Accountant Convert Monthly Set-up to Monthly Client

1. General description

The Set-up to Monthly Client process describes how a one-off Set-up Only enquiry (for example Autonomo (Set-up Only) ID 241 or Limited Company Set-up Service ID 206) is converted into an ongoing monthly accounting client using the corresponding recurring service types (Self-Employed Set-Up Service ID 247 and Tax & Accounting Services (Limited Companies) ID 1360).

This process sits primarily in the BackOffice client lifecycle for General / Regular Enquiries, but it has implications for Business Logics (commission, reporting, statuses) and Technical Info (recurring services, payments). It is used by professionals/accountants and, where relevant, Admin, once the initial set-up engagement has been agreed and paid, and the client wishes Advocate Abroad partners to manage ongoing tax and accounting obligations.

The description here reflects the intended behaviour in Business Logic v2.0: the Set-up Only record is the entry point, a dedicated conversion action creates a linked monthly client record with the correct service type and recurring fee, and the original set-up record is automatically closed so that all future lifecycle actions occur only in the monthly record.

2. Business goals & objectives

The Set-up to Monthly Client process supports several core business objectives within the General / Regular Enquiry lifecycle.

• Ensure that every client who moves from a one-off Set-up Only engagement to ongoing tax and accounting support has a clearly defined, separate monthly client record with the appropriate ET and pricing.
• Guarantee that the Set-up Only engagement is financially complete (set-up fee recorded as Payment Received) before ongoing work is treated as a monthly service.
• Align recurring invoices, Advocate Abroad commission calculations, and reporting with the correct monthly service types (IDs 247 and 1360) instead of reusing the Set-up Only ETs.
• Prevent double handling and confusion by automatically closing the original Set-up Only record once a monthly client record is created, eliminating the need for further Next Progress Date (NPD) updates on the one-off enquiry.
• Provide a consistent, predictable route for accountants to turn successful Set-up Only engagements into longer-term client relationships, thereby increasing lifetime value and stabilising revenue.

3. Detailed behaviour & step by step flow

This section describes the end-to-end behaviour, from the moment a Set-up Only enquiry is ready for conversion, through to the creation and use of the monthly client record.

3.1 Entry conditions

• The client must already have an active Set-up Only enquiry in BackOffice, such as Autonomo (Set-up Only) ID 241 or Limited Company Set-up Service ID 206.
• The professional has agreed with the client that, after registration/incorporation, the professional will continue to manage ongoing tax and accounting obligations for a fixed monthly fee.
• The intended first month of the monthly service (year and month) is known and agreed with the client.

3.2 Financial validation on the Set-up Only record

1. The accountant opens the Set-up Only enquiry in BackOffice.
2. They record the set-up fee by clicking the Payment / Services button for that enquiry.
3. In the payment popup, they enter the agreed service fee amount for the set-up engagement and submit it so that the Set-up Only record reflects the Payment Received amount for the one-off work.

This payment entry ensures that the set-up engagement can be treated as financially complete before the monthly client record is created.

3.3 Triggering the conversion from set-up to monthly

1. Still on the Set-up Only enquiry screen, the accountant initiates the conversion by clicking the Create Monthly Client Record button.
2. A confirmation popup appears asking whether to create a new client record to handle monthly payments from this client.
3. The accountant confirms by selecting Yes, which instructs the system to start the monthly service creation flow based on this Set-up Only enquiry.

3.4 Defining monthly service terms

1. After confirmation, a dialog titled Create Accounting Service for [Client Name] is displayed.
2. The accountant enters the agreed recurring amount into the field “What monthly fee this client will pay?”.
3. The accountant selects the year and month for “What will be the 1st month of the service?”, corresponding to the first month during which ongoing accounting/tax work will be delivered.
4. The first month selected is included in the first monthly invoice raised under this accounting service; there is no separate pro-rata invoice in this logic.
5. The toggle “Close set-up client record(s)” remains switched on by default so that, if the monthly record is created successfully, the originating Set-up Only record is automatically marked as closed.
6. The accountant clicks Create Accounting Client Record to complete the configuration.

3.5 System actions on creation of monthly record

When the accountant confirms the creation:

• The system validates that a monthly fee and a first month of service have been provided.
• A new monthly accounting client record is created and linked to the same person/contact as the original Set-up Only enquiry.
• The monthly record uses the appropriate recurring service type:
  • If the originating ET is Autonomo (Set-up Only) 241, the monthly record is created under Self-Employed Set-Up Service ID 247.
  • If the originating ET is Limited Company Set-up Service 206, the monthly record is created under Tax & Accounting Services (Limited Companies) ID 1360.
• Core client and configuration data (name, contact details, location, tax jurisdiction context) are copied from the Set-up Only record into the new monthly record.
• Advocate Abroad’s commission configuration for recurring services is automatically applied to the new monthly record so that subsequent monthly payments will automatically allocate the correct commission.
• With “Close set-up client record(s)” enabled, the originating Set-up Only record has its status updated to the appropriate closed state, and no further Next Progress Date is required on that record.

3.6 Behaviour of the new monthly client record

• The monthly client record becomes the primary record for all future interactions with that client regarding ongoing tax and accounting services.
• All recurring billing (for example monthly invoices), monthly or quarterly tax filings, bookkeeping work, and ongoing communications should be managed from this monthly record.
• The record is configured to support recurring services for the chosen ET (247 or 1360), including correct reporting and commission capture.
• The system does not require or expect NPD updates on the closed Set-up Only record; scheduling and follow-up for the monthly work are handled by whatever NPD and task logic applies to monthly services in the broader Business Logic.

3.7 Exit points

• The process ends when the new monthly accounting client record has been successfully created and the originating Set-up Only record has been closed.
• From that point, the only further lifecycle change is to set to Completed and then Closed (by Admin)

3.8 Alternative entry: “Set-up Monthly Client” button

As an alternative to converting from a specific Set-up Only enquiry, the User can create a monthly client at any time by using the dedicated Set-up Monthly Client button, which opens the same “Create Accounting Service for [Client]” dialog shown in the set-up conversion flow.

1. From the client’s BackOffice record, the User clicks the Set-up Monthly Client button (labelled “Create Monthly Client Record” in the Payment & Services area).
2. The system displays the Create Accounting Service for [Client] popup.
3. The User optionally selects “Who should deal with the service?” to assign a specific professional to the monthly engagement.
4. The User enters the agreed amount in “What monthly fee this client will pay?”.
5. The User chooses the year and month in “What will be the 1st month of the service?”, which defines the first month covered by the initial monthly invoice.
6. Because this path is not necessarily tied to a specific Set-up Only enquiry, the “Close set-up client record(s)” toggle only has effect if there are open Set-up Only records linked to this client; otherwise it has no practical impact.
7. The User clicks Create Accounting Client Record, and the system creates a new Monthly Client record of the appropriate type for ongoing services, without requiring a preceding set-up payment flow in the same screen.

This alternative path is intended for situations where a monthly accounting relationship is established independently of a Set-up Only ET, or where the User wishes to regularise a long‑standing client into the standard Monthly Client structure without re‑opening historic set-up workflows.

4. Confusions, edge cases & known issues

The following issues and potential confusions are known or anticipated for this process based on the documented behaviour and UI flow.

• Professionals may continue to work inside the original Set-up Only record after conversion, instead of using the new monthly client record. The intended behaviour is to treat the Set-up Only record as historical only once the monthly client record exists.
• If the accountant forgets to record the Set-up Only payment before creating the monthly record, reporting on set-up revenue vs monthly revenue may be inconsistent, even though the system allows the monthly record to be created after payment entry. The business intent is that the one-off payment is correctly captured before ongoing work begins.
• There is potential confusion between “Self-Employed Set-Up Service ID 247” as a label and the original Set-up Only ET 241. In this process, 247 is the recurring monthly service type, not another one-off registration service, and should only be created from or in place of a completed 241 engagement.
• Closing the Set-up Only record automatically via the “Close set-up client record(s)” toggle means users must understand that no further NPD updates are required on that record; forgetting this may lead to attempts to manage follow-up dates on a closed enquiry.
• Edge cases where a client delays the start of monthly services (for example set-up completed in one month, but monthly service starts several months later) are handled by selecting a future “first month of the service” value, but the documentation does not specify additional constraints; any further rules (for example maximum gap allowed) would need explicit definition.

5. Permissions & access rules

The source documents do not define detailed role-based permissions for who may initiate the Set-up to Monthly Client conversion.

The working assumption for this page is that the conversion action is available to the professional or accountant responsible for the Set-up Only enquiry and, where configured, Admin users. If more granular rules exist (for example only Admin can configure monthly fees, or some users cannot close Set-up Only records), these need to be specified in separate permission documentation and linked here.

6. Timing, automation & background jobs

The Set-up to Monthly Client process itself is a user-triggered conversion and does not define additional SLAs or time-based automation beyond what already applies to NPD and status management in General / Regular Enquiries.

• The only explicit timing-related rule in this process is that the “first month of the service” chosen during creation defines which calendar month is included in the first monthly invoice for the new accounting service.
• Automatic closure of the Set-up Only record happens immediately when the monthly record is successfully created and the “Close set-up client record(s)” option is enabled; there is no delayed closure.
• Any additional automation affecting the monthly record (for example NPD expiry, hibernation, or anonymisation behaviour) is governed by the general Business Logic for recurring services and is not redefined here.
• No specific cronjob or background task is documented as operating solely on this conversion process; instead, the monthly record participates in the same background jobs that apply to all recurring client records.

7. Dependencies & interactions with other processes

The Set-up to Monthly Client process depends on and interacts with several other parts of the Advocate Abroad ecosystem.

• It depends on correct configuration of Enquiry Types (ETs) for Set-up Only services (for example 241 and 206) and recurring services (247 and 1360) so that the system can map from the original ET to the correct monthly service type.
• It requires that the General / Regular Enquiry lifecycle be functioning correctly, including statuses and Next Progress Date logic, so that the Set-up Only record reaches the point where conversion is appropriate.
• The process interacts with the Payments and Commissions business rules, ensuring that one-off set-up payments are recorded against the Set-up Only record and recurring monthly payments are recorded against the monthly record with appropriate commission.
• The new monthly record will participate in any Recurring Services logic (for example recurring invoicing, long-term client metrics) defined elsewhere in the Business Logics book, but those rules are not duplicated here.
• Closing the Set-up Only record ensures that background processes and queues that rely on statuses and NPD (such as daily updates or OOO summaries) treat the client as handled under a monthly service rather than as an open one-off enquiry.

8. Error handling, recovery & idempotency

The documentation does not describe detailed error-handling or idempotency rules specific to this conversion process; however, some practical considerations follow from the intended behaviour.

• If the creation of the monthly client record fails (for example due to validation errors on the monthly fee or first month of service), the system should keep the Set-up Only record unchanged and present validation feedback to the user so they can correct the input and retry.
• If the monthly record has already been created and the user accidentally attempts the conversion again, the behaviour for a second “Create Monthly Client Record” action is not defined in the available sources; this should be treated as an open question and resolved at implementation time (for example by blocking repeat conversions or linking to the existing monthly record).
• Corrections to wrongly entered monthly fee or first month of service are expected to be made directly on the monthly client record, not by re-running the conversion.
• If payment for the Set-up Only service was entered incorrectly, standard payment correction tools should be used on the Set-up Only record; this does not inherently affect the existence of the monthly record but may impact reporting and commission totals.

9. Performance & scalability considerations

The available documentation does not mention specific performance constraints or optimisation requirements for the Set-up to Monthly Client process.

The implicit expectation is that creation of the monthly client record, copying of client data, and closure of the Set-up Only record occur quickly enough that the user sees the new record and updated status without noticeable delay. Any list views or dashboards that include monthly records should reflect the new record according to the standard refresh and pagination behaviour defined elsewhere.

10. Configuration & customisation

This process depends on configuration of service types and some aspects of recurring service behaviour.

• The mapping from Set-up Only ETs (for example Autonomo 241, Limited Company 206) to monthly service ETs (247 and 1360) is treated as a configuration or code-level rule; it must be maintained consistently so that the correct monthly ET is always chosen.
• Default behaviour for closing Set-up Only records (“Close set-up client record(s)” being on by default) is a configuration choice that could potentially be changed if business rules evolve, but the documentation assumes closure is the norm.
• Monthly fee amounts and first month of service are not hard-coded; they are entered case-by-case by the professional at the time of conversion, reflecting negotiated terms with each client.
• Any additional reporting flags or inclusion/exclusion rules (for example whether certain ETs are eligible for conversion, or how converted clients appear in statistics) must be configured in line with the broader Business Logic v2.0 but are not further detailed here.

11. Notifications & communication rules

The sources do not define specific email or notification templates tied uniquely to the Set-up to Monthly Client conversion event.

It is understood that professionals may inform clients manually (for example by email) about the start of ongoing services, the agreed monthly fee, and the first month included in the first invoice, but these communications are governed by general messaging rules and not by a dedicated automated notification in this process. If, in future, automatic client or Admin notifications are added when a monthly record is created from a Set-up Only enquiry, they should be documented here with triggers and recipients.

12. Historical changes & Trello driven updates

The Set-up to Monthly Client process is part of the broader evolution from ad hoc handling of recurring clients to a structured recurring services model in Business Logic v2.0.

• Historically, professionals may have continued to manage ongoing work within the original Set-up Only enquiry or created separate records manually, leading to inconsistent reporting and commission tracking. The current process formalises a single, guided conversion path.
• The explicit mapping from Set-up Only ETs to recurring ETs (241 → 247, 206 → 1360) and the automatic closure of the Set-up Only record are intended to eliminate legacy confusion about where recurring work should be stored.
• Any older data where monthly work is attached directly to Set-up Only records should be treated as legacy and, where feasible, migrated to the new structure when practical.

13. Compliance & legal constraints

The Set-up to Monthly Client process touches compliance primarily through financial and audit requirements rather than direct legal rules.

• Recording the Set-up Only payment and then the recurring monthly payments on the appropriate records supports transparent financial reporting and, where applicable, tax or accounting obligations of the professionals.
• Maintaining a clear separation between the one-off set-up engagement and the ongoing monthly engagement helps ensure that invoices, commissions and revenue recognition are traceable and auditable.
• Any GDPR-related handling of client records (for example anonymisation after retention windows) is governed by global GDPR and data protection processes and applies equally to Set-up Only and monthly records; this process does not override those rules.

14. Known backend services & integration points

The documentation does not enumerate specific Laravel modules, APIs or background jobs dedicated solely to this process, but several backend components are implicitly involved.

• The BackOffice models for Enquiry Types, client records, payments, and recurring services must support creation of a new monthly record linked to an existing client and ET mapping.
• Payment handling services are invoked when the set-up fee is recorded and when recurring payments are later taken under the monthly record; commission logic depends on the chosen ET.
• Any APIs or jobs responsible for reporting or dashboards that distinguish between one-off and recurring revenue must use the ET and record type (Set-up Only vs monthly) to group figures correctly.
• NPD and status-handling services will treat the closed Set-up Only record differently from the active monthly record, in line with the general Business Logic for statuses and NPD.

15. Behavioural guardrails & Project Manager guidance

The following guardrails express the intended way professionals and the system should use this process, and the mechanisms that support that behaviour.

• Always convert successful Set-up Only clients to a dedicated monthly record. Ongoing tax and accounting work should not continue indefinitely inside a Set-up Only enquiry. The dedicated “Create Monthly Client Record” button is the mechanism that enforces a clean separation between one-off and recurring work.
• Record the Set-up Only payment before or alongside conversion. Professionals should ensure that the set-up fee is properly recorded via the Payment / Services flow so that financial reporting and commission on the one-off work are complete before relying on the monthly record. The payment popup and Payment Received indicators are the tools for this guardrail.
• Use the monthly record as the single source of truth for ongoing work. Once a monthly record exists and the Set-up Only record is closed, all future NPD updates, messages, tasks, and payments must be added to the monthly record. Automatic closure of the Set-up Only record, plus the absence of further NPD requirements on it, are intended to nudge users to the correct place.
• Do not bypass the mapped ETs. Professionals should not manually create adhoc recurring ETs unrelated to the documented mapping (241 → 247, 206 → 1360) for this workflow, as that would undermine standard reporting and commission rules. The predefined ET mapping and the dedicated conversion flow are designed to encourage consistent use.
• Clarify monthly terms with the client. The monthly fee and first month of service must reflect what was actually agreed with the client; the fields in the “Create Accounting Service” dialog capture these parameters explicitly to reduce ambiguity later.