Client onboarding software for accountants

The first step is to stop and assess your existing client onboarding process. Outline what works well and where it’s falling short.

To get started, ask questions like:

• Do we have a set (or ideal) client onboarding process, and what is it?
• How does that compare with what we actually do when onboarding a new client?
• Who in the team is involved in client onboarding?
• How long should the onboarding process ideally take?

Now, it’s time to enter “audit mode”! Map your client onboarding process down to the smallest detail, and begin picking out key data.

• Identify spots where tasks are inadvertently left to stagnate
• Who’s completing which tasks? Could tasks completed by Senior team members be delegated to junior members (with the right system in place)?
• Speak to your staff to find out where work is overlapping e.g. two employees inputting the same data on different systems
• Time how long tasks take – is there scope to cut down those times, even by a few minutes?

Getting your clients’ perspective on how they found your onboarding process can provide invaluable insight.

Was the onboarding process what they expected?

• Was there any point at which they felt frustrated or impatient to proceed?
• How did it compare to their experience of starting to work with other services?
• This could be via an informal call or a client questionnaire.

Software can make onboarding faster and more efficient by automating some of the admin involved.

Based on your overview and “audit”, pick out tasks that could be automated, for example:

• Sending out standard requirements, e.g. list of data needed for AML
• Emails chasing clients for response/information
• Emails updating clients on progress
• Company-wide ID or data checks
• Amending proposal templates.

Software like IRIS Elements can automate and provide support on a huge range of onboarding tasks.

Perhaps you already use software to make CRM, AML checks and onboarding easier. But is it pulling its weight?

Ask yourself whether there are gaps in your onboarding process where the software isn’t helping you.

If you use more than one piece of CRM/onboarding software, do they work together? If not, you may be having to work harder to compensate, such as inputting the same data into both systems.

Just because the current system works, doesn’t mean it can’t be improved.

Alongside trying on onboarding software like IRIS Elements practice management tools for size, you can also identify scope for improvement if you had better digital resources.

Can any of your paper-based processes be made digital, for example? Having a centralised, easily-updated document storage hub is one way “going digital” can improve your onboarding process.