A referral thank-you note from an accountant or lawyer is three lines: the referrer's first name, thanks for their trust, and your own name. It says nothing about the person they sent or what that person needs. Write it by hand, put it in an envelope, and post it the week the introduction is made. Eighteen notes to copy follow, for referrals, new engagements, finished work and year end.
What should a thank you for the referral letter from an accountant say?
Say thank you for the trust, and stop. Name the referrer, tell them a recommendation from them means something, and sign it yourself. Do not say whether the person became a client, what they came about, or how it went. Your duty of confidentiality covers all of that. The safest referral note would read the same if a stranger opened it.
If you are unsure whether you may even name the person referred, do not. "Thank you for sending people our way" is warm enough. Where the referrer made the introduction openly, for example by an email to both of you, naming the first name is natural.
Notes to the person who referred a client
Dear Susan, thank you for giving my name to a friend this month. I know you do not recommend people lightly, and I will not let you down. Rachel Moore, CPA
Hi Greg, thank you for the introduction last week. A kind word from a banker of thirty years carries weight, and I am grateful for it. David
Dear Anita, thank you for thinking of our firm again. That is the third time this year. We notice, and we are grateful. Meera, Patel and Shah Bookkeeping
Dear Mr Lindqvist, thank you for your referral. Being recommended by another lawyer is the compliment I value most. If I can ever return it, I will. Claire Bennett
Hi Tomas, thank you for sending people our way since you opened the café. I hope the new espresso machine is earning its keep. Rachel
Notes when an engagement is signed
These go to the new client, in an envelope. Mention the person, not the matter.
Dear Paul, thank you for choosing us. I am glad we met. My direct line is on the card inside, and I pick it up myself. Rachel Moore
Hi Yasmin, welcome. Thank you for your trust. Bring the shoebox. We have seen worse, and we will sort it out together. Meera
Dear Mr and Mrs Walsh, thank you for coming in on Tuesday, and for the shortbread. I will be your point of contact from start to finish. Claire Bennett
Hi Omar, thank you for signing on. You will hear from me on the first Monday of every month, whether or not there is news. David
Dear Elena, welcome to the firm. Thank you for the care you took with the paperwork. It makes our work easier and your bill smaller. Rachel
Notes when the return is filed or the matter closes
Finished work usually ends with an invoice. A short card a week later ends it with a person.
Dear Paul, all done for this year. Thank you for getting everything to me early. Enjoy the summer, and I will be in touch in January. Rachel
Hi Yasmin, we are finished. Thank you for your patience through a long spring. You were a pleasure to work with. Meera
Dear Mr and Mrs Walsh, it is complete. Thank you for trusting me with something that mattered so much to your family. I wish you both well. Claire Bennett
Hi Omar, that is everything wrapped up. Thank you for answering every email within the hour. I wish all my clients did. David
Year-end notes
Dear Susan, thank you for another year. Eleven years we have worked together now. I hope the holidays are quiet and the grandchildren are loud. Rachel
Hi Tomas, thank you for a good year. The café's second year was better than its first, and you did that. Rest over the break. Rachel
Dear Greg, thank you for your trust and your introductions this year. I do not take either for granted. Happy New Year. David
Dear Elena, thank you for being our client this year. Wishing you and your family a calm holiday and an easy January. Meera
Why thank people for referrals at all?
Because referrals are how most clients find an accountant or a lawyer, and most referrers never hear what their recommendation meant. In Clio's 2019 Legal Trends Report, a survey of 2,000 consumers, 59 per cent of people looking for a lawyer sought a referral from someone they knew. Friends and family were the most common source at 32 per cent, then another lawyer at 16 per cent, then a non-legal professional such as an accountant at 9 per cent (LexBlog, quoting the Clio report).
Accounting looks the same. Hinge, a marketing firm that studies professional services, says asking friends and colleagues is the most common way buyers look for a provider. 71 per cent did so in its buyer research, rising to 87 per cent in accounting (Hinge Marketing).
Hinge's referral study of 523 professional services firms adds two useful findings (Hinge Research Institute):
- Most clients would refer you. Hinge's earlier research found 69 per cent of clients were willing to refer their provider. Among those who had not, 72 per cent gave the same reason: nobody had asked them about the firms they had worked with.
- Referrers are not only clients. 81.5 per cent of firms had received a referral from someone who had never worked with them. The banker, the solicitor down the hall and the café owner all count.
Hinge sells marketing services, so read those as one firm's surveys, not settled science. The direction matches Clio's.
A card is a quiet way to stay in that conversation. It thanks without asking for anything. People hold back from sending one because it feels awkward. Amit Kumar and Nicholas Epley found in 2018 that people who wrote thank-you letters underestimated how pleased the reader would be (Psychological Science).
Small firms have the least time for this. In the AICPA's 2026 CPA Firm Top Issues Survey of 629 participants, tax law complexity was the top issue for sole practitioners and firms of up to ten people. The AICPA's Lisa Simpson summed up the results with "accounting is still a people business" (Journal of Accountancy).
How do you keep a thank-you note confidential?
Use an envelope, name no one's affairs, and let the card say only thanks. The AICPA's Confidential Client Information Rule says a member in public practice shall not disclose confidential client information without the client's specific consent (Journal of Accountancy). Lawyers work under similar duties. A postcard can be read by anyone who handles it, so it is the wrong format here.
In practice:
- Never a postcard. Every card in this article goes in a sealed envelope.
- To the referrer: no outcome. Do not write "Paul has signed with us" or "we sorted out his back taxes". Even the fact that someone is your client may be confidential.
- To the client: no matter. "Thank you for your trust" is enough. Leave out divorce, audit, probate, refund, debt, and every figure.
- Mind the return address. For a family law or insolvency practice, the firm's name on the envelope can tell a household more than the client wants. Use a plain return address if that could matter.
- No gifts of value without checking. Rules on referral fees and gifts differ by profession and place. A card with words on it is the safe form of thanks. This is not legal advice, so check your own rules.
When should each card go out, and what sets it off?
Tie each card to something you already record. MailMyCard writes each card with a real pen held by a plotter, in real ink, and posts it, in an envelope where you choose one.
| Moment | When the card should be posted | What can trigger it |
|---|---|---|
| Referral received | The week of the introduction | A row in a watched Google Sheet (referrer's name and address only) |
| Engagement signed | The day the engagement letter is signed | A CRM deal stage (HubSpot, Pipedrive, Zoho), or Zapier |
| Return filed or matter closed | A week after the final invoice is paid | Stripe, if you take payment through it, or a row in the Sheet |
| Year end | Three to four weeks before the holidays | A yearly Schedule |
Cards are posted from India. Inside India they arrive in days. Abroad they take one to three weeks, so none of these should be left to the last minute. See how long mail takes. Send us only what goes on the card and the envelope. We do not connect to practice management or tax software directly. Use a Google Sheet or Zapier.
One card is $14.99. Firms sending 50 or more agree a per-card price, from $8.99 for a pilot of 50 and falling with volume. See For business and the developer docs. For nearby professions, see our notes for financial advisors and insurance agents. For year end, see business holiday card messages.
Common questions
Can I tell the referrer that their friend became a client?
Only if the client has said you may. Without that, thank the referrer for the introduction and say nothing more. Most referrers will hear the rest from their friend.
Should I send a gift card with the thank-you?
We would not. It can run into your profession's rules on referral fees. There is evidence against it too. In a field experiment with 1,232 retail customers, a handwritten thank-you roughly doubled later spending, and the lift faded when a coupon was attached (Science Says).
Is an email thank-you enough?
An email the same day is good manners. The card a week later is what gets kept. Send both.
Who should sign the card?
The person who did the work, with a first name or the name the client uses for them. A note signed "The Partners" thanks nobody.
Sources
- Clio, 2019 Legal Trends Report (2,000 consumers), as quoted by Kevin O'Keefe: kevin.lexblog.com
- Hinge Research Institute, Referral Marketing for Professional Services Firms (523 firms): hingemarketing.com
- Hinge Marketing, "Referral Marketing and Your Professional Services Brand": hingemarketing.com
- AICPA PCPS, 2026 CPA Firm Top Issues Survey (629 participants), as reported by the Journal of Accountancy
- "AICPA's revised confidentiality rule and Sec. 7216", Journal of Accountancy (March 2015)
- Kim, S., Choi, J. and Kim, S. H. (2022), Journal of Interactive Marketing, summarized by Science Says
- Kumar, A. and Epley, N. (2018), "Undervaluing Gratitude", Psychological Science: psychologicalscience.org
