At The Access Group, we work with accounting firms of all sizes, and all too often, we've seen onboarding experiences become a disorganised and prolonged affair. 

In our article, you will find the best insights on the essential components of a successful client onboarding checklist for accountants and the best ways to optimise your accounting client onboarding process. 

After reading our article, you'll have a handy step-by-step guide to creating a focused accounting client onboarding checklist for your firm. 

What is client onboarding for accounting firms? 

Client onboarding is welcoming and introducing new clients to your accounting firm.  

At a minimum, onboarding new clients should include an initial meeting to identify their needs; it is also an opportunity to clarify expectations, understand their preferred communication style, and help clients become familiar with the firm's operations. 

The big reason why your new client onboarding process should be an engaging and positive experience is that it will be designed to ensure that your client quickly realises what a great decision they've made in choosing your firm for their accounting needs.  

When your new client sends an enquiry, your firm should immediately set your client onboarding best practices into motion. Best practice accounting onboarding should leave clients with peace of mind and confidence, hopefully laying the groundwork for a working relationship that lasts for years. 

Why is client onboarding important to accounting firms? 

Client onboarding is essential to any successful accounting practice, particularly those using cloud-based accounting practice management software. 

As Acuity Mag puts it, client onboarding "defines expectations and responsibilities for the accountant and client."  

When done well, efficient client onboarding can become a tentpole for your firm's retention, profitability and growth. 

Research from Karbon suggests that the average time to onboard a new client is almost 60 days, with more modern accounting firms completing their onboarding in less than one month. 

So, looking at those stats, the shorter the time for the client onboarding process will make the client's experience all the more fulfilling. With every passing day, there's a slowly diminishing opportunity for revenue and delivery of ongoing services your practice has worked hard on establishing. 

Effective accounting client onboarding sets the scene for your entire client relationship. For more information on developing long-lasting relationships with your practice clients, check out mastering client relationships for accounting firms. 

What happens when onboarding your new accounting client goes wrong? 

Let's unpack common pitfalls in client onboarding for accountants that can result in challenges for your firm unless correctly addressed. 

Not taking proactive action 

If your firm's accounting team doesn't act quickly enough, then you run the risk of bottlenecking. Accountants who approach client work with a reactive rather than proactive approach can play havoc with your workflows and create bottlenecks. 

The optimum time to start a new accounting client is once they've signed the dotted line. When your client agrees to work with you, you should take your next proactive action. Keeping this momentum going while you have your client's attention will help move things along. If you're shown to be speedy and decisive, you might even impress them in the process! 

Learn how to improve productivity in your accounting firm. 

Unclear expectations 

A common challenge in the client onboarding process is a misalignment of expectations. When acquiring new clients for your business, it's easy to get carried away and promise them the Earth! Reign this tendency in as much as possible because your clients will remember! 

To prevent underdelivering, ensure that you and your client are on the same page from your initial point of contact. For example, walking them through what services will be provided, pricing, and the accounting practice software they'll need to use. 

For more on client expectations, read our article: dealing with difficult clients for accounting practices. 

Scope creep 

When we refer to "scope creep," we refer to a common phenomenon whereby clients' expectations or project deliverables inflate over time. 

With a successful onboarding experience, you can prevent scope creep from happening. In its place, you'll have transparency about the boundaries of your service offerings. 

Transparent communication in accounting is wider than establishing a strong client onboarding process. Read our article and learn how enhancing your communication skills can benefit your practice. 

The benefits of client onboarding for accounting firms 

Client onboarding is invaluable for any accounting firm looking for sustainable long-term relationships. 

The onboarding process can help clients understand what to expect and be comfortable dealing with their new accountant.  

By both allowing a business to manage its clients better and ensuring that the client's expectations are met, client onboarding offers plenty of benefits that no accounting firm should ignore, such as: 

• Establishing the right expectations from the start; 
• Gaining a better understanding of your client's needs; 
• Making your clients feel comfortable with your expertise; 
• Boosting your chances of client retention and satisfaction; 
• Reducing the risk of client churn; 
• Increasing client loyalty; 
• Streamlining workflows and 
• Ensuring an organised, thorough approach to the client-firm relationship. 

How do you onboard accounting clients? 

An effective new accounting client checklist can make all the difference and should include collecting contact information, biographical background, business details, risk assessments, and reporting requirements. 

Here's our checklist to help you standardise your accounting client onboarding processes: 

1. Preparation 

When a prospective client makes contact, respond promptly to their enquiry and gather basic information about them and what they need. 

Remember that ensuring the prospect is the right fit for your firm and vice versa is vital. Defining your client profile can assist you with this. 

2. Initial meeting 

This step in the onboarding phase is a chance to introduce your firm team and showcase your service offerings and expertise. 

The initial meeting is a chance to articulate your role and set expectations. You can discuss preferred communication channels (email, phone, video conferencing, instant messaging) and clearly define the scope of accounting services you'll provide to prevent scope creep from occurring. 

3. Store the signed contract and start your workflows 

A complete and signed client contract should be kept on file in your client management software, readily available for reference whenever needed. 

When your client signs their contract, you should immediately use workflow management software to map jobs with deadlines and assign task priorities. 

With Access Practice Management, you'll also be able to manage tasks and create recurring tasks to repeat future tasks with automation and gain greater visibility of all job activity in your practice, monitoring through job, job tasks, employee or manager. 

4. A welcome email 

A practice-branded email to greet your new clients once they've signed with you is a lovely, personable touch. 

Your welcome email could contain clear communications around the following steps, clear expectations and a time frame for the scope of their project. 

5. Financial information 

This stage in the accounting client onboarding checklist is self-explanatory, but it is essential to have access to your new client's financial information, such as: 

• Financial statements (specifically, income statements, cash flow statements, and balance sheets); 
• Recent account reconciliations; 
• Prior tax returns; 
• Invoices; 
• Payroll information. 

A common complaint we often hear from accountants during the client onboarding procedure is chasing them up for financial information and documents. With client management software, you can automate manual tasks by setting up automatic notifications and tracking client activities, giving you more visibility and building proactive relationships with your clients. 

Client management software and efficient onboarding 

Client management software (CRM) is an invaluable resource for accounting firms looking to enrich their client onboarding process with instant messaging capabilities and a practice-branded client portal for document and content collaboration. 

Our recent study on practice marketing and growth found that only 14 per cent of practices surveyed have client management software that is used in its entirety, with an additional 31 per cent conceding that they have client management software that is not used to its full potential. 

Many opportunities point to the power of client management software for accountants in public practice, as David Francis, General Manager – Accountants Group APAC, highlights: "Access to practice and CRM data in the one place is a great driver of collaboration, empowering you to engage more efficiently with your current clients, as well as winning and onboarding new ones."  

Some outcomes you can expect from client management software include 

• Scale, extend and configure as your practice grows without upgrading your systems. 
• Faster decision-making, empowered insights, and enhanced customer service are made possible with meaningful client data. 
• One place to store all client information means your conversations are always personal, relevant, and up-to-date. 
• Provide your clients with tools to engage with your practice to make you more responsive, empowered, and ready to grow. 

Conclusion 

By following our guidance, you can create a smooth onboarding experience for new practice clients that ensures compliance and builds a strong foundation for successful and lasting client relationships. 

Regularly reviewing and refining the client onboarding experience in your firm will help you stay responsive to the evolving needs of your clients and the accounting industry. 

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Access Practice Management, powered by Salesforce, can aid the steps in your accounting client onboarding checklist. Talk to a specialist today about our accounting practice management software solution.