SaveClient B is a two-person landscaping company. The bookkeeper they used for years has retired. Three bank accounts, a card they forgot to mention, and no signed letter anywhere in the file. Three weeks later the letter is still unsigned and last year’s return is a photo of a photo.
If that is the week you are in, the software is probably not the first problem. The new client onboarding checklist is. This page is for the next decision: whether a tool will fix the slow step, and which kind of tool, at a price you can check on the vendor’s own site.
Free download
Onboarding software scorecard. Weight the checks, score up to three tools, and the sheet totals each column. Excel workbook · CSV (in Google Sheets: File, then Import).
The example sheet is filled in for Client B, invented. It is not a verdict on any product. Prices are in the comparison workbook, checked 3 Nov 2026.
What client onboarding software does
Client onboarding software takes a new client from yes to ready-to-work in one place. It sends the proposal and engagement letter for e-signature, collects intake answers and documents with automatic reminders, runs ID checks where required, and hands the client into your recurring work.
That is the job. A portal, a practice platform and a proposal tool each cover a slice of it. Buying a slice you already do on paper is how firms end up with two logins and the same unsigned letter.
Do you need it yet?
Three questions, before a demo.
How many new clients arrive in a month? Under about five, a checklist, a tracker and an e-signature tool are enough. The reminders are annoying and still few. Over that, someone is always mid-onboarding, and a spreadsheet tab starts lying.
How many people touch a new client? If it is only you, you can hold the status in your head for a while. The day a second person asks “where are we with the landscaper?”, the status has to live somewhere both of you can open.
Does your country require an ID check before you start? UK firms do. US firms e-signing Form 8879 remotely have an identity step. If the answer is yes, “we’ll collect a passport copy by email” is the thing to replace first.
Client B’s firm, four new clients a month and one bookkeeper, can stay on the checklist until a second person joins or the unsigned letters pile up. A ten-person tax firm in January cannot.
If the letter and the document list are the slow part, send the free checklist before you buy anything. If you want that first month set up so you are not rebuilding it per client, we can help with that.
The evaluation checklist
Score a tool on the failure, not on the feature list. These are the eight checks, then the same idea in more detail.
- Engagement letter and e-signature.
- Intake forms you can edit per service.
- Document requests with automatic reminders.
- ID checks where your country needs them.
- Security: MFA, encryption, access logs, and where the data is stored.
- Handover into recurring work.
- A full export if you leave.
- Total cost at your client count, not the headline price.
The scorecard is this list with a weight and a score. Thirty rows, six groups.
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Proposal and letter | |
| Sends the engagement letter for e-signature | An unsigned letter is not a scope. The engagement letter template is a starting point if you do not have one. |
| You can edit the letter per service | Monthly books and a T1 should not share one paragraph of scope. |
| The client can sign on a phone | An account they must create first is where Client B’s letter stalled. |
| The signed copy stays on the client | Next March, someone other than you will need it. |
| Room for a separate consent | In the US, Section 7216 consent is its own form. |
| Intake and documents | |
| Intake questions you can edit per service | A café and a holding company are different forms. |
| A request list with a status on each item | “Pending” does not tell you which bank is missing. |
| Automatic reminders | The chase is the slow step. One list, repeated, is the whole method in stop chasing clients for documents. |
| Upload from a phone | Last year’s return arrives as a photo. |
| One screen of what is still missing | Three email threads is how the second card gets lost. |
| ID checks | |
| A check exists where your country requires one | See the country table. Do not pay for a step you can skip. |
| You can turn the check off | A UK AML check and a US Form 8879 check are not the same product. |
| A person reviews the result | The tool collects. Someone at the firm accepts. |
| The fee per check is visible first | Per-check pricing changes a busy January. |
| You keep a record | You will be asked for it later, often not by the client. |
| Security | |
| MFA for staff | A shared portal password is the failure. |
| MFA for clients, and you can require it | Clients hold the tax data too. |
| Encryption in transit and at rest | Ask where this is written. |
| A log of who opened or changed a file | Useful the week someone leaves. |
| The vendor says where data is stored | You are still responsible for it. A client portal guide covers the questions to ask. |
| Handover | |
| Finished onboarding opens the recurring job | Otherwise the new client sits in a folder. |
| A template for the monthly job or the return | Onboarding that does not become next month’s checklist was only a form. |
| Kick-off notes stay on the client | The summary you sent after the call should still be there in March. |
| Someone else can see status | You should not be the status report. |
| A client who goes quiet is visible | Silence is a status. |
| Price and leaving | |
| Total cost at your client count | Per user, per client and a flat tier are different bills. The models are compared in accounting practice management software. |
| What happens past the included volume | The 151st client, or the 21st open request, is the surprise. |
| Export of clients, files and signed letters | A portal you cannot leave is a cabinet you do not own. |
| A trial long enough for two real clients | A demo of a happy path is not a trial. |
| You know the contract length | Twelve months is a different decision from cancel any time. |
Requirements by country
The software does not make you compliant. It should make the required step hard to skip.
| Country | What onboarding should help with | Where to read it |
|---|---|---|
| United States | A written security plan, safeguarding taxpayer data, and identity checks for a remote e-signature on Form 8879. A separate Section 7216 consent if tax data is used for anything beyond the return. | IRS Pub 4557, Pub 5708, Pub 1345, the Safeguards Rule (16 CFR Part 314), Section 7216 |
| United Kingdom | Anti-money-laundering supervision, and identity checks before the work starts. | GOV.UK accountancy supervision |
| Canada | You stay accountable for client data a vendor holds, including outside Canada. | Assessing third-party providers and processing data across borders |
| Australia | Engagement terms and client-identity duties for registered tax and BAS agents. | TPB letters of engagement and client verification |
The Safeguards Rule link is the rule text in the Code of Federal Regulations. The FTC’s plain-language guide was not returning a page from our check on 3 Nov 2026.
Onboarding tools compared, with 2026 prices
Prices below were read on each vendor’s own pricing page on 3 Nov 2026. They will move. The comparison sheet has the same figures, the billing notes, and a cell where you type your own staff and client counts.
| Tool | What it covers in onboarding | Price on 3 Nov 2026 | How it charges |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canopy | Questionnaires, document lists, proposals and letters with e-signature. KBA is an add-on. | Standard $74, Plus $109, Premium $149 per user/month, billed annually. KBA $1.25 a credit. | Per user, plus add-ons |
| TaxDome | Intake, organizers, proposals and letters, a client app. | From $1,500 a year for up to 150 active clients, 20 seats included. AI add-on $200 a month. | Per active client, annual only |
| Karbon | Engagements inside the practice plans, plus client requests. | Team $59 per user/month annual ($79 monthly, and monthly needs 4 or more users). Business $89 annual / $99 monthly. | Per user |
| Financial Cents | Client requests, a portal, proposals and e-signature. | Solo $19/month annual. Team $49 and Scale $69 per user/month annual. 14-day trial. 12-month agreement. | Per user |
| Pixie | Workflow templates, client tasks, a document portal, e-sign. | $129/month under 250 clients, $199 for 251 to 500, $329 for 501 to 1,000. Unlimited users. 30-day trial. | Flat fee by client band |
| Clustdoc | A branded onboarding portal, forms, e-signature, identity checks. | Pro $190/month: 3 seats, 50 new applications a month. Higher tiers have no price on the page. | Flat tier |
| Content Snare | Requests for files and answers. Clients open a link. | Basic $35/month annual ($42 monthly): 20 active requests, 2 users. 14-day trial. | Flat tier |
| Anchor | Proposals, agreements, automated billing. | $0 subscription. Anchor deducts $5 when you receive a payment. | Per payment |
| Ignition | Proposals, engagement letters, payments. | See vendor pricing. A 14-day trial is offered. Plan prices did not load on 3 Nov 2026. | See vendor pricing |
| Workiro | E-signature (Just Sign) and document workflows (Full Control). | From US$25 per user/month billed annually, or from US$45 for Full Control. The page says “plans from”. | Per user |
TaxDome’s $1,500 is a minimum. A firm with 60 active clients pays the same as a firm with 150. That single fact changes the shortlist, which is why the TaxDome alternatives page starts there.
Cheaper ways to start
Three pieces cover the same week until the volume justifies a platform.
- The ten-step checklist.
- A tracker with one row per client. The Client Onboarding & Document Tracker is ours, and it’s free. It will not e-sign a letter.
- An e-signature tool you already pay for, plus a file-request link. Content Snare is that link as a product. Anchor does the letter and the billing with no subscription: it deducts $5 when you are paid. Ignition does proposals and payments too. Its prices did not load on 3 Nov 2026, so see the vendor page.
Where AI helps in onboarding, and where a person decides
An assistant can draft the chase note, the welcome email and a summary of the kick-off call. You edit before anything is sent. Prompts are in AI prompts for accountants.
A person still sets the engagement terms, accepts an ID check, and decides that a thin prior year is catch-up at its own fee. In the US, do not paste a return into a chat tool without a Section 7216 consent. In Canada the firm stays accountable for personal information a provider holds.
Grok Bot is the one we would use, because it can sit on the tools you already have and ask before it sends. Setup is in Grok Bot for a small business. ChatGPT, Claude and Microsoft Copilot draft the same note from a paste with the name removed. Those four are compared in ChatGPT vs Claude vs Grok vs Copilot.
How to trial a tool with two clients
Use two files, with permission if the trial stores documents. The names here are invented.
Client B, the landscaper. Three bank accounts, no letter, a prior-year return that arrives late. Time the letter, the reminders, and the day the missing account is obvious.
Client D, a retired teacher with one rental. A T1, and a spouse who is not part of the engagement. Time the organizer, and whether that spouse is easy to keep out of the file.
Two weeks. In the scorecard notes, write whether the reminder went without you, whether the signed letter landed on the client, and what the add-on fees were. A shorter trial taught you the demo.
Free evaluation scorecard
Weight 1 to 3, score 0 to 3 after the trial, and the sheet multiplies them. Client B is filled in on the example tab. Wipe those scores when you start.
If two totals are close, pick the tool that finished Client B’s letter. The price grid with your own headcount is the comparison sheet. The same scorecard is linked at the top of this page. Take it into the trial.
Questions
What is client onboarding software?
It takes a new client from a yes to ready-to-work in one place. It sends the proposal and engagement letter for e-signature, collects intake answers and documents with reminders, runs ID checks where your country requires them, and hands the client into recurring work.
What should firms evaluate when selecting tax onboarding solutions?
Check the engagement letter and e-signature, intake forms you can edit per service, document requests with automatic reminders, ID checks your country actually requires, security (MFA, encryption, access logs, where data is stored), handover into recurring work, a full export if you leave, and the total cost at your client count.
What is the best client onboarding software for a small business?
It depends which small firm you are. A tax firm that lives in organizers often fits a practice platform such as TaxDome, Canopy, Karbon, Financial Cents or Pixie. A firm whose only pain is missing files can stay with a request tool such as Content Snare or Clustdoc. A firm that mainly needs the letter signed and paid can look at Anchor or Ignition. Under a handful of new clients a month, a checklist plus an e-sign tool is enough.
Is there free client onboarding software?
Anchor has no subscription and deducts $5 when you receive a payment. The other tools checked on 3 Nov 2026 publish trials rather than a free plan: Financial Cents and Content Snare for 14 days, Pixie for 30 days. A checklist and a spreadsheet tracker cost nothing ongoing if you already have a sheet.
What is tax onboarding software, and how is it different from a tax organizer?
A tax organizer is the questionnaire for one return: income, slips, dependants, the questions that change the forms. Tax onboarding software is the whole start of the relationship: the engagement letter, the organizer, the document list, reminders, the ID check where you need one, and the handoff into the return job.
What does a tax client onboarding checklist include?
A proposal, a signed engagement letter, an intake form, software access, bank and card feeds, last year's return, opening balances, a chart of accounts review, a kick-off call, and a recurring schedule. The new client onboarding checklist on this site is those ten steps.
What is the client onboarding process for an accounting firm?
Agree the scope, get the letter signed, collect the facts and the documents, confirm access and opening balances, then put the client on the recurring calendar. Software helps when that sequence is happening for several people at once and the reminders are the part falling over.
Do I need ID checks when onboarding a client?
In the UK, accountancy firms do identity checks under the money laundering rules before work starts. In the US, remote e-signature of Form 8879 needs the identity checks in IRS Publication 1345. Canada and Australia do not copy those two regimes. Read the country table on this page and your own regulator before you buy an ID-check add-on.
Can I use AI to onboard clients?
An assistant can chase missing intake items, draft the welcome email and summarise the kick-off call. A person still signs off the engagement letter and the ID check. In the US, client tax data used for anything beyond the return needs Section 7216 consent. In Canada, PIPEDA still applies to what you paste into a tool.
This guide covers running the practice, not tax law. Rules differ by country and change often, so check anything technical with your local tax authority or professional body.
