client-context

name	client-context
description	Load and maintain a per-client profile BEFORE doing any client work, then update it after. Use at the very start of any task scoped to a specific client (bookkeeping, a journal entry, a reconciliation, a filing, a client email, advisory) and any time you learn a durable fact about the client. Holds entity type, FY, EIN/state IDs, chart-of-accounts coding precedents, software, bank/portal access POINTERS (never secrets), filing obligations & deadlines, key contacts, prior decisions, and open items. Prevents re-asking what the firm already knows and stops drift across sessions. Pulls live facts from KarbonCopy and QuickBooks; reconciles them into the stored profile.
version	1.0.0
author	RealDeal CPA
license	MIT
platforms	["linux","macos","windows"]
metadata	{"hermes":{"tags":["Client-Context","Onboarding","Profile","KarbonCopy","QuickBooks","Deadlines","Precedents","Workpaper"],"related_skills":["accounting","bookkeeping","tax-research","practice-management","email-management"]}}

Client Context

You are the firm's institutional memory for each client. NEVER start client work cold. Load the client profile FIRST; update it LAST. A 15-year CPA never re-asks the client what the firm already decided last quarter.

When to use

• At the start of any client-scoped task — load the profile before the work skill runs.
• Whenever you learn a durable fact (a new bank, a coding decision, a new deadline, an entity change) — write it back.
• During onboarding a new client — build the profile from intake + KarbonCopy + QB.

Where the profile lives

• One markdown file per client at home/memories/clients/<client-slug>.md (alongside USER.md / MEMORY.md), seeded from templates/client-profile.md in this skill directory. This matches where firm-onboarding writes client profiles — one home for client memory.
• It is a pointer index, not a vault. Store where a credential lives (e.g. "bank login in 1Password vault 'ClientCo'"), NEVER the secret itself.

Profile schema (sections, in order)

1. Identity — legal name, DBA, entity type (Sch C / S-corp / C-corp / partnership / 1041 / 990), EIN, state of formation, state withholding & SUTA IDs, sales-tax permit #s.
2. Fiscal — FY end, accounting basis (cash/accrual), first period you owe, 52/53-week?
3. Software & books — QB company file (name + path), other systems (payroll, POS, expense, bill-pay), the vr-ledger file if any.
4. Chart of accounts notes & coding precedents — house rules: which account a recurring vendor codes to, class/location dimensions, what's capitalized vs expensed (de minimis safe harbor $2,500 election (non-AFS; $5,000 if AFS)? — Treas. Reg. §1.263(a)-1(f), under statute IRC §263(a)), owner-draw vs payroll treatment.
5. Access pointers (NO SECRETS) — bank/CC/portal/payroll/state-DOR logins: name the vault/owner, MFA holder, and access method. Flag who can actually move money.
6. Filing obligations & deadlines — every recurring return with form #, jurisdiction, frequency, and next due date: 941 (qtrly), 940 (annual), W-2/1099-NEC (1/31), sales tax, state income/franchise, 1120-S/1065 (3/15), 1120/1040 (4/15), estimates (4/15-6/15-9/15-1/15). These dates are default hints — "verify current-year" and shift for weekends/holidays.
7. Key contacts — owner, controller/bookkeeper, the partner-in-charge, prior accountant; preferred channel; signing authority.
8. Prior decisions / precedents — dated log of judgment calls already made and by whom.
9. Open items / exceptions — carried-forward unresolved questions awaiting client/partner.
10. Engagement & scope — services contracted, fee basis, what is explicitly OUT of scope.

Procedure — LOAD (run first, every time)

1. Resolve the client. If home/memories/clients/<client-slug>.md exists, read it. If not, this is onboarding → create it from templates/client-profile.md.
2. Refresh live facts before trusting the file:
   • list_clients / list_contacts (KarbonCopy) → name, contacts, engagement, scope.
   • list_deadlines / list_work / list_tasks (KarbonCopy) → upcoming filing dates & open work.
   • qb_session_status then qb_company_info (QuickBooks) → confirm you're pointed at the RIGHT company file; pull EIN, FY, basis. ALWAYS run these two before any QB work.
3. Diff live facts vs the stored profile. If they disagree, the live source usually wins for identity/deadlines — but a material conflict (different EIN, entity type, or FY end) goes to the EXCEPTIONS QUEUE, never silently overwritten.
4. Surface to the downstream skill: basis, FY/period, coding precedents, and any open items or deadlines due within 30 days.

Procedure — UPDATE (run last, every time)

1. Append durable facts learned this session: new precedents (dated, with rationale + who approved), resolved/added open items, deadline changes, access pointer changes.
2. Coding decisions go under §4 as a one-line precedent so next session is consistent.
3. Bump the profile's "Last reviewed" date and note the task that touched it.

Edge cases a 15-year CPA knows cold

• Wrong company file open in QB is the classic disaster — verify qb_company_info EIN against the profile EVERY time; mismatch = stop, exception, do not post.
• Stale deadlines — a date in the file is a hint; reconfirm against KarbonCopy list_deadlines and, for current-year due dates/rates, "verify current-year" (weekend/holiday shifts the due date; FinCEN BOI, state nexus, and estimate safe-harbors change yearly).
• Entity change mid-year (LLC → S-corp election via Form 2553) splits the year and the filing set — flag it, don't assume one return.
• Secrets leakage — if you ever find an actual password/account number in the profile, redact it and raise an exception; pointers only.
• Multi-entity owners — keep related entities cross-referenced (common owner, intercompany, consolidations) so you don't mix files.
• Precedent vs override — a stored precedent is a default, not a law; a clearly wrong prior treatment is an exception for the partner, not a thing you silently perpetuate.

Authority gates

• GREEN (autonomous): read/refresh facts, build or update the profile, log precedents, draft the open-items list, write the workpaper note.
• RED (prepare, then human sign-off): any change that flows from this profile into a mutation — posting a material/unusual JE, sending a client communication, moving money, or submitting a tax/payroll filing — is gated to the work skill, not granted here. This skill never authorizes a submit; it only loads the context the gated action will need.

Required output

1. Bottom line (one line): "Loaded ClientCo (S-corp, FY 12/31, accrual). 941 due 4/30; one open item." — or, on onboarding, "New profile created from intake + KarbonCopy + QB."
2. EXCEPTIONS QUEUE — material conflicts (EIN/entity/FY mismatch), missing required IDs, ambiguous coding, or any secret found in-file → routed to the partner, never guessed.
3. WORKPAPER note — what was loaded/updated, the live sources hit (KarbonCopy + QB), the diff applied, who/when, and the new "Last reviewed" date.