In short
- A poor-fit enquiry can cost over an hour by the time you've replied, booked a call and met them.
- Decide what a good-fit client looks like, then ask the questions that tell you on your enquiry form.
- Turn the answers into clear rules for accepting, declining or passing an enquiry to a specialist.
- Decline politely and quickly. It protects your reputation and the prospect's time.
Why qualifying enquiries matters
Without screening, most practices treat every enquiry the same way: reply, arrange a call, hold the meeting, and only then realise the prospect was never going to be a good fit. That's typically 15 minutes replying, 20 minutes arranging the call and 30 minutes on the call itself, so 65 minutes per prospect.
Take a practice with 20 enquiries a month. That's 240 a year. If 30% aren't a good fit, that's 72 prospects a year, and at 65 minutes each, 78 hours spent on clients the practice was never going to take on. At £25 an hour, that's £1,950 a year before you count the proposals that never had a chance.
Free calculator: what do poor-fit enquiries cost you?Enter your own enquiry numbers and times to see the hours and cost each year.Open it →Decide what a good-fit client looks like
Before you can screen enquiries, be clear about who you want to work with. Most practices can describe it in a few lines:
- The types of business you work with, such as limited companies, sole traders or landlords
- The sectors you specialise in, and any you don't take on
- A minimum turnover or fee level that makes the work worthwhile
- The services you offer, and those you don't
- How quickly you can take on new work
Write it down. It becomes the basis for your enquiry form and the rules you apply to every enquiry.
Ask the right questions on your enquiry form
Your website enquiry form should ask enough to tell whether someone is a good fit, and no more. The questions that matter most are:
- Business type: sole trader, partnership, limited company, landlord or individual
- Industry
- Annual turnover, in bands such as under £50k, £50k to £250k and so on
- Number of employees
- The services they need
- Whether they have a current accountant, and why they're looking to change
- When they need you to start
Use bands for turnover rather than asking for an exact figure. Prospects answer them more readily, and they're easier to write rules for.
Free template: accountancy enquiry formThe full set of questions, plus example rules you can adapt.Open it →Turn the answers into rules
Once you're asking the right questions, decide what each answer means. For example:
- Decline enquiries with turnover below your minimum
- Decline industries you don't work with
- Decline limited companies with an overdrawn director's loan account, if that's not work you take on
- Accept limited companies above your minimum turnover and invite them to book a call
- Send payroll enquiries straight to your payroll specialist
Clear rules mean every enquiry is treated the same way, whoever is reading it, and the right prospects reach the right person in your team.
Decline politely, and quickly
A prospect who isn't a good fit still deserves a reply, and a quick, polite one reflects well on your practice. Thank them for getting in touch, explain briefly that it isn't work you take on, and if you can, point them somewhere that might help. Sending it within minutes rather than days means they can find the right accountant sooner.
Automate the screening
Reading and sorting every enquiry by hand takes time, especially in busy periods. With strively, your enquiry form checks every answer against your rules as it comes in. Enquiries that fit are invited to book a call straight into the right person's calendar, and those that don't are declined politely and automatically, so your team only ever speaks to clients you want.
Frequently asked questions
How do accountants qualify new enquiries?
By deciding what a good-fit client looks like, asking the questions that reveal it on the enquiry form, such as business type, turnover, industry and services needed, and applying clear rules to accept, decline or route each enquiry before a discovery call is booked.
How much time do poor-fit enquiries cost an accountancy practice?
Each one can take over an hour by the time you've replied, arranged a call and held the meeting. For a practice with 20 enquiries a month where 30% aren't a good fit, that's around 78 hours a year.
Can enquiries be screened automatically?
Yes. strively checks every enquiry against your rules as it comes in, invites good-fit prospects to book a call and declines the rest politely and automatically.