How CPA firms request a lease from clients
By Arthur Teboul, DokuTrak · Published
In short
Ask for every lease the business had in force during the year, for office, shop, warehouse and equipment, with all amendments and renewals, and ask directly whether the business rents from the owner or a related company. The lease sets rent expense and deposits for the close, and the commitments you may need to record or disclose.
Why CPA firms need a lease
Rent expense in the books should match the lease, including escalations, free-rent periods and shared charges, and deposits are assets, not expenses. Equipment leases need a look at their terms, because some are financed purchases that belong on the balance sheet with depreciation instead of rent. When the business rents from its owner, the rent should be documented and at a fair level, and it shows up as rental income on the owner’s return. If you prepare GAAP financial statements, the lease also feeds the right-of-use asset and lease liability.
What exactly to ask for
The signed lease for each property and each piece of leased equipment in force at any time during the tax year, with amendments, renewals and side letters, and the amount of each security deposit. If the owner or a family member is the landlord, ask for that agreement too; if nothing was ever signed, a written note of the terms is the place to start.
What to check when it arrives
- Monthly rent and escalation dates in the lease agree with rent expense booked for the year.
- The landlord is identified, so you can flag related-party rent and any 1099-MISC the business owes.
- Equipment leases are checked for a bargain purchase option or a term close to the asset’s useful life, which points to a financed purchase.
Email to send your client
Replace the bracketed parts. The same text fits in the message of a DokuTrak request (up to 1,000 characters).
Subject: Copies of the business’s leases
Hi [Client name],
For the year-end close I need copies of the business’s leases: your office or shop, any storage or warehouse space, and any leased equipment or vehicles.
Please include amendments and renewals signed since the original lease, and tell me the deposit you paid on each. If the business rents space from you personally or from a family member, please send that agreement too, or a short note of the terms if nothing was signed.
Could you send them by [date]? Scans or the landlord’s PDF are both fine. If a lease is in a drawer somewhere, tell me who the landlord is and we can ask for a copy.
Thank you, [Your name]
Ask once. DokuTrak does the chasing.
- Your client uploads from one link, with no account and no password.
- Reminders go out on a schedule, by default 2, 5, 10 and 14 days after the request, until the file arrives.
- With AI review switched on in your workspace (it is off by default), each upload gets a first pass that flags a file that is not a lease, an unreadable or blurry scan or a copy where one of these is missing or cut off: the tenant’s name, the property address. It says so when it is not sure.
- You accept every file or mark it for re-upload, and your client gets the note by email. The AI never accepts a file.