Are clients uncomfortable about putting their name to a review of their accountant?

Some are, since their finances are private. Let them choose how their name is shown, even if that is only the kind of business they run. Ask them to leave out numbers.

When is the best time to ask an accounting client?

Right after something has gone well, like a first filing or a month-end that closed on time. Avoid the weeks before a deadline, when everyone is stressed. Clients who have just seen a good result answer within a day or two.

Can a testimonial say how much a client saved?

Better not to. A figure can read as a promise of what you will do for the next client, and professional bodies and regulators may have rules on it. Ask for what changed in how the work felt, such as being called early or understanding their own books.

How is this different from a LinkedIn recommendation?

A recommendation sits on LinkedIn, under LinkedIn's rules, and only people who use the site see it. A testimonial on your own website stays where you put it, next to your services and fees, for anyone who arrives by search. Do both.

accountants

Testimonials for accountants

Make switching accountants feel safe.

Everybody has an accountant, so you are asking people to leave one. Switching only feels safe when someone has already done it and written about it.

Right below is the text I would send a client, ready to copy.

Start freeNo card needed. Cancel whenever.

A text you can send

The text I would send after a good job

Right after the first return or first month-end close you handled for them.

Hi Yusuf, it's Ravi at Northgate Tax Partners. Your first set of books is done and filed. If you have a minute, could you write a few lines for my website on what switching to us was like? What you dreaded before you came over is worth mentioning. No sign-up needed: [your link]

Swap in your own names. The link comes from your dashboard.

Accountant testimonial examples

The kind of thing accountants collect with Exalted. Each one is invented and labelled as an example.

Example

My last accountant only spoke to me in March. This one calls in October to tell me what to do differently. That call has paid for itself twice over.

Selina M. · Consultant

Example

I showed up with three years of receipts in a banker's box. They had it sorted into a spreadsheet within two weeks, and nobody made me feel stupid about the state of it.

Yusuf D. · Owner, a landscaping company

Example

A letter from the IRS arrived on a Monday and I forwarded it half read. She had replied by lunch with what she needed from me and a date. I stopped worrying about it.

Hannah G. · Freelance photographer

Example

My old bookkeeper closed the month whenever he got around to it. Now the books are done by the tenth, and I can finally see whether the restaurant made money in January.

Paolo V. · Restaurant owner

People leave an accountant for a reason, so each of these starts with what was wrong before, from the box of receipts to the month that never closed. A prospect who is unhappy with their own accountant sees themselves in it and keeps reading.

How it works

1
Share one link
You get a single link. Send it by text or email to a client whose work went well.
2
They write it, in a minute
No account and no app to download. They rate you and write a couple of lines.
3
You approve what appears
Nothing is public until you say so. Approve the good ones and they appear on your website automatically.

When to ask

After the first filing you handle for them, when the outcome is clear.

The single biggest reason accountants have no testimonials is that nobody asks while the work is still fresh, not that clients are unwilling.

Questions that get a real answer

“Please leave a review” produces “great service”, which persuades nobody. Ask something specific instead:

What made you look for a new accountant?
How was the changeover handled?
What do you get now that you did not before?

Or an email

For business clients, once the first year-end is finished and they can compare it with the last one.

Subject: One paragraph about the switch

Hi Hannah,

Now that your first year-end with us is done, I have a request. I'm putting together what clients say about moving over from a previous accountant.

Would you write a short paragraph? Anyone thinking of leaving their own accountant is nervous about the handover, so what it was like getting your records to us matters most. Please leave out figures, since I would rather keep your numbers between us.

It takes about two minutes, with no account to make: [your link]

Ravi

Swap in your own names and the details of the job. The link comes from your dashboard.

Where people check a accountant first

Google Business Profile
"Accountant near me" or "small business accountant" is how many people begin. Stars and recent reviews get you into the shortlist before anyone reads what you offer.
Your state CPA society or board lookup
Careful clients confirm your license is current. It proves you are qualified. Whether you return calls in March is a different question.
LinkedIn
Business owners and finance staff look at your profile and at who has written about you. A recommendation from a client carries weight there that a job title does not.
Small business forums and Reddit threads
Owners ask whether anyone has switched accountants and what went wrong. Being named kindly in a thread like that is worth more than an ad, and you cannot write it yourself.
Your own website
A referral looks here before booking a first call. A client describing the banker's box of receipts answers the question they were about to ask you.

Questions accountants ask

Are clients uncomfortable about putting their name to a review of their accountant?: Some are, since their finances are private. Let them choose how their name is shown, even if that is only the kind of business they run. Ask them to leave out numbers.
When is the best time to ask an accounting client?: Right after something has gone well, like a first filing or a month-end that closed on time. Avoid the weeks before a deadline, when everyone is stressed. Clients who have just seen a good result answer within a day or two.
Can a testimonial say how much a client saved?: Better not to. A figure can read as a promise of what you will do for the next client, and professional bodies and regulators may have rules on it. Ask for what changed in how the work felt, such as being called early or understanding their own books.
How is this different from a LinkedIn recommendation?: A recommendation sits on LinkedIn, under LinkedIn's rules, and only people who use the site see it. A testimonial on your own website stays where you put it, next to your services and fees, for anyone who arrives by search. Do both.

Every testimonial Exalted publishes is written by a real person and approved by the business owner.

Your reputation, as a ladder

Each approved testimonial moves you up a tier, so you have a reason to keep asking. Visitors see the tier and know how established you are.

Friendly1+ approved

Honored5+ approved

Revered15+ approved

Exalted30+ approved

Pricing

Starter is $9 a month or $85 a year. Pro is $19 a month or $180 a year. Both are free until your fifth testimonial, and neither asks for a card to begin.

See what is in each plan

Worth reading before you ask

More on the blog. If you ask for Google reviews too, the free Google review link generator and the review request templates need no account. If you want a client quote as a picture to post, I made a free testimonial image maker.

Start collecting this week

Set up a link in about five minutes and send it to the last client who thanked you.

Start free