A client onboarding questionnaire for CAS and fractional CFO teams
A CFO client onboarding questionnaire gathers what a CAS or fractional CFO team needs before the first close: entity and ownership facts, how finance runs today, payroll, every business system with its years of history, retired tools and who can export them, key contracts and the owner's calendar. The systems answers also give a metadata-only view of data licensing fit.
What a CFO client onboarding questionnaire should cover
A good questionnaire collects the facts your team needs before its first month-end close: who owns and runs the company, how finance works today, who gets paid and how, and which systems hold the records. Send it once the engagement letter is countersigned and before the kickoff call, so the call is spent on gaps instead of basics.
Most intake forms stop at "which accounting software do you use". The version below goes further in section D: every tool in use, the year it was adopted, what was retired and who can run a full export. That list helps you plan cleanups and closes, and it doubles as a metadata-only pre-screen for a possible data licensing introduction later, without asking for a single record.
Who should answer each section
Splitting the form by owner gets it back faster and more accurately than sending everything to the CEO.
| Section | Best person to answer | Time to allow |
|---|---|---|
| A. Company and ownership | Owner or CEO | 15 minutes |
| B. Finance operations | Controller, bookkeeper or office manager | 30 minutes |
| C. People and payroll | HR or payroll lead | 15 minutes |
| D. Systems and records | IT lead, operations manager or the client's managed service provider | 30 to 45 minutes |
| E. Contracts and obligations | Owner, CFO or in-house counsel | 20 minutes |
| F. Goals and calendar | Owner or CEO | 15 minutes |
The questionnaire
Copy the sections into your intake form or client portal. Keep the numbering so answers map straight onto the kickoff agenda.
A. Company and ownership
B. Finance operations
C. People and payroll
D. Systems and records
E. Contracts and obligations
F. Goals and calendar
How the systems answers double as a fit pre-screen
Section D describes tools, years and owners, never contents. Read alongside A4 and E3, it gives a first view of whether a client could suit a data licensing introduction one day.
| Answer pattern | What it suggests | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| Ten or more systems in D1, several adopted five or more years ago, a named export owner in D4 | Deep, connected records of the kind AI developers want for training and evaluating agents | Note it for the annual planning conversation and compare against the who qualifies baseline |
| A4 peak full-time headcount of 50 or more, contractors excluded | Meets the size baseline | Move on to the rights answers in E1 to E3 |
| A4 peak full-time headcount below 50 | Below the baseline | No introduction; use the answers for onboarding only |
| Retired systems deleted, or nobody able to export (D3, D4) | History may be gone or unreachable | Flag the operational risk to the owner either way |
| A cancellation or downgrade planned in D6 | Records at risk on a known date | Raise an export before the change, for audit and operations first |
| E3 shows earlier licensing for AI training | The same data may already be committed | Not a candidate for that data |
| Records that mainly belong to the client's own customers | Rights likely sit with someone else | Not a candidate without those customers' consent |
To turn D1 to D6 into a working document, the finance systems inventory template lays out the full stack, and once several questionnaires are back, the client list screening worksheet ranks them side by side.
How to adapt it by client type
| Client type | Add | Trim |
|---|---|---|
| Company backed by private equity | Sponsor reporting calendar, board consent thresholds, add-on acquisitions and their legacy systems | Ownership questions the deal documents already answer |
| Multi-entity group | One A block and one D block per entity, plus the intercompany process | Repeated payroll questions where one provider serves every entity |
| Company preparing for a sale | Data room status and quality of earnings timing | Long-range budget questions |
| Company winding down | Which systems will be switched off and when, and who keeps the archives | Growth goals in F1 |
| Client with an outsourced IT provider | Ask the provider to complete section D directly, with the owner's written permission | Contract questions the provider cannot answer |
Follow-up timeline after you send it
- Day 0: send it with the welcome email, right after the engagement letter is countersigned.
- Day 3: send a short reminder that names any section still blank.
- Day 5: review the answers and list gaps or contradictions, such as a system in D1 with no administrator in D4.
- Kickoff call: work through the gap list rather than the whole form.
- After the first close: update section D with anything the close uncovered.
- Every year before planning season: ask the client to confirm or update sections D and F.
What never belongs in the questionnaire
- Passwords, MFA codes or API keys. Collect access through your secure credential process instead.
- Requests for sample emails, chat exports, customer lists or ticket contents. You need the inventory, not the records.
- Any mention of referral rewards or guesses about what a company's data might be worth.
- Questions you have no plan to use. Every field the team ignores teaches the client that the form does not matter.
If a client later asks what you may pass on from these answers, the explainer on client NDAs and fractional CFO disclosures sets out the limits.
Next step
Send the questionnaire to your next new client and keep section D current every year. When A4 and section D together point to a fit, run the company fit checker, ask the owner whether they want an introduction, and register as a partner before you make it. Finance leaders building introductions into their practice can start with referral opportunities for fractional CFOs.
- Step 1Share your linkSend your personal link to a company you know.
- Step 2Company appliesThe company applies itself at /apply.
- Step 3Buyer selects and paysThe buyer selects and pays for the data and SourceX receives its fee.
- Step 4You get your rewardYour share of SourceX fees becomes payable.
Common questions
How long should a client onboarding questionnaire be?
Long enough to remove guesswork from the first close and short enough for several people to finish in about two hours between them. Who answers each section matters more than the question count: thirty questions split among the owner, controller and IT lead come back faster than fifteen sent only to a busy owner.
Why ask about systems the client no longer uses?
Retired systems explain gaps in history, old balances and missing documents, and they show whether records were exported, migrated or lost. Ask for the year each system was retired and where its data went. That single question often finds archives nobody has opened since a migration, which matters for audits, disputes and any later conversation about the company's records.
Can the client's IT provider complete the systems section?
Yes, and the answers are often more accurate. Ask the owner to authorize the managed service provider in writing to answer section D directly, and limit the request to system names, adoption years, administrators and export ability. The provider should not send any records, sample files or credentials through the questionnaire.
Does answering the systems questions commit the client to anything?
No. The answers describe tools and owners for onboarding and planning. If a client later looks like a fit for data licensing, the owner decides whether to explore it, and the company is not committed to anything until it accepts a price and terms and signs an agreement. The company keeps ownership of its data throughout.
How often should the questionnaire be refreshed?
Once a year for active clients, ideally just before planning season, and whenever something material happens: an acquisition, a system migration, a financing or a leadership change. Send last year's answers back and ask the client to mark changes only, so the refresh takes minutes rather than a fresh round of intake.
Related pages
- Which US businesses are a fit for a SourceX data licensing introduction
- Finance tech stack inventory template for fractional CFO onboarding
- A client segmentation worksheet for accounting firms and CAS teams
- What a fractional CFO may disclose about a client under a confidentiality agreement
- Check Company Fit for Data Licensing
- Referral opportunities for fractional CFOs
Free resources
- Operational data inventory builder — List systems, record types, years held and owners.
- AI readiness assessment — Ten questions, five dimensions, a score out of 100.
- EBITDA calculator — Reported and adjusted EBITDA from net income.
- All free tools · MCP resource center
By SourceX Partnerships Team · Published 2026-10-09 · Updated 2026-10-09
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