Accounting sells recurring engagements with a season attached, so the pipeline must show annualised fees and the month each client would actually start. From ₹899/user/month.
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Quick answer
Enquiries come through referrals, a website form and a partner's phone. Fee quotes are typed in an email, and whether anyone followed up depends on how busy the filing calendar was that week.
The cost appears in two forms. Quotes that went quiet and were never chased, and new clients signed in the worst possible month, whose onboarding then competes directly with deadline work for the same people.
An accounting practice does not sell a transaction, it sells an ongoing relationship with a season attached. Six stages carry that: enquiry, scoping completed, fee quotation issued, engagement letter signed, handover in progress, client onboarded.
Two fields matter as much as the stages. Separate recurring from one-off fees so the pipeline shows annualised value, and record an expected start month so capacity is a decision rather than a consequence.
Scoping completed means the facts are on the record: entities, registrations, transaction volume and the true condition of the books. A quote priced on an optimistic description of the records is the most common source of unprofitable clients.
Handover ends when records, access and authorisations have all been received, not when the client promises to send them. Onboarded means the first cycle has been run, which is the point at which the fee becomes real.
The timings below suit bookkeeping, compliance and tax engagements. Audit appointments and advisory mandates follow longer approval paths and are better tracked on a separate board.
| Stage | What it means | Exit criteria (evidence) | Typical time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enquiry | Prospect contact captured | Contact reached, service need noted | 1 to 2 days |
| Scoping completed | Real requirement understood | Entities, volumes and book condition recorded | 3 to 10 days |
| Fee quotation | Written fee offer issued | Quote separating recurring and one-off fees | 1 to 5 days |
| Engagement signed | Terms accepted | Signed engagement letter on file | 1 to 4 weeks |
| Handover | Records and access transferring | Records, access and authorisations received | 1 to 6 weeks |
| Onboarded | First cycle run for the client | First period completed and billed | Closed |
Four lists. Enquiries not yet scoped. Quotations quiet for a fortnight. Signed engagements stuck in handover with the blocker named. And expected start months for next quarter against capacity.
Give parked prospects a dated review rather than leaving them open. Many businesses only change accountant at a year end, and a prospect with a review date in March is a real opportunity, while an open card is just clutter.
Recurring fee pipeline, annualised, because that is what the practice is worth. Engagements by start month against capacity, which prevents four arrivals in one fortnight. And conversion by service line and referral source.
A pipeline does not fix a discipline problem. If nobody records the true state of a prospect's books, the quote will be wrong however tidy the board looks. Start with scoping facts and quotation follow-up, and add the rest later.
This is not accounting, tax filing or document management software, and it does not touch client ledgers. It manages enquiries, scoping, quotes, engagement letters and onboarding. Client acceptance and professional communication obligations remain the firm's own.
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Every team in this space loses revenue to the same recurring gaps. Here is what they cost you and how HelloGrowthCRM closes each one.
Fee quotes are sent from personal email and forgotten, and prospects go to whichever practice replied to their second question.
Quotations sit on the record with follow-up dates, so anything untouched for a fortnight appears on a list with a partner's name against it.Aged quotation lists
The pipeline is a list of headline fees, so nobody can tell recurring work from a one-off assignment.
Recurring and one-off values are separate fields, so the practice can read annualised recurring fees and plan on the number that repeats.Recurring fee visibility
New clients are signed during the busiest months and onboarding collides with deadline work.
Every engagement carries an expected start month, so the practice can see the loading before it agrees to it and stagger starts deliberately.Start month capacity planning
Signed clients wait weeks for data from a previous accountant, and nobody owns the chase.
Handover is a tracked stage with a checklist and an owner, so outstanding records and authorisations are visible until the file is complete.Handover tracking
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