The Accountant's Guide to Referral Partnerships (Beyond Tax Season)

Your clients trust you with their money.

They show you everything - income, expenses, investments, debts. They tell you about their business plans, their retirement goals, their family situations.

You know more about their financial lives than almost anyone else.

And yet, when they need a financial advisor, an estate lawyer, or a business coach, they ask someone else. Not because they don’t trust you - because they forgot you could help connect them.

That’s the accountant’s referral paradox: you’re the most trusted professional in your clients’ lives, but you’re invisible 10 months of the year.

The Tax Season Trap

Here’s the pattern most accountants fall into:

January-April: Tax season. You’re drowning. Fourteen-hour days. No time to think about networking, let alone actually do it. Every “I should reach out to that financial advisor” gets pushed to “after April 15th.”

May-August: Recovery mode. You finally have time, but you’re exhausted. The networking momentum you meant to build never materialized. You think about it occasionally but don’t take action.

September-December: Client planning meetings. Busy again. “I’ll network after tax season next year.”

Repeat. Forever.

Meanwhile, your clients are making decisions about financial advisors, lawyers, and insurance without you. Not because they don’t value your opinion - because they don’t think to ask you. You only show up in their lives once a year.

“The accountant who’s visible year-round becomes the hub. The accountant who only appears at tax time becomes a vendor.”

Why Accountants Are the Perfect Center of Influence

Here’s what most accountants don’t realize: you’re sitting on a goldmine of referral potential.

Think about what you know about your clients:

• Their income and financial health
• Their business structure and growth plans
• Their family situation and estate planning needs
• Their major purchases and life transitions
• Their relationships with other professionals

You see the full picture. Financial advisors see investments. Lawyers see legal documents. You see everything.

That makes you the natural hub of a referral network. The person who can connect clients with the right professional at the right moment.

Tom Marino

Accountant (CPA)

Marino & Associates Accounting

Coquitlam, BC

Fictional character for illustrative purposes

“I used to think of referrals as a nice bonus,” Tom admits. “Something that happened occasionally. Then I realized something: my clients were constantly asking me ‘do you know a good financial advisor?’ or ‘do you know a lawyer who handles business sales?’ And I was saying ‘I can look into that for you’ - which meant nothing happened. Once I built real relationships with professionals I could actually recommend, I became the person my clients came to for everything. Not just taxes. Everything.”

The Five Power Partners Every Accountant Needs

Build relationships with these professionals and you’ll have referral partners for life:

1. Financial Advisors

The most natural pairing in professional services. You handle taxes. They handle investments. Same clients, complementary services.

What you refer to them: Clients who need retirement planning, investment management, wealth building strategies.

What they refer to you: Clients who need tax optimization, business accounting, estate tax planning.

2. Estate Lawyers

Every client who owns assets needs an estate plan. Many don’t have one. You see this in their returns.

What you refer to them: Clients without wills, business owners who need succession planning, families with complex estates.

What they refer to you: Clients who need help with estate tax planning, trust administration, probate support.

3. Bookkeepers

Counterintuitive, but powerful. You don’t want to do basic bookkeeping. They specialize in it.

What you refer to them: Small business clients who need ongoing bookkeeping support.

What they refer to you: Clients who need year-end preparation, tax strategy, financial advisory beyond basic books.

4. Business Coaches

Your small business clients need more than tax advice. They need strategy, accountability, growth planning.

What you refer to them: Business owners who are stuck, need accountability, or are ready to scale.

What they refer to you: Clients who need proper accounting systems, tax strategy, financial clarity.

5. Insurance Agents

Life insurance, business insurance, disability coverage - your clients need it all.

What you refer to them: Clients with coverage gaps, business owners who need key person insurance, families with new children.

What they refer to you: Clients who need accounting help, tax strategy, financial planning.

“You’re not just an accountant. You’re the most trusted connector in your clients’ professional lives. Act like it.”

The 10-Month Relationship Building Plan

Tax season is for taxes. The other 10 months are for building the relationships that will feed your practice for years.

Here’s how to use that time:

May-June: Identify Partners

Make a list of professionals you’d feel comfortable referring clients to. Not random names - people you actually trust.

• 1 financial advisor
• 1 estate lawyer
• 1 bookkeeper
• 1 business coach
• 1 insurance agent

Start with the ones you’ve worked with before. Add new prospects through your existing network.

July-August: Build First Connections

Reach out to one person from each category. Not a sales pitch - just coffee or a video call to learn about their practice.

Ask questions:

• What kind of clients do you work best with?
• What problems do your clients typically have that I might see first?
• How do you prefer to receive referrals?

David Park

Insurance Agent

Park Insurance Group

Langley, BC

Fictional character for illustrative purposes

“Tom didn’t ask me for referrals in our first meeting,” David recalls. “He asked me what kind of clients I work best with, what problems I solve, what a great referral looks like for me. He took notes. And then three weeks later, he referred me a perfect-fit client - a contractor who needed commercial liability coverage. He’d actually listened. That’s when I knew I’d be referring him clients for years.”

September-October: Give First

Before you expect any referrals back, give some. Look through your client base for natural fits:

• Client needs life insurance? Refer David.
• Client wants investment advice? Refer the financial advisor you met.
• Client’s bookkeeping is a mess? Refer your bookkeeper partner.

Keep track of what you give. Not to keep score - to remember who you’ve helped.

November-December: Stay Visible

This is where most accountants fail. They build relationships in summer and disappear in fall.

Don’t disappear.

Share a weekly video update with your referral partners. Sixty seconds about what you’re working on, what kind of clients you’re helping, tips they might find useful.

You’re not asking for anything. You’re just staying visible.

January-April: Maintain Through Tax Season

You’re busy. You don’t have time for coffee meetings. But you can maintain visibility with 60-second weekly videos.

“Hey, it’s tax season and I’m swamped, but wanted to share a quick tip about [relevant topic]. Also working with a lot of [specific client type] right now - if you know anyone who needs help with [specific problem], I’ve got availability in May.”

That’s all it takes. Stay visible even when you’re buried.

The Weekly Video That Keeps You Top of Mind

You don’t have time for endless networking events. You barely have time for lunch.

But you can record a 60-second video once a week.

What to share:

• A tax tip relevant to your referral partners’ clients
• A story about a client problem you solved (anonymized)
• What kind of clients you’re looking for right now
• Industry updates that affect your shared client base

When to record:

• Monday morning, before you check email
• Friday afternoon, before you leave for the weekend
• Sunday evening, as part of your weekly planning

Pick a time. Stick to it. Make it a habit.

Tom Marino

Accountant (CPA)

Marino & Associates Accounting

Coquitlam, BC

Fictional character for illustrative purposes

“I record my weekly video Sunday evening while I’m planning the week,” Tom says. “Takes five minutes. But every Monday morning, my referral partners see my face and remember what I do. During tax season when I have zero time for networking, that video keeps the relationships alive. I got three referrals in March last year - all from people who’d been watching my weekly updates and thought of me when the opportunity arose.”

“Sixty seconds a week beats sixty hours of networking events. Consistency trumps intensity every time.”

Beyond Tax Season

The accountants who build thriving referral networks don’t just survive tax season. They leverage it.

Tax season is when you see every client. It’s when you learn about their lives, their plans, their needs. It’s when you identify referral opportunities.

May through December is when you follow through. When you make the introductions. When you build the relationships that turn those observations into actual referrals.

Use tax season to listen. Use the rest of the year to connect.

Ready to Build Your Referral Network?

We built Rhythm of Business for accountants who are tired of the feast-or-famine cycle. Our platform matches you with financial advisors, lawyers, insurance agents, and other professionals in your local area.

Weekly video stories keep you visible even during tax season. Industry exclusivity means you’re the only accountant in your group - no competing with other CPAs for the same referrals.

Build the relationships that will feed your practice for years.

Related Reading

• The Financial Advisor’s Guide to Getting Referrals - The other side of the CPA-advisor relationship
• The Referral Feast-or-Famine Cycle (And How to Break It) - Why consistency beats intensity
• What Is a Power Partner? (And How to Find Yours) - Deep dive into building strategic partnerships