How Champ Consultants Built a Faster Signature Workflow with FuseSign and CCH
For Champ Consultants, growth made an everyday process increasingly difficult to manage: getting client documents signed, returned and ready for filing.
The Surrey-based family practice has 23 team members, including two directors, and supports owner-managed businesses, high-net-worth individuals and property landlords. With dozens of accounts, tax returns, engagement letters and supporting documents going out every day, a reliable signature process is essential to keeping work moving.
A growing practice outgrew paper and PDFs
Seven years ago, most signature requests still travelled by Royal Mail, or clients came into the office to sign paper documents.
During the pandemic, the firm shifted to emailing PDFs. It kept work moving, but clients had to print, sign, scan and email each document back, making the process slow and tedious. Sending sensitive financial documents as email attachments also gave the firm less control and visibility over who accessed them. FuseSign provides a more secure, traceable workflow through recipient verification and an audit trail for each bundle.
As the practice grew, the team needed a process that could handle a higher volume of work without adding more manual handoffs.
"The growth of our business was the catalyst. We were realising we needed to make it more manageable."
Looking for software built around accounting
Matthew had been advocating for digital signatures for several years. When the practice became ready to make the change, he explored the market and encountered FuseSign at an accounting industry event.
The distinction from generic signature platforms and accounting software offering digital signatures as an add-on was immediate. While an add-on can appear convenient, it is often designed as a supporting feature rather than a complete signature workflow.
FuseSign is purpose-built for accountants, with workflows designed around complete document packs, multiple recipients, automatic reminders and deadline-driven work. That specialist focus gave the firm a more complete process than the signature add-ons available within broader practice-management platforms.
The firm wanted an easy way to send a complete pack of documents, keep the number of steps low and reduce the chance of mistakes. FuseSign's clear pricing and straightforward workflow also made the decision easier to assess.
Once the other director saw FuseSign in action, the case for changing the process became clear.
"Ease of use was a big selling point. It sold itself."
Connecting FuseSign with CCH removed another layer of admin
Previously, contacts were maintained separately in FuseSign and CCH. Duplicate records and conflicting email addresses meant staff sometimes had to stop and confirm which information was correct before sending a bundle.
By connecting FuseSign with CCH using the FuseSign Practice Connector, the firm can now sync new and updated client details from its practice management system into FuseSign. This reduces manual contact maintenance and the risk of outdated information being used.
The connection is particularly helpful when onboarding new clients. By the time the team is ready to send an engagement letter, the client’s details are generally already available in FuseSign.
"It does save time, it cuts down on mistakes, and it means we're less likely to send a document bundle to the wrong email."
Faster returns. Less chasing.
The most noticeable time saving happens after a bundle is sent.
Accountants can move to the next job while FuseSign manages routine emails and reminders.
The admin team can see active bundles in one place, and senior staff can review what is still outstanding as month-end or the January tax deadline approaches.
The audit trail gives the team more context. They can see whether a client has opened a request and may need help, rather than treating every outstanding document in the same way.
"We definitely get documents back faster!"
There will always be clients who need a reminder, and the practice still accommodates people who cannot use email. But for most clients, the difference is significant: no post, no printing and scanning, and no uncertainty about whether a document has arrived.
A smoother experience for clients
If a client cannot find an email, the team can resend it immediately through FuseSign. For urgent deadlines or clients who prefer to work from their phone, the practice can also send requests by SMS.
That flexibility is especially useful for younger clients and tradespeople who may be away from a computer during the day. It also helps the firm keep requests moving during the busiest periods of the tax year.
"It makes things look a lot smoother, and potentially it makes us look a bit more professional as well."
Inside the office, fast returns have even created a little friendly competition. When the new tax software arrives, team members watch the FuseSign inbox to see whose client sends back the first completed tax return.
Capacity that kept pace with growth
Over seven years, the practice has roughly doubled in size. Its admin team, however, remains three part-time people.
Matthew believes the firm could otherwise need around five full-time admin staff to manage the workload.
It is an operational estimate rather than a measured staffing study, but it reflects the scale of capacity he attributes to the workflow.
"FuseSign has absolutely reduced the number of admin staff we need."
The preparation step for accountants has stayed familiar: instead of attaching documents to an email, they attach them to a FuseSign bundle. The larger gain comes from what happens next - faster returns, automated reminders and a clearer handoff to admin.
An easy system for the whole team
The firm introduced FuseSign around three years ago. Once staff had been shown the process, they were able to run with it without extensive internal training.
"Once everyone had been shown it, they just ran with it. It was easy."
Today, around ten team members use FuseSign to manage dozens of active bundles at any one time. With flexible bundle options, Matthew believes the platform can work just as effectively for practices of any size.
When asked whether other accounting firms should make the switch, his answer was simple - absolutely.
A better client experience, and a better way to work
For Champ Consultants, moving to FuseSign was not simply replacing paper and PDFs with another way to collect signatures.
It created a process that could support the practice as it grew:
- Complete accounts and tax packs can be sent in one bundle.
- Routine reminders happen automatically.
- CCH remains the source of truth for client contact details.
- The team can see which requests are open, viewed or completed.
- Clients can return documents without printing, scanning or relying on the post.
"When we introduced FuseSign, it was easy for the team to pick up, and it was immediately apparent that it was going to improve our efficiency."
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