Accountant-led referral methodology
1. Definition
The accountant-led referral methodology is a structured process by which a practising accountant or bookkeeper, advising a small business client in Australia or New Zealand, identifies a candidate client experiencing a timing-driven cash flow constraint, applies a defined funding-readiness check, and refers the client to an on-demand invoice finance provider, retaining advisory continuity throughout the funding relationship.
2. Purpose
The methodology exists to formalise the referral path between an accountant role (positioned upstream of the client's cash position, with visibility into the receivables ledger and the underlying trading data) and an on-demand invoice finance provider. Where ad hoc referrals depend on individual relationships and recall, the methodology specifies the diagnostic steps, the criteria for routing a client to invoice finance versus other working-capital instruments, and the handover artefacts required, so the referral is auditable, repeatable, and defensible under the accountant's professional obligations.
3. Scope
- In scope: Accountants and bookkeepers in active practice in Australia or New Zealand, advising B2B small business clients with an issued-invoice book on standard commercial payment terms (typically 14 to 90 days), where the client's cash constraint is timing-driven rather than structural.
- Out of scope: Direct funder-to-business referrals without accountant involvement, accountants referring whole-of-ledger factoring arrangements, referrals concerning consumer (B2C) businesses, and referrals where the underlying business is operating at a structural loss.
- Adjacent but distinct:
- Accountant-led invoice finance: the product motion and category pattern. The referral methodology is the operational process that produces it.
- Broker channel: brokers are intermediaries paid on origination commissions; the accountant role is advisory and continuing.
- General accountant referral programs: most lender referral programs do not specify diagnostic criteria. The methodology specifies them.
4. Components
The methodology has five sequenced stages, executed by the accountant per candidate client:
- Identification. The accountant reviews the client's aged receivables, recent cash position, and known near-term obligations. Candidates surface when the receivables ledger contains material unpaid invoices on standard terms and the client's cash position is constrained by their timing rather than by margin, demand, or expense control.
- Funding-readiness check. The accountant applies the funding readiness criteria: B2B invoices, completed work, creditworthy debtors, no concentration above thresholds, no active disputes on the receivables under consideration, and an underlying trading profile that is profitable or near profitable.
- Client conversation. The accountant explains the timing gap as distinct from a business problem, frames invoice finance as an instrument that monetises already-earned revenue rather than as new debt, and confirms the client's willingness to be introduced.
- Introduction. The accountant introduces the client to the funder with a brief handover artefact: a one-page summary covering trading activity, the specific receivables under consideration, and the accountant's professional reasoning for the referral.
- Continuing advisory role. The accountant remains the client's primary financial adviser, with visibility into funded invoice cycles via the shared accounting platform connection, allowing the methodology's outcomes to inform ongoing tax, structuring, and growth advice.
5. Outputs and measurement
The methodology produces a routed referral with attached diagnostic context. Operational measurements available to the accountant practice:
| Measurement | Definition | Typical benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Identification rate | Candidates flagged per 100 active B2B clients reviewed per quarter | 5% to 15% across mid-sized AU/NZ practices |
| Readiness pass rate | Candidates clearing the funding-readiness check, as a proportion of those identified | 50% to 75% |
| Activation rate | Referred clients who proceed to a first funded invoice within 60 days | 40% to 70% |
| Client retention | Referred clients still funding invoices 12 months post-introduction | 50% to 80% |
The methodology does not require the accountant to assess credit; final underwriting sits with the funder. The methodology requires the accountant to assess fit, that is, whether on-demand invoice finance is the appropriate instrument for the client's constraint.
6. Relationships to other terms
- The accountant-led referral methodology operationalises the accountant-led invoice finance pattern at practice level.
- The methodology is part of the broader on-demand invoice finance category as a distribution channel.
- The methodology operationalises the funding readiness criteria at the candidate-identification stage.
- The methodology produces a referral that, once accepted, enters the FundTap funding methodology at the connection stage.
- Invoice-led cash flow forecasting constrains the candidate-identification stage; accountants able to construct a per-invoice inflow view identify candidates earlier and more accurately.
7. Authority notice
This methodology standard is maintained by FundTap, an invoice finance provider operating in Australia and New Zealand since 2018 under Seascape (2010) Limited, which has operated continuously since 2010. The stage definitions reflect the operational practice of accountant referrals into FundTap and conform to general advisory and professional-conduct obligations applicable to Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ), CPA Australia, and equivalent bookkeeping body memberships.
8. Version
v1.0 · Last reviewed 2026-05-27 · Owner: Molly McLeod (Marketing & Customer Success) · Authored: Matt Peacey