While you're inviting your clients to Coconut, we advise accountants to communicate with their clients about it in some way.
How you communicate will depend on the relationship you have with your client, but the following resources should help you. Good communication about the reason for signing up to Coconut can make all the difference in getting your clients onboarded and saving you time:
1. Client 1 pager PDF
We have created the following page for sharing with your client that explains the reasons for Coconut and why they should onboard:
getcoconut.com/client-onboarding
If you'd prefer to send a PDF, you can download that here:
2. Sample emails
You may want to send an email to your clients to tell them about why you’re working with Coconut.
This is helpful to set the scene, but is also supported by a series of emails that we send once the client is invited. We set out how the product works and what they need to do to get going.
Here are two sample emails:
MTD ITSA Focused
Some practices have found using MTD ITSA focused messaging to be effective in digitising their clients.
Hi [CLIENT NAME]
The government has passed new legislation that will require sole traders and landlords earning more than £10k a year to make submissions to HMRC every 3 months summarising your income and expenditure for each quarter. The law also requires your financial records to be kept digitally.
The good news is that as your accountant I will be able to support you in complying with these new rules.
In order to be ready for the changes, and to ensure I can continue to deliver a good level of support to my clients, I’m getting all my clients to get set up on accounting software, and I’m working with Coconut, which is a simple and user friendly accounting software tailored to sole traders and landlords.
Signing up takes a couple of minutes - you’ll install the app on your phone, register, and then connect your bank accounts that you receive income into. It uses ‘Open Banking’ to do this which is secure and read-only, used by 5m people in the UK and, Coconut is regulated by the FCA for this too.
I’ve also attached a one page document which outlines how Coconut works in case you’re interested. [ATTACH THE 1 PAGE PDF]
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Benefits Focused
Some practices have found that focusing on the benefits of using accounting software will encourage clients to sign up.
Hi [CLIENT NAME]
I’m working with Coconut, a sole trader accounting software, as we move to digitise how we work with clients. I want to tell you about it before I send an invite to you to download their app.
Coconut is a really simple accounting app designed for sole traders / landlords and their [ACCOUNTANTS / BOOKKEEPER].
As well as the significant benefits of managing your financial records digitally, the government is also requiring all sole traders who earn over £10k to use a digital product for accounting as part of their Making Tax Digital roll-out.
Here’s what you can expect:
A simple, user-friendly mobile app (you can use it on desktop too)
Easy bookkeeping on your income and expenses by automatically analysing your bank statements, with minimal data entry.
Insights about your income and expenses, and suggestions for how much to set-aside for tax.
I’ll have real-time access to your records, so I can support you more easily.
You’ll be ready for the new requirements under Making Tax Digital.
Signing up takes a couple of minutes - you’ll install the app on your phone, register, and then connect your bank accounts that you receive income into. It uses ‘Open Banking’ to do this which is secure and read-only, used by 5m people in the UK and, Coconut is regulated by the FCA for this too.
I’ve also attached a one page document which outlines how Coconut works in case you’re interested. [ATTACH THE 1 PAGE PDF]
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For a more detailed email, check out this article: Detailed Client Email Template
3. Videos showing how Coconut works
Here's a playlist of Coconut Features that you can send them to your clients
These videos are also included through our Support Centre, but the playlist above is a useful way to see all our videos at once.
4. Support Centre resources for Clients
You can direct your clients to our help centre which your clients can reach by going to our website and then going to Resources > Support. It will take them here:
Read more: