A 30-partner firm shipped client onboarding in 4 days, not 3 weeks.
Rebuilding onboarding for a mid-tier UK accountancy — replacing eight disconnected steps with a single, guided intake that partners actually trust.
Client onboarding took 3 weeks on average, involved 8 separate systems, and stalled repeatedly on manual data entry and identity checks.
Partners were losing confidence in the process; new clients formed a first impression of the firm through email chains and PDF forms.
The finance team had no reliable view of where any individual onboarding actually sat.
- 01
Mapped the real process
We sat with partners, managers and support staff for two weeks and mapped the process as it actually ran — not as the ops manual described it.
- 02
Redesigned around a single intake
One guided intake replaced eight forms. AML/KYC, engagement letters and Xero setup were sequenced behind one interface, with automatic handoffs to the responsible team.
- 03
Automated the handoffs
The bookkeeping team stopped copy-pasting between systems. Data now flows from intake to practice management to Xero without a single spreadsheet in between.
- Average onboarding fell from 21 days to 4 days.
- Partners now see a live status view for every new client.
- The support team reclaimed roughly a full day per person, per week.
If your business shares this shape, we should talk.
A quiet 60-minute consultation. No slides, no pitch.
