Streamline Client Onboarding in an Accountancy Firm

Onboarding Issues Firms Have to Grapple With:

• Clients send highly sensitive personal information such as copies of passports via insecure email.
• Engagement letters are produced from a multitude of Word documents where content needs to be overly manipulated.
• KYC processes, risk assessments and the due diligence process is a mix use of technologies and paper-based forms.
• Partner approval processes are not systemised and therefore prone to delays.
• Too much re-keying of data, over-reliance on Excel files and email messages.
• Little or no post-onboarding quality controls.
• Poor GDPR compliance and auditing.

The tech industry helps firms manage their processes and, to a large extent has moved accounting to a paperless world. However, with the advent of ‘simple-to-use’ function-specfic apps, the tech industry may also be contributing to the headache for partners and onboarding teams in firms. 

How are all these disconnected apps working together smoothly in order to remove double entry, clunky processes and improve visibility? We see it a lot. Firms with a practice management system acting as a CRM and then have a separate proposal and engagement letter system. Their AML process is separate with various spreadsheets and emails saved across multiple staffs computers. 

The result is a lack of visibility, slow and clunky processes and frustrated employees.

Process Typical Journey From Sales Lead to Happy Client & Referral Request – Onboarding New Client

As an exercise, take a moment to consider what systems your firm uses to manage each stage in the onboarding process:

• How many different systems do you use?
• Is information being entered into multiple systems manually (e.g. entering client details into practice management, AML, XLS, Proposal document, Engagement letter….)?
• Which system do you use to see where each new client is in the onboarding journey?
• Can everyone in the firm see where a new client is in the journey or do they have to speak to, or email, someone else in the firm?
• Do you wait for signed engagement letters by post and is there a mechanism in place to chase un-signed documents?
• Do you know how long it takes to complete each stage in the onboarding process currently?
• When a client is finally onboard, are they added to relevant marketing lists easily and sent welcome emails or satisfaction surveys?

Our view is that all the processes must flow from a central place. Where specialist services and/or apps are required, these should be embedded into that central place. This is where CRM software sits. At the heart of the practice. A CRM is at the start and end of the journey and therefore MUST be part of the middle.