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Start an assessmentReduce repeated work in client onboarding
Collect information once, prepare draft documents and update connected systems, with checks and exceptions handled by the responsible team. Identity and anti-money laundering decisions stay with your compliance lead.
Client onboarding automation collects a new client's information once, then uses it to request documents, look up company details, draft the engagement letter and create records in your systems. Your team checks the results and handles exceptions. How long onboarding takes still depends on how quickly the client responds, your identity verification service and your compliance decisions.
See it run
Quotes, invoices and Xero in practice
The workflow as it runs day to day, with a person signing off at the end. Sample data.
Quotes, invoices and XeroSparkles invoices and Xero: the agent reads the bank feed, matches payments by cleaning service in Xero, finds an overdue invoice and drafts a reminder for the owner to approve
The problem
Why client onboarding takes time
Client onboarding automation collects a new client's information once, then uses it to request documents, look up company details, draft the engagement letter and create records in your systems. Your team checks the results and handles exceptions. How long onboarding takes still depends on how quickly the client responds, your identity verification service and your compliance decisions.
Taking on a new client can involve several people: one chases documents, another enters details in the practice management system and a third prepares the engagement letter. The same information is often typed into more than one place, and each handover adds a chance of delay or error.
Automation reduces the re-keying. The client provides information through one form, the system checks it for gaps, drafts the documents and fills in the records, and your team reviews and approves the steps that need a decision.
What can be automated
Onboarding steps worth looking at
Requests and reminders for identification, company information and prior-year records, sent on a schedule you agree, with replies logged against the client.
Company details retrieved from Companies House and identity checks run through the verification service you use, with results and exceptions passed to your compliance lead for a decision.
Draft engagement letters prepared from the information collected and your approved template, for a partner or manager to check before it goes for signature.
Client records created in your practice management, CRM and billing systems from the same information, where those systems allow a connection.
How we help
Working with Reformat Labs
We design and build onboarding automation around the software and checks your practice already uses.
Our page on AI for finance and accountancy covers other practice workflows.
Common questions
Questions about onboarding automation
What parts of accountancy client onboarding can be automated?
Document collection and reminders, Companies House lookups, running checks through your identity verification service, drafting engagement letters and creating records in your systems. Some of these steps need ordinary rules-based automation more than AI, and we use whichever suits the step.
Does onboarding automation work with our existing practice management software?
Many practice management systems can connect to other tools through an API or an integration service. We check what yours allows during scoping and design around it. Where no connection exists, the tool can prepare information for someone to enter.
How does automation handle anti-money laundering checks?
It can collect documents, run checks through your chosen service and flag anomalies for review. Whether a client passes your anti-money laundering checks is decided by the responsible person in your practice. We map the requirements that apply with you and agree the safeguards before anything goes live.
How long does an onboarding project take?
It depends on how many steps are in scope, how many systems need connecting and what your identity verification service allows. We agree a timescale during scoping.
How do we judge whether it is worth it?
Record the staff time for each step on a sample of new clients under the current process, then compare the same steps after the change, including checking and corrections. Client response time affects both, so measure staff time separately from elapsed time.
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