How to Get Clients for CA Practice: 15 Ethical Ways

In this article

How to get clients for CA practice without soliciting
Start with the clients you already have (ways 1 to 4)
Earn referrals the right way (ways 5 to 9)
Handle every enquiry well (ways 10 to 12)
Be visible through what you know (ways 13 to 15)
What not to do while chasing growth
Where to start
Questions people ask
Sources

Key points

A CA must not solicit work. Use the permitted write-up and website routes, and build trust that spreads: existing clients, referrals, fellow CAs and visible expertise.
Your cheapest new work is more work for current clients: a yearly review, timely renewals and quick complaint handling.
Referral fees may pass between CAs in practice; do not pay a lead generator or agent, and check Clauses (2) to (5) and Regulation 53A before any fee arrangement with a professional who is not a CA.
Handle enquiries well: reply the same day, share your firm profile only when asked, and put scope and fees in writing.
Teach in public: articles, talks and seminars, plus listings such as ICAI's CA Connect.

How to get clients for CA practice when you are not allowed to solicit work? Through trust that spreads: clients who stay and grow with you, people who recommend you, fellow CAs who pass on work, and a reputation for knowing your subject. This guide is for practising CAs and CA firms, from a new proprietor to a five-partner firm. It names 15 ethical ways to win and keep clients, explains five of them in depth, and checks each one against the revised ICAI Code of Ethics that applies from 1 April 2026.

How to get clients for CA practice without soliciting

The starting point is Clause (6). A CA in practice must not solicit clients or work, directly or indirectly, by circular, advertisement, personal communication, interview or any other means (para 2.14.1.6). Clause (7) and the 2026 Advertisement and Website Guidelines do allow compliant write-ups and website content. Beyond that, ICAI's own commentary gives the answer to "then how?": work comes from gradually building confidence in your ability and integrity, and client satisfaction is the best advertisement, leading to other clients (para 2.14.1.6(iii)).

That is not a slogan. It is a growth plan. Here are the 15 ways, in four groups.

Existing clients: 1. a yearly review with each important client; 2. a services checklist for every client; 3. renewing on time and staying in touch; 4. treating complaints as a chance to keep the client.
Referrals and colleagues: 5. being easy to recommend; 6. responding well when a client offers to recommend you; 7. a network of fellow CAs; 8. respecting clients another CA introduces; 9. working alongside other professionals, without agents.
Enquiries: 10. a same-day reply and an enquiry register; 11. a calm first meeting; 12. taking over work from another CA properly.
Visible expertise: 13. teaching in public; 14. getting listed where clients and organisations look; 15. building a niche or a new service line.

Below, five of these are explained as worked examples, one or two from each group, with the rule that applies to the others. Online channels such as your website, articles and social media are covered separately in Digital Marketing for Chartered Accountants: ICAI-Safe Ways. This guide is about relationships.

Start with the clients you already have (ways 1 to 4)

Example: hold a yearly review with each important client (way 1). Thirty minutes in a quiet month, to look back at the year and ask what is changing in their life or business: a new branch, a child going abroad, a plan to hire staff. Most new work comes from one sentence the client says in such a meeting. Point out a need, explain why it matters, and let them decide. Offer only what you are qualified and allowed to do, and refer the rest to a colleague.

Illustrative example Arvind, a CA in Coimbatore, books a short review with his top 20 clients each May. At one meeting, a textile client mentions he is opening a second unit and taking a bank loan. Arvind asks the right questions, and that one conversation leads to new work for the year, without a single advertisement.

Ways 2 to 4 work the same ground. Clients rarely leave over price alone; many drift away after months of silence, or after one complaint that was handled slowly. A periodic newsletter of professional updates to clients is expressly allowed (FAQ Chapter 8, Q46), and a short note before renewal, listing what you did that year, does a lot.

Earn referrals the right way (ways 5 to 9)

Example: respond well when a client offers to recommend you (way 6). Thank them, share your contact details, and serve the person they send with extra care. Keep confidentiality: do not confirm to the referrer whether you took the work, or discuss it, without the new client's permission. Do not pay a lead generator or agent for a referral, and check whether any arrangement with another professional is allowed under Clauses (2) to (5) and Regulation 53A. Paying any share, commission or brokerage in your fees to a person who is not a member is misconduct (Clause (2), para 2.14.1.2).

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Example: build a network of fellow CAs (way 7). The Code expressly allows you to apply for, request or secure professional work from another CA in practice (proviso (i) to Clause (6); FAQ Chapter 8, Q19). A small firm that does not handle valuation, or a large one with overflow audits, will pass work to people it trusts. A referral fee may be received from another member in practice for referring a client (para 2.14.1.3(ii)). ICAI's FAQ booklet adds that such a fee creates a self-interest threat and suggests disclosing it to the client as a safeguard (Chapter 4, Q15).

Two rules shape ways 8 and 9. If a colleague introduces a client for specific work, do not accept that client's original work. If it comes to you directly, ask the client to come through the colleague who handles it (para 2.14.1.6(iv)N). And you may not secure work through an agent or lead generator, or pay them a commission from your fees (Clause (5), para 2.14.1.5); Clause (5) keeps the arrangements allowed under Clauses (2) to (4), so check Regulation 53A before dealing with another professional.

Within the rules The Code does not name referral or business networking groups. If a group's purpose is to pass business between members, check with ICAI's Ethical Standards Board before you join.

Handle every enquiry well (ways 10 to 12)

Example: reply the same day, and log every enquiry (way 10). An enquiry is a person who has already chosen to contact you. Keep a simple register: date, name, how they heard of you, what they need, next step, outcome. Within three months you will see which relationships bring work, and how many enquiries you lose through slow replies.

For the first meeting (way 11), share your firm profile only if they ask for it, because sharing it with a prospective client without a specific query is not permitted (para 2.14.1.6(iv)I). For taking over work (way 12), if you are offered an audit previously held by another CA, you must first communicate with that CA in writing (Clause (8), para 2.14.1.8). The purpose is to learn the reasons for the change, not only courtesy.

Many good enquiries are lost in the first meeting itself: too much talking, no clear scope, a fee that arrives as a surprise later.

Be visible through what you know (ways 13 to 15)

Example: teach in public (way 13). Write articles for newspapers and journals with your name, "Chartered Accountant" and firm name (para 2.14.1.7(xiii)). Speak at ICAI branch study circles and trade association meetings, to give an objective professional view, not to promote yourself or your firm. You may also run training sessions or webcasts for your staff and invite clients and others, without giving undue prominence to your name (para 2.14.1.7(xii)). People remember the CA who explained something clearly.

For listings (way 14), ICAI encourages members to use its CA Connect listing portal, and members may list on government or regulator platforms such as GeM (para 3.5; FAQ Chapter 9, Q6, Q7). For bank, government and other panels, you may write to an organisation whose panel you know about, but not make roving enquiries (para 2.14.1.6(iv)B). Tenders follow ICAI's 2016 tender guidelines (para 2.14.1.6(iv)C).

A clear niche (way 15) makes you easy to remember and easy to refer. One example is a monthly virtual CFO retainer for growing MSME clients, which the Launch a Virtual CFO Line course covers, including the independence check for audit clients.

Whatever you teach or specialise in, many people will look you up online before they call. A website that is out of date, or that breaks the ICAI website rules, works against all of this. If you have no site yet, a website made for tax professionals, such as our own WebifyTax, gives you a start that you can then improve.

What not to do while chasing growth

Avoid	Why
Letters, emails or circulars to people likely to need a CA	Treated as advertisement (para 2.14.1.6(iv)K)
Paying an agent or lead generator a share, commission or brokerage from your fees	Clause (2), para 2.14.1.2
Getting work through an agent or lead generator, outside the arrangements allowed by Clauses (2) to (4)	Clause (5), para 2.14.1.5
Sending your firm profile unasked	Para 2.14.1.6(iv)I
Sponsoring events for visibility	Not permitted, except ICAI CPE events the Council approves and CSR-related activities, subject to the Code's conditions (para 2.14.1.6(iv)G)
Fee sharing through aggregator apps	FAQ Chapter 9, Q5

For the full list of what CAs may and may not publish, see Can a CA Advertise? ICAI Advertising Rules 2026 Explained.

Where to start

Knowing how to get clients for CA practice is the easy part; doing it every week is harder. Do not try all 15 ways at once. Pick one, finish it, then add the next. For most firms, the best first step is a simple enquiry register and a yearly review with your top clients, because both work with people who already know you.

What usually goes wrong is the follow-through. A plan made in a quiet month is forgotten by the first busy deadline. A short weekly list of actions, each with a date, keeps growth work alive through the season.

When the practice grows past what you can handle alone, the next questions are team, systems and profit, which How to Grow Your CA Practice: Solo to a 10-Person Firm covers.

Sales Academy walks through referrals, growing existing clients, networking, sales meetings and proposals, with a CA rule check in every chapter. Read the first chapter free, then use the Sales Academy action points as your weekly list. For your website, Website SEO for Tax Professionals includes a checklist based on the ICAI website rules; check your own site against the current rules before publishing.

Rules change: check the latest ICAI announcement before you act.

Questions people ask

How do new CAs get their first clients?

Mostly through people who already know them: family, friends, former colleagues and fellow CAs who need help with overflow work. Do excellent work for the first few, keep in touch, and let satisfied clients recommend you. The Code allows you to ask another CA in practice for work (proviso (i) to Clause (6)).

Can a CA ask clients for referrals?

The Code bars soliciting work directly or indirectly by any means, so do not run referral campaigns. When a happy client offers to recommend you, thank them and make it easy by sharing your contact details. If unsure, check the current ICAI guidance.

Can a CA pay a referral fee?

A referral fee between members in practice may be allowed: the Code permits a member in practice to receive a referral fee from another member for referring a client (para 2.14.1.3(ii)). Paying a share of fees to a person outside the groups Clause (2) allows (members, partners and the professionals prescribed under Regulation 53A) is misconduct, and ICAI's FAQ booklet suggests disclosing referral fees to the client.

Can a CA send a firm profile to a prospective client?

Only in response to that person's specific query (para 2.14.1.6(iv)I). Sending it unasked is not permitted.

Can a CA join a business networking group?

The Code does not name such groups. You may not secure work through an agent or lead generator (Clause (5); it keeps the arrangements allowed under Clauses (2) to (4)) or pay commission to non-members (Clause (2)). Check with ICAI's Ethical Standards Board before joining a group built around passing business.

Sources

Course: Sales AcademyTurn these 15 ways into a habit

Read the free first chapter of Sales Academy. If your staff answer enquiries and keep in touch with clients, the Office plan gives every person every course, including Client Handling & Fee Collection.