Role Purpose
The Client Service Administrator owns the intake, production workflow, and administrative backbone that keeps tax and accounting work moving for every client, every tier. This seat ensures Advisors and Supervisors are never pulled into production administration. Post-onboarding, the CSA also serves as the ongoing primary point of contact for Tier 2, 3, and 4 clients. For Tier 1 clients, all production functions are still executed by this seat — but the Advisory Coordinator remains the client-facing anchor, and the CSA coordinates inward with the AC rather than outward to the Tier 1 client directly.
Accountability
Accountable To
Seat 1 — Client Business Advisor, for production workflow quality and communication standards. Day-to-day production direction from Seat 3 (Accounting Supervisor) and Seat 4 (Tax Supervisor).
Direct Reports / Accountable From
Multi-person, scalable seat. At launch: two CSAs — one for Tier 2 clients, one for Tier 3 and 4 clients. Tier 3/4 CSA carries higher volume given concentrated, milestone-driven workflow. Additional CSA seats added as volume grows; seat definition stays identical.
Function Structure
ALL CLIENTS — UNIVERSAL
Production functions performed for all clients, all tiers — including Tier 1. Do not change based on who the ongoing POC is.
TIER 2–4 POC ONLY
Applies to Tier 2–4 clients only, post-onboarding. CSA becomes primary inbound contact after handoff trigger is met.
Responsibilities — Universal
- Tax intake — questionnaire creation, routing, client follow-up, prep-readiness confirmation
- Intake check-in tasks — payment method, profile, checklists, and prep-readiness confirmation
- Engagement letter tracking, confirmation filing, and signed copy management
- Asana status management — Ready for Prep updates and specialist routing
- Assembly and finalization — 8879 routing, e-file submission, Done! status update
- Extension filing coordination and tracking
- Proactive production milestone monitoring across all active client files
- Participate in or receive formal introduction from AC during client onboarding
- Confirm production systems are active and accurate at every onboarding handoff
- Seat 3 — Accounting Supervisor (accounting workflow)
- Seat 4 — Tax Supervisor (tax workflow)
- Seat 6 — Bookkeeping Specialist
- Seat 7 — Tax Specialist
- Seat 1 — Advisor (Tier 2–4 escalations)
- Seat 2 — AC (Tier 1 production status — all Tier 1 updates go to AC, never client directly)
- Seat 10 — Internal Ops (billing, systems accuracy)
- All intake check-in subtasks complete before marking Ready for Prep
- All assembly steps complete before marking Done!
- Engagement letter signed and filed before prep begins
- Tier 2–4 inbound triaged and routed correctly — no Advisor redirection required
- Tier 1 production status communicated to AC accurately and on time
- Production milestone outbound sent proactively — clients never chasing status
Responsibilities — Situational
TIER 2–4 POC ONLY
- Primary inbound contact for all Tier 2–4 client communication — the client's first call, email, and question
- Portal triage and client communication management for Tier 2–4 clients
- Tax membership SLA monitoring and proactive outbound for Tier 2–4 — estimate reminders, payment deadlines
- Proactive client communication on production milestones — intake open, return ready, return filed
- Triage all inbound: resolve production questions directly, route advisory questions to Advisor, escalate relationship risk immediately
- For Tier 1 clients: coordinate production status updates inward to AC — not outward to client directly
Seat Overlaps & Cross-Function Support
| Seat | Nature of Overlap or Support |
|---|
| Seat 2 — Advisory Coordinator | Universal onboarding handoff partner. For Tier 1 clients, ongoing coordination — CSA executes production, AC remains client-facing voice. |
| Seat 3 — Accounting Supervisor | Production workflow partnership — CSA routes the work, Supervisor signs off on output. |
| Seat 4 — Tax Supervisor | Intake/assembly partnership — CSA owns intake and assembly logistics; Supervisor owns return quality. |
| Seat 6 / Seat 7 — Specialists | CSA keeps production moving — confirming readiness, routing returns, assembling outputs — so Specialists can focus on the technical work. |
| Seat 1 — Advisor | Production reports up — the Advisor never has to chase status because the CSA has already surfaced it. |
Measures of Success
- Intake completion time — questionnaire to Ready for Prep within defined SLA
- Engagement letter turnaround — sent and returned within target window
- Assembly completion rate — 100% of finalized returns assembled and filed correctly
- Onboarding handoff participation — present and introduced for every new client, every tier
- Tier 2–4 client triage response time — all inbound acknowledged within defined SLA
- Tier 1 production coordination quality — AC has accurate production status at all times, no client surprises
- Production milestone communication — proactive outbound at every defined workflow milestone
- Zero production administration bleeding into Advisor or Supervisor seats