Accounting Firm Automates Client Intake

The Challenge

Sarah ran a 5-person CPA firm specializing in small business accounting and tax preparation. Her firm had a reputation for excellent work—but the onboarding process was killing them.

Every new client meant:

• Multiple emails back and forth requesting documents
• Chasing missing information
• Manual data entry into their practice management software
• Setting up recurring reminders and deadlines
• Creating folder structures and access permissions

A single new client could take 2 weeks to fully onboard, with hours of staff time spread across that period. During tax season, this bottleneck meant turning away new business.

Sarah knew the process. It lived in her head and in scattered email templates. But her team couldn’t execute it consistently, and she couldn’t delegate what wasn’t documented.

What We Did

We conducted an Operations Audit focused on their client lifecycle—from first contact through ongoing service delivery.

The audit revealed:

• 47 distinct steps in their onboarding process
• 23 of those steps were manual but could be automated
• No single source of truth for client status
• Inconsistent follow-up timing (some clients waited days for responses)
• Duplicate data entry across 3 different systems

We built a systematic onboarding machine:

Automated Document Collection

• New clients receive a branded portal link
• Smart checklists guide them through required documents
• Automatic reminders for missing items (no more manual follow-up emails)
• Secure upload with automatic organization

Workflow Automation

• When documents are complete, staff gets notified
• Client data auto-populates into practice management software
• Folder structures created automatically
• Welcome sequence triggered with next steps

Process Documentation

• Every step documented with clear ownership
• Decision trees for common variations (business type, service level, etc.)
• Training materials for new staff

The Results

Immediate impact:

• Onboarding time dropped from 2 weeks to 2 days average
• Staff stopped spending hours on follow-up emails
• New clients commented on the “professional, organized” experience

After six months:

• 12 hours/week of admin time redirected to billable work
• Firm took on 8 additional monthly clients (40% increase)
• Sarah finally took a two-week vacation without daily check-ins

The math:

• Implementation investment: One-time setup + ~$200/month in tools
• Staff time saved: 12 hours/week × $35/hour = $1,680/month
• Additional client capacity: 8 clients × $400/month average = $3,200/month
• ROI: Paid for itself in the first month

Key Takeaway

Sarah’s firm didn’t lack capability—they lacked systems. The expertise was there; it just wasn’t captured in a way that could scale.

By documenting the process once and automating the repetitive parts, they freed up human attention for the work that actually requires human judgment: advising clients.

This case study represents a composite of typical client engagements. Specific details have been adjusted to protect client confidentiality while accurately representing the types of challenges we solve and results we achieve.