Before You Start

This guide assumes familiarity with practice management and proposal software concepts, and administrator access to your chosen tools.

Overview

45 min
Setup Time
Intermediate
Difficulty
Ongoing Review
Maintenance

What You’ll Learn

  • Designing an efficient client intake journey
  • Automating proposals and engagement letters
  • Streamlining document and data collection
  • Integrating tools for a seamless workflow

1. Preparation Steps

Before designing your workflow, ensure you have access to these tools:

Required Tools

  • Practice Management Software (e.g., Karbon, ClickUp)
  • Proposal & Engagement Software (e.g., Ignition, GoProposal)
  • Digital Signature Solution (often built into proposal software)

Recommended Integrations

  • Workflow Automation (e.g., Zapier, Make.com)
  • Secure Client Portal (e.g., Liscio, ShareFile)
  • Smart Data Capture (e.g., Hubdoc, Dext)

2. Choosing Your Workflow Tools

You have two main approaches, each with distinct advantages and disadvantages.

Method A: Manual Process

This approach relies heavily on manual communication and documentation.

Pros:
  • Low initial setup cost.
  • High degree of human touch.
  • Flexible for unique client needs.
Cons:
  • Error-prone and inconsistent.
  • Time-consuming for staff.
  • Poor scalability.

Method B: Automated Workflow

This involves integrating specialized tools for efficiency and consistency.

Expert Tip: For modern accounting firms, an automated onboarding workflow is no longer optional. It significantly reduces administrative burden, improves client experience, and ensures consistency and compliance.

3. Step-by-Step: Designing Your Onboarding Workflow

Here is a high-level overview of a modern automated client onboarding workflow.

Consider the data points you’ll need to collect during onboarding. An initial client intake might look like this:

{
  "client_name": "Acme Innovations Inc.",
  "contact_person": "Jane Doe",
  "email": "jane.doe@acme.com",
  "phone": "+1 (555) 123-4567",
  "service_requested": "Monthly Bookkeeping & Tax Prep",
  "estimated_start_date": "2025-11-01",
  "notes": "Referred by John Smith"
}

4. Implementing with Karbon & Ignition

  1. 1

    Define Services & Pricing in Ignition

    Set up all your service packages, pricing, and payment terms in Ignition (or similar tool). This forms the basis for your proposals.

  2. 2

    Create Proposal Templates

    Design professional and legally binding engagement letter templates in Ignition. Include your Terms of Service and any other necessary documents.

  3. 3

    Design Your Karbon Workflow

    In Karbon (or similar PM), create a new “Client Onboarding” work template. Outline all tasks from proposal acceptance to initial service delivery.

  4. 4

    Integrate with Zapier (Optional but Recommended)

    Use Zapier to connect Ignition and Karbon. For example, trigger a new “Client Onboarding” work item in Karbon upon proposal acceptance in Ignition.

Common Pitfall: Over-Complicating

Start with a simple, core onboarding process. You can always add more advanced automation and integrations once the basic flow is solid.

5. Testing Your Onboarding Flow

Test Your Workflow Checklist

  • Send a test proposal to yourself or a colleague
  • Complete client acceptance and initial payment steps
  • Verify all associated tasks trigger correctly in your PM software (e.g., Karbon)
  • Confirm client documents (ID, bank statements, etc.) are requested and stored securely

Need Help?

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Struggling to design or implement your ideal client onboarding workflow? Our experts can help you build a seamless process tailored for your firm.

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