# Technology for accountants, solicitors and advisers URL: https://up2.digital/industries/professional-services > Onboard clients without a stack of emails, automate the documents you draft the same way every time, and keep client communication secure and on your own domain. ## The problems we hear most from professional services - Onboarding a new client takes a string of emails chasing ID and bank details. - Engagement letters and proposals get copied from the last one and retyped by hand. - Client documents sent through a personal Gmail or Hotmail account sit oddly with what UK GDPR expects. ## What we typically set up for professional services - A **[website](/services/websites)** that explains what you do in plain English, builds trust with real information rather than jargon, and makes enquiring straightforward. - A **[CRM](/services/crm)** so every client, prospect and piece of correspondence lives in one place, instead of scattered across inboxes and someone's memory. - **[Document automation](/services/automation)** for engagement letters, proposals, reports and onboarding packs, generated from a template and the client's details rather than rewritten each time. - **[Secure email and Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace setup](/services/it-support)**, properly configured with your own domain, shared calendars and sensible access controls. We fit around how regulated professionals already work, including whichever practice management or document tools you use, rather than asking you to change how you deliver advice. ## A typical setup Here's a hypothetical walkthrough for a small consultancy: a prospective client fills in an enquiry form on the website, which creates a new record in the CRM automatically rather than landing loose in an inbox. A short discovery call is booked through a calendar link, and notes from that call go straight onto the client's record. Once the engagement is agreed, an engagement letter is generated automatically from a template, pulling in the client's name, scope and fee from the CRM record rather than being typed out by hand. It's sent for an electronic signature, and once it's signed, an onboarding checklist kicks off: document requests, a welcome email from your own domain, and a reminder a week later if anything's still outstanding. Throughout, everything sits in one client record, so if a colleague needs to pick up the file, the history is there rather than buried in someone's inbox. ## Tools we often work with in this sector We're comfortable working with Xero, QuickBooks and Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, and with practice management and document tools already common in accountancy, legal and advisory firms. If you use a sector-specific CRM or e-signature tool, we'll connect to it rather than replace it where that's possible. Where there's a genuine gap, such as no proper CRM at all, we'll suggest something sized to a small practice rather than enterprise software built for a firm ten times your size. ## Useful reading - [Why your business needs email on its own domain](/guides/professional-email-domain) - [A cyber security checklist for small businesses](/guides/cyber-security-checklist-small-business) - [Using ChatGPT and Copilot safely: a UK GDPR guide](/guides/ai-gdpr-small-business) - [How to choose a CRM for a small business](/guides/choosing-a-crm-small-business) See our [pricing](/pricing) for guide figures, or [start your project](/start?goal=admin) and tell us what's taking up too much of your week. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is it safe for a regulated firm to automate client documents? Yes, when it's set up properly. We generate documents from templates you control, store client data in systems with sensible access controls, and can talk through data protection obligations under UK GDPR as part of the setup. We're not solicitors or accountants ourselves, so always check specific regulatory requirements with your own professional body. ### Can you set up email on our own domain instead of a generic address? Yes. Professional email on your own domain, through Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, is one of the most common things we set up for advisers and consultants. See [IT support](/services/it-support) for what's included. ### We already have a practice management system. Do we still need a CRM? Not necessarily. Sometimes the fix is better use of what you have, with training and a cleaner pipeline, rather than a new system. We'll tell you honestly if that's the case after a look at your current setup. ### How do you handle client confidentiality during the project? We only access the systems needed to do the work, use secure, individual logins rather than shared passwords, and you can remove our access at any point once the project is delivered. You own all the accounts, data and documents we set up. ### How long does a typical onboarding automation project take? It varies with complexity, but most document and onboarding automation projects are scoped and delivered in a few weeks. We'll give you a realistic timeline as part of the fixed-price quote after a free call.