CRM & Referrals
Track every referral from first contact to closed deal. Automate commissions, update statuses, and give preparers full visibility into their pipeline.
How Referrals Work
A referral is created when a client is directed to your firm by a preparer, affiliate, or the client themselves. GoRefer tracks the full lifecycle — from submission to commission payout — so nothing falls through the cracks.
- 1
Referral Submitted
A referral is created via the platform, a public referral link, or through the intake form. The referring preparer is automatically associated.
- 2
Status Tracking
The referral status progresses automatically: Invited → Signed Up → Active. Conversion status tracks separately as Pending or Converted.
- 3
Commission Calculated
When a referral reaches "Converted" status, the applicable commission is automatically calculated based on the preparer's rate and any active bonuses.
- 4
Payout Processed
Commissions accumulate in the preparer's payout balance. Payments are processed in batches on your configured schedule.
Referral Statuses
Each referral tracks two dimensions: status (lifecycle stage) and conversion status (outcome).
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Invited | Referral submitted — referee has been invited but hasn't signed up yet |
| Signed Up | Referee has created an account on the platform |
| Active | Referee is an active client engaged with the firm |
| Conversion | Meaning | Commission |
|---|---|---|
| Pending | Referral has not yet converted to a paying client | No |
| Converted | Referral converted — service completed | Yes |
A referral can also be marked as Funded (with a funded date) once payment is received. Funded status is separate from conversion and is used for sweepstakes entry calculations and reward tier tracking.
Referral Links
Every preparer and affiliate gets a unique referral link. When someone signs up or submits an intake form through that link, the referral is automatically attributed to that person.
- Unique links per preparer and affiliate
- Links work across intake forms, landing pages, and the client portal
- Full click tracking and conversion analytics
- Custom UTM parameters supported
- QR codes available for in-person use
Leads Pipeline
Leads are potential clients captured from landing pages, referrals, social media, or Google Ads. The Leads Pipeline gives you a dashboard view, a table view, and an analytics view.
| Lead Status | Description |
|---|---|
| Hot | Score 80–100 — high-interest lead, ready for immediate follow-up |
| Warm | Score 50–79 — engaged but not yet committed |
| Cold | Score 20–49 — low activity, may need nurturing |
| Converted | Score 100 — lead converted to active client |
| Lost | Score 0–30 — lead did not convert |
- Each lead is assigned a lead score (0–100) and a letter rating (A–D)
- Lead source tracking: landing page, referral, direct, social media, Google Ads
- Auto-assigned to a preparer based on firm rules
- Survey responses captured from landing page forms (filing status, income, dependents, urgency)
- Tags for segmentation (new_client, referral, high_value, follow_up, callback)
Managing Referrals
- View all referrals in the CRM dashboard with filters and search
- Assign referrals to different preparers
- Add notes to any referral
- Schedule follow-ups and set reminders
- Bulk update status for multiple referrals
- Export referral data to a spreadsheet
- View complete referral history per client
Referral Analytics
The CRM stats dashboard shows you exactly how your referral pipeline is performing — conversion rates, average time to close, top-performing preparers, and revenue attributed.
- Pipeline value by stage
- Conversion rate from referral to completed
- Average days to close by preparer
- Monthly referral volume trends
- Source attribution (who sent the referral)
Use Workflow Automation to automatically send follow-up emails or notifications when a referral hasn't been updated in a certain number of days.