AAT Australia's self employed members who contract directly to clients for the provision of bookkeeping services can now access an Engagement Letter Template that can be customised to suit the particular terms and scope of services covering specific engagements.

A Letter of Engagement is a document recording the agreement between both parties - the bookkeeper and their client - to ensure that each party understands their respective obligations to one another and the general terms governing their relationship.

A Letter of Engagement can become an important and decisive document in the settlement of Professional Indemnity insurance claims as the letter sets out the services that the bookkeeper will provide to the client, thereby establishing to a large extent, the tasks and functions that will be subject to an indemnity for error or omission under the policy. It is therefore also a document that requires careful attention to complete and to accurately express in detail the services you are providing to the client.

Self employed bookkeepers should be familiar with the current legislative situation that allows self employed bookkeepers to compile accounting reports for a fee that can be used by the client to prepare a BAS and lodge it on the approved ATO form. Consequently, Affiliates as well as Members can have access to the Engagement Letter Template for the purpose of establishing a contractual agreement with clients for the services they provide.

Affiliates should be cautioned that formalising the services they intend to provide in a detailed agreement raises a concern that if they are not qualified to do the work in a professional manner and have not taken up a Professional Indemnity Insurance, a risk arises should the service not be up to reasonable standard.

Members or Affiliates can obtain a copy of the template by requesting a copy from the membership department by emailing membership@aat.org.au or calling 1800 000 961