Identify the engagement precisely
The agreement should tell you which legal entities and individuals are clients, which years are involved, and what work the provider will perform. A proposal addressed to the owner does not automatically cover every business the owner controls. Ask the firm to resolve omissions before signing.
Describe the deliverables in practical terms. A written review, a projection, return preparation, and recurring calls serve different purposes. Clarify whether the firm supplies recommendations only or also assists with execution and reviews the resulting records.
Read the dependency terms
Tax work depends on information provided by the client and others. Ask what documents are required, who verifies completeness, and what happens when records arrive late. An agreement should support a realistic operating calendar, including the time your staff need to respond.
Identify the work the firm is entitled to rely on, such as bookkeeping prepared elsewhere. If your records need cleanup, decide whether cleanup belongs in this engagement, a separate engagement, or your internal team. Avoid a situation where each party assumes the other is reconciling the numbers.
- List your internal document owner.
- Identify the person authorized to approve extra work.
- Record decision deadlines separately from filing deadlines.
Understand the boundaries
Exclusions can be sensible when they are clear. Legal services, valuations, specialty studies, payroll, state filings, and representation may fall outside a planning agreement. Ask how referrals work and whether the firm receives compensation from recommended providers.
Read fee adjustments, cancellation, renewal, dispute provisions, and limitations with the attention appropriate to a business contract. If a term is unclear or material, ask the provider for clarification and consider having your own counsel review it. Do not treat a verbal explanation as a substitute for the final written terms.
Connect the agreement to operations
After signature, turn the agreement into an onboarding checklist. Assign the data requests, meeting dates, and approval responsibilities. Keep the final signed version where your controller and operations lead can access it.
When the business adds an entity, enters a new state, or changes ownership, ask whether the scope must change. Periodic review of the agreement is easier than discovering at filing time that an important service was never included.
- Next step: reconcile the proposal, sales discussion, and engagement letter before paying.