The fastest way to evaluate client onboarding software for accountants is to stop reading and put one real new client through it, start to finish, during the trial. Not a demo client, a real one, with a real engagement and real paperwork. Four things break in that first run, in a predictable order, and each one tells you something a feature list cannot. Firms that run this test choose confidently in a fortnight; firms that compare specifications spend a month and still find out the same four things afterwards.
First break: the list does not match your firm
The product's default onboarding will be missing a step you consider essential and will include one you do not do. That is expected. What matters is how hard it was to fix, and whether fixing it required the vendor. If your own staff can edit the list, the product will keep matching your firm as it changes; if not, it will match your firm on the day you bought it and never again.
Second break: the answers do not go where you need them
The client fills in the details and you discover they arrive as a submission rather than as fields on the client record. Now somebody is retyping, which is the cost you were trying to remove. Check specifically that identity, contacts, dates and references land as data, and that a document uploaded during onboarding is attached to the client rather than to the onboarding run.
Third and fourth: chasing, and knowing you are finished
The client goes quiet on step four and you find out whether reminders are automatic, whether they stop when the step is done, and whether anybody at the firm can see that this client is stuck. Then, at the end, you look for the answer to whether onboarding is actually complete. If finished is a judgement rather than a state, every client you take on will have a small tail of open steps forever.
Questions people ask about client onboarding software for accountants
How long should a trial take for onboarding software?
One real onboarding, whatever that takes in your firm. That is usually two to three weeks and it produces better information than any amount of feature comparison.
Is a general workflow tool good enough?
It can run the list well. What it usually lacks is the client record for the answers to land in, so check where collected details end up before you settle for one.
What about clients who will not use software at all?
Handle them as an exception: your staff run the same list on their behalf and enter the answers. The value of the list does not depend on the client touching it.