Our CPA practice has been around for years and we’re finally making the jump to modern digital tools. We want to keep our current WordPress website but add HubSpot to handle client onboarding, workflow automation, and bringing in new prospects.
The problem we keep running into is that most consultants we talk to either want to completely take over our marketing plan, add tons of extra services we don’t need, or they just don’t get how accounting businesses operate.
We already know what we want to achieve and have our budget figured out. We just need someone to help us execute, not someone who will try to run the show or sit back and do nothing.
Specifically looking for tips on:
Setting up HubSpot while keeping our WordPress site
How to maintain ownership of your processes when hiring outside help
Warning signs to look out for when reviewing consultant proposals
Success stories or lessons learned from other accounting firms who’ve done this
Went through this exact thing two years ago when we modernized our client management. The WordPress-HubSpot integration is pretty straightforward, but keeping clean data flow between systems? That’s where it gets tricky. We made a simple documentation template that forced potential consultants to map out our entire client journey in HubSpot before we’d even talk to them. This filtered out about 80% of the generic marketing consultants who’d obviously never worked with professional services. Here’s what saved us major headaches: we insisted on a pilot project first. Had them set up just our initial consultation booking process before they touched anything else. Cost us an extra week but saved us months of potential cleanup. The consultant we picked had worked with three other accounting firms and actually spoke our language about engagement letters and compliance deadlines. Make sure whoever you choose gets that accounting clients aren’t like retail customers - they have longer decision cycles, need way more trust, and have very specific communication preferences.
biggest mistake we made? not testing HubSpot forms on our WordPress theme first. some themes have weird conflicts that don’t surface until ur deep in.
red flag: consultants pushing monthly retainers over project work. they’re usually planning to milk it.
what worked for us - make them sign an NDA, then show anonymized client data. you’ll quickly see who actually gets CPA workflows vs who’s just talking.
I helped my brother’s accounting firm with this exact setup last year. The WordPress integration is pretty straightforward - just don’t overcomplicate it with tons of custom fields right off the bat. Start with basic lead capture and expand from there. For consultants, make them walk through a real scenario from your practice during the interview. Something like “show me how you’d automate our tax season client intake.” Good consultants will grill you about your current process before suggesting anything. Bad ones will immediately pitch their cookie-cutter package. We learned this the hard way - demand documentation for everything they build. Not just screenshots, but actual written processes you can follow. Also negotiate a knowledge transfer session where they teach your team to modify workflows without breaking stuff. This saved us hundreds in follow-up calls when we needed tweaks during busy season.
Went through the same thing about a year and a half ago. The key was being upfront from day one about what we’d handle ourselves vs. what we needed help with. We used HubSpot’s native WordPress plugin - worked great for us, though we had to adjust some contact forms. When picking consultants, make them show you their process with real examples from your industry. The ones who get accounting workflows can actually help with stuff like capacity planning and compliance instead of just generic advice. We screwed up by not nailing down data ownership and access rights early on - caused headaches later. Keep your admin rights and document every automation they build so you can tweak things yourself without calling them back. Worth the investment, but took about three months before we really saw the benefits.