Bookkeepers and a Client’s Bank Verification Codes
By Fwrd ·
When a bookkeeper needs a code from a client’s phone to sign in, the first fix is your own login: QuickBooks Online lets a client invite their accountant, and Xero has an adviser role, so you sign in with your own account and your own codes. For a bank that only texts the client, either ask the client for each code or, if the bank’s terms allow it and the client agrees, have the client forward that bank’s codes from their own iPhone to your email or a shared channel.
What you need: the client’s agreement, in writing; a read of the bank’s terms on sharing codes; the client’s iPhone on iOS 26 or later; your email address or a private Slack or Microsoft Teams channel; and Fwrd, installed by the client on their iPhone.
How can a bookkeeper log in without the client’s verification code?
Get your own access wherever the software or bank offers it. Then the code goes to your phone, not the client’s, and nothing needs forwarding.
- QuickBooks Online. Intuit’s help page says a primary or company admin can invite an accountant from Settings, then Manage users. An accountant who already has QuickBooks Online Accountant can sign in and accept straight away, and the invite doesn’t count toward the subscription’s user limit (Intuit, read October 25, 2026).
- Xero. Xero’s help centre describes an adviser user role, the access a client usually gives their accountant, so you sign in as yourself (Xero, read October 25, 2026).
- The bank. Ask the client whether their business account can add a separate user, or a view-only login, for their bookkeeper. Only the bank can say what it offers.
Which option fits?
Your own login always fits best. When the bank leaves no option but the client’s phone, it comes down to how often you sign in.
| Option | Who gets the code | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Accountant or adviser access | You, on your own phone | Software that offers it |
| A separate bank user for you | You | Banks that offer it |
| Asking the client each time | The client, who reads it to you | Rare sign-ins |
| The client forwards that bank’s codes | Your email or a private channel | Regular sign-ins, with consent and bank terms allowing it |
Before you forward anything: consent and bank terms
- Some banks forbid sharing codes. Read the bank’s terms, or ask the bank. If it says the code is for the account holder only, don’t forward it; use your own access or ask the client each time.
- The client sets it up, on their own iPhone, knowing what it does. Never set this up on a client’s phone without them knowing, and never because a stranger asked.
- Forward one bank, not everything. Use a word only that bank’s code texts contain, so the client’s other texts stay private.
- The client can stop it any time by turning off the automation in Shortcuts.
How a client forwards one bank’s codes to your email
The client does these steps on their iPhone. They take a few minutes.
Add Email in Fwrd. Open Fwrd, tap +, and choose Email Address. Under Recipient Reference, type the bookkeeper’s address and tap + to add it, then save with the tick.
Create a Message automation. On iOS 27, open Shortcuts, tap Library, then Automation, then +. If you see Describe a shortcut, tap Edit. Tap Automation, then Message. On iOS 26, open the Automation tab, tap +, and choose Message.
Choose the bank’s codes. Choose Message Contains (on iOS 27, change Sender to Message) and type a word only that bank’s code texts include, such as the bank’s name, if its texts use it.
Let it run without asking. On iOS 27, tap the arrow beside the trigger and check that Confirm Before Run is off. Under ⓘ, then Privacy, check that Allow Running When Locked is on. On iOS 26, choose Run Immediately, then tap Next and Create New Shortcut.
Add Fwrd’s action. Search for Forward, add Fwrd’s Forward Message to All Destinations, and set its Message to Shortcut Input (on iOS 26, Shortcut Input, then Message).
Add Apple’s Send Email below it. Tap its Message field and choose Forward Message to All Destinations: that’s Fwrd’s output. Add the bookkeeper’s address under Recipients, type a subject, and turn off Show Compose Sheet under the arrow. Tap back to save (Done on iOS 26).
That’s it. New code texts from that bank now land in the bookkeeper’s inbox on their own, with the iPhone unlocked or locked.
Apple’s Send Email does the sending, from the client’s own Mail account. The email guide shows every tap, and forward iPhone SMS to email explains the destination.
For a firm where several staff sign in for the same client, a private Slack or Teams channel works the same way: add it in Fwrd, and its filter can keep only texts with the bank’s name. The Slack guide has those steps.
What forwarding can’t do
- It can’t override the bank. Forwarding doesn’t change who the bank says may use a code. Its terms still apply.
- It can’t reach codes in the bank’s app. Only texts are forwarded. Push approvals and app-based codes stay on the client’s phone.
- It doesn’t work while the client’s iPhone is off or offline. After a restart, forwarding waits until the client unlocks it once, and an iPhone that isn’t unlocked for three days restarts itself.
- It only goes one way. You can’t reply through the forward, and only new texts are sent.
Fwrd is free for 15 forwards a month as of October 2026, and a code you sign in with a few times a month fits well inside that. Fwrd Pro removes the limit for $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year.
Questions bookkeepers ask about client codes
Is it allowed to use a client’s bank verification code?
It depends on the bank. Some banks’ terms say the code is for the account holder only. Read the terms or ask the bank, and get the client’s written agreement before using any code from their phone.
Can I add my number to the client’s bank account instead?
Only the bank can say. Even where it’s possible, putting your number on the client’s account can hand you more control than either of you wants. Ask the bank about a separate user for you first.
Do the codes pass through Fwrd’s servers?
No. Fwrd has no account and no server of its own. Apple’s Send Email sends each code from the client’s Mail account, and Fwrd’s history stays on the client’s iPhone.
Does the bookkeeper need Fwrd too?
No. Only the client’s iPhone needs Fwrd and the automation. The bookkeeper just reads the email or the channel.
Stop waiting on a client’s code
With the client’s agreement, Fwrd hands each matching code text on their iPhone to Apple’s Send Email, or posts it to a private Slack or Teams channel. Start with 15 free forwards each month.
Free for 15 forwards a month. Pro removes the limits on forwards and filters and adds a Never Forward list, for $4.99/month or $29.99/year, with a 7-day free trial on the yearly plan for eligible customers.
iPhone · iOS 26 or later