Darren Hosiosky
A client's year has five moments that count
By the time a client moves firms, the decision is usually months old.
It builds across a handful of moments in the year. At each one, the client gets a small signal about how easy you are to deal with. Line up enough good ones, and they sign again without a second thought. Line up a few bad ones and a friend's recommendation starts to sound tempting.
Here are the five moments that matter most, in the order clients meet them, and what to get right at each.
1. The engagement letter
For existing clients, the engagement letter is the first touch of the new year. For new clients, it's the first touch, full stop.
Under the new AML rules, many firms now also need to verify a client's identity at onboarding. Handled as a separate step, that means a second email, a request to upload a licence, and days of back and forth before any work starts.
What to get right: send the letter and the ID check together, and make both easy to finish on a phone.
2. The document request
A client sends half their documents. Someone emails to ask for the rest. A week later, someone asks again.
Each follow-up feels small to your team. To the client, three emails asking for the same bank statement can feel like the firm lost track of what it asked for.
What to get right: one clear list of what you need, sent once, with reminders that go out on their own.
3. The busy-season question
In the middle of lodgement season, a client emails a quick question. It sits for days while the team works through the queue.
We covered this one in [our last post]([CONFIRM blog 1 URL]). Slow replies came up as one of the most common reasons clients give for leaving, and they hit hardest when clients have the most questions.
What to get right: a first reply within one business day, even if the full answer comes later. "Got it, I'll come back to you by Thursday" counts.
4. Signing and paying
The pack goes out. The client has to sign it, then pay the right amount to the right PRN before the due date.
A signing link sent by email alone can sit unopened for weeks. A payment made to the wrong PRN is worse. The client gets an ATO notice, even though they paid, and the first person they call is you.
What to get right: let clients sign on their phone, and give them the correct payment details at the point of signing.
5. After lodgement
Once the return is lodged, it's easy for the firm to go quiet until next year. That's also when clients have the most room to think about their business.
A short check-in while the numbers are fresh turns a compliance job into an advisory relationship. Should they change their structure? Plan for a big purchase? These are the conversations clients stay for.
What to get right: book a 15-minute call with your key clients in the weeks after lodgement.
Where Admiin fits
Moments 1, 2 and 4 are workflow problems. They sit with the admin team, and Admiin is the lodgement workflow built for that team.
The engagement letter: ID checks run in the same workflow, one click after the letter goes out. They cover DVS, PEP, sanctions, KYB and UBO checks, and are AUSTRAC compliant. You can bulk verify up to 1,000 clients at once.
The document request: clients get one request and reminders that go out on their own. [CONFIRM document request wording with Darren.]
Signing and paying: clients get the pack by SMS and email, sign on their phone, and can pay with the correct PRN already filled in.
Across firms on Admiin, 75% of documents are signed within 48 hours.
With those three moments running smoothly, your managers and partners have the time for moments 3 and 5, the reply and the conversation.
Pick one moment and fix it
Start with whichever moment your clients complain about most. If it's onboarding, documents or signing, Admiin's core workflow is free to use. You only pay for extras like white label and KYC checks.
