The operating problem
Start with a new accounting enquiry. A successful handoff produces an assigned qualification task with the service, owner, and next contact recorded. Define the accountable owner before connecting systems. Do not accept an engagement or infer a prospect’s tax position from intake answers. A source event is a request to evaluate the current state; it is not permission to make an irreversible change.
Use your own working copy
The free workbook for this process opens in a browser and works offline after download. It includes editable checks and notes, a text export, and a print view. It is a planning resource: it does not send messages, read account data, or run actions in business systems. No vendor account is needed to use the workbook.
Map the process
1. Collect service needs
Ask for entity type, broad service category, preferred timing, and contact permission; exclude tax identifiers and returns.
2. Check the routing rules
Map the request to a published internal service list and capacity owner. Unknown services enter review.
3. Identify existing relationships
Search approved CRM IDs and candidate duplicates. Staff resolves related entities instead of merging them automatically.
4. Assign the next action
Create a qualification task with an acknowledgement target and a backup owner.
5. Reconcile the handoff
Confirm a staff member accepted ownership. Escalate an unowned request without sending sensitive details.
Information to check
These reference fields describe the process. Use invented values while planning. Keep real records in an appropriate private system; the public website does not need them.
| Reference field | Working record | Check before progressing |
|---|---|---|
| inquiry_id | inquiry_id | Resolve the stable source reference in the correct client, entity, and engagement. |
| service_category | service_category | Resolve the stable source reference in the correct client, entity, and engagement. |
| capacity_owner | capacity_owner | Use the authorized owner or reviewed decision; unknown values stop the handoff. |
| next_contact_at | next_contact_at | Validate the date, timezone, and approved reporting or review period. |
Acceptance checks
- An out-of-scope service enters review.
- A duplicate enquiry keeps one active qualification task.
- A repeated source event creates only one current review task.
- A changed source version invalidates an earlier approval.
Walk through a successful example, a duplicate, a missing item, an incorrect match, and an interrupted handoff with synthetic records. Record the expected result, observed result, owner, and recovery action. Checklists record your work; checking a box does not establish that an external action happened.
Ownership and review
Name the person responsible for the process and the person who can resolve an exception. Define which decisions require qualified professional review. Use stable references, limit access to private records, and document when work must stop. Educational material does not establish legal, accounting, tax, security, or regulatory compliance.
Run a measured pilot
Choose a small, reversible sample. Measure handling time, waiting time, review, rework, and errors before changing the process. Include the effort of maintaining the new method. Expand only when the observed result meets your acceptance criteria; a longer checklist is not proof of improved performance.
Use the free workflow planner to define your next step, or compare the assumptions in the opportunity calculator.