How manual onboarding erodes trust and reduces efficiency
If you’ve always relied on tried-and-tested manual processes, you may not realise how much this inefficiency is eating into your margins and damaging your brand. Fortunately, the fix is much easier than you might think.
Financial and reputational cost
In conveyancing, trust is everything. Your clients want a reliable, efficient, trustworthy service, so any perception that your firm is disorganised or outdated can cause serious reputational damage.
That’s why manual onboarding isn’t just slow, but expensive. In the eyes of your clients, every extra email, follow-up call, or missed document adds up.
And while the financial cost of inefficiency can be measured, the reputational cost often goes unseen until the negative TrustPilot scores and Google reviews come rolling in. When that happens, it may be too late to salvage your reputation.
How does inefficiency erode trust?
Put yourself in your clients’ shoes. You’re excited by your upcoming move, but also anxious to get the deeds signed and your hands on the house keys.
Then imagine how you’d feel if the first thing your solicitor sent you was a PDF form to print out, fill in, and return by post. It sets a tone, and for younger buyers in particular it’s not a good one. This friction will:
Lower client confidence
Reduce responsiveness
Lead to delays that impact the entire chain
Worse still, it can make your firm appear behind the times, which damages referrals and online reviews.
Manual processes = lower satisfaction
This even creates high internal fallout. Team members bogged down by repetitive onboarding tasks report higher levels of burnout and lower levels of job satisfaction.
Time spent chasing ID documents or checking spreadsheets is time not spent progressing workflows or delivering quality service. This operational drag leads to slower completions, unhappy clients, and ultimately, staff turnover.
When your best people are spending their days copy-pasting rather than advising, something’s broken.
The smarter alternative
Digital platforms like Checkboard remove the manual burden while adding consistency and security. Clients receive a secure link, complete ID and source of funds checks on any device, and your team sees their progress in real time.
Everything is logged, auditable, and streamlined, giving you more time back, reducing errors, and strengthening compliance in one easy step.
A small change with big impact
Modern onboarding doesn’t represent a radical change. Instead, it’s a practical shift with a big impact: faster client setup, fewer mistakes, and a team that can focus on growing the business and reaching new clients.
And a smoother onboarding means a much better customer experience. Clients are happier, more engaged, and far more likely to recommend you.
To find out more, why not book a Checkboard demo?
A version of this article was originally published on Today’s Conveyancer. This version has been expanded and adapted for the Checkboard audience.
