How to get more accountancy clients in the UK

The fastest way to get more accountancy clients is to stop losing the people already trying to reach you. After that, make it easy to find you and to trust you, then onboard people well, so they stay and refer.

There's a timely reason to do it now. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax reaches sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £30,000 from April 2027, and over £20,000 from April 2028. HMRC says more than 436,000 people had sent a first quarterly update by August 2026. TaxCalc, a software company, estimated about a quarter of the first wave had no accountant. I'd expect those people to start looking.

But more clients isn't always the goal. TaxCalc's survey of 215 accountancy professionals in autumn 2025 found 48% had more clients than they could manage. So I'd aim for better clients, at better fees, with less chasing.

The order to fix things

System 1: Get found

Someone with no name to go on will search. Someone with a name from a friend will search too. So you need to appear, and look like a safe choice.

Your Google Business Profile

It's free, and for a local search I'd expect it to do more than anything else on this page. Fill in everything:

• The right category, your real address or service area, and your hours.
• Each service, in plain words: self-assessment, MTD, bookkeeping, payroll.
• Real photos of you, not stock calculators.
• A short post every week or two. Deadlines are an easy subject.

Reviews

Fresh ones count. BrightLocal's 2026 survey, which is US data, found 74% of consumers look for reviews from the last three months.

Accountants have a harder job here, because a public review tells the world that person's your client. It must be their free choice. Ask everyone the same way. Don't reward it, because Google bans that, and don't only ask the happy ones, because Google bans that too. The CMA has published guidance on the law, and fake reviews are banned.

When you reply to a review, never mention anything about the person's affairs. ICAEW says confidentiality covers prospective, current and former clients. That's a hard limit, even when a review is unfair.

Your website

Say who you help, what it costs from, and how to book a call. Show your status accurately. Our guide to what an accountancy website costs lists what must be on it, and what it should cost.

AI search

I'd expect more people to ask ChatGPT or Google's AI answers who can help with MTD, and I'd expect those tools to favour practices with clear information, consistent details and honest reviews. Nobody can prove that yet, so treat it as my guess. The work's the same either way: answer real questions, keep your details correct, and collect real reviews.

Directories and referrals

Your body's directory proves your status, and your software's directory may send you clients who already use it. I'd expect referrals to remain the backbone for most practices. Read directories and referrals or your own leads before you pay anyone, and before you accept a referral fee.

System 2: Get more leads

This isn't about buying anything. It's about catching the people who've already rung or filled in your form.

• An instant text after each missed call.
• A short form that doesn't ask for tax details.
• A reply to every Facebook, LinkedIn and WhatsApp message.
• One place where all of those land, with one person who owns them.

In a June 2026 YouGov survey for Answer4u, 37% of 2,046 UK adults said they'd abandon a business call within 60 seconds, and only 6% would leave a voicemail.

An AI receptionist can help, but it's a narrower fit for accountants than for trades, and there are real risks. Wording for each stage is in our free template library.

System 3: Book more consultations

An enquiry isn't a client. Turn it into a fixed time.

1. Ask what they do, what prompted the enquiry and when the next deadline is.
2. Give a "from" fee early, so nobody wastes a call.
3. Offer two specific times, or a booking link.
4. Confirm by text, and remind them the day before.
5. Keep the first call to 20 minutes.

In that call, ask if they already have an accountant, and why they're moving. You'll want to know anyway, and it tells you what they really want.

System 4: Win more clients

Winning often comes down to how you propose, not how low you go.

• Send the proposal the same day, or the next.
• Open with what they get, not your terms.
• Offer options: compliance only, compliance with MTD, or a fuller service.
• Follow up after 3 days and 7 days. Then stop.
• Make it easy to accept online.

ICAEW's Code says the basis of your fees must be in writing. Some individuals also have a 14-day right to cancel if you engage remotely. Our fee guide explains both.

System 5: Onboard clients well

This is where a practice earns or loses its reputation. Between yes and the first useful conversation sit the engagement letter, ID checks, HMRC authorisation, a professional enquiry and software set-up.

• Send everything on the day they say yes, through one link.
• Explain why you need ID, in one plain line.
• Tell them what happens next, and when.
• Warn them about HMRC's letter, so it doesn't look like a scam.
• Start work only when due diligence is done.

The duty's yours even when the process is digital. HMRC's guidance says customer due diligence still applies if you provide services virtually or through an automated service. New CCAB guidance came out in July 2026, so it's a good time to review your onboarding documents.

Our guide to why accountants lose clients before the first meeting goes through this in detail.

System 6: Keep clients and earn referrals

In a survey by TaxZap, a tax service, reported in January 2026, 58% of self-employed respondents said they'd considered leaving their accountant, and almost a third said their accountant only appeared during tax season. There's no stated sample size, and TaxZap has a stake. Still, it's a useful warning.

• Tell clients each deadline before they ask.
• Confirm when it's filed.
• Send one useful thought a quarter, not a generic newsletter.
• Warn them about HMRC scams, and say how you'll contact them.
• Ask for referrals, once, after a good result.

Follow the marketing rules. Sole traders and some partnerships count as individuals, so marketing texts and emails need consent or the soft opt-in. Limited companies don't, though I'd be careful with a director's personal mobile. Each message in the template library says which side of that line it sits.

Your 90-day plan

Nobody's tested that sequence. It's just the order I'd work in. If it's January, do weeks 1 and 2 and leave the rest until February.

If you'd rather hand it over

Nothing above needs us. Most accountants never get round to it, though, because the client work comes first and the admin happens at 9pm. Here's what we offer, so you know where it fits:

Those are for up to three people, and larger teams pay more. Yearly billing drops the set-up fee. We don't do your due diligence, engagement letters or client work. If you're full and happy, you don't need any of it.

David Bell, founder of Real Business Systems

David helps small UK businesses get found, answer every enquiry and keep customers coming back. We sell some of the services mentioned here, and we say so where they come up.