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Success
[PRO SERVICES / BUILD]

Client Onboarding
Automation

Client onboarding slows down when commercial, compliance, finance and delivery each maintain part of the record. We connect the stages, show every team what it owns and keep an audit history from acceptance to live service.

HOW IT WORKS
1

Start after signature

2

Collect what is missing

3

Show when ready

The client and your team see the same progress.

Visible

PROGRESS AND OUTSTANDING EVIDENCE

Assigned

CHECKS WITH NAMED REVIEWERS

One client type

IN THE FIRST PHASE

[THE OPERATING PROBLEM]

Why email-based onboarding breaks down

A client sends the same details to sales, compliance and finance. Staff then have to work out which version is current and whether the next stage can begin.

We map the required evidence and approvals for each client type. The portal shows what is missing, who must review it and which steps can run together.

Approved information can then pass into the connected systems without being retyped at each handoff.

EMAIL-AND-PDF ONBOARDING

  • Welcome email, attached intake form, chase, chase
  • ID and proof of address by reply, sat in an inbox
  • AML check on a separate site, screenshot the result
  • Engagement letter printed, signed, scanned, emailed
  • Re-keyed into CRM, billing and the ops board
  • "Where's that evidence?" three months later

ONE PORTAL

  • Branded portal, link sent, client knows what's next
  • ID&V and address verified in the flow, not by reply
  • KYB, sanctions and PEP screened automatically
  • Engagement letter signed in-portal with an e-signature audit trail
  • CRM, billing and ops board provisioned by webhook
  • Every step, timestamped, in one audit log
[THE FLOW]

A working onboarding flow

The flow depends on the client type and the checks your firm must perform. We agree those requirements before automating intake or account creation.

01

Intake

Smart forms branched by client type. Individual, sole trader, limited company, partnership. Save and resume, mobile-first, no PDFs to print.

02

Verify

ID&V via Entrust Onfido, Yoti, Veriff or Stripe Identity. KYB through Companies House and Creditsafe. Sanctions and PEP via ComplyAdvantage or SmartSearch.

03

Sign

Engagement letter, T&Cs, DPA. Pre-filled from intake, signed in-portal via Docusign, Adobe Acrobat Sign or Dropbox Sign. Evidence trail included.

04

Provision

CRM record created, billing set up, ops board populated, welcome pack sent, Slack channel spun up. The bits your team currently does by hand on a Friday afternoon.

05

Audit log

Required onboarding records, checks and signatures are timestamped and kept to the applicable MLR 2017 period, while unnecessary personal data follows the agreed deletion schedule.

[HOW WE WORK]

How we take it into live use

We audit the current flow, keep the vendors that work, build the portal and move active cases over with your team.

The first phase covers a defined client type, its evidence requirements, approvals and connected systems. Ownership, support and any later rollout are set out before the build starts.

BOOK AN ONBOARDING AUDIT
01

Onboarding audit

Send us your current intake form, your engagement letter and a screen recording of how a new client gets set up. We map every step, every system, every handoff. You get a one-page report on what to automate first and what to leave alone. Scope and price up front.

02

Pick the right vendors

ID&V, KYB, sanctions, e-sign and Open Banking all have mature APIs now. The work is choosing providers that price sensibly at your volume, integrate cleanly, and don't trap the rest of the build. We tell you which fits your stack.

03

Build the portal

A portal on your domain, connected to the agreed verification, signature and operational systems. Your team tests it against representative cases before it goes live.

04

Migrate and iterate

Migration covers agreed records and available evidence. Missing documents or uncertain matches stay visible for review. Further client types and integrations are scoped separately.

[REGULATED OR NOT]

A better experience for clients and staff

For firms supervised for anti-money laundering, evidence and review requirements determine the flow. Other businesses can use the same portal approach with the checks appropriate to their work.

REGULATED FIRMS

FCA. SRA. HMRC. ICAEW. ACCA.

  • CDD under MLR 2017 Regulation 28, with EDD under Regulation 33 where risk requires it
  • Sanctions screening against the current UK Sanctions List, with OFSI guidance where financial sanctions apply
  • Companies House identity verification tracked for new directors and PSCs under ECCTA 2023
  • Legal-sector file opening that records risk assessment, CDD status and any delayed verification reason
  • MLR 2017 retention periods and structured export for regulator visits
EVERYONE ELSE

B2B services, SaaS, agencies.

  • One link, one flow, one place to check progress
  • Contract, first invoice and account setup tracked together
  • Branded so it feels like part of your product, not a third-party form
  • UK GDPR lawful basis, privacy notice and retention schedule built into the flow
  • The bit that turns a "yes" into a working client, automated
[RELEVANT VU WORK]

AM2PM connects documents to the candidate record

Its e-sign platform manages templates, signature fields and bulk sends, then stores each signed document against the correct CRM record. The document and onboarding process remain part of the same operational history.

[A USEFUL FIRST CONVERSATION]

When this is worth discussing

We work best when there is a real operating problem, enough volume to measure and people from the affected teams who can make decisions.

Usually a good fit

  • An established UK business, usually with annual revenue above £10m
  • A repeated process with a known cost, delay, error rate or capacity problem
  • A senior sponsor and a day-to-day owner who understand the work
  • Access to the relevant staff, systems, sample records and security requirements

We may point you elsewhere

  • A standard product already covers the process well
  • The requirement is a one-off small build with no wider operating case
  • There is no owner or access to the people and data needed to test the result
  • The plan relies on AI making high-impact decisions with nobody responsible for review
[QUESTIONS]

Questions before connecting the systems

Q.01

Which ID&V provider should we use?

We compare coverage, verification methods, review tools, privacy terms and volume costs. Right-to-work or DBS checks need providers eligible for that specific purpose. Contracts and ongoing fees are set out in the proposal.

Q.02

Are e-signatures legally binding here?

Electronic signatures can be valid when the signer intends to authenticate the document and its execution formalities are met. Deeds and witnessed documents need particular care. We agree the signature process with your legal adviser. See the Law Commission's guidance for England and Wales.

Q.03

What about UK GDPR and the DPIA?

Onboarding handles identity documents, and some flows use biometric or special category data. Where the processing is likely to be high risk, UK GDPR requires a DPIA. We give you a draft tailored to your flow: lawful basis per data type, retention schedule, processor list, transfer mechanism. You sign it off with your DPO. The privacy notice goes into the portal at the point of collection, not buried at the bottom.

Q.04

We already use HubSpot / Salesforce / Pipedrive. Are you replacing it?

No. The portal feeds your CRM, doesn't replace it. The salesperson still works in the CRM. The portal takes over the moment they mark a deal "won", runs the onboarding, then writes the verified client back. Same with Xero, QuickBooks, Stripe and the ops board.

Q.05

How long does a first version take?

A narrow portal for one client type can be available in days where the forms, rules, access and integrations are ready. The scoped timetable states those dependencies before work starts.

Q.06

What about the clients we've already onboarded?

We scope migration separately, including matching documents to clients and identifying missing evidence. Available records can become searchable, but migration cannot recreate checks that were never recorded.

Q.07

Who owns the code and the data?

You do. Source code, data, IP, integrations. We can host it for you on your own infrastructure, or hand it to your team. No lock-in. If you want to switch vendors later (a different ID&V provider, a different e-sign tool) the portal is built to allow that.

Q.08

How much does it cost?

The audit is fixed-fee. The first portal is priced per phase, scoped against how many client types you cover. We tell you the number before we start. Third-party fees (ID&V, e-sign, sanctions) you pay direct.

Vu Agency working session

Talk to us about your onboarding

Show us a recent onboarding case, the systems involved and the points where clients or staff had to chase. We will identify the first stage worth automating and the controls that must remain.

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