Engagement letters that get signed and paid
PORTL turns the engagement letter into a paid, documented start of work. Tax pros send one branded link; clients review and e-sign the letter, then pay the deposit before documents and prep begin. Annual Solo $119/mo or Firm $239/mo. No free trial — 30-day money-back.
Engagement letters, answered
What is an engagement letter for tax pros?
An engagement letter is the written agreement between your firm and a client for a specific tax year: what returns you prepare, what the client must provide, your fee and deposit, and where your responsibility ends. Signed before work starts, it sets scope, prevents fee arguments, and is the document your insurer and licensing body expect on file.
How e-sign + payment sequencing works in PORTL
Sequencing is the point. The client opens your branded link, reads the letter, and signs by drawing or typing their name. Signing immediately unlocks payment — card or Apple Pay through Stripe into your own account. Only once the deposit clears do the document upload and prep stages open, so no unpaid work ever starts.
Engagement letter vs proposal / engagement letter software vs DocuSign-only
A proposal pitches the work; an engagement letter is the binding agreement that governs it. And a signing-only tool such as DocuSign returns a signed PDF and stops there — you still chase the deposit and the documents by hand. PORTL sequences letter, payment, documents, and scheduling on one pipeline for your firm.
Related reading: the branded client portal · practice management for tax pros · all PORTL features · pricing.
Letter → e-sign → deposit, before prep starts
Three steps, one branded link, no attachments going back and forth. The client cannot reach the document stage until the letter is signed and the deposit has cleared.
Send the letter
Your engagement letter is stored in your portal with your firm's terms, scope, and fee language. It goes out on your branded link — no attachment, no PDF round trip, no separate signing subscription.
Client reviews and e-signs
The client reads the letter in the browser on whatever phone they have, then signs by drawing or typing their name. The signature, timestamp, name, and email are recorded with the document.
Deposit before prep
The moment the letter is signed, the portal moves the client to payment. Card and Apple Pay through Stripe, straight to your account. Documents and prep unlock after the deposit clears — not before.
Why tax pros run letters here
E-signature that holds up
Signatures are captured with the signer's name, email, timestamp, and the exact letter version they agreed to, then stored in the client's file — the audit trail contemplated by the federal E-SIGN Act and state UETA rules for electronic records.
No unpaid work
Scope and fee are agreed in writing and the deposit lands before you open a single document. The awkward conversation happens once, in the letter, instead of every April.
Bilingual EN/ES
The letter flow and every reminder email around it run in English or Spanish based on the language saved for that client, so nobody signs something they only half understood.
You watch, not chase
The pipeline shows exactly who has the letter, who has read it, who signed, and who paid. AI follow-up nudges the stragglers politely, in their language, so it stops being your evening job.
The pipeline does the chasing
- See every client's stage at a glance — sent, signed, paid, in prep.
- Unsigned for three days? The follow-up goes out without you touching it.
- Signed letters and receipts land in the client's document vault automatically.
- Manual payments (Zelle, Cash App, cash) get recorded on the card so the stage still advances.
- Firm plan: every preparer runs their own letters and their own pipeline under one flat bill.
The engagement letter is one stage of the full PORTL client portal — intake, letter, payment, onboarding forms, documents, booking, done.
Pricing
Flat per firm, e-signature included. No per-signature fees, no platform fee on client payments, no free trial — a 30-day money-back guarantee instead.
Solo
billed annually · $149/mo billed monthly
Firm
billed annually · $299/mo billed monthly · unlimited preparers
Full plan details on the PORTL pricing page. Side-by-side breakdowns: PORTL vs TaxDome · PORTL vs Canopy.
Frequently asked questions
What should a tax engagement letter include?
The tax year and returns covered, what the client is responsible for providing, your fee and deposit terms, how out-of-scope work is billed, record-retention and confidentiality language, and how either side ends the engagement. Your own letter is loaded during onboarding and stays editable.
Is an engagement letter the same as a proposal?
No. A proposal describes work you hope to win. An engagement letter is the signed agreement that defines the work, the fee, and the limits of your responsibility once the client says yes. PORTL handles the letter, not the sales pitch.
How is this different from using DocuSign for engagement letters?
A signing-only tool gives you a signed PDF and leaves the rest to you. PORTL sends the letter on your branded link, captures the signature, collects the deposit, files the letter in the client's vault, and moves the client to the next stage automatically.
Is an electronically signed engagement letter legally binding?
Electronic signatures are given the same legal effect as ink signatures under the federal E-SIGN Act and the state UETA statutes, provided the signer intended to sign and you keep a record of the signature. PORTL stores the signer's name, email, timestamp, and the exact letter version signed, so you have that record. This is general information, not legal advice — have your own letter reviewed by counsel.
Can I use my own engagement letter?
Yes. We load your letter and your firm's terms during onboarding, and you can edit the text yourself afterwards. Nothing forces you into a generic template.
Can I require a deposit before I start work?
That is the default. Signing the letter moves the client straight to payment, and the document and prep stages stay locked until the deposit clears. You set the deposit amount, and you can issue a waiver code for the clients you choose.
How do clients sign — do they need an account?
No account, no app, no password. They open your link, read the letter, and sign by drawing with a finger or typing their name in a script font. It works on any phone browser.
Do I need a separate e-signature subscription?
No. Engagement letter e-signature is part of PORTL. Solo is $119/mo billed annually ($149 monthly) and Firm is $239/mo annually ($299 monthly) with unlimited preparers, and there is no add-on for signing.
Does PORTL take a cut of the deposit?
No. The PORTL platform fee is $0. You pay only standard Stripe processing on card and Apple Pay payments.
Where do signed letters live?
In the client's document vault inside your portal, alongside their uploads and receipts, filed and named automatically and still there next season.
Signed letter. Deposit in the bank. Then you start.
Onboarding takes about 60 minutes and we do it with you, live — your letter, your terms, your deposit rules, loaded and working before the weekend.