Client onboarding for accounting firms: A guide plus 6 top tools

First impressions last. 

The moment a prospect turns into a new accounting client is the one that sets all future expectations for how your team works, communicates, and creates value for clients. It’s also a chance to bring attention to the full range of services that your firm offers. 

Firms like Envolta Cloud Accounting invested in client onboarding, and achieved a 99% client retention rate. So, if your firm focuses on mastering just one process, let it be this one.

Here’s everything you need to know: the basics, the best client onboarding software, tips for communication, and a nine-step checklist for building a repeatable onboarding framework.

What is client onboarding?

Client onboarding is the process of welcoming new clients into your accounting firm and progressing as efficiently as possible to a rhythmic working relationship.

The onboarding process is your opportunity—and responsibility—to get a clear understanding of your client’s concerns, uncover needs the sales team hasn’t identified, and clearly communicate how your services will assist them. 

This is your time to understand how your client likes to work, communicate, and collaborate, and set expectations for how your team does the same.

The 6 best client onboarding software for accounting and bookkeeping firms

1. Karbon

Karbon for Clients preview

Karbon is the #1-ranked practice management platform for accounting firms and the category leader on software review website, G2.

Because it’s not a traditional, standalone client onboarding solution, it doesn’t yet offer every bit of functionality you might expect from a purely engagements and proposals tool, for example. 

But it also brings a significant advantage of being part of a wider practice management platform—and with that comes lots of other features and functionality from one single app. And for client onboarding, that means an accelerated process for both your firm and your clients.

Karbon’s key client onboarding features

• Robust client onboarding workflow templates from a library of 400+ templates

• Engagement letter and proposal package creation (early access)

• Secure, branded client portal for safe and personalized client onboarding, including document sharing, task requests, and real-time communication

• eSignatures and approvals

• Automatic client reminders and client tasks

• Invoice creation and payment processing

• Auto-payments that enable clients to save payment details on future invoices, eliminating the need to chase receivables

• Integrations with Google Drive, Dropbox, and SharePoint ensure all client files are stored securely and are easily accessible

• Integrations with proposal software like Ignition and GoProposal allow data to flow automatically into Karbon

• Integration with Xero, QBOA, and XPM eliminates double entries and outdated client information

• Integrations with Summa Tech and Xama enable safer, more streamlined client onboarding

• Direct email integration (Gmail, Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Exchange) ensures seamless client communication

• Built-in CRM eliminates the need to maintain client records in several databases

Other key Karbon features

• Time and budget tracking (including timesheets)

• GPT-powered Karbon AI

• Built-in project management and workflow automation

• Engaged user community with 3,000+ members

• Dozens of real-time integrations with other leading accounting software and business tools

• Collaborate in context with @mentions and notifications

• Practice intelligence and business analytics and reporting

Pros

• Highly customizable to match your practice’s workflow

• Workflow automation kicks off client onboarding

• Mobile app for the client portal

• Open API so you can build custom solutions for client onboarding

• Many powerful integrations to streamline client onboarding (Xero, Ignition, QBOA, etc.)

• The only accounting practice management solution where you can @mention colleagues and comment on emails, turn emails into tasks, and assign them to colleagues, clients, and jobs

• Constant innovation and frequent product releases

• Built by a team of passionate industry experts

Cons

• May require more time to be set up than basic alternatives

• Functionality is geared towards teams, so may not be suitable for sole practitioners or teams of two to three staff that don’t anticipate growing

What types of firms use Karbon?

Karbon is built for accounting, tax and bookkeeping firms with teams of five or more members that are looking for a practice management solution that meets the operational and strategic needs of their firm.

What do Karbon customers say?

Pricing

Karbon has three pricing plans: Team, Business, and Enterprise. The below pricing is based on annual billing (monthly billing is also available).

• Team: $59 USD/month, per user

• Business: $89 USD/month, per user

• Enterprise: Custom pricing

Does Karbon offer a free trial?

Yes, Karbon offers a free trial of all plans, allowing you to test the platform risk-free.

Reviews

• 4.8 stars on G2

• 4.7 stars on Capterra

Book a demo of Karbon to build better, stronger client relationships from day one.

2. Ignition

Example revenue reporting in Ignition

Ignition (formerly Practice Ignition) is a platform designed to manage client engagements, manage contracts, automate billing, and collect payments securely. It is a powerful component of an accounting firm’s overall tech stack, especially when partnered with a robust practice management tool like Karbon.

Key features

• Custom proposal and quote creation

• Proposal templates

• Bulk proposal creation

• Proposal upsell options

• Auto-price increases

• Engagement letters and contracts

• eSignatures

• Automated billing and payment capabilities

• Client profiles and portals

• Integrations with popular accounting tools like Karbon, Xero, and QuickBooks

Ignition’s pros and cons

What types of firms use Ignition?

Ignition is best suited for modern and progressive accounting and bookkeeping firms looking to automate and streamline their client onboarding process with a seamless engagement and proposal experience for clients.

Ignition pricing

Ignition offers four pricing plans. The breakdown below is based on monthly billing.

• Solo: ​​$49/month for up to 1 user

• Core: $149/month for up to 3 users

• Pro: $279/month for up to 15 users

• Enterprise: Custom pricing for unlimited users

Does Ignition offer a free trial?

Yes, every plan comes with a 14-day free trial.

Ratings

• 4.8 stars on G2

• 4.7 stars on Capterra

3. GoProposal

Example contact hub view in GoProposal

GoProposal is client engagement software for accounting and bookkeeping firms that enables them to create instant proposals and generate automatic engagement letters. Like Ignition, it’s used in conjunction with other accounting tools, like practice management.

GoProposal’s key client onboarding features

• Automated proposals and engagement letters

• AML (anti-money laundering) add-on

• Accounting proposal templates

• eSignatures

• Service schedules

• Repricing tools

• Auto-invoicing sync to Xero and QuickBooks

GoProposal’s pros and cons

What types of firms use GoProposal?

GoProposal is best suited for small to mid-sized firms that don’t need highly customized pricing structures, and want to standardize pricing and automate engagement letters.

GoProposal pricing

GoProposal has four pricing packages:

• Solo: $110/month, per user

• Basic: $185/month, per user

• Standard: $220/month for up to 2 users

• Premium: $380/month for up to 10 users

AML and OverSuite (GoProposal’s engagement letter suite) are paid add-ons for all pricing tiers.

Does GoProposal offer a free trial?

Yes, GoProposal offers a free 30-day trial of all plans.

Ratings

• Not listed on G2

• 4.6 stars on Capterra (from five reviews)

4. Financial Cents

Financial Cents work dashboard

Financial Cents is a practice management solution for accounting firms with client onboarding features, designed for small to mid-sized accounting firms. It’s not a dedicated client onboarding tool, but does offer client onboarding features.

Financial Cents’ key client onboarding features

• Proposals

• Engagement letters

• Billing and payments

• Client portal

• Automated client requests and reminders

• CRM

Financial Cents’ pros and cons

What types of firms use Financial Cents?

Financial Cents is best suited for small and mid-sized accounting firms that want to start off with an accounting practice management solution to help them deliver work efficiently. As these firms start to grow and client onboarding increases in frequency, they may find it lacks the advanced functionality needed to support a scalable business.

Pricing

Financial Cents has three pricing plans. The following are based on the monthly billing:

• Solo: $19 USD/month, per user

• Team: $49 USD/month, per user

• Scale: $69 USD/month, per user

Important client onboarding features like auto-client follow-ups, customized client task emails, and access to the open API are only available in the top tier.

Does Financial Cents offer a free trial?

Financial Cents offers a free 14-day trial for all plans.

Ratings

• 4.8 stars on G2

• 4.8 stars on Capterra

Compare Karbon vs. Financial Cents.

5. TaxDome

Client to-do view in TaxDome

TaxDome is another practice management tool for accounting and bookkeeping firms. As a result, it’s not a dedicated client onboarding tool but does have relevant features.

TaxDome’s key client onboarding features

• Proposal creation

• Client portal with client mobile app

• Client requests

• Client chat

• CRM

• Invoicing and payment processing

• eSignatures

TaxDome’s pros and cons

What types of firms use TaxDome?

TaxDome is best suited for tax and accounting firms that are looking for functionality across a wide range of features, but don’t necessarily require much depth to each one. The lack of collaboration features can make it difficult for large teams to unite across client onboarding and give new clients a seamless experience.

Pricing

TaxDome offers three pricing options (available in multiple currencies):

• Essentials: $700 USD/year per user, with a 3-year commitment

• Pro: $900 USD/year per user, with a 3-year commitment

• Business: $1,100 USD/year per user, with a  3-year commitment

TaxDome forces customers to sign up to a 1-year minimum subscription, with the prices reducing the longer you lock in for.

For a team of 20 on their most popular Business plan with a 1-year commitment, you can expect to pay $24,000 USD up front.

Does TaxDome offer a free trial?

There is no mention of a free trial for TaxDome on the website.

Ratings

• 4.7 stars on G2

• 4.7 stars on Capterra

6. Canopy

Canopy client portal admin view

Canopy is an accounting practice management tool for small and mid-sized tax and accounting firms. It started as a tax resolution tool and has since developed additional features, some of which are related to client onboarding.

Canopy’s key client onboarding features

• Client portal

• Mobile app for clients

• CRM

• Engagements and proposals

• eSignatures

• Client requests

• Questionnaires and organizers

Canopy’s pros and cons

What types of firms use Canopy?

Canopy is best-suited for specialized tax firms that place high value on its tax resolution cases and integration with the IRS.

Pricing

Canopy has a modular pricing model, where you pay for the base platform and then add features as needed. Here is an attempt to break down the Canopy pricing plans using monthly billing.

For teams of four or more staff, pricing starts at:

• Standard: $180 USD/month

• Pro: $210 USD/month

These include the client portal, mobile app, proposals, eSignature, client requests, and organizers.

However, these essential add-ons are charged separately:

• Document Management: starts at $43 USD/month, per user

• Workflow: starts at $38 USD/month, per user

• Time & Billing: starts at $27 USD/month, per user

Other paid extras include Tax Resolution, Collection Cases, KBA eSignatures, and Transcripts & Notices.

For smaller firms (under four users):

• Starter: $60 USD/month, per user

• Essentials: $88 USD/month, per user

These plans also require the same add-ons for full functionality.

It’s important to note that if your team is larger than nine, you will need to contact Canopy for custom pricing.

Does Canopy offer a free trial?

Yes, Canopy offers a 15-day free trial.

G2 and Capterra reviews

• 4.6 stars on G2

• 4.5 stars on Capterra

Why is client onboarding so important? 

Think about why your clients sign up for services. 

They want the burden of accounting taken off their plate. They want to reduce their stress and gain clarity. They want a smooth experience, and a polished set of reports every month. 

They want to grow their business and be better off, so they can enjoy more time with their family, take vacations, and enjoy a better quality of life.

By providing a first-class client onboarding experience, you can bring your clients closer to that reality faster.

Onboarding sets the tone for the entire client relationship. It’s an opportunity to make expectations clear, understand communication styles, gather all necessary information, and train the client on your systems.

This not only gives a solid first impression, but it quickly moves the relationship toward the monthly deliverable your client signed up for. 

Providing this type of experience is also a source of additional profit for your firm. If you can satisfy your clients from the start of your relationship and do it efficiently, you can set a framework that allows you to increase profits by:

• Adding additional services

• Generating referrals (83% of satisfied clients are willing to refer others) 

• Reducing client churn (61% of consumers walk away from brands based on poor experiences)

• Increasing the overall client lifetime value

On the other hand, when onboarding is inefficient, a host of problems emerge:

• Wasted time and resources

• A bad experience at the time when it’s easiest for the client to leave

• Service delays

• Fear of expansion due to growing pains

Common client onboarding challenges for accounting firms

Talking about what a client onboarding process should look like is one thing, but actually putting it into action is another. Here are some of the common pitfalls that accounting firms fall victim to:

1. Not taking the first step fast enough

The best time to get started with a new client is now. If your client agrees to work with you and signs a contract, that’s when you want them to take the next action. 

Delays prohibit growth because a backlog in onboarding causes internal chaos. When your team is forced to be reactive—rather than having the capability to be proactive—resources become imbalanced and you lose momentum.

2. Misaligned expectations

During any sales cycle, it’s easy to make big promises. Your clients will remember these, so for a seamless onboarding process, it’s critical that communication is aligned across your team. 

To prevent misaligned expectations and under-delivering, you should have templates for your sales processes, just like your other workflows. For example, your intake calls should step through a series of clear and standardized questions to ensure you’re setting the right expectations.

3. Scope creep

Have you ever worked with a client who seems to demand more and more of you each time you connect? That’s scope creep, and it’s a common problem for firms that haven’t set clear expectations from the start. And without firm boundaries, those one-off favours quickly become diminishing returns.

Again, clear expectations from the very beginning are critical to protecting your time.

Communication is critical to efficient onboarding

Client onboarding commonly takes at least 6-8 weeks for accounting firms. But with a strong process, it can move much faster. A key part in achieving that is clear communication. 

To improve communication, consider the following tips:

Eliminate silos

Client onboarding should be a seamless transition. The client shouldn’t feel like they’ve been ‘handed off’ to another department, and they certainly shouldn’t be asked questions they’ve already provided answers to.

The trouble is, the client communication so far has occurred in an isolated inbox. Breaking down this barrier involves using tools like Karbon that connect your team and client communications. 

Now everything you need to know about what’s been said to a client and what information they’ve provided so far is available for your team to see and take action on.

Maintain a consistent experience

If you’ve ever bought an Apple product, you know that it serves as an experience more than anything else. Every step—from their marketing, to the packaging, to the initial steps to set up your device—is a unified experience.

Your firm should also be carefully considering the client experience. From marketing, to sales, to onboarding and beyond—take the time to both define how your firm will communicate and how you’ll ensure the experience meets expectations.

How to streamline client onboarding

For every common issue in the onboarding process, there is an effective solution. These techniques will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your client onboarding. 

Make it a priority

It’s all-too-common for client onboarding to be put on the backburner. Often a firm’s focus is on two things: getting new clients and serving them well. But none of that can happen without a streamlined onboarding process. 

In order to succeed, you need to devote the resources, time, and people necessary to onboarding clients effectively. You need to have a strategy, and your team needs to understand the importance of this process.

Develop and document a process

Develop a process that is easy to understand, adopt, and replicate.

This means having a documented process that is accessible for the entire team. For example, in Karbon you can document your bookkeeping onboarding process in a template, laying out every step in the process. 

For every new client, it's as simple as creating a new onboarding work item from that template, so that everyone is held accountable for what they're responsible for, and no task slips through the cracks. As the process gets refined and improved, the template can be updated, ensuring consistency and efficiency across your firm.

Set proper expectations

Make sure that when the deal is closed, your client knows exactly what you can offer them.

You need to understand their goals and preferred style of communication. And they need to understand their role in ensuring a successful relationship. It’s your job to set those expectations from the beginning.

Provide the client with a roadmap

Don’t set expectations and forget them. List out all the stages of the onboarding process as a checklist. This gives them something to refer to and can help them prepare their documents and information.

Providing this roadmap is not only necessary for a successful onboarding experience, but it also demonstrates that you’re organized and prepared.

Automate processes where you can

Many aspects of your onboarding process will be the same from client-to-client. Creating a system that automates these common tasks can lead to huge time-savings.

That’s where the tools listed earlier in this guide come into play.

Recommended reading: Accounting automation guide

Streamline and enhance communication

As highlighted earlier in this guide, open and transparent communication is critical to a  streamlined client onboarding process. Having your email directly integrated into your practice management tool is the perfect way to ensure your teams are collaborating internally and communicating externally with the context they need to get the client progressing.

Your client onboarding checklist

1. Sales conversation

Your onboarding success starts before you even get there. The sales conversation is where you will begin extracting key information about the client’s business that will help you prepare an accurate proposal.

2. Sales agreement

When the client accepts your proposal, it’s time to prepare and send off your accounting engagement letter. Tools like Ignition or GoProposal will help automate this process. 

Starting work before all documents have been signed isn’t advised—it could mean you potentially waste labor costs on a client who is not legally bound to payment. 

3. Start workflow

The moment your client signs their agreement, you must maintain momentum. This is where your practice management tool kicks in. 

For example, if your new client signs their engagement letter via Ignition, that will kick off work for onboarding in Karbon. A work item will be created and assigned to the client, and emails can be automatically sent to the client to begin the onboarding process.

To create an exceptional client experience, it’s critical to assign dedicated internal resources to your new client so you’re able to establish accountability. While determining internal resources for the account, it’s also time to start building a roadmap to present to your client: 

• Project summary

• What would make this a successful project for the client

• A rough timeline of the project

• Any research you have on the client

• What is needed from the client to complete the project

This is also a good time to determine which programs, apps and systems can assist you throughout the client relationship. A good practice is to have a standardized form that the client can fill out and make sure the necessary background questions are resolved. Such as:

• Basic business information

• The main point of contact

• Logins and passwords to applicable software

• Preferred communication style

4. Kick-off call

Use a tool like Calendly, Acuity Scheduling, or SavvyCal to make it easy for clients to book time in your calendar for a kick-off call.

If it’s a virtual meeting, use a tool like Zoom to have some ‘face-to-face’ time with the client. This is a great way to build rapport as you begin the relationship. 

A kick-off call is a perfect time for you to reiterate expectations, ask any lingering questions, and build the foundation for your partnership. The more prepared you are, the stronger your foundation will be.

Remember: never leave a conversation without a clear understanding of next steps and responsibilities. 

5. Get the client connected and current

Once you’ve gathered all the necessary information to start services, a crucial point in the client onboarding process is to move as quickly as possible from historical data to current.

If you are stuck because you are missing information, it’s okay to be persistent. Make it clear that you cannot proceed until you have the information you need. If you use Karbon, use auto-reminders to take care of the client chase for you.

6. Check up

Set a cadence for checking in with your client. Face-to-face or phone contact is critical, especially in the initial stages of the client relationship.  

If you are progressing through historical information, update the client on your progress. In the early days of a relationship, silence can create doubt.

The end goal is usually a fully reconciled set of reports. If you have not arrived at that destination, provide a status update on what still has to happen to get there. 

Clients who churn are more likely to do so within the first 90 days of service, so be proactive in your client outreach to quash negativity before it pops up. 

7. Be prepared to make adjustments

While your team should have a proven process for communication and ongoing work, you still need to pay attention to your client’s nuances.

The initial sales conversation is great for extracting the scope of a situation, but you never truly know what you’re getting into until you start handling transactions.

Ask yourself:

• Are you still waiting on the client for anything?

• Are the reporting needs consistent with expectations?

• Are there additional services they need but don't know what to ask for?

Use the onboarding phase as an opportunity to refine the relationship between your firm and the client. 

8. Begin the monthly work cycle

Onboarding is usually considered complete when you have a fully reconciled set of reports, access to everything needed for transaction data, and your client is set up and confident using any new systems they are required to. 

If you’ve reached this destination and are now moving into your monthly process for accounting, reporting and advisory services, don’t get lost on autopilot.

Keep the client experience in mind and keep communication consistent.

9. Keep iterating and improving

Your onboarding is not a static process that never changes. You should be reviewing and adjusting based on feedback.

Review your onboarding process quarterly and look for at least one small improvement each time. Maybe there’s a step that can be automated or an email exchange that can be replaced by a simple form.

Any small improvements can add up in a big way for the ongoing relationship.

Simplify client onboarding and management with Karbon

Accounting practice management software gives you a suite of tools to execute on the above checklist from start to finish.

Karbon simplifies building long-term, productive relationships from the very first interaction with your clients, with full visibility across the team, work templates to standardize your processes, automated client tasks and reminders, and a premium client portal. All of which are protected by enterprise-grade security.

To learn more about building a repeatable and scalable onboarding process, book a demo with Karbon.