How do accountants get more Google reviews?

The short answer

Ask every client for a review at the moment the work is done and the relief is fresh: the return filed, the accounts signed off, the company formed. Send one short message with a direct link, so the review takes one click. Ask everyone at that point, not only the clients you expect to be pleased, and never offer anything in return.

Then look after the reviews you get. Reply briefly, never confirm or discuss a client's affairs in public, and get written consent before you quote a review on your website or social media. A few genuine reviews a month, every month, will do more for a small practice than a burst of ten in one week.

Why reviews matter for an accounting firm

Reviews do two jobs for an accountant: they help you show up in local search, and they reassure a stranger before they pick up the phone.

• Local search. Google's page on how local results are rankedsays they rest mainly on relevance, distance and prominence, and that prominence takes account of how many reviews a business has. It says more reviews and positive ratings can help a business's local ranking. When someone searches for an accountant in their town, that is the list they see.
• Trust before the enquiry. Choosing an accountant means handing over your finances to someone you have not met. A prospect reading reviews is looking for signs that you reply to emails, meet deadlines and explain things plainly. Reviews that mention those things answer the question they cannot ask you yet.

Reviews are one part of winning work, alongside referrals, your website and the rest. Our guide on how to get clients as an accountant covers the whole picture, and our guide to SEO for accountants covers the other search jobs, such as completing your Google Business Profile. This article is only about reviews.

When to ask: the moments that work

Ask when the client has just felt the benefit of your work. A week later, the relief has faded and the email gets buried. Most firms have a natural moment for each service:

• A Self Assessment return filed, especially one that was handed to you late and still went in on time.
• Year-end accounts signed off and the tax position explained.
• A tax bill that came in lower than the client feared, or a refund that arrived.
• A new company formed or a new client fully set up on their software.
• A problem solved, such as an HMRC letter answered or a messy set of records put straight.

Make the ask part of the job, not an afterthought. Add it as the last step on each service's checklist, so it happens for every client at the same point. That keeps you on the right side of Google's rule against picking only the happy clients, which is covered below.

How to ask: one message, one click

Ask once, briefly, with a direct link. Every extra step between the client and the review box loses people.

Get your direct review link

Google's help page on creating a link or QR code to request reviews explains how: open your Business Profile on a computer, select Read reviews, then Get more reviews, and copy the link. The same screen lets you download a QR code. The link opens the review box for your firm directly, so the client does not have to search for you.

Where to put it

• The completion email.The message that says the return is filed or the accounts are final is the best place for the ask. Google's own suggestions include thank-you emails.
• Your email signature.A one-line "Happy with our service? Leave us a Google review" with the link. It asks nobody directly, but it is there when someone wants to.
• The welcome pack. Tell new clients, alongside the engagement letter, that you will ask for their honest feedback once their first piece of work is done. Do not ask for the review itself at this point, because they have not yet had the service to review.
• The office.If clients visit, a printed QR code at reception is enough. Google's policy says you should not pressure people to leave a review while they are on the premises, so leave it there for them to use later.

What to say

Keep it short, explain why it helps, and leave the content and the rating entirely to the client. Google's policy says businesses should not try to influence the rating or request specific content, so do not ask for five stars or suggest what to mention. Here is an example of how the ask might read in a completion email; the wording is ours, so adapt it to your firm:

Send it once. One reminder a week or so later is reasonable if the client said they would do it; a third chase starts to feel like pressure and can sour a good relationship.

The rules: fake, paid and gated reviews

Only genuine reviews from real clients, with nothing offered in return, and no filtering of who gets asked. Google enforces this on its platform and UK consumer law backs it up.

• No incentives. Google's content policydoes not allow businesses to offer payment, discounts or free services in exchange for a review, or for changing or removing a negative one. A discount on next year's fee counts.
• No gating. The same policy says businesses must not discourage negative reviews or selectively solicit positive ones. A short survey that sends only the happy clients to Google, and the unhappy ones to a private form, is exactly that.
• No reviews from staff or family. Google treats reviews based on a conflict of interest, including current or former employment and family relationships, as rating manipulation.
• No review targets for staff. The policy also lists asking staff to solicit a certain number of reviews, or reviews that name a staff member, as something businesses must not do. Ask as a process, not as a quota.
• No fake reviews. The Competition and Markets Authority's guide for businesses on unfair commercial practices says you must not pretend to be a consumer leaving a review or commission fake reviews.

Replying without breaking confidentiality

Reply as if you could not confirm the reviewer is a client, because in substance you cannot. ICAEW's helpsheet on marketing reminds firms that the relationship between a firm and its client is confidential. A client choosing to say in public that you are their accountant does not give you permission to say anything more about their affairs.

• No details.Never mention the client's tax position, figures, deadlines, business or anything you know from the file, even if the reviewer mentioned it first.
• Keep thanks general."Thank you for taking the time to leave a review" is enough. Google's tips on reviews suggest keeping replies short, polite and relevant, and say you do not need to thank every reviewer publicly.
• Sign it.Google suggests signing replies with your name or initials so they feel genuine. A partner's first name works well.
• Do not sell.Google's tips say reviewers are already customers, so a reply is no place for offers.

How to reply to a negative review

Reply briefly, calmly and without any client detail, and move the conversation offline. A prospect reading a negative review is mostly reading your reply, to see how the firm behaves when something goes wrong.

• Check the facts first. Look at the file and talk to whoever handled the work before you write anything.
• Acknowledge, do not argue.Google's tips suggest apologising where it is needed, admitting genuine mistakes, and not taking responsibility for things outside your control. Never attack the reviewer.
• Take it offline. Google suggests inviting the reviewer to contact you by phone, email or in person. For an accountant this matters twice over: the details of the complaint are almost always confidential.
• Flag it only if it breaks the rules. If the review looks fake, abusive or written by a competitor, you can report it from your Business Profile. A genuine but unfair review usually stays, so the reply is your answer.

Here is an example reply, written by us to show the tone:

Google's tips also make the point that a mix of positive and negative feedback often feels more trustworthy than a wall of perfect scores. One fair complaint with a professional reply among many good reviews rarely puts anyone off.

Build slowly and steadily

Aim for a steady trickle, not a campaign. Google's content policy counts unusual volumes or patterns of reviews, where they suggest an effort to manipulate a rating, as rating manipulation. Ten reviews in one week after two quiet years can look like exactly that, even when every one is genuine.

Asking at the end of each piece of work spreads the asks out naturally. A practice that finishes a handful of jobs a week and asks every time will build reviews across the year, with the busiest weeks after the January deadline and the year-end season. Recent reviews also tell a prospect that the firm is still doing good work now, not five years ago.

If you plan your social posts a month at a time, the same planning sitting is a good moment to check that the review step is still happening. Our guide to building a social media content calendar for accountants covers that monthly plan.

Using good reviews on your site and social

A Google review is public, but quoting it in your own marketing is a separate decision, and it needs the client's consent. ICAEW's helpsheet says using a client's testimonial is in order if the client has consented, because the relationship is confidential, and that firms must not make exaggerated claims. Ask the client in writing before you reuse their words, and keep a note of their answer.

• On your website.A few short quotes near the enquiry button, with the client's agreement, do more than a long testimonials page nobody reaches. Our guide to websites for accountants covers where they fit on the page.
• On social media, occasionally. A consented review can make a good post now and then, as one kind of post among many. Our list of social media post ideas for accountants has others to mix it with, and our guide to social media marketing for accountants covers the wider approach.
• Quote, do not improve.Use the client's own words, shortened if needed but never strengthened. A testimonial that has been "tidied up" into a bigger claim is an exaggerated claim.

If the firm uses Pillrfor its social media, a testimonials page on your website with consented quotes becomes one of the pages Pillr can draft posts from, and a partner still approves each post before it is scheduled. If you would like to see what a month of posts from your own website looks like, paste your firm's address on the Pillr home page, or look at plans and pricing.

ACCA, AAT, ICB and the other bodies have their own codes, so check your own body's code as well before you use client testimonials.

Questions accountants ask