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What is Live Client?

A live client is a client company that is actively managed on a practice's book, with current bookkeeping, upcoming deadlines, and regular filing activity. It is the unit of measurement for practice pricing and capacity planning.

Example

A practice has 150 companies on its books: 120 are live clients with active bookkeeping and regular filings, 20 are dormant companies with only annual requirements, and 10 are former clients in the archive.

How Live Client Works in Practice

In practice accounting, the distinction between a live client and a dormant or archived one matters for pricing, capacity, and workflow. A live client has active transactions flowing through their books, regular filing deadlines (VAT returns, payroll, annual accounts), and ongoing bookkeeping requirements.

Practice pricing models typically charge per live client because this reflects the actual work involved. A dormant company that only needs an annual confirmation statement requires far less effort than an active trading company with quarterly VAT and monthly bookkeeping.

In an AI-native practice, the AI agent does the routine work for each live client (transaction processing, categorisation, reconciliation, filing preparation). The practice charges for the client, but the marginal effort per client is much lower than in a traditional practice. This changes the economics of practice growth: adding clients scales revenue without proportionally scaling staff. See practice pricing at /ai-native-practice.

Step by Step

A live client is typically defined by activity: the company has transactions in the current period, upcoming filing deadlines, and regular data flowing into the system (bank feeds, document uploads, expense claims).

Practice management systems track client status automatically. A company that stops trading or stops providing data may be reclassified from live to dormant. Pricing adjusts accordingly: live clients pay the active rate, dormant clients pay a reduced rate or ledger-only fee.

For capacity planning, practices track the ratio of live clients to staff members. In a traditional practice, this might be 30-50 clients per bookkeeper. In an AI-native practice, where the agent handles routine work, the ratio can be significantly higher.

Practical Tips

  • Review your client book quarterly to ensure live and dormant classifications are accurate
  • Use the live client count as your primary capacity metric when planning practice growth
  • Monitor the ratio of live clients to staff to understand when you need to hire or when AI automation is creating capacity headroom

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Not distinguishing between live and dormant clients when quoting practice pricing
  • Treating all clients as requiring the same level of effort regardless of activity level
  • Failing to reclassify clients when their status changes, leading to incorrect pricing or resource allocation

Frequently Asked Questions

How is a live client different from a dormant company?

A live client has active transactions, regular filings, and ongoing bookkeeping needs. A dormant company might only need an annual confirmation statement and dormant accounts. The effort and pricing reflect this difference.

How does practice pricing work per live client?

AI-native practice pricing typically charges a per-live-client fee that decreases with volume (banded pricing). Dormant companies pay a lower ledger-only fee. This model aligns cost with actual service delivery.

Related Terms

Practice Desk

A practice desk is a centralised portal where an accountancy practice manages its entire client book: viewing client status, preparing filings in batch, allocating staff, and monitoring deadlines across all clients from one screen.

AI Accountant

An AI accountant is an AI agent that performs the day-to-day work of bookkeeping and tax administration: categorising transactions, reconciling accounts, preparing returns, and managing deadlines.

Continuous Close

Continuous close is an accounting approach where the books are kept substantively up to date at all times through continuous processing, so period-end close becomes a short review rather than a weeks-long catch-up exercise.

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