Bookkeeping Client Offboarding

How to wind down a bookkeeping engagement. This SOP covers the closeout regardless of why they're leaving: client choice, non-payment, or Launch-initiated. The end state is always the same: a clean handoff, no recurring charges, no orphaned books.

Related SOPs: Managed Service Plans covers how we sell. Financial Handbook covers what happens in between.

The four offboarding paths

Path	Trigger	Who initiates
Path 1: Voluntary cancellation	Client tells us they're leaving	Client
Path 2: Plan downgrade or scope reduction	Client wants to keep the relationship but smaller	Client + Launch jointly
Path 3: Non-payment lapse	Invoice unpaid 30+ days past due	Launch
Path 4: Launch-initiated termination	Bad fit, ethics issue, scope creep no resolution	Launch (with Monica sign-off)

All four end at the same closeout checklist (bottom).

Path 1: Voluntary cancellation

The client emails saying they're moving to a different bookkeeper, doing it in-house, or shutting down the business.

Day 0 — confirm receipt + book a closeout call

Within 1 business day:

Reply confirming the cancellation request and the date the engagement will end (default: end of current billing month)
Schedule a 30-minute closeout call with the primary bookkeeper (typically Liberty or Emma)
The closeout call is non-negotiable — it's how we catch things the client doesn't know they need

Closeout call — agenda

Confirm the last closed month and what's still in-flight
Walk through what they'll get: QuickBooks file access, signed-off financials through last close, A/R aging snapshot, payroll year-to-date
Walk through what they need to do: change the QuickBooks subscription owner (if we own it), update Stripe / Square notifications if we receive them, replace us on any state/IRS contact lists, update their CPA
Identify the handoff target: new bookkeeper / DIY / dissolving / CPA-direct
Document everything in the client's Drive folder under Offboarding

Final close + handoff work

If they want a clean final close:

Run the last partial-month or full-month close, depending on agreement
Send the final financial package: P&L, balance sheet, A/R aging, A/P aging, payroll YTD report
All exported PDFs go in the Drive Offboarding folder
Reconciled QuickBooks file transferred to client or new bookkeeper per the handoff target

This is billable work (flat fee, never hourly going out the door). Quote it at the closeout call before doing it.

Day +30 — handover complete

Cancel the Stripe subscription effective end of current billing cycle
No partial refund unless the client overpaid into an unused tier month
Send the final goodbye email with a copy of the full handoff package and an open invitation to come back
Mark Supabase bookkeeping_engagement_status = "offboarded_voluntary" with end date

Path 2: Plan downgrade or scope reduction

The client wants to stay, but smaller. Common reasons: business shrunk, they hired an in-house person to handle data entry, they're moving to DIY with light support.

This isn't a full offboard but it touches the same closeout discipline:

Re-quote at the new tier or Flex Plan
Send a new engagement letter
Cancel the old Stripe subscription, open a new one at the new rate
Update Supabase bookkeeping_engagement_type to the new tier
Send a transition email confirming the new scope and what's no longer included

If they ask to drop to "just monthly close and statements," that's Tier 1. Don't sell them a custom mid-point.

Path 3: Non-payment lapse

The client's bookkeeping invoice is unpaid 30 days past due.

Day +1 (1 day past invoice due) — friendly nudge

Automated Stripe dunning email goes out (already in place)
Bookkeeper or Stacia sends a personal "hey, did you see this?" email — sometimes the card just failed silently

Day +15 — formal pause notice

Send the Service Pause Notice email (Gmail template: "Bookkeeping · Past Due — Day 15")
"We've paused new work on your books as of today. Existing close work through [last paid month] is complete. We'll resume when payment is received."
Pause the work — no new month close, no reconciliations, no A/R follow-up

Day +30 — formal termination notice

Send the 30-Day Termination Notice email (Gmail template: "Bookkeeping · Past Due — Day 30")
"If we don't hear from you by [date 30 days from now], the engagement will be terminated. We'll deliver your books through [last paid close] and the engagement will close out."
Spell out clearly: what they'll receive (the last clean close), what they won't (no further work), what comes next

Day +60 — Launch terminates

Send the Service Terminated email confirming the engagement is closed
Run the standard closeout checklist (below) using whatever data we have through last paid close
No final close attempted on unpaid work
Mark Supabase bookkeeping_engagement_status = "offboarded_nonpayment" with end date
Drive folder archived but retained

Path 4: Launch-initiated termination

Rare but happens. Reasons:

Bad fit that didn't resolve: client refuses to use QuickBooks the way we need it, won't share information, weeks late on basic requests
Ethics issue: client asks us to do something we won't do
Capacity: bookkeeper team genuinely cannot take more work and this client is the lowest-fit
Persistent abuse: rude, threatening, or boundary-pushing communication

Internal decision + Monica approval

Document the reason in the client's Supabase record
Get Monica sign-off before drafting any termination email — this is never unilateral

Send the 30-day termination notice

Use the Launch-Initiated Termination email template (Gmail, "Bookkeeping · Launch-Terminate")
Measured language — we're ending a contract, not picking a fight
30 days' notice (vs 60 for the client, since we're the one walking)
Offer a final close at flat rate, recommendations for replacement bookkeepers
Make clear: we will deliver the books in usable shape, not punish them for the end

Final 30 days

Complete the work through the termination date
Run the closeout call same as Path 1
Run the final close
Run the closeout checklist (below)

Mark in systems

Supabase bookkeeping_engagement_status = "offboarded_launch_initiated" with reason code

The closeout checklist (every path ends here)

Item	Owner	Notes
Stripe subscription	Bookkeeper	Cancelled effective end of paid period. Verify in Stripe dashboard, not just trusted.
Supabase `clients` row	Bookkeeper	`bookkeeping_engagement_status` updated; `bookkeeping_end_date` set
Recurring calendar reminders	Bookkeeper	All compliance reminders for this client removed
QuickBooks file	Bookkeeper	Transferred to client or new bookkeeper per closeout call decision
Drive folder	Bookkeeper	Final financials in `Offboarding` subfolder. Folder archived. 7-year retention.
ClickUp tasks	Bookkeeper	All open tasks for this client closed or reassigned
Recurring email rules	Bookkeeper	Any inbox rules forwarding their notices removed
Bank feed connections	Bookkeeper	We disconnect from their accounts; they should rotate any login credentials they shared
Payroll integration	Bookkeeper	If we ran payroll, transfer admin to client or new bookkeeper
State/IRS contact	Bookkeeper	If we're listed as their bookkeeping point-of-contact anywhere, remove
Nutshell / CRM	Stacia	Mark inactive, add closeout note
Goodbye email sent	Primary bookkeeper	With final packet attached

What we DO NOT do during offboarding

We don't withhold the client's books over a billing dispute — they own their data
We don't refuse a closeout call out of frustration — every offboard gets the call
We don't refund unused months unless explicitly negotiated — flat fee covers fixed monthly capacity, not metered work
We don't trash-talk a departing client internally or externally — even Launch-initiated terminations get measured language
We don't ghost — silence is never the offboarding path

Templates and where they live

Gmail labels: Launch / Bookkeeping / Closeout, Launch / Bookkeeping / Past Due — Day 15, Launch / Bookkeeping / Past Due — Day 30, Launch / Bookkeeping / Launch-Terminate, Launch / Bookkeeping / Goodbye
Drive (Sales folder): Closeout call agenda template, final financial package outline
Drive (Finance folder): Per-client Offboarding/ subfolder created at start of offboard

Edge case: client comes back

It happens. They left, tried DIY or another bookkeeper, want to come back.

Treat as a new engagement, not a reactivation
Run a fresh intake call and re-quote
They get the current tier pricing, not their old pricing
The Drive folder un-archives but the engagement is logged as a new row in Supabase with a reference to the prior engagement

⚠️

v1 draft. Verify Gmail template names + Stripe cancellation flow before relying on this verbatim. Last updated 2026-05-27.

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