Reviews for accountants, bookkeepers and consultants

Accountants, bookkeepers, consultants and other professional firms have always grown on referral. What has changed is that the referred client now searches your name before they call, and what they find on Google either confirms the recommendation or quietly undermines it.

Discretion is the complication

Professional clients often do not want the world to know who does their books or their tax. That is fine. A review on Google is always the client’s choice, and many will happily leave one without detail. The job is to ask in a way that respects that.

If you have been happy with us, a Google review helps other small businesses find us. It does not need to mention anything about your affairs.

That last line matters. It removes the hesitation most clients have.

When to ask

After lodgement. Tax done, refund on the way, or a bill smaller than feared. The best moment in the whole year for an accountant.
After a problem is solved. A messy set of books straightened out, a compliance issue resolved, a system finally working.
At the annual review, for long standing clients who have never been asked.

Where a card fits

A stand at reception catches clients who come in to sign or drop off paperwork. For firms that mostly work remotely, the review link in the email that confirms lodgement or delivers the final report does the same job.

Never confirm anything in a reply

This is the rule that matters most. When replying to a review, never confirm what you did for the client, what their numbers were, or anything else about their affairs. Even when they mention it first, a thank you is enough. Your confidentiality obligations do not stop at the Google listing.

Check your professional rules

Some professions have their own rules on advertising and testimonials. Lawyers, financial advisers and tax practitioners in particular should check the conduct rules and guidance that apply to them before quoting client reviews in their own marketing. The general Google and consumer law rules are in asking for reviews without breaking the rules.