Should accountants use X? Only if the people who matter to you are already there

The short answer

For most accountancy firms, no. X, the platform formerly called Twitter, suits very few firms as a way to win clients. It suits almost nobody as a first channel if your work comes from referrals, LinkedIn and your local reputation.

It can suit a firm that already follows journalists, professional bodies and some of its clients there, and wants to join the conversation quickly when tax news breaks. If that is you, keep it small: a few clear posts a week, a short daily check for replies, and nothing about any client. If it is not you, leaving X alone is a sound decision.

Which firms X suits

X is worth trying when the people who matter to your firm are already reading it. The test is simple: if you opened X today, would you find your clients, your referrers or the journalists who cover your area posting there? If yes, a modest presence can help.

• Firms that comment on tax news. If a partner is often asked what a Budget or tax announcement means, X is a quick place to give a short, plain answer while people are still talking about it.
• Firms with clients who use X. Look at your own client list. If a good share of your clients post or read there, being there too makes you easy to find.
• Firms that want to be quoted. If the journalists and trade writers who cover your area follow commentators on X, a partner who posts clear, correct points on tax news can become someone they ask.
• Firms with one person who enjoys it. X rewards someone who reads it anyway and likes short writing. Without that person, it becomes a chore.

When to skip X

Skip X, at least for now, if any of these describes your firm. The hours will do more elsewhere.

• Your work comes from referrals and local reputation. Company directors and the solicitors and bankers who refer work are far more likely to see you on LinkedIn. Local owners are more likely to read your Google reviews.
• Your basics are not in order yet. If the website is out of date, the LinkedIn page is quiet and you have few Google reviews, fix those first.
• Nobody will check it daily. X moves fast. A question left unanswered for a week, or an account that stopped posting months ago, looks worse than no account.
• Nobody can check tax points quickly. X rewards speed, and speed is where mistakes happen. If nobody can check a post before it goes out, X is the wrong channel.

If your clients are local owners who respond to pictures and short updates, our guides on whether accountants should use Instagram and whether accountants should use Facebook will serve you better. If you are tempted by video instead, read whether accountants should use YouTube and whether accountants should use TikTok.

What works on X for accountants

The posts that work on X are short, plain and useful. Each one makes one point that a business owner could act on, in words they would use themselves.

One point per post

X's help page on posting says a standard post can be up to 280 characters, with longer posts available on its paid plans. Treat the short limit as a discipline, not a problem. One point, one sentence of why it matters, and one next step is enough.

Timely, plain comment when tax news lands

When a Budget or tax announcement lands, people want to know what it means for them. A short post saying who is affected and what, if anything, they should do now is useful. Check the detail on GOV.UK before you post. Being correct an hour later beats being wrong first.

Your own explainers and deadline reminders

Share the guides on your website and the deadline reminders your clients need, each with one line saying who it is for. X is a good place to point people to a fuller answer you have already written.

Replying, not only broadcasting

Answer questions from business owners in plain language, thank people who share your posts, and add a helpful point to a journalist's or professional body's post when you have one. Replies are often where the useful conversations happen.

That post is ours, written to show the shape: who it is for, the one point, what to do, where to read more. Fill in the group and the date from GOV.UK yourself on the day.

What does not work

Firms that give up on X, or regret what they posted, usually made one of the same few mistakes.

• Hot takes. A sharp opinion posted in a hurry can travel far and stay attached to your firm. If you would not say it to a client, do not post it.
• Arguing in replies. A public back-and-forth with a stranger rarely ends well for the professional in it. Make your point once, politely, then stop.
• Jargon threads. A long thread on technical detail that only other accountants follow will not reach the business owners you want.
• Bursts then silence. Twenty posts in Budget week and nothing for two months looks like a firm that gave up.
• Chasing followers. A follower count tells you little about whether X brings work. Enquiries and conversations with the right people are what matter.

How much time it takes

X takes less time per post than video, but it asks for attention more often. As a rough guide, a short daily check of ten or fifteen minutes beats an hour a day, and a few good posts a week beats dozens of filler posts.

Plan most posts ahead, from your own explainers and the deadlines in your diary, and leave room for one or two timely posts when news breaks. Pick one person to own the account, and agree who checks a tax point before it goes out.

Keep the rest of your posting on its own track so X does not swallow it. Pillr does not post to X; it leaves X out on purpose. It drafts a month of LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram posts from your firm's website in your firm's voice, and schedules them only once a partner has approved each one. That leaves your X time for the short, timely posts and replies that only a person can do well.

What never goes on X

X is public, fast and easy to screenshot, so a mistake can spread before you delete it. Agree a short list of what never appears, and check every post against it.

• Anything that identifies a client, including names, businesses, or a story they or others would recognise, unless they have agreed in writing.
• Client figures, even rounded or "anonymised".
• HMRC correspondence, even blurred or partly covered.
• Anything about a live client matter, including a hint that you are dealing with a dispute, an enquiry or a deadline for someone.
• Claims you cannot back up, and criticism of other firms.

Who may post as the firm, and who checks posts before they go out, belongs in your wider rules. Our guide on whether accountants should have a social media policy covers both. Replies on X can be blunt, so read how accountants handle negative comments before your first busy week.

How to tell if it is working

Judge X by whether the right people get in touch, not by followers. An account with a few hundred followers can bring good work, and one with thousands can bring none. Check these every month instead.

• Enquiries. Ask every new client how they found you, and write the answer down.
• Replies and questions from business owners. A real owner asking about their own situation means you reached the right person.
• Contact from journalists or referrers. A request for a comment, or a solicitor or banker who mentions your posts, is worth more than any follower count.
• Clients who mention it. Existing clients saying they saw your post on the Budget shows you are being read by the people who matter.

Give it about three months of steady posting before you decide. If it has brought nothing by then, stop, and put the time into LinkedIn, Google reviews or Instagram. To see a month of posts for those channels drafted for your own firm, paste your website address on the home page.

Questions accountants ask about X