The job
A new client says yes, and the paperwork starts. For an advisory firm that’s a data-gathering form, account-opening documents, signatures, ID and statements from the old custodian. For an insurance agency it’s the client’s current policies, drivers, vehicles and property details, then the applications to sign. Someone has to send each piece, notice what came back, and chase what didn’t, usually from a spreadsheet, a sticky note or memory.
Two parts of that are worth automating: the retyping, where the same name, address and date of birth get entered into three systems, and the chasing, where someone notices that something is late and asks again. The conversations stay with you.
What to automate
- The intake form. The client fills in one form, once, and it creates or updates their CRM record.
- Documents and signatures. Account paperwork or applications go out for e-signature, and the signed copies get filed on the record.
- The checklist. A workflow in your CRM tracks each step, so anyone can see where every new client stands.
- The chase. Reminders for anything outstanding get drafted on a schedule for a human to send.
- The kickoff. The first review or kickoff meeting gets booked, and the booking lands on the record.
For advisory firms
| Redtail | Wealthbox | |
|---|---|---|
| PreciseFP | Native, both directions, run by hand from PreciseFP. An export finds the existing record by last name | Native, both directions. An export creates a new record or updates the linked one |
| DocuSign | No native integration. Zapier can create an activity when an envelope’s status changes, but can’t attach the document | Through Zapier: an envelope event can create a task, add a note or update a contact. A third-party DocuSign extension by Fluidlabs also exists |
| Workflows | On the Growth plan. Zapier can react to a finished step but can’t start one | On Pro and up. Zapier can start one with Start Workflow |
PreciseFP also connects to DocuSign directly, for PDF templates, creating and sending envelopes on your behalf. So one workable backbone is PreciseFP for the data, DocuSign for signatures, and the CRM’s workflow for the checklist.
For insurance agencies
The slowest part of agency onboarding is usually collecting what the client already has. Canopy Connect handles that: the agency sends a branded link by text, email or QR code, the client shares their current policies through their carrier, a dec page or a form, and the agency gets verified premiums, limits, coverages, deductibles and dec pages for personal and commercial P&C lines.
| System | What Canopy Connect does there |
|---|---|
| AgencyZoom | Creates or updates a lead and moves it through a pipeline |
| EZLynx | Sends the verified data into the comparative rater |
| HawkSoft | Produces an import file that creates the customer and policies |
| Applied Epic | Transfers the insurance information |
| AMS360 | Not on Canopy’s integrations page when we checked |
On the policy side, AgencyZoom can run an optional Onboarding automation for new customers when it imports an EZLynx book of business report. See how to automate AgencyZoom.
The do-it-yourself route
This outline uses Wealthbox, PreciseFP, DocuSign and Zapier, the combination with the most built-in pieces. It comes from the vendors’ documentation, and we haven’t run it end to end, so walk a test client through it first.
- Build an onboarding workflow template in Wealthbox with a step for each item: intake form, paperwork sent, paperwork signed, accounts open, first review booked.
- Send the PreciseFP intake form, and export the completed form to Wealthbox to create or update the client.
- In Zapier, start a Zap with Wealthbox’s New Contact trigger, add a filter so only new clients pass, and use Wealthbox’s Start Workflow action to begin onboarding for that client.
- Send the account paperwork through DocuSign.
- Start a second Zap with DocuSign’s Envelope Completed trigger, and add a Wealthbox note on the client and a task for whoever opens the accounts.
- Start a third Zap with Wealthbox’s Workflow Step Complete trigger, and draft the email asking for whatever the next step needs with Gmail’s or Outlook’s create-draft action. Give each workflow task a due date, so anything late shows up on someone’s task list.
- When the client books the kickoff, use Calendly’s Invitee Created or Rescheduled trigger to add the meeting to their record.
You’ll need a paid Zapier plan for multi-step Zaps, and Calendly’s Zapier connection needs a Calendly Standard plan or higher. On Redtail the same flow works with two changes: start the workflow inside Redtail, because Zapier can’t, and file the signed document by hand, because Redtail’s Zapier app can’t attach one.
Where it breaks
- PreciseFP’s Redtail sync runs only when someone clicks export, so a completed form can sit in PreciseFP while Redtail still has the old address.
- PreciseFP finds the existing Redtail record by last name, so two families named Nguyen are an easy mismatch.
- DocuSign’s Envelope Status Updated trigger also fires when an envelope is voided or declined, so a Zap that treats every status change as “signed” marks the step done.
- Redtail’s Zapier app can’t attach a document, so the signed PDF still needs filing by hand.
- A reminder that sends itself goes out to a client who called you yesterday with the answer.
- AMS360 isn’t on Canopy’s integrations page. If you also run AgencyZoom, Canopy can create the lead there and AgencyZoom’s AMS360 sync can create the prospect, so check which fields actually make the trip.
How we run it
Paper Chaser keeps one live list in your CRM of every form, signature and file you’re waiting on, with who owes it and since when. When something sits too long, it drafts a short, polite reminder in your tone for a human to approve and send, and when the paperwork lands it closes the item on the record. Every write is logged. For the first week a human on our team checks every write it makes, and after that we review the log as part of supervision.
A note on records
Signed agreements and onboarding paperwork can be records you have to keep: for advisers under SEC Rule 204-2, and for agencies under your state’s rules (Washington, for example, requires producers to keep records of completed transactions for five years). Decide where signed documents live with your compliance officer before you automate the filing.
