Invoicing and chasing
The billing cycle that always waits until the weekend.
Automate billingAutomate client onboarding
Every new client, the same
twenty small jobs.
I help firms collect new-client information online, create the agreed records and assign onboarding tasks. Your team handles approvals, exceptions and client messages, with supported connections carrying information between tools.
At a glance
- The task
- Taking a new client from signed to set-up
- Who it hits
- Firms whose onboarding repeats with every client
- What changes
- Paperwork collected online, the agreed steps triggered, each task owned
- Proof
- A payroll firm and my own agency, see below
The problem
Why onboarding never gets easier
A new client says yes. Then somebody sends the engagement letter, chases the signature, asks for the bank details, asks again, creates the record in three systems, sets up the billing, sends the welcome email, and adds four tasks that only exist in one person’s head.
It works. It works every time, in fact, which is why nobody questions it. But it is the same twenty small jobs for every client, and it lands exactly when the client is forming their first impression of how organised you are.
The time matters, and so does the gap. Between the yes and the start, things go quiet, documents arrive late, and the relationship begins with a chase.
The first week tells your client what working with you will be like.
The change
What it looks like before,
and after
Today, by hand
- You send the engagement letter and wait, then chase the signature
- You ask for details by email and ask again a week later
- You retype the same information into two or three systems
- Billing is set up separately, by hand, sometimes later than it should be
- Internal tasks exist in somebody’s head or in a message
- Nobody can say where a given client is in the process without asking
Once it runs itself
- The client completes their paperwork online, at their own pace
- Missing documents create a reminder task and draft for the responsible person to check and send
- The record is created once and carried across the systems that need it
- Billing is set up from the same approved data, at the agreed moment
- Each internal step has an owner and a due date, visible to the team
- Anyone can see which clients are mid-onboarding and what is outstanding
Onlineclient paperwork, where every new client used to mean emails and details keyed in by hand
Premium Paye · payroll services
New clients used to return their paperwork manually, with the details keyed in one by one. Digital onboarding was one of three connected processes built for the founder, alongside invoicing and payment collection. A month with new clients to onboard used to run to around twelve hours of admin. It is now under one.
Read the Premium Paye case studyBuilt it
for myselfbefore ever selling it to anyone else
for myselfbefore ever selling it to anyone else
My own agency, London
Before 10PM I founded and ran an after-school nanny agency in London, employing the nannies. Hours were counted automatically in Deputy, carried through to Xero, with direct debits collected from families and payments made out to the nannies. I built that chain because I was the one who would otherwise have spent every Sunday on it.
More about how I workStart with a clear first week.
Use ten editable onboarding steps with owners, due dates and notes. A blank download and a fictional completed example are included.
In practice
Give every step an owner
| Can repeat | Stays with your team |
|---|---|
| Forms, record creation and internal tasks | Approving the engagement and checking unusual information. |
| Missing-document flags and reminder drafts | Deciding what to request and sending client messages. |
| Supported billing and document connections | Confirming terms, payment setup and any professional checks. |
How we get there
From your first question
to a working solution.
Onboarding shapes your client’s first experience of the business. We examine the repeated steps, missing information and ownership before deciding which changes would help.
First, a free 15-minute conversation to understand the challenge and agree the appropriate next step.
Understand your business
We explore the process, what you want to achieve and how your team prefers to work. I challenge the proposed solution if the underlying problem is different.
You receiveA clear process map, written recommendations and an agreed priority.
Check the tools and feasibility
During separately scoped Process Design, I check the connections, permissions, costs and exceptions that could affect the solution.
You receiveA documented workflow, feasibility findings and the requirements for a reliable build.
Agree the scope and price
Before implementation, we agree what will be built, the timeline, responsibilities and how we will check that it works.
You receiveA written proposal with a fixed build price, acceptance checks and any ongoing costs.
Build and test
I build the agreed solution and test normal cases, exceptions and approvals. Your team reviews it against the checks we agreed.
You receiveA working solution, a demonstration and the agreed checks completed before handover.
Document, train and hand over
I show your team how to use the solution, what to monitor and how to handle exceptions. We clarify ownership and support.
You receivePractical instructions, a walkthrough and clear support terms so your team can run it.
One recurring processFocused Process Review · £350Several connected prioritiesBusiness Process Review · from £650
Discovery, Process Design and implementation each have an agreed scope and fee. You choose the appropriate discovery service; buying both is not required. Testing, documentation and team handover are included in the agreed implementation scope.
Will it feel impersonal to the client?
Online forms, clear task ownership and timely reminder drafts can make onboarding easier to follow. Your team keeps the welcome, the client conversation and the decision to send each message.
Our onboarding is different for every client.
Often it is different in two or three known ways, not infinitely. Design starts by separating what genuinely varies from what only feels like it does. What varies stays with a person. What repeats gets built.
Do we need new software?
Often not. Many firms already own a CRM, a document tool and an accounting system that can talk to each other. Where a real gap exists, I say so and explain the cost before you commit to anything.
What about compliance and identity checks?
The process can collect required information and track which checks are outstanding, where your tools support it. The professionally responsible person performs or approves the checks and decides whether the client can proceed.
How long before it is running?
It depends on how many systems are involved and how clean the data is. I set the timing and the scope at the end of Process Design, before the build is quoted, so you are not agreeing to an open-ended project.
Keep reading
Related
Your business
What happens in your first week?
Walk me through the last client you onboarded. Fifteen minutes is often enough to see where the time goes.
15 minutes · No charge
Prefer to write? [email protected]