📝 Contract Template

Engagement Letter Template

Professional services engagement with scope, fees, liability limits. Standard for accountants/lawyers.

What an engagement letter should record

• The client, and every entity in the group the engagement covers
• The services included, described specifically
• The services expressly excluded, which matters more than the inclusions
• Fees: fixed, hourly or capped, and what triggers an additional fee
• The client’s responsibilities — information, records, and deadlines they must meet
• Limitation of liability, and any professional standards scheme that applies
• Confidentiality, privacy and how the client’s records are held
• Term, termination, and what happens to the file afterwards

The exclusions paragraph is the whole document

Professional services disputes are almost always about something the client assumed was included. An engagement letter that lists services well and excludes nothing has not reduced anyone’s risk. Naming the obvious adjacent things you are not doing — not auditing, not advising on the structure, not reviewing the prior year — is what makes the scope real.

• Re-issue the letter when the engagement changes; an annual letter covering last year’s work is not consent for this year’s
• Say what happens if the client does not provide information by a stated date
• Set out who the report or advice is for, and that third parties may not rely on it

Professional obligations

• Follow your professional body’s requirements on engagement documentation — they are usually mandatory, not advisory
• Where you are a registered agent, check what your registration requires you to disclose
• Retain the signed letter for as long as you retain the file

Related templates

General information only — not legal, tax or financial advice. For contracts and tax documents, confirm your obligations with a qualified professional or the relevant authority.