Engagement letters

There is no separate document to write. When you quote a client, that same quote can be shown as a letter of engagement instead of a quote: same figures, same client, same accept action, presented in the language a practice uses rather than a tradie’s.

The letter shows your business name, the client’s name, a Scope of engagement (which is the job description you typed on the record, word for word), your fee lines, the subtotal, GST if you have GST switched on, the total fee, and the date it is valid until.

What it does not contain

Be clear-eyed about this before you rely on it. The letter carries no terms and conditions: no fee basis clause, no scope exclusions, no limitation of liability, no professional standards wording. There is nowhere to store any of that, and nothing is inserted for you.

What it really is, is a fee schedule with an online acceptance stamp on it. If your professional obligations need a full engagement letter, keep issuing yours and treat this as the quick fee acceptance alongside it. Anything you want the client to agree to has to be in the scope text you type.

Being straight with you: when you send a quote, the app sends the quote address. The engagement version of the same document lives at the same address with /e in place of /q, and nothing in the app sends that version for you yet, so you would swap it over by hand.

Both addresses show the same quote and accepting on either one does the same thing, so nobody ends up with the wrong document. If you would like the engagement wording sent by default, tell us at hello@ripperreceptionist.com.

They type their full name and tick a box saying they accept the engagement on the terms set out above. Both are required, and the name has to be a real one, not a single letter. There is no drawn signature and no separate login: the link itself is the credential, which is why it should only ever go to the client.

What gets recorded is the name they typed, the exact date and time, and the network address they accepted from. The letter then shows “Signed by” that name with the date underneath, for both of you.

There is a Print button, which is how you get a PDF: print the page and save it as one.

• The quote is marked accepted, and recorded as accepted by the client rather than by you.
• The record moves from Engagement sent to Engaged. If you had already moved it further along, it stays where it is: acceptance never drags it backwards.
• You get an email, with the client’s name, who signed it, the total, and the time.
• Nothing else fires. No invoice is raised, no booking is made, no document checklist goes out. The next move is yours.

That email is the only way you are told, so make sure a notification email is saved in your settings. There is no text and no dashboard notification on this one, and with no email address saved you would not hear about it until you opened the record.

• Declining. The client can decline and leave a short comment saying why. It comes through to you in the same email. The record is not moved backwards.
• Expiry. The letter expires at the end of the valid-until date on the quote, after which the client is asked to call you for an updated one. If you did not set a date, it does not expire.
• Once decided, decided. Opening the link again shows the decision that was made. It cannot be flipped from the client’s side, and nothing is emailed to you twice.
• Closing the record withdraws the letter. The client is then told it is no longer available and to call you.

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