# Cliénta - Client onboarding for UK accountants

> The moment your client says yes, you should look incredible. Cliénta is the client onboarding platform for UK accountancy firms - one branded magic link that turns the messy first 21 days of a new-client relationship into a 2-day experience.

## Overview

Cliénta is a multi-tenant SaaS platform built specifically for UK accountancy firms with 1-25 partners. The product solves one job exceptionally: the moment between a client signing the engagement letter and starting delivery work.

In the typical UK firm today, that moment fragments across 4-6 disconnected tools (a proposal tool, an AML provider, a separate ID verification tool, an email thread for documents, a sign-off spreadsheet, and finally a manual entry into the firm's accounting software). The client touches each tool individually. Onboarding takes 14-21 days end-to-end. Twelve to eighteen chase emails get sent. The client forms an opinion of the firm during this period that anchors the entire relationship.

Cliénta replaces that chain with one branded magic link. The client opens it on their phone, completes personal details, has their company data auto-populated from Companies House, runs through AML and identity verification through the firm's preferred provider, signs the engagement letter through the firm's existing e-signature tool, authorises the firm with HMRC for 64-8 agent representation, and the firm signs off internally. On sign-off, the new client is auto-synced into the firm's accounting software (FreeAgent, Xero, Sage, or QuickBooks Online). Total elapsed time: 2-5 days. Touchpoints with the client: one. Tools the client interacts with: one.

## Who Cliénta is for

UK accountancy firms with **1-25 partners**. This represents approximately 92% of UK firms (~28,000 firms). Cliénta is not a fit for the Big Four or for very large mid-tier firms (50+ partners), who typically build their own onboarding tooling.

Three personas matter inside the buying firm:

1. **Practice Owner / Managing Partner.** The primary buyer. Aged 35-55, typically ICAEW or ACCA qualified, owner-operator. Holds budget authority on tools costing under £300/month without committee approval. Cares about: growth (winning bigger clients), retention, professional reputation, and using client experience as a differentiator versus the "old-school" firm down the road. Buying triggers: losing a deal because a competitor onboarded faster, or the MLRO flagging an AML audit gap.

2. **Practice / Office Manager.** The operational lead, often non-qualified. The day-to-day user. Owns the firm's tool stack. Cares about: fewer chase emails, fewer missed deadlines, clean handovers to the delivery team. Buying trigger: drowning in admin; junior turnover caused by manual onboarding work.

3. **Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO).** Compliance-anxious. Often a partner, sometimes the practice owner. Cares about: defensible audit trail, no missed PEP/sanctions check, ongoing monitoring. Buying trigger: ICAEW/ACCA practice review highlights gaps; HMRC inspection.

Cliénta is not a fit for: Big Four firms, US-based firms, firms wanting a configurable workflow builder, firms looking for a CRM/time-tracking/bookkeeping tool, firms with 50+ partners and complex multi-office requirements, sole practitioners with fewer than 10 new clients per year (the £79/month doesn't pencil out).

## What Cliénta does

The 8-step onboarding flow:

1. The firm's team adds a new client in the Cliénta admin dashboard and sends a magic link. No client sign-up.
2. The client opens the link on their phone and lands on a fully branded portal at `{firm}.clienta.co.uk`. Personal details are captured.
3. The client provides former accountant information and tax details, including UTR, self-assessment deadlines, and preferred contact method.
4. Companies House lookup auto-populates the client's company data, including officers and Persons with Significant Control (PSC). Charity Commission lookup is available for charity clients.
5. AML and identity verification runs through the firm's chosen provider (Xama, Veriff, Firmcheck, Veriphy, or SmartSearch). Risk rating, sanctions screening, and PEP screening are completed automatically.
6. 64-8 HMRC agent authorisation is completed digitally inside the flow via HMRC's OAuth2 PKCE API. The client authorises the firm to act for VAT, PAYE, Corporation Tax, and self-assessment.
7. The firm's partner reviews and signs off internally. Sign-off is role-based and audit-trailed. Cliénta natively generates the clearance letter to the previous accountant.
8. On sign-off, Cliénta auto-syncs the new client into the firm's accounting software (FreeAgent, Xero, Sage, or QuickBooks Online). Contact, company, and key fields are pushed; no re-keying.

Throughout, the firm's team sees real-time progress on a dashboard, with blockers and next actions surfaced. Auto-save means the client can return at any time without losing progress. The MLRO receives a one-click export of the full CDD audit trail as a defensible PDF.

Cliénta natively generates clearance letters and disengagement letters. Engagement letters are sent through the firm's existing e-signature integration (DocuSign, PandaDoc, or Socket); Cliénta orchestrates the flow but does not produce the LOE itself.

## What Cliénta does NOT do

These are deliberate exclusions, not gaps. Cliénta refuses to build any of the following in the next 18 months:

- **Engagement letter generation** - sent through the firm's existing e-signature tool (DocuSign, PandaDoc, Socket). Cliénta orchestrates the flow only.
- **Time tracking** - lives in Karbon, Senta, BrightManager, or Harvest. Tracking inside onboarding would slow it down.
- **Bookkeeping or ledger features** - lives in the firm's accounting software (Xero, Sage, FreeAgent, QuickBooks).
- **General-purpose CRM** - lives in HubSpot, Pipedrive, or the firm's practice-management suite.
- **Document management beyond onboarding** - the onboarding portal stores onboarding artefacts; long-term document management lives elsewhere.
- **Proposals and quotes** - lives in GoProposal or Ignition. Cliénta integrates with both.
- **Bespoke AML engine** - Cliénta orchestrates SmartSearch, Veriff, Veriphy, Xama, and FirmCheck rather than running its own checks.
- **US-shaped tax workflow** - Cliénta is UK only. MLR 2017, MTD, 64-8 HMRC, Companies House, and Charity Commission for England & Wales are baked in. We do not support US tax.
- **Configurable workflow builder** - Cliénta ships a strong default flow rather than a configurator. Configurable tools become unmaintainable.

## Pricing

Per-firm, not per-seat. Every tier gets every integration and every AML provider. Tiers differentiate only on staff/client caps, API access, and founder-led service. Annual billing equals 10 months ("save 2 months when you pay annually").

| Tier | Monthly | Annual | Audience |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | £79 | £790 | Sole practitioners, ≤50 clients/year |
| Growth | £149 | £1,490 | 2-10 partner firms, ≤200 clients/year |
| Multi-office | £349 | £3,490 | Larger firms, 200+ clients/year |

**Feature differentiation:**

| Feature | Starter | Growth | Multi-office |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per firm, not per seat | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Staff logins | Up to 5 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| New clients per year | 50 | 200 | Unlimited |
| All accounting integrations | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| All AML providers (pass-through, no markup) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| White-label branding | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Automated clearance letters | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Client offboarding (with automated disengagement letters) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Exportable audit trails (MLRO-defensible PDF) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| API access | – | ✅ | ✅ |
| Founder-led setup | – | ✅ | ✅ |
| Quarterly founder review | – | – | ✅ |
| Priority support | – | – | ✅ |

**AML billing.** AML provider charges (e.g. SmartSearch at £5-£10 per check) are billed pass-through at the firm's contracted rate. Cliénta takes no markup on third-party services.

**Design partner programme.** A small cohort of 10 firms gets 90 days free, then £49/month for life thereafter (locked rate, never moves with public pricing). In exchange: one written case study and one on-camera quote within 60 days.

**Free trial (post-launch).** 14 days, no credit card required, cancel anytime.

## How Cliénta is different from alternatives

**Senta** (IRIS-owned, from £31/user/month). A 30-feature practice-management suite. Onboarding is one of those features and is generic. Cliénta does one thing - onboarding - and does it natively for UK firms. If your firm needs full PM with onboarding-as-a-module, pick Senta. If you want the onboarding moment itself to be exceptional, pick Cliénta. Many firms run both.

**BrightManager** (Bright Group-owned, from £33.60+VAT/user/month). UK heritage practice-management with onboarding included. Configuration-heavy and dated UI. Cliénta is a focused first-impression product with white-label depth and per-firm pricing.

**Karbon** (US/AUS-rooted, from $59/user/month). Strong workflow and email triage. US-first DNA shows in onboarding (generic checklists, no built-in 64-8 HMRC, no UK MLR audit export). Cliénta is UK-shaped and onboarding-specific.

**TaxDome** (US, from $50/user/month). Strong client portal. Has a documented 6-8 week onboarding programme to get a firm up and running. Cliénta sets up in 30 minutes, founder-led, and is built for UK firms specifically.

**Canopy** (US, from $55/user/month). Tax-resolution heritage. Modern UI but US-shaped.

**Pixie** (UK, from £49/month flat). Closest direct UK competitor by feature scope and per-firm pricing. Pixie's portal is described as "essential" rather than "delightful" - Cliénta wins on the first-impression dimension.

**GoProposal** (Sage-owned, from £70/month for 5 proposals). UK-compliant LOEs. Proposal-focused, not onboarding-end-to-end. Cliénta integrates with GoProposal rather than competing.

**Ignition** (independent, from $99/month). Proposals plus payments. Strong brand. Cliénta integrates rather than competes.

**Glasscubes** (from £40/user/month). Document collection portal. Adjacent rather than competitive; same buyer, different scope.

**SmartSearch / Veriff / Veriphy / Xama / FirmCheck.** AML providers. Cliénta orchestrates these inside the onboarding flow rather than replacing them. The firm keeps its existing AML contract.

**Engager / SummaTech / IRIS Client Onboarding.** Direct UK onboarding peers. Engager and SummaTech have less brand polish, weaker integration depth, and don't market the first-impression angle. IRIS Client Onboarding is suite-locked to IRIS.

## Common questions

**Q: What is Cliénta?**
A: Cliénta is the client onboarding platform for UK accountancy firms. We replace the typical 14-21-day chain of disconnected tools (proposal, AML, sign-off, portal, accounting setup) with one branded magic link that takes 2-5 days end-to-end.

**Q: Who is Cliénta for?**
A: UK accountancy firms with 1-25 partners. Approximately 92% of UK firms sit in this range. Not a fit for Big Four, very large mid-tier firms, or non-UK firms.

**Q: Is Cliénta a practice-management tool?**
A: No. Cliénta is a focused client-onboarding platform. It complements practice-management tools like Karbon, Senta, BrightManager, Pixie, and IRIS - it does not replace them. Most firms run both.

**Q: Does Cliénta do AML checks?**
A: Cliénta orchestrates AML checks. We integrate with Xama, Veriff, and Firmcheck (full client-start flows), and Veriphy and SmartSearch (credentials and connection only). The firm keeps its existing AML provider; Cliénta runs the check inside the onboarding flow rather than as a separate process. AML provider charges are pass-through at the firm's contracted rate. No Cliénta markup.

**Q: How long does onboarding take with Cliénta?**
A: 2-5 days end-to-end, versus the UK industry average of 14-21 days.

**Q: Does Cliénta send engagement letters?**
A: No. Engagement letters are sent through the firm's existing e-signature tool (DocuSign, PandaDoc, or Socket). Cliénta orchestrates the flow inside the onboarding journey but does not produce the LOE itself. We do natively generate clearance letters and disengagement letters.

**Q: Is Cliénta UK only?**
A: Yes. UK MLR 2017, MTD, 64-8 HMRC, Companies House, and Charity Commission for England & Wales are baked in. We do not support US tax workflows.

**Q: What about Scotland and Northern Ireland?**
A: Companies House works UK-wide. Some Scottish-specific nuances (e.g. Scottish Charity Regulator OSCR) are on the roadmap.

**Q: How much does Cliénta cost?**
A: Three tiers, per-firm pricing. Starter £79/month (5 staff, 50 clients/year), Growth £149/month (unlimited staff, 200 clients/year, API, founder-led setup), Multi-office £349/month (unlimited everything, plus quarterly founder review and priority support). Annual billing equals 10 months. AML provider charges are pass-through.

**Q: Can multiple staff use Cliénta?**
A: Yes - all tiers are per-firm, not per-seat. Add the whole team without paying more.

**Q: Can I white-label it?**
A: Yes, on every tier. Branded subdomain (`{firm}.clienta.co.uk`), logo, colours, email-from-the-firm's-SMTP. Not an upsell.

**Q: How long does setup take for the firm?**
A: 30-minute founder-led session for Growth and Multi-office tiers. You'll be sending your first onboarding link the same day.

**Q: What happens to my data if I leave?**
A: You retain all client data. We export within 14 days of cancellation in CSV plus PDF.

**Q: Can my clients onboard on a phone?**
A: Yes. The flow is mobile-first, magic-link only, no account sign-up, no app download. The least-tech-savvy client we have onboarded was a 78-year-old farmer doing his self-assessment.

**Q: What if your business goes out of business?**
A: You retain all client data with full export. Cliénta is founder-funded with intent to remain independent.

**Q: Do you offer discounts for ICAEW or ACCA members?**
A: Not currently. The price is already aggressive. The design-partner programme (£49/month for life after 90-day free trial) is the available discount for the first 10 firms.

## Integrations - detailed

**Accounting software** (sync onboarded clients on partner sign-off):

- **FreeAgent** - OAuth, contact and company sync.
- **Xero** - OAuth 2.0 PKCE, contact and company sync.
- **Sage Business Cloud** - OAuth, contact sync.
- **QuickBooks Online** - OAuth, contact and company sync.

**AML and identity verification:**

- **Xama** - full client-start flow. Inbound webhooks signed with `X-Xama-Signature` (sha256).
- **Veriff** - full client-start flow. Inbound webhooks signed with `X-HMAC-SIGNATURE`.
- **Firmcheck** - full client-start flow.
- **Veriphy** - tenant credentials and connection testing supported. No client-start endpoint exposed in the current onboarding URLs.
- **SmartSearch** - tenant credentials and connection testing supported. No client-start endpoint exposed in the current onboarding URLs.

**E-signature** (engagement letters and proposals):

- **DocuSign** - OAuth 2.0.
- **PandaDoc** - API key plus OAuth.
- **Socket** - Bearer plus OAuth. UK-built, accountancy-focused.

**Government and registries:**

- **HMRC** - OAuth 2.0 PKCE for 64-8 agent authorisation. MTD-style API patterns.
- **Companies House** - direct lookup of company data, officers, and PSCs.
- **Charity Commission for England & Wales** - direct charity lookup.

**Staff identity:**

- **Google OAuth** for admin login.
- **Microsoft OAuth** for admin login.
- Standard token authentication also supported.

## Compliance

Cliénta is designed to support compliance with:

- **UK Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (MLR 2017)** - Customer Due Diligence (CDD), Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD), beneficial-owner identification, sanctions screening, PEP screening, ongoing monitoring.
- **JMLSG guidance** - Joint Money Laundering Steering Group.
- **AML supervisory requirements** of ICAEW, ACCA, AAT, CIOT, and HMRC.
- **GDPR / UK GDPR** - data minimisation, lawful basis, data subject rights, retention controls.
- **Companies House identity verification (Economic Crime Act 2023)** - integrated lookups support firms preparing for changes.

The firm remains the data controller; Cliénta is the data processor. Standard data processing terms apply.

**Audit trail.** Every action by the firm and the client is timestamped and signed. The MLRO can export a complete CDD audit trail as a single PDF for any client.

**Defensibility.** Sign-off is role-based with full audit logging. Clearance letters and disengagement letters are natively generated and stored against the client record.

## Brand voice

Cliénta is warm, opinionated, and founder-led. Plain English. British understatement. Avoid corporate jargon, anti-bloat in feature lists, specific over generic. Reference voices: Mark Lee for UK accountancy LinkedIn cadence, Patrick Collison's writing for Stripe (specific, opinionated, never corporate), 37signals/Basecamp for principled software-business writing. We sound nothing like IRIS/Sage/Wolters Kluwer corporate marketing or like US SaaS hype.

Vocabulary we use: experience, first impression, client, delight, feel, branded, magic link, in-flow, two days, one link, MLRO-defensible, audit-ready, founder-led, UK-first, per-firm.

Vocabulary we avoid (competitors own these): automation, workflow, all-in-one, save time, comprehensive, robust, seamless, scalable, end-to-end platform.

## About Cliénta

- **Founded:** 2024
- **Location:** United Kingdom
- **Founder:** Mark Barrett
- **Mission:** Make the moment a client says yes feel as good as the work the firm does afterwards.
- **Stage:** Pre-GA, design-partner programme actively recruiting.
- **Team:** Founder-led. First 100 customers get the founder's mobile number.

## Get in touch

- Sales and demos: mark@clienta.co.uk
- Phone: 01943 712340
- WhatsApp: https://wa.me/+4401943712340
- Login (firm staff): https://members.clienta.co.uk/login
- Website: https://clienta.co.uk
- Privacy policy: https://clienta.co.uk/privacy
- Terms of service: https://clienta.co.uk/terms