How much does an accounting referral actually pay
What makes this profession particular is that the engagement renews every year. The real question is not the percentage, it is whether the referrer is paid once or every year. Both are practised, and the gap is enormous.
Run the numbers with your own figures
The starting values are an example to show the mechanism, not a market average. Replace them with yours, the calculation updates itself.
The ranges actually observed
These are the ranges from our commission grid, word for word. Nothing forces you to follow them, they only say what is commonly practised.
| Case | Observed range |
|---|---|
| Consulting and business services | 5 to 15 % of the engagement value |
Who pays what, plainly
You want to refer
0 €The referrer account is free, and it stays free. You track your referrals and your commissions without ever paying anything.
Create a free accountYou want to receive referrals
49,90 €The business pays for the tool. 49.90 € excl. VAT per month for an independent, no commitment, 15 day money back guarantee.
Ask a question on WhatsAppWhat justifies the commission, on the business side: tracking about 10,000 customers for almost three years, researchers measured that a referred customer is on average at least 16 % more valuable than a comparable customer acquired otherwise (Schmitt, Skiera and Van den Bulte, Journal of Marketing, 2011). On the referrer's side, recommending is not neutral either: at a cellular operator, customers who had referred someone saw their defection rate fall from 19 % to 7 % within a year (Garnefeld, Eggert, Helm and Tax, Journal of Marketing, 2013).
Frequently asked questions
Once, or every year?
Both exist. Paying once is simple and commits you to nothing long term. Paying every year while the client stays aligns the referrer far better, but you must cap it in the agreement, otherwise the commission becomes an endless annuity on a client you serve alone.
Do professional rules allow a commission?
Accountancy is a regulated profession and paid referrals are framed by it. Check with your professional body BEFORE setting a commission, not after. Referaly is first there to track the referral, with or without a counterpart.
Who refers a firm most often?
A lawyer, a banker, a broker, and above all a satisfied client talking to another business owner. Those sources are slow but very well qualified.
Is a written agreement needed?
Yes. It fixes the basis, the rate and the duration, and it documents the referrer's exact role, which matters in a supervised profession.