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Client onboarding portal for accountancy firms: letters, ID, records
What I hear
Onboarding a new client means chasing emails for signed letters, ID documents and answers to the same questions. Our compliance records end up scattered across inboxes and folders.
An onboarding portal gives each new client one link. They confirm their details, read and sign the engagement letter, upload identity documents and answer the questions your firm needs, while your staff watch a live checklist instead of an inbox. Everything is stored per client with a time-stamped trail of who did and approved what.
I am deliberately not stating legal requirements here. What counts as a valid electronic signature or acceptable identity evidence is set by official guidance and your supervisory body, and your firm should confirm it with them.
What does the client see?
A short sequence on a phone or laptop, no account password to remember (a one-time emailed link is enough to start). Steps are: confirm business and contact details, review the engagement letter generated from your template with their details filled in, sign it, upload requested documents, and answer questions that vary by client type (sole trader, company, partnership). A progress bar shows what is left, and a reminder goes out if they stall.
What does your team see?
A board of clients by stage: invited, in progress, awaiting review, approved. Opening a client shows documents with who uploaded them and when, the signed letter with its signing record, the answers given, and a review panel where a named staff member marks each check as done, with notes. Anything missing is highlighted, and the portal can refuse to mark a client as onboarded until required items are complete.
How is it built?
- Templates. Engagement letters are templates with merge fields per service type, versioned so you can show which wording a client signed.
- Signing. A signing step that records the signer, time, document hash and the exact version shown. Whether this is enough, or an external provider is needed, is your legal call.
- Document storage. Encrypted files, virus-scanned on upload, with role-based access and retention dates you set so old records can be reviewed for deletion.
- Audit log. Every view, upload, approval and change is recorded and cannot be edited by ordinary users.
- Hand-off. Export of the client record as a folder or PDF pack for your practice software.
Where does it go wrong?
Poor photos of documents, clients signing from a shared email account, template wording changing mid-onboarding, and staff approving a check without really looking. The tool helps with the first three through validation and versioning. The last one is a process matter, so I log review time and reviewer so the firm can see it.
When is off-the-shelf better?
Dedicated practice-management and onboarding products exist for accountancy firms and bundle identity checking and signing. If your firm wants those bundled services and is happy with the monthly fee, buy one. A custom portal fits firms with their own wording, workflow or practice system that off-the-shelf tools do not match.
What I need from you
- Your current engagement letter templates and onboarding checklist.
- A list of documents you ask for by client type.
- Your compliance officer’s requirements for records and retention, in writing.
What it replaces
email chasing, scanned attachments and a manual onboarding checklist
How pricing works
One fixed price, agreed before I start. Optional monthly maintenance after handover.