Using Dubsado to Onboard New Clients for Bookkeepers

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Just because we’re bookkeepers, doesn’t mean we have to complicate our new client onboarding -right? That’s where Dubsado comes into the picture. If you’re new here, Dubsado is a business management software that helps cut out all the busywork and allows you easily onboard new bookkeeping clients.

Dubasdo allows you to:

• Capture leads

• Manage bookkeeping clients

• Send proposals

• Manage contracts & invoices

• Schedule emails for easy onboarding

Of course there’s more, but those are the key elements of successfully onboarding and managing the client relationship! Although, the best part of Dubsado may be the fact that it’s free for up to three clients FOREVER.

Or, if you’ve decided you’re ready to take the next step and implement Dubsado for onboarding your bookkeeping clients - you can sign up for FREE here.

As a bookkeeper, you know how much time onboarding a client can take - it’s kinda ridiculous. Dubsado cuts out the middle bit - including the time!

If you haven’t already, download my FREE New Client Onboarding email for bookkeepers that you can easily add to your Dubsado below.

OnBoarding Bookkeeping Clients with Dubsado

The more clients you have, the more you realize how much time it takes to onboard a new bookkeeping client. You have to set-up the proposal, handle the back-and-forth, manage invoices, and get started with the ACTUAL bookkeeping work.

Luckily, we have Serena Shoup, a bookkeeping, accounting, and Dubsado onboarding wiz! She’s developed a system that allows you to basically onboard new clients as you sleep -  living the dream!

As with any new client onboarding, it’s put together piece-by-piece and gathers their:

• Interests

• Information

• Budget

• Emails

• Invoices

• Contracts

• Proposals

It’ll get any and all information that you may need (and keep it all in one place) so you can get started on the fun part! Aka the actual bookkeeping.

1. Capture a Lead Through Dubsado

One of my favorite features in Dubsado is the ability to create & embed a customized lead capture form. Just in-case you’re not familiar with this terminology, it means you can create a questionnaire that potential clients (aka leads) can fill out.

This questionnaire can be used to record their contact information or even schedule a call or meeting (via a free scheduler in Dubsado). Technically, you can also use it to auto-initiate a proposal!

Depending on how you set-up the form, your lead can select their interests - bookkeeping, accounting, taxes, etc - and it’ll auto-deliver an email workflow that is catered to it! Of course, you’ll have to set up said onboarding workflow…

Pssst… Serena has an amazing step-by-step guide on how to do this in Dubsado! You can check it out here.

2. Deliver a Proposal via Dubsado

I’ll let you know now, a proposal is just a fancy service list or package form. It’s a way to send your services to a bookkeeping lead or prospect for them to look over.

Dubsado has a proposal template that you can fill out and use to deliver gorgeous & informative proposals to potential clients. It has a relatively simple set-up and uses a drag and drop tool for building.

Before you get started with your proposals though, you’ll need to go ahead and set up your packages! Dubsado has a section that allows you to create items and then build packages to automatically/quickly use for clients (they even have an easy set-up for discounts + add ons).

3. Engagement Letters and Contracts

Since Dubsado makes the whole process easy, it lets you link a proposal to a contract/engagement letter. To do this, you’ll need to go ahead and set up the letter template BEFORE the proposal - everything in Dubsado works from the ground up.

You can find contract templates by going to Forms > Contracts and can build your own, or copy and paste into Dubsado. Remember, it is extremely important to have a good engagement letter to protect your firm.

To set up your own engagement I suggest following the guidelines found in Serena’s Onboarding on Autopilot with Dubsado course  - which helps you build around your old engagement letters and automate their delivery.

4. Invoicing in Dubsado

You’ll love, love, love the invoicing system used in Dubsado. No matter how detailed it is on the backend (sometimes stuff gets messy, ya know?) your bookkeeping clients will receive a simple email with an ‘invoice’ button and a clean check-out.

You can set up one-time payments, recurring payments, and even scheduled payments by date or time. Dubsado is even working on a way for clients to auto-pay invoices from you in the future!

And of course, Dubsado makes invoices easy to automatically deliver after an engagement letter is signed! Which - I’ll go ahead and tell you - lowers the risk of having to chase down payments from your new bookkeeping clients.

5. Send Automatic Emails

I’m sure you’re familiar with the idea of ‘automatic emails’ or email workflows. Well, Dubsado can do it too!

Inside of Dubsado, you have the ability to create canned emails in Templates that are sent once a lead begins your overall workflow. This could be by answering your questionnaire or by you manually adding them into your system.

Either way, Dubsado will send them through your pre-set email workflow. This can include:

• Welcome email

• Account set-up

• Information retrieval

This is one of the sections of Dubsado you can get creative with! You can send out email updates, create special deals, and more!

If you need some inspiration on sending the perfect New Client Onboarding email for your bookkeeping clients, download my free email here.

Dubsado Upgrades Your New Bookkeeping Client Onboarding

Not going to lie, Dubsado adds a level of professionalism that is lacking when you don’t have a set onboarding process. Your templates allow you to control what you say, even when you’re not feeling it.

Having a workflow in general can save you time and clients and you won’t have to worry when you’re on vacation, it’s a weekend, or you just need a day to yourself.

And for those of you who are looking to take their bookkeeping practice to the next level, you’ll actually have free time to focus on your personal projects - rather than being bogged down with client work.

This is why Onboarding on Autopilot, an online mini-course by Serena Shoup. It takes the guesswork out of setting up a successful onboarding system. You are walked through everything from capturing leads to getting your first invoice paid!

I highly recommend following her 'Onboarding on Autopilot' course! If you’re going to do something, why not invest and get it right the first time around?