How a $4M+ accounting firm finally has full pipeline visibility and team alignment

Edwards & Associates with running a $4M+ firm had no single source of truth. AccountGroove centralized their CRM, aligned their channel partnerships, and gave every team member real-time visibility into their pipeline so nothing falls through the cracks.

Overview

Edwards & Associates, PC engaged AccountGroove to replace HubSpot with a CRM tailored for accounting firms. AccountGroove worked with internal stakeholders to migrate forms, contacts, and automations and protect the firm’s primary email domain while launching marketing and newsletter automation.

The Challenge

E&A was invested in an enterprise HubSpot license but using less than 10% of its functionality due to complexity in the setup and lack of clarity. Despite the cost and multiple paid onboarding engagements with HubSpot partners, the system remained misaligned with how CPA firms actually sell and onboard clients.

Key challenges included:

Complex website forms causing significant lead drop-off
Over 4 years of fragmented contact data across HubSpot and Pipedrive with no clear segmentation
No structured onboarding portal or centralized client intake experience
Limited control over automations, leading to inconsistent brand voice
No lead scoring or routing system, resulting in inefficient sales calls
Risk to their primary domain from marketing email deliverability and compliance issues

The Solution

In under 14 days, AccountGroove deployed a fully customized CRM system tailored to E&A’s workflow:

Replaced the multi-step HubSpot form with a single smart form using conditional logic, reducing friction while capturing better data
Built a front desk intake form to streamline phone inquiries and route leads to the right team member
Cleaned and consolidated 4,000+ high interest contacts across platforms, enabling accurate segmentation and retargeting
Implemented lead scoring and routing automation, ensuring high-value leads reached senior staff for sales calls
Deployed a 24-month marketing library with customizable templates for newsletters and campaigns
Created a structured onboarding portal to standardize client intake
Designed a secure email architecture, including a marketing subdomain to protect the firm’s primary domain

The Implementation

AccountGroove executed a phased rollout to minimize compliance risk and disruption:

Phase 1: Data migration and clean up
Phase 2: Smart form logic implementation
Phase 3: Automation and lead routing
Phase 4: Newsletter and marketing activation

All automations were reviewed and approved by E&A prior to launch to ensure alignment with the firm’s voice and compliance standards.

For deliverability, AccountGroove collaborated with E&A’s IT partner to implement and verify a marketing subdomain, completing DNS setup and security validation in under 24 hours.

The full system was live in less than 14 days.

The Results

42% increase in form completion rate after simplifying lead capture
65% reduction in manual data handling due to cleaned and centralized contact records
2.5x improvement in lead-to-call efficiency through automated routing and scoring
100% domain protection achieved with verified subdomain setup for marketing emails
90% faster campaign launch time using pre-built templates and automation
Zero disruption to ongoing operations during migration

Client Experience

Traci (Head of Operations) and Bonnie (Head of Marketing) were deeply involved throughout the process.

Bonnie was trained on campaign creation and scheduling, enabling her to independently manage campaigns and track performance
Traci was trained on the core CRM workflows she relies on most, ensuring smooth day-to-day operations without unnecessary complexity
Robert gained confidence that only high-value, qualified leads were reaching his calendar, while the team handled initial screening and fit
The broader team gained confidence in automation, knowing they retained full control over messaging, timing, and client experience