How should a bookkeeping or accounting firm website work? Build it around an online company setup form

A bookkeeping or accounting firm website should be built for people who are about to start a company. The firm that helps a client set up a company usually goes on to handle the monthly bookkeeping, business tax filings, and the annual tax return. So the main button on the website should be "Register a company online," not "Contact us." When the application is split into guided steps that applicants can go back and edit, the website stops being a business card and becomes an intake channel that delivers complete applications.

This article explains why a firm website should focus on that moment, how to break an online company setup form into steps, which regulations the form needs to comply with, and what else the website needs. Our example is the website we built for NEXA, a bookkeeping firm in Taiwan. Packages and fees for firm websites are listed on Accounting firm website packages. For the bigger picture of how firms find clients, see Where do bookkeeping firms get their clients?.

"Online company setup form" and "company-type helper" are the names we use on this project, not official terms. What a certified public bookkeeper in Taiwan may do on a client's behalf is defined by law (Laws & Regulations Database of the ROC, Certified Public Bookkeepers Act, Article 13).

How is a company-setup-first website different from a typical firm website?

The difference is the next step it asks visitors to take. A typical website asks them to call. A website built around company setup lets them start the application right away.

	Typical firm website	Company-setup-first website
Main button	Contact us	Register a company, apply online
What the client does	Figures out what to ask, then calls	Follows the steps, with guidance right next to each field
What the firm receives	A call that starts from scratch	A complete application, ready for a quote on the first call
Service descriptions	Legal text and a list of services	Plain answers to the questions founders actually ask
Mobile	A shrunken desktop page	Main button pinned to the bottom of the screen, one tap away
Content updates	Contact the vendor and wait for an opening	Edit in the CMS admin panel, live as soon as you save

Case study　NEXA: from logo to website, with company setup turned into a six-step online application

Why should the website focus on the moment someone starts a company?

Because long-term engagements are usually decided at setup. A bookkeeping firm earns most of its revenue from recurring work: monthly bookkeeping, business tax filed every two months, and the annual income tax return. Whoever helps a founder complete company registration tends to become their bookkeeper afterward.

NEXA didn't even have a logo when they came to us. We built the brand identity and then the website over eight weeks, and every part of the website serves this one goal.

Founders often do their research in the evening or on weekends. What they need then isn't yet another comparison table of sole proprietorships and companies. It's a clear recommendation. NEXA's website handles this with a company-type helper: visitors answer a few questions, find out whether to set up a sole proprietorship or a company, then go straight into the online application and leave their details with the firm.

Why split the application into several steps?

Starting a company is a one-time, unfamiliar process, and a series of short steps is easier to complete than one long form.

• One-time processes suit a step-by-step flow. Nielsen Norman Group recommends wizards for infrequent tasks or for users without domain knowledge, with all steps listed, the current step highlighted, back and next buttons, and help text shown beside the form instead of covering it (Nielsen Norman Group, Wizards: Definition and Design Recommendations). Most people start a company only once or twice in their lives.
• Long, complicated forms make people give up. In Baymard Institute's research, 17% of US online shoppers had abandoned an order because the checkout process was too long or complicated (Baymard Institute, Cart Abandonment Rate Statistics). That figure comes from e-commerce, not company setup, but the lesson is the same: too many fields people don't understand, and they leave. Setting up a company requires far more information than a checkout, so it needs to be broken up even more.

How are NEXA's six steps structured?

They follow the actual company setup process, and each step comes with a short plain-language explainer alongside it, which we call the "mini class."

1. Show the whole process first. The opening page collects nothing. It lays out the stages: completing the form online, the name pre-check, capital verification, company registration, and tax registration. What founders worry about most is not knowing what comes next, and seeing the whole process is what makes them willing to start.
2. Company type. Limited company, company limited by shares, or sole proprietorship, plus a "Not sure yet" option that leaves the decision to an adviser. Never leaving someone stuck on an option they don't understand is the guiding principle of the entire form.
3. Company name. A name may clash with an existing company's, so applicants list three candidates in order of preference, and the explainer covers the rules for how a company name is composed.
4. Business activities. Common activities are checkboxes, plus a field where founders describe the business in their own words so the adviser can confirm the right codes.
5. Capital and shareholders. Shareholders are added one by one, and contributions are totaled in real time. If the total doesn't match the stated capital, the form flags it immediately, so errors get fixed on the spot.
6. Registered address and contact details. Owned, rented, and borrowed premises each require different documents, and the explainer lists them. Contact details come last, along with options for follow-on services such as monthly bookkeeping and business tax filing. This is where a one-time setup service turns into a long-term engagement.

A review page lists everything before submission, with an edit link for each section, and the application is emailed to the firm's inbox.

Which regulations does an online company setup form need to comply with?

The main ones cover privacy notices and identity verification, and both should be built into the design from the start.

• Give notice before collecting personal data. When personal data is collected directly from the individual, Article 8 of Taiwan's Personal Data Protection Act requires telling them who is collecting it, the purpose, the categories of data, how and for how long it will be used, their rights, and the consequences of not providing it (Laws & Regulations Database of the ROC, Personal Data Protection Act, Article 8). NEXA's form asks applicants to read and accept this notice before submitting.
• Verify the identity of online clients before formal engagement. Under the anti-money-laundering rules for bookkeepers, clients dealt with through non-face-to-face channels must be assessed as high risk (Laws & Regulations Database of the ROC, AML/CFT Regulations for Bookkeepers, Article 5). That's why the online form serves only as an initial intake, and NEXA's form deliberately doesn't ask for national ID numbers. The firm verifies identity at formal engagement.
• Use the correct firm name. Article 10 of the Certified Public Bookkeepers Act requires the office name to include "bookkeeper office" (Laws & Regulations Database of the ROC, Certified Public Bookkeepers Act, Article 10), and the name on the website and in the footer should match it.

This is a general summary for website design purposes, not legal advice. Please confirm the exact wording with your professional association.

What else does a firm website need besides the form?

A memorable brand, a main button that's always within reach, an FAQ, and a CMS admin panel the firm can update itself.

• A brand people remember. Bookkeeping services all look alike. NEXA's logo extends the letter N into a node, a nod to "Nexus" and "Next" in the name, and uses a saturated orange as its only brand color.
• "Register a company" is always one click away. The button appears in the header, in a fixed bar at the bottom of mobile screens, on service cards, and in the contact section, so wherever users are and whenever they're ready to act, they never have to look for it.
• Turn the most common phone questions into an FAQ. Answering questions like "How long does setup take?" and "Can I register without an office?" on the website saves time on calls, and that kind of content is easy for search engines to cite. See SEO, AEO, and GEO explained.
• A CMS admin panel the firm controls. Text, photos, services, FAQs, and each page's SEO title and description (the title and snippet shown in search results) can all be edited and go live as soon as you save. NEXA runs on a static website (pages generated in advance, with no database), so it isn't tied to a subscription platform. For the trade-offs, see WordPress vs. Framer vs. static websites.

How much does a firm website cost?

留白設計 BLANK DESIGN's firm website has a founding price of NT$49,800 for the first five firms, then NT$79,800, with website care at NT$2,500 a month. What the package includes, and a payback estimate based on your own fees, are on Accounting firm website packages. For pricing structures in general, see What does website design cost?.

When is this approach not a good fit?

• Your firm doesn't focus on company setup. If you mainly provide tax advice or audits for established businesses, your website should lead to consultation booking or service details instead, with no need to force in a setup form.
• You already have more work than you can handle. The form exists to bring in qualified inquiries. If your team is already at capacity, it's more practical to fix internal workflows first.
• Nobody can respond to applications within one business day. An application sitting unanswered in an inbox does more harm than having no form at all.

FAQ

Does a bookkeeping firm need a website if it already has a Google Business Profile and LINE?

Those help people find and message you, but they can't hold full service descriptions, pricing, and an application process. A website is the one place where the firm controls all of its content, and it's the main source search engines rely on to understand what services you offer.

Can the online company setup form follow our own process?

Yes. NEXA's six steps were designed around their own service process. Every firm needs different information, explanations, and follow-on services, so we start by learning your actual process, then decide how to break it into steps.

What does the firm receive when a client submits the form?

An organized email with the company type, candidate names, business activities, capital and shareholders, registered address, contact details, and selected follow-on services. An adviser can read it and call the client with a quote right away.

Does this work for accounting (CPA) firms too?

Yes, once you've checked the rules that apply to CPAs. The point isn't the name of the profession. It's identifying when your most valuable clients make their decision, then building an application or booking flow for that moment.

What to prepare before getting in touch

• The type of client you most want. For example, new companies, online sellers, or established small businesses. This determines the website's main button.
• The five questions new clients ask most. These become the content of the FAQ and the form explainers.
• Your current company setup and onboarding process. The steps from first contact to signing, and the documents involved.
• Existing brand assets. Your logo, brand colors, and office photos. If you don't have any, that's fine: we can start with brand identity.

With these ready, the conversation gets to the point faster. You can also book a free consultation, and we'll recommend an approach that fits your process.