What do you need before taking on a client’s EUDR work?

Start with the client’s transaction, not the service package

Ask the client to describe one actual flow of goods: what the product is, where it comes from and what their business does with it. A company that imports a product may have a different role in another transaction where it buys goods already placed on the EU market.

Record the legal entity and the role that applies to that transaction. Keep the covered product entry with the decision. Then agree the assignment: supplier follow-up, evidence review, DDS preparation, simplified-declaration support, downstream record keeping or authorised filing.

The Commission’s roles guidance distinguishes these obligations. Your onboarding process should too. A request for “EUDR support” is not enough to decide that every client needs a new DDS.

Six decisions to record before the first live filing

Client and scope

Exact legal entity, transaction, product coverage and the tasks included in your engagement. Record exclusions too.

Authority and access

Who may act, the written mandate where representation applies, and the supported system registration. Record who checked access, never the password or authentication key.

Evidence owners

Who supplies product records, production locations and due diligence evidence, and who resolves conflicting or missing information.

Review and approval

Who reviews the evidence, who approves the filing data and what changes require another review.

Results and exceptions

Who receives the issued identifiers, where results are recorded and who handles rejection or an uncertain submission outcome.

Handover and exit

Where the client’s records are retained, who can access them and who owns unfinished work when the service changes or ends.

These are recommended service controls. The written authority to file on a client’s behalf is a separate legal requirement where you act as its authorised representative. Have the arrangement reviewed rather than treating this workbook as the appointment document.

How to use the onboarding workbook

1. Use one blank record per client engagement. Put the client name and your internal engagement reference at the top. The example tab is fictional and must not be used as client evidence.
2. Write the answer, not just “done”. Each item has space for the agreed decision, its owner and a reference to supporting records. Link to controlled storage rather than pasting sensitive documents into the workbook.
3. Leave unresolved items visible. Choose a status, record the next action and assign a due date. A row marked Complete still needs its decision, owner and evidence reference. Not applicable needs a reason and an owner.
4. Review what is still open. The calculated open-item count is a coordination aid, not a filing permission or legal assessment. Record the engagement reviewer’s decision separately, even when all checklist rows are recorded.

Once onboarding is agreed, prepare the transaction itself using the DDS fields worksheet. This checklist owns the client relationship and handovers; that worksheet owns the submission data.

A fictional handover: the file is complete, but the approval is missing

A timber importer sends a product spreadsheet and production-location file to its consultancy. The project manager has checked the format. The client’s evidence reviewer is still resolving a supplier record, and nobody has been named to approve the filing data.

The files can be received while the evidence-review and approval items remain open. The client needs to name an approver and resolve the outstanding evidence question. The delivery team can continue preparation without mistaking it for authority to submit.

For a team serving several operators, that distinction is useful every day. A dashboard that says “three clients need approval” is more actionable than three folders labelled “almost ready”.

Test the handovers before increasing the workload

Walk one fictional acceptance example from intake through review, submission and result handover. The Commission recommends acceptance testing before production setup for an integration. Follow the supported access arrangement for your environment; a written mandate and a working technical connection are separate checks.

Include an incomplete file and an uncertain response in your rehearsal. Check that the file goes back to its evidence owner, and that the submission outcome is reconciled before a retry. For larger inputs, check the published size and structural limits before promising a filing run.

Never include passwords, authentication keys or live supplier documents in an example you send to us. A redacted process map is enough to start a scoping conversation.

Make onboarding repeatable across your client base

The checklist can reveal where your team repeats the same chasing, checks and handovers. We can help turn those steps into a multi-client EUDR delivery workflow, with the client’s authority and review decisions kept explicit.

Reviewed 7 September 2026. Legal-role statements follow the Commission’s linked guidance; the checklist structure and service controls are InvariTech recommendations.