Lead generation
for accountants.

Referrals from existing clients are the first source for most firms, and there's a separate page on how clients choose an accountant. Behind that sit four more doors, each with a different kind of client.

The mix matters because each door brings different work. A Google search for 'accountant Erina' brings tax returns and small business owners. A referral from a mortgage broker brings people buying property or restructuring. A lawyer's referral might be a business sale. Same firm, different services, and from 1 July 2026, different rules.

Paying or taking a referral fee isn't banned. The TPB's guidance on managing conflicts of interest under Code item 5 says the Code doesn't prohibit conflicts, but you need adequate arrangements to manage them: avoid, control or disclose. Its own examples are the ones firms run into: a commission from a software vendor for each client referred, a fee from another firm for a referral, and a share of a broker's commission for putting clients into audit insurance.

In each example, the practitioner tells the client they'll receive a fee if the client takes up the referral, and in the insurance case, how much. Build that into the referral partner arrangement from the start: a line in the engagement letter, the amount where there is one, and time for the client to think about it. A partnership the client finds out about later looks worse than one you mentioned up front.

From 1 July 2026, accountants who provide certain services are regulated by AUSTRAC. The firm must enrol within 28 days of first providing a regulated service and verify the customer, any beneficial owner and any agent before providing it, including checks for sanctions and politically exposed persons. PKF estimates 80 to 90% of practitioners could be affected.

For lead generation, the point is simple: not every enquiry is the same. CPA Australia says preparing tax returns is not a designated service, but forming companies, trusts and partnerships is. So a landing page for 'set up a company' needs a different first call from a page for tax returns. Tick what a new lead is asking for and the sorter shows which parts need checks first.

A good accounting lead isn't just someone who replies. It's someone who needs the work you want more of, at a time you have capacity, at a fee that works. A firm trying to grow advisory work and filling up with one-off tax returns has a lead quality problem, not a volume problem.

Ask two questions on the enquiry form: what they need help with (a short list, not a free text box) and whether they're a business or an individual. That sorts leads before anyone picks up the phone, and it feeds the AML sorting above. To put a dollar figure on each client type, see what a new client is worth.

• Reply the same business day, and say in the reply what you'll need from them
• For designated services, tell them up front what ID you'll ask for and why
• Record which door each lead came through, and which ones became clients

Many firms keep a list of old enquiries and email it before tax time. That's a commercial message, so the Spam Act applies: you need consent, your firm's name and contact details, and an unsubscribe that works. Someone who asked for a quote last year didn't necessarily agree to newsletters.

Small firms often assume the Privacy Act doesn't apply under $3 million turnover. Check that again: the OAIC lists AML/CTF reporting entities among the small businesses it covers whatever their turnover, so a small firm that started setting up companies this year may be in a different position. How far that reaches is a question for your adviser. Where the Act applies, APP 7 adds an easy opt-out on marketing and an answer for anyone who asks how you got their details.