get the info we need.

Why it works

You build rapport quickly and feel in control. Your questions about software or process get answered on the spot with our most senior level people so we can start off on the right foot.

4. Personalized Checklist: Step-by-Step Guidance

What happens

• You receive a Karbon checklist covering everything from “grant Zenbooks Xero access” to “share bank-login instructions”
• Tasks have clear due dates and links to tutorial videos or help articles
• Automated reminders keep everyone on track

Why it works

No guessing. No missing steps. Every link you need lives in one place.

5. Information Gathering: We Do the Heavy Lifting

What happens

• We go through a deep dive of your affairs in our 48-question information gathering process.
• We don’t advise, interpret or decide anything on that call. We simply gather information on your long-term goals, financial facts, compensation factors, retirement strategies, estate, philanthropy, insurance, tax tactics and major life/business events.

Why it works

We cannot advise without a very deep understanding of where you’re going, your thoughts and life/business events. Sending you a questionnaire is no fun, so we walk you through this life planning process question by question.

6. Tax-Plan Session: Proactive Advisory

What happens

• 60-minute strategy call with our Senior Tax Accountant
• Review recommendations, highlight optimization opportunities, discuss deadlines
• We send you pdf version of document for your records.

Why it works

You get more than number-crunching. You leave with a clear roadmap to reduce liabilities and avoid last-minute surprises. You get a roadmap for your business and it helps our whole team (and yours) aligned on what’s important and why.

7. Routine Chats: Ongoing Support

What happens

• Monthly or bi-weekly check-ins via video calls
• Discuss compliance needs (receipts, etc)
• Review Budget vs Actuals
• Review cash forecasts
• Review KPIs towards your goals

Why it works

You always know where your finances stand. And you have a partner, not just a vendor who helping you get to where you want to go.

Our 100 % Money-Back Guarantee

We’re so confident in our process that if you’re not completely satisfied within the first 90 days, we’ll refund every penny. To date, zero clients have asked for that money back. That tells you everything you need to know about our commitment to seamless service.

Why Zenbooks Feels Different

• Transparent pricing – no surprises
• Fixed timeline – we meet every deadline, guaranteed
• Dedicated team – you always talk to the same people
• Technology enabled - we don’t automate the process completely. We use technology to enhance the onboarding process.
• Proactive advice – we don’t just report numbers; we help you act on them

Ready to Switch?

Making the leap is easier than you think. Book your free initial consultation today and experience onboarding done right.

Switch with confidence. Switch to Zenbooks.