Engagement Letter
A short letter that confirms what a professional has been hired to do, what it will cost, and what falls outside the work. It reads like correspondence and functions like a contract.
No account needed to start.
AI-assisted document tools — not legal advice. A starting point you can understand and customize.
What it is
An engagement letter is how accountants, consultants, advisers, and other professionals confirm the start of a client relationship in writing. It states the specific work being taken on, the fee arrangement and billing rhythm, what the client needs to supply, and — just as importantly — what the engagement does not include. Because it is written as a letter rather than a wall of clauses, it is one of the few agreements a client is likely to read all the way through before signing.
When you’d use it
- You are taking on a new client and want the scope and fees confirmed before the work starts.
- You are a professional whose field expects an engagement letter at the beginning of each matter or year.
- You want a plain-language record of what falls outside the engagement, so added work becomes a new conversation.
- A client needs something clearer than a full contract but firmer than a verbal agreement.
Key sections & clauses
The parts a engagement letter usually needs to cover. Use them as a checklist — XOsign flags the ones a draft is missing.
Scope of the engagement
The specific work being taken on, described concretely enough to recognize when it is done.
What is not included
The services outside this engagement — the section that prevents assumed extras.
Fees & billing
The fee arrangement, how often invoices go out, and when payment is due.
Retainer or advance
Any amount paid up front, how it is applied, and what happens to the remainder.
Client responsibilities
The information, access, and approvals the client supplies for the work to proceed.
Confidentiality
How each side handles the other's non-public information during and after the engagement.
Ending the engagement
How either side stops the work, and what is owed for what has been done.
Acceptance
How and by when the client signs to confirm the terms.
Understand it, translate it, refine it, sign it.
The same four steps behind every XOsign agreement — from the moment you upload or start a draft to the moment it’s signed.
Understand it
XOsign reads the document and explains every clause in plain language, so you know what you're agreeing to before you sign — not after.
Translate it
Read and sign in English or Spanish. XOsign presents the agreement side by side so nobody signs a document they can't fully read.
Refine it
XOsign flags missing, vague, or one-sided terms and suggests clearer language for your consideration — so you can decide what the agreement should say.
Sign it
Send it for legally binding e-signature (ESIGN/UETA) with a tamper-evident audit trail and a trusted timestamp on the signed copy.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an engagement letter and a service agreement?
What should an engagement letter include?
Is an engagement letter legally binding?
XOsign provides AI-assisted document tools and does not provide legal advice. These templates are starting points you can understand and customize — not a substitute for advice from a qualified attorney. Requirements vary by state and situation.
Start your engagement letter in XOsign.
Understand every clause, translate it for whoever signs, and send it for signature — all in one place. No account needed to start.