Client onboarding & portal invites
A practical product capability for Canadian accounting and bookkeeping practices.
Client onboarding in SpidNums takes a new client from first record to working file: create the client, add contacts with designations, assign services with a frequency and next-due date, send an engagement letter for e-signature, and invite the client to a branded portal with a magic link and temporary password. Every step lands on the same client record.
One onboarding path for every client
Portal invites with magic-link sign-in
Engagement letters before work begins
Why onboarding is where new clients slip
Onboarding usually runs on memory. The client's details arrive across a call, an email thread and a PDF; whether the letter went out, the portal got set up or the services got recorded depends on who did the intake and how busy that week was.
Each missed step surfaces months later as a scramble: a filing season starts with no fiscal year-end on record, work begins without a signed engagement letter, or a client asks for portal access that was never created. The client's first impression of the firm is formed exactly here.
How onboarding works in SpidNums
Onboarding is a short sequence against one record. Create the client with legal name, fiscal year-end, status and assigned manager, then add every contact with a designation so the signing officer and the bookkeeper are named from day one.
Assign the client's services from the Services catalogue — each carries a frequency and a next-due date, so the moment services are assigned the client is deadline-tracked. Build the engagement letter from those same services, apply the firm's e-signature, and send it as a branded email to a public page where the client e-signs without a login.
Finally, invite the client to the portal. The invite is a magic link with a temporary password; the client must change it on first sign-in, then sees their own services, deadlines, documents and engagement letters under the firm's branding.
What changes for the firm day-to-day
Every new client follows the same path, so onboarding stops depending on who handles it. Anyone can open the record and see how far a new client has come: contacts entered, services assigned, letter signed, portal invited.
Because services and year-ends are captured at intake, the new client appears in Reminders immediately — there is no gap between winning the work and scheduling the work.
What ships in the module
- Portal invites send a magic link and a temporary password, with a forced password change on first sign-in.
- Onboarding emails send under the firm's own branding via Gmail SMTP or Resend, with a delivery log.
- Services assigned at onboarding carry a frequency and a next-due date that feed the Reminders feed immediately.
- Engagement letters send to a public, no-login page and record the client's e-signature on acceptance.
Related features
See it in a workflow
Keep exploring
Frequently asked questions
Do clients need to create an account for the portal?
No — the firm invites them. The invite email carries a magic link and a temporary password, and the client is required to change that password on first sign-in. From then on they sign in to a portal branded as the firm's own.
Does the engagement letter have to be signed before work starts?
That is the firm's call — SpidNums supports either order. The client record, contacts and services can exist before the letter goes out, and the letter's status stays visible on the engagement until the client e-signs it on the public, no-login letter page.
Can we onboard many clients at once?
Yes, in two layers. Client records bulk-import from CSV or XLSX using the provided template, which handles a whole book of business in one pass. Portal invites and engagement letters are then sent per client, so each client still gets a deliberate, branded first contact.
Which emails does the client receive during onboarding?
Branded ones, sent through the firm's configured transport — Gmail SMTP or Resend. Typical onboarding sends are the portal invite with its magic link and the engagement-letter email linking to the signing page. Every send is recorded in a delivery log, so the firm can prove what went out and when.
Start running a tidier, deadline-proof practice.
Set up your firm in minutes. No credit card to start.