Accountant Answering Service: What to Look For
By Frontly
· Updated
It is the last week of October. Your phones have not stopped since July, a partner is on a call with a client who has an ATO letter, and three new callers want to know whether it is too late to lodge. The one who reaches voicemail rings the next firm on the list, and signs with them before the 31 October deadline.
Summary: A good accountant answering service answers every client call through the tax-time surge, books new clients into the right meeting, handles the routine questions from existing ones and never gives tax advice. Your accountants get their day back, and the new client who calls in October becomes yours.
What should an accountant answering service handle?
Calls to an accounting or bookkeeping firm fall into a few groups:
- New-client enquiries. The service they need (a tax return, BAS, bookkeeping or advisory), qualified and booked into the right meeting while the caller is still deciding between firms.
- Existing clients. Document questions, appointment changes and "where is my return up to?", handled without pulling an accountant off client work.
- Deadline questions. When a return or BAS is due, answered from the information you set.
- Tax-time overflow. From July to October the phone rings for everyone at once.
- After hours. Small business owners ring when their own day is over.
Hear it for yourself
Hear Frontly handle a tax return enquiry
Play a recorded demo call, or ring the demo agent yourself from your browser. No signup. No credit card.
Where must it stop?
An answering service for accountants takes the enquiry and books the meeting. It does not give tax advice, and it should not collect what does not belong on a phone call. Decide three things before you go live:
- The advice boundary. "Can I claim my ute?" becomes a question for the accountant in the meeting, never an answer on the call.
- What it collects. Name, contact details, the service needed and the question. Tax file numbers and bank details stay in your secure client portal; Frontly does not ask for them by default.
- What is urgent. An ATO letter with a date on it should reach a partner the same day.
New client or existing client: two different calls
The first thing that matters is who is calling. Frontly asks early, recognises callers who have rung before, and takes each down its own path:
| New client | Existing client | |
|---|---|---|
| What it asks | The service they need, business or personal, and how they found you | Their name and which accountant looks after them |
| What it does | Books an introductory meeting with the right team | Books or moves an appointment, or takes the question for their accountant |
| Who hears about it | Your new-client team, with the enquiry summary | Their accountant, by message or a transfer you approve |
| Outcome you see | New intake | Booking, message or transfer |
Picture two calls in the same minute in October. A café owner who has never lodged a BAS is booked into Thursday's new-client meeting. An existing client asking whether her return has gone in leaves a message for her accountant, who rings back with the answer. Neither call interrupts a partner.
Seven questions to ask before you choose
- How many calls does it answer at once? In October, a queue is a lost client. Frontly answers every caller at once.
- Does it tell new clients from existing ones? A prospect needs qualifying; an existing client needs their question answered or passed on.
- Who sets the advice boundary? Your firm should, in writing.
- Can it book into your partners' diaries during the call? Frontly books the meeting type you set and sends the confirmation to the client and the accountant.
- Does it work with your software? Frontly connects to Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks Online and Karbon (Karbon on its Business plan or higher).
- Can a client reach their accountant? Frontly transfers to the accountant you approve with a short spoken briefing, and takes a message when nobody is free.
- Where are call records kept? Get it in writing. Frontly stores call records in Australia; limited call content is processed by specialist speech and language providers, some overseas, under no-retention terms. Our privacy page sets out the full data flow.
AI or a human answering service?
A human answering service puts a person on the call; depending on the service and the hours you buy, it takes a message or books the meeting. An AI answering service answers every call at once, books the meeting on the call and records each one the same way, and it can make the calls your team never gets to, such as BAS reminders and chasing outstanding documents.
Many firms put tax-time overflow and after-hours calls on the AI and keep their people for the clients who need an accountant.
Frontly for accounting firms
Frontly answers client calls 24/7, books meetings, handles the tax-time surge, makes BAS reminder calls and never gives tax advice. Setup time depends on verification, workflow complexity and integrations.
See how it works on our accountant answering service page, where you can hear a recorded client call, or try it yourself with a free test call.
