Bringing an existing client list across

How a firm brings its existing client list into Achekam by wizard or CSV import, and what to check on each client once the import is done.

By Achekam · 11 October 2026 · 4 min read · For Accountants & audit firms in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya

Moving to a new practice system starts with a list. It may be an export from the old system, a spreadsheet the office manager has maintained for years, or several spreadsheets that partners kept for their own clients. Whatever its form, it will contain clients who left long ago, the same company entered twice under slightly different names, tax numbers in three formats and contact people who retired before the last election.

Importing that list unchanged moves the mess into the new system, where it will be harder to see. Cleaning it first, importing it in a controlled way and checking each client afterwards gives the firm a directory it can actually trust. This article sets out the steps.

Cleaning the client list before import

Spend the effort before the import. A practical sequence:

1. Decide who is a current client. Agree a rule, such as any client billed or served in the last year, and set the rest aside. Former clients are better kept in the old system's archive than imported as if they were live.
2. Remove duplicates. Look for the same entity under different spellings, trading names and registered names, and agree one record per entity.
3. Standardise identifiers. Registration numbers and tax numbers in one consistent format, stored as text so that leading zeros survive.
4. Mark relationships. Note which companies, trusts and individuals belong to the same family, so they can be grouped after import.
5. Name an account manager for each client. It will be needed before any client can be marked active.

For Nigerian and Kenyan clients, check identifiers at this stage too, because Achekam can only check their shape. It checks that a Nigeria Tax ID has 13 digits, and checks a KRA PIN's shape as a soft check, but cannot confirm either with the authority; the user confirms them and records the evidence. For Kenyan clients, KRA's online services list includes PIN registration, the PIN checker, the TCC and withholding certificate checkers and the M-Service app, so a PIN can be confirmed before it goes into the new system.

Wizard or CSV import

A firm keeps its client directory on Achekam's server and can add clients with a step-by-step wizard or a CSV import, then edit and archive them.

The two routes suit different situations:

Many firms use both: the CSV import for the main list, and the wizard for the few clients whose details are complicated or disputed. Before importing the full file, try a small sample and check how those clients look on screen, then fix the file before running the rest.

Contacts and services after the import

Once clients are in, each one needs to become a working record. Contacts are added on the client's own record, and staff can then see every client contact across the firm in one list and e-mail a contact from it. Go through each client and confirm that the right people are recorded, with their roles: who sends information, who approves, who receives invoices.

Then confirm each client's services, since an active service is one of the things a client needs before it can be marked active. Open each client's Client 360 record, which reads its services, contacts, timeline and profile from the server, and read it as a colleague would on their first day with the client. For Nigerian and Kenyan clients, check the Jurisdiction section of the profile, which holds the client's own country and identifiers.

Finally, rebuild the family relationships noted during cleaning. Staff can create a client group and add entities to it, and then see each group's entities with their engagement counts.

The onboarding checklist for each client

The Onboarding page shows a readiness checklist for each new client, built from what the server holds, and offers "Mark active" only when every item is met. The items are registration and income tax numbers, an active service, a contact, an engagement and an account manager.

For an imported list, that checklist becomes the firm's quality control. Work through it client by client:

• clients that pass can be marked active;
• clients that fail show exactly what is missing;
• clients that cannot be completed, for lack of a tax number for example, go on a list for the account manager to resolve with the client.

The details of the checklist are covered in client onboarding readiness, and what each record should hold in what to keep on each client record.

Archiving rather than deleting

Mistakes will be found after the import: a client who had in fact left, a duplicate that slipped through. Clients can be archived, which keeps their record but takes them out of the active list. Archive former clients and duplicate records rather than trying to remove them, so the firm keeps a trail of what was imported and what was done about it.

One limit to plan around: some sub-lists edited in place on the client screens, namely statutory deadlines, accrued hours and KYC fields, still live only in the browser. Do not migrate those details into those fields expecting the whole firm to see them; keep them where the firm already keeps its authoritative records until they move to the server.

Set a date by which every imported client has either been marked active or placed on a resolution list with a named owner, and review the list weekly until it is empty.

General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.