Ninety days. That’s all it takes to make or break a client relationship. The client onboarding experience in those first 90 days will determine whether a client stays or leaves, which is why it’s important that firms have a standardized, seamless onboarding process in place. In fact, a CommandBar survey found that 89% of respondents would switch to a competitor if the onboarding process was too complicated.
And considering that it costs five times as much to attract a new client than it does to keep one, onboarding isn’t a nice-to-have; it’s a must-have. It lays the foundation for the entire client relationship, so don’t let it be optional—make it a requirement. While creating an onboarding process may seem daunting, it’s not. Follow along as we talk through the basics, the pitfalls and the six easy steps to master client onboarding.
The 411 of client onboarding
The client onboarding process is the client’s first major interaction with your firm and sets the tone for the entire client relationship. From the moment the proposal is signed until onboarding concludes, clients should experience a seamless transition.
When a client first comes on board, the handoff between sales and your onboarding team must be frictionless. It should be so friction-free, in fact, that the client doesn’t feel that they’re changing hands from one group to another.
To provide a stellar onboarding experience, you must first have a designated process and then a dedicated team to see it through. Onboarding processes that have not been standardized or documented will lead to disjointed experiences and confused clients and team members.
Here are 4 principles to keep in mind:
- Standardize technology to maintain the consistency and efficiency of your initial onboarding steps. Intentionally select technology that reduces friction for your business and your clients.
- Standardize workflows based on your ideal clients so that their onboarding is catered specifically to their client type. For example, you would create three separate workflows for business tax clients, individual tax clients and accounting/advisory clients.
- Service ideal clients only. If you’re not sure who your ideal clients are, they’re the clients you love to serve and are great at serving. Serving only them creates a greater likelihood that the above principles will be followed.
- Be willing to change the onboarding process. Continuously improve the process to enhance client experience and make them feel like they’ve made the right decision in choosing to do business with you.
Remember, onboarding familiarizes new clients with your firm’s products and services, and it ensures compliance with your firm’s policies and procedures. Better yet, doing it correctly leads to retention, additional revenue and more profitability. Keep reading to learn about mistakes firms commonly make during the onboarding process.
Common onboarding mistakes to avoid
For accounting firms, there are several common mistakes when it comes to onboarding new clients. While this list isn’t exhaustive, it’s a good place to start when thinking about your onboarding process and what improvements to make:
1. Not starting fast enough.
Once the client signs the proposal (or contract), immediately assign them to the onboarding team and schedule a kickoff meeting. Don’t let them drag their feet on a start date. If you wait around for the client to schedule onboarding, it may fall off their radar. Take the lead and get the kickoff meeting scheduled right away.
2. Misaligned expectations.
Jumping into onboarding without aligning expectations between your firm and your new client will only lead to frustration—and, quite possibly, a client who ends up churning within 90 days. It’s imperative to make sure you set clear expectations with the client from the beginning and take into account the expectations they’ve expressed during the sales process. Better yet, have it outlined in your onboarding documentation so everyone’s on the same page.
3. Friction-full process.
Not utilizing a modern tech stack is a mistake; it creates friction for the client and your firm. Use applications that allow new clients to e-sign proposals and engagement letters, and provide them with access to your onboarding checklist (more on that later), a communication portal (i.e., a modern website), a place to upload documents (e.g., Google Drive) and a video conferencing app (e.g., Zoom).
4. Lack of standardization.
When clients onboard differently, it causes a disconnect between staff and clients. When processes are not well thought out and standardized, clients are onboarded inconsistently and essential steps get missed. An onboarding process must be in place to successfully onboard clients without missteps. And this process must be documented for both staff and clients.
5. Scope creep.
We’ve all seen it happen: Expectations aren’t set at the beginning of the onboarding process, and clients ask for something not included in their agreement. Clearly document the scope and obtain agreement from all parties before onboarding begins. Anything extra should require additional costs and be added post-onboarding.
Steps to standardize and streamline your client onboarding process
Before diving into onboarding, it’s important to start with a plan. Determine who will be involved, document a repeatable process, and keep the lines of communication open between the client, sales and the onboarding team. Business needs and goals discussed during the sales process should be documented and passed along to the onboarding team so the client doesn’t have to answer the same questions more than once.
Remember that you have 90 days to make or break the firm-client relationship, and we’re here to make sure you “make it.”
Start your onboarding process with these six steps
1. Create an onboarding checklist.
This is the first step in creating a standardized process and ensuring that all clients onboard the same way. Document this process for internal and external use so you and your new client are on the same page.
2. Automate processes.
Have the right technology in place to simplify and streamline onboarding. This includes e-signatures on proposals and engagement letters, a central cloud-based environment to upload important documents, and a screenshare service during onboarding calls to give clients a clear look at the applications they’ll be using.
3. Assign an onboarding champion.
Each client needs an onboarding champion to facilitate the process, be the point of contact for any questions and serve as a cheerleader along the way. Assign a member (or an onboarding team) to help guide them through their onboarding journey. Have at least two staff members: one who acts as a primary and the other to serve as backup. They should be outgoing, client-facing, detail-oriented, highly organized, a multitasker and flexible. The onboarding champion sets up the clients in your firm’s tech stack, serves as the project manager until the handoff (more on that below) and handles debriefs after each onboarding session to make tweaks and changes where needed in the onboarding process.
4. Have a client kickoff meeting.
Schedule a client kickoff meeting as soon as the agreement is assigned to a champion or team. During this meeting, you’ll make introductions across teams, set expectations for onboarding, align short- and long-term goals, and define key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure customer success during onboarding. Ensure everyone has a copy of the onboarding checklist.
5. Schedule an official handoff meeting.
As onboarding concludes, it’s important for clients to know who they’ll be working with post-onboarding. Have the onboarding champion schedule a meeting between the client and ongoing client services team for an introduction and seamless handoff. Doing this will ensure expectations and keep communication channels open.
6. Collect feedback.
The key to customer success is checking in with clients once onboarding has ended. Set up a meeting 30 days after onboarding has concluded to see how your new client feels and if they have questions or concerns. Gather feedback regarding the onboarding process. Could things have gone better? What went well? Obtain feedback to help tweak the onboarding process for the future.
Extra credit: Review the process annually.
It’s important to review your client onboarding process on an annual basis, in addition to tweaking it as you go. (Rightworks Academy members: Use our process scorecard tool to gather feedback for the onboarding process.) When you gather feedback from staff, make sure you’re asking the same questions and using the same rating scales each time so you get an accurate evaluation. Follow the steps below for a successful review process.
- Identify your annual evaluation date and put it on the calendar now and for the next few years. This will help keep you accountable (and you won’t forget to schedule it).
- Gather feedback from your staff. Be sure to give them enough time to organize their feedback, and consider scheduling a short meeting to review their thoughts and ideas.
- Determine what changes to make based on the feedback you received, and make a list of action items.
- Work with the onboarding champions to set goals and document and implement the changes.
- Once changes have been implemented and new processes are in place, make sure your staff continues to document feedback for the next review.
When onboarding is done right…
In our 2024 Accounting Firm Technology Survey, we found that 34% of respondents said that client collaboration was the weakest part of their current technology environment, even though collaboration is the backbone of their business. But with a solid onboarding process (and working in the cloud), you can avoid falling into this statistic. And you can reap the following benefits:
- Better client engagement and retention. When your firm’s onboarding plan is well-structured, it helps your team build stronger relationships with your clients—and increase client retention.
- Increased efficiency and profitability. A good onboarding plan reduces downtime and delays, and it gets clients onboarded quickly and easily…because everything is standardized.
- Improved clarity and expectation-setting. With an onboarding plan, there’s no scope creep because expectations are clear from the beginning. This also helps ease the burden on your staff because everything is clearly laid out.
- Better data collection and insights. Onboarding helps your firm collect important metrics and information about your clients. These details can improve your services and your onboarding process.
- Enhanced professionalism and trust. An intentional onboarding process sets a professional tone for your relationship, which helps build confidence and trust between your team and your clients.
Get cracking on adopting client onboarding best practices
Armed with the knowledge of common mistakes and the six steps to creating an unbeatable onboarding experience, it’s time to put a plan into action. Create a repeatable process, get started right away and keep lines of communication open. Ensure that the first 90 days prove you’re the right firm for the job.
And remember to tweak and adjust your onboarding plan based on client feedback. There’s always room for improvement.
For more information on how to master the client onboarding process in your accounting firm, talk to a Rightworks Academy expert.
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