Tips and tricks for onboarding new clients

Starting off on the right foot with new clients is the first step in building a successful, mutually beneficial relationship. A standardized onboarding process provides a good first impression for your clients and can certainly help to streamline your workflow.

Key steps involved in onboarding new clients

Client acceptance policies and procedures: Developing a true understanding of your ideal client is the essential first step. If you have not already gone through the exercise of being able to clearly communicate what type of client you are trying to serve, take time to be strategic and do this exercise. Or take time to reexamine your ideal client if your firm, like many these days, has been in the mode of firing clients that no longer are a good fit.

Develop clear expectations and communicate those in the onboarding process: Talk about pricing but also about how you expect to receive information, how to communicate with your firm, expectations around turnaround times, and any other crucial information where you want to provide guidelines.

Provide a standard way to gather the information your firm needs to move to the engagement’s next stage: This can be as detailed as it needs to be, based on your preferences, but standardizing the process can avoid having to ask for information numerous times. And it can be a way to find out more about clients’ history and needs.

But even with the known benefits of getting this step right, it can also be very challenging to find ways to implement processes that will improve efficiencies.

In this column, members of the AICPA’s Tax Practice Management Committee share their experiences with client acceptance and onboarding processes (see “Contributors” at the end of this column for their firms and locations). This is an area where devoting time and attention to processes can pay dividends.

What is your top tip on client acceptance?

Jackie Meyer: Explain your limited availability (a wait list program is preferred) and provide a deadline they have for acceptance. You cannot honor the quote or the time after that.

Matthew K. Becker: The key to client acceptance is process and discipline. Whatever the important factors are to your organization when considering client acceptance, make sure they are documented and followed in every circumstance. Consistency is the key.

Jeffrey D. Solomon: Referrals are really the only way I take on new clients. Clients coming from a trusted source is my No. 1 way to vet potential new tax clients. You can get a lot of good info by talking to the source — the good and bad.

Matthew Curley: Don’t accept just anyone. Make sure you’re vetting the potential clients for firm fit. Will you be able to add value to their situation?

Brandon Lagarde: When accepting a new client, this is your best chance to set expectations for how the relationship will work. It is often difficult to change expectations after you have been working with a client for years — so the acceptance process allows you to set the rules of engagement with the client. This can be key to a successful client relationship.

What processes does your firm use for client acceptance?

Michael Whitmore: Each partner has their own acceptance threshold. We generally make sure the client has a good reputation around town.

Meyer: We present them with the ROI method of tax planning, only taking on clients we can find a return on investment for and that benefit from tax planning. At the end of the presentation, we ask if they will accept the proposal. Then we send our e-engagement letter for e-signature.

Becker: We have a robust client acceptance process that evaluates potential clients as well as the likelihood that we can serve them with our expected level of excellence. Of course, client background is part of the equation. There is no better indicator of future behavior than past behavior. Beyond this, we assess the likelihood that the client receives the level of service that is consistent with our brand promise.

Teela McCullar: We meet annually to discuss our ideal clients that the firm would like, niches we might want to grow, and what specific partners/ managers like working on and then establish minimums. After that meeting, it never fails that people will accept clients that don’t fit those parameters, so now we are focused on really sticking to our criteria. For referrals that come in to a specific partner, the partner decides on their own about clients they will accept and the fee they will charge. However, for very large clients (volume or dollar), audit clients, or clients that come to a certain partner where maybe they would better fit with someone else, we will discuss as a group who should serve that client.

Lagarde: If the client is from a referral source, we have a conversation with the source to determine why the client is looking for a CPA and to obtain some general background information on the client. If the potential client reached out to us with no prior relationship to the firm, we have a member of our client service team reach out to the potential client to obtain more information about why they are looking for a CPA and why us. We will also search LinkedIn, Google, and social media to find out other information about the client that may be relevant in our acceptance process.

Curley: We don’t have a formal process, but we review prior-year returns and inquire about why they’re looking for our services. We want to make sure we’re a good fit for them as well.

Do you have any tips to share for an efficient client intake process?

Meyer: It is important to document every step from their first point of contact in order to control who you want to work with. I’d recommend this free CPE course to see the full life cycle: “3x Revenue With the ROI Method of Tax Planning.” Also, I recommend having a trained gatekeeper who can set appropriate boundaries and expectations.

Becker: A standardized process that incorporates automation to the full extent available is best. The less manual effort client-facing professionals must exert in assessing a potential client, the more likely it is the assessment occurs according to standards.

Solomon: We have a one-page client intake form.

What lessons learned would you like to share on client acceptance and/or client onboarding?

Meyer: When you don’t give a client a hard deadline, it leaves the engagement in limbo, and it’s very uncomfortable and stressful. We also provide every client with onboarding guidelines based on the Certified Concierge Accountant training program, and it’s been a game-changer.

McCullar: Don’t feel pressured to provide a fee estimate if you haven’t had a chance to review the client’s prior information. Be cautious about sharing firm minimums, as clients can get “stuck” on that figure. I have found out the hard way that if you tell them a minimum for a bare-bones, simple return, they usually think that applies to them and are always surprised when their bill is more. Now I share not only our minimum but also the average fee a client might pay, to give them an indication that their fee won’t be at the minimum.

Lagarde: Be clear with expectations on the front end during the client acceptance process.

Do you charge a fee for an initial consultation with a potential client? If so, would you recommend this to others?

Whitmore: We don’t charge a fee for initial meetings. The first visit is always free; however, we don’t give any advice during that meeting.

Meyer: It depends. If my gatekeeper prequalified them, I will provide a complimentary value-priced quote to the client for tax planning and a compliance package. If they didn’t fit with us, we refer them out. If you are not able to quote a value-priced amount upfront, I would charge an initial consultation fee if there will be advice provided.

Solomon: No, we do not do this. I feel strongly they need to get a feel for working with me first.

Curley: We have, but we don’t do it every time. If the meeting was scheduled as a consultation, then, yes. If it’s an interview for client onboarding, then likely not.

Lagarde: We do not charge a fee for an initial consultation with a potential client. The burden of our onboarding process often outweighs the benefit of charging for this initial consultation. If we could improve the efficiency of our onboarding/intake process, we would be more willing to charge a fee for an initial consultation.

If you could only ask your potential clients one question, what would it be?

Becker: Why should we take you as a client? There is a shortage of CPAs, and we want to make sure that each client we take on is worth our time.

Meyer: Are you a kind and respectful person who will respond promptly to my information request?

McCullar: This is a tie. My questions are: “Why are you leaving your previous accountant?” if they had one, and “What are your expectations of us as your CPA?” I always want to make sure I can meet their expectations before accepting a client.

Solomon: Sorry, two questions: Why are you making a switch, and what are you searching for?

Curley: What changed in your situation that prompted you to seek out our services?

Lagarde: Do you read letters and emails you receive from your CPA? We spend a lot of time and effort on communication with our clients to alert them to tax planning opportunities or updates to our processes and procedures for getting tax returns done. It can be extremely frustrating to deal with a client who clearly does not read emails or other correspondence they receive from us.

In what ways have you streamlined your onboarding processes in recent years?

Becker: We are using an online tool for gathering client information. This also classifies clients for our CRM [customer relationship management] system.

Meyer: We’ve added an onboarding meeting with the client that’s an hour to an hour and a half, versus just sending them the guidelines in a PDF. This strengthens our relationship, allows time to ask for referrals, and clarifies expectations upfront for a successful engagement.

Curley: Raised our fees and make sure to provide quotes in all prospective calls. We find out who’s serious that way.

No universal approach

As is evident, based on the responses to the questions posed to the committee members, there is not one right answer to how firms handle client acceptance and intake. Processes can differ based not only on firm size but also on firm operating philosophies. We hope you can reflect on these responses and determine how processes may be improved for your firm.

Contributors

Matthew K. Becker, CPA, is a national managing partner of tax with BDO USA LLP in Grand Rapids, Mich.; Matthew Curley, CPA, is a shareholder of Walsh, Kelliher & Sharp CPAs in Fairbanks, Alaska; Brandon Lagarde, CPA, J.D., LL.M., is a tax director with Postlethwaite & Netterville in Baton Rouge, La.; Teela McCullar, CPA, is a managing director with Barnard Vogler & Co. CPAs in Reno, Nev.; Jackie Meyer, CPA, CCA, doctoral candidate, is the founder and owner of TaxPlanIQ in Southlake, Texas; Jeffrey D. Solomon, CPA, CVA, is the managing partner of Katz, Nannis+Solomon PC in Waltham, Mass.; and Michael Whitmore, CPA, is a shareholder with HMA CPA in Spokane, Wash. April Walker, CPA, CGMA, is lead manager–Tax Practice & Ethics, Public Accounting, for AICPA & CIMA, together as the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. Walker is staff liaison, Lagarde is chair, and the others are members of the AICPA Tax Practice Management Committee.