Accounting firm KPIs for new clients: 8 weekly numbers

The accounting firm KPIs that predict new planning clients are eight weekly numbers: new enquiries, response time, qualified meetings booked, meetings held, show rate, engagements signed, signed clients by source, and open planning capacity. Write a definition for each one before you start counting.

A scorecard built on revenue and billable hours tells you about last month. These eight tell you what next quarter looks like, and they fit on one page.

The eight accounting firm KPIs

#	Number	Definition	Why it matters
1	New enquiries	Business owners who contacted you about planning this week, new to the firm, counted once each	The top of everything else
2	Response time	Hours from enquiry to first reply, median	Check whether slower replies book fewer meetings in your own data
3	Qualified meetings booked	Booked owners who meet your written fit criteria	Shows whether your sources bring the right owners
4	Meetings held	Booked meetings that actually happened	The number that turns into clients
5	Show rate	Held divided by booked	Falls before held numbers do
6	Engagements signed	Signed engagement letters for planning this week	The result
7	Signed by source	Number 6 split by referral, own book, content, outbound, ads	Tells you where to spend next quarter
8	Open planning capacity	Meeting slots and delivery hours free in the next 8 weeks	Tells you whether to turn sources up or down

Define the numbers before you count

The fastest way to fool yourself is a loose definition. Settle these in writing.

What counts as qualified. Use your fit criteria: owner and decision maker, entity type, profit floor, wants proactive planning, in states you serve, new to the firm.
Existing clients. A prep client who books a planning meeting is a cross-sell. Track them on a separate line, or your new-client numbers will look better than they are.
Duplicates. The same business booking twice counts once in enquiries and once in meetings.
Rebooked meetings. A no-show who rebooks still counts as one booking. Track rebooks separately.
Signed. A signed engagement letter. A verbal yes doesn't count.

A weekly scoreboard, filled in

Worked example (example numbers only, use your own):

Number	This week	4-week average
New enquiries	14	12
Median response time	3 hours	5 hours
Qualified meetings booked	7	6
Meetings held	5	5
Show rate	71%	83%
Engagements signed	2	1.5
Signed by source	Referral 1, ads 1
Open capacity, next 8 weeks	18 slots

Reading it: enquiries and bookings are up, but show rate dropped. The fix this week is reminders and same-day rebooking. More enquiries won't help until the show rate recovers. Our no-show guide covers what to change.

See if your firm is a fit

Compare weeks against the tax calendar

A planning practice has seasons, so compare like with like. A week in early April and a week in late May aren't the same week, even if your enquiry numbers match.

Mark the IRS dates on your scoreboard. Estimated tax payments are due April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15 of the following year (IRS, estimated tax due dates). Individual returns on extension are due October 15 (IRS, get an extension). Planning enquiries and meeting capacity both move around those dates. Compare each week with the same weeks last year, once you have a year of data.

Ratios worth watching monthly

Weekly numbers move around. Look at these once a month, over at least 4 weeks:

Held to signed. Engagements signed divided by meetings held. This is your consultation conversion.
Enquiry to qualified. Qualified bookings divided by enquiries. Low means your sources bring the wrong owners.
Cost per signed client, by source. What you spent on each source divided by clients it signed. Include your own time at your hourly rate.
Days from enquiry to signed. A rising number means owners are stalling. Look at your follow-up and engagement letter timing.

Who keeps the scoreboard

One person updates it every Monday from your calendar and engagement records. The owner reads it in five minutes and makes one decision: turn a source up, turn one down, or fix one step. Write that decision under the scoreboard.

What our marketing has taught us about counting

We run marketing that fills tax firms' calendars with qualified planning meetings, and our whole guarantee depends on counting meetings the same way every week.

The definition is fixed. A qualified meeting is one where a business owner we've qualified books onto your calendar and shows up.
The weekly update is short: meetings booked, held and rebooked.
Existing clients don't count toward the total, and a missed meeting doesn't either.
Mismatches get reviewed. If a booked meeting didn't match the signed criteria, it's reviewed against our qualification notes.

Firms that adopt the same definitions for their own sources can compare every source on equal terms.

Where to start this week

Copy the eight-number table into a spreadsheet.
Write your definitions for qualified, existing client, duplicate, rebooked and signed.
Fill in last week from your calendar and engagement letters.
Add the IRS dates to the scoreboard.
Book 15 minutes every Monday to read it and make one decision.

Questions firm owners ask

Which accounting firm KPIs should I track for new clients? New enquiries, response time, qualified meetings booked, meetings held, show rate, engagements signed, signed clients by source and open planning capacity. Define each one in writing before you count.

How do I calculate show rate for consultations? Divide meetings held by meetings booked for the same period. Count a no-show who rebooks as one booking and track rebooks separately.

Should existing clients count as new planning clients? Track them on a separate line. A prep client who books planning is a cross-sell, and counting them as new makes your sources look better than they are.

How often should a tax firm review growth numbers? Update the eight numbers weekly and read them in a few minutes each Monday. Look at ratios such as held to signed and cost per signed client monthly, over at least four weeks.

Sources

General information from the official sources listed below, checked 25 Oct 2026. Not tax or legal advice.

If you'd rather have qualified owners booked for you

Financial Sales Insider is a marketing company for US CPA and EA-led tax firms. We fill your calendar with qualified tax planning meetings. Our marketing finds business owners who fit your criteria, qualifies them, and books them with you.

20 qualified tax planning meetings in 90 days, guaranteed.

If you have fewer than 20 qualified meetings after 90 days, we keep booking with no further monthly fee until you reach 20.

See if your firm is a fit Form not loading? Book here.

Johnny Logan, Founder, Financial Sales Insider.

Financial Sales Insider · Florida · (305) 513-1710