Client referral consent form: a one-paragraph template for business introductions

When should you use a client referral consent form?

Use one every time you introduce a client's company to SourceX, before you submit it through the referral form or send your referral link. The owner approves one short paragraph in writing, and that paragraph records three things: they agreed to the introduction, which basic facts you may pass on, and that you told them about any referral compensation.

The form protects both sides. The owner sees exactly what leaves your office, which is very little: the company name, a size band, a contact person and one line on why you think it fits. You keep a dated record that the introduction was requested, which matters if your compliance team, a professional body or the client asks later.

It is not a data-sharing agreement. No records, exports, screenshots or confidential detail move under it. Questions about the company's data are handled later, directly between the company and SourceX, and nothing is delivered without an executed agreement and the company's authorization.

Template 1: one-paragraph consent by email

Send this after the conversation in which the owner said yes, and ask them to reply confirming. A reply email is a simple, dated record.

Use this wording for {compensation_disclosure} unless your firm requires its own:

Template 2: signed consent record for regulated firms

CPA firms, law firms and wealth management firms often prefer a signed page that sits in the client file. Keep it to one page.

How to personalize the form

If you are unsure which band applies, the guide to finding a private company's employee count and peak headcount explains where the number usually lives. Also decide before sending whether a reward would be paid to you or to your firm, because the disclosure should name the right recipient; see whether a referral fee should be paid to you or your firm.

What do the professional rules say about consent and disclosure?

For most partners, written consent is simply good practice. For licensed professionals it can be a requirement, and the details vary.

• CPAs. The AICPA's Commissions and Referral Fees Rule (ET 1.520) bars a member in public practice from accepting a commission for recommending a product or service to a client when the firm also performs an audit, review, certain compilations or an examination of prospective financial information for that client, and requires permitted referral fees to be disclosed to the client; see the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct. State boards can be stricter.
• Lawyers. Each state adopts its own version of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct. An Illinois bar advisory opinion, ISBA Opinion 12-03, treats a client's identity as confidential, so client consent is needed before a lawyer shares a client's name with another professional.
• Registered representatives. FINRA reported that the SEC approved new Rule 3290 on outside activities on September 15, 2026, with the effective date to be announced; until then Rules 3270 and 3280 apply. Tell your firm's compliance team before you register as a partner.

The question of whether you have to disclose a referral fee goes further by profession. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm with your own counsel, tax adviser or professional body before acting.

Follow-up timing

What never to include

The form is about permission, so keep it free of anything that looks like data, a promise or a price.

• Records, exports, screenshots, org charts, customer lists or financial statements, even as attachments for context.
• Any promise of payment, price, buyer interest or deal timing.
• Typed reward amounts; describe the reward as a share of SourceX's fee instead.
• A statement that the company qualifies; only SourceX's review decides fit, and a tool result is not approval.
• Personal details about employees or customers.
• Language saying SourceX buys the data; companies license it and keep ownership.

How the consent fits the introduction

1. You and the owner discuss the idea in an ordinary conversation.
2. The owner confirms consent by email reply or signature.
3. You submit the company through the referral form, or send the owner your referral link so they can apply at sourcex.si/apply with your code attached.
4. SourceX reviews size, history, data breadth and rights with the company's sponsor.
5. The company lists its systems and records in a data inventory, then agrees price and terms before buyers review anything.
6. The deal closes, the data is delivered and the company is paid.

Partners earn 25% of the eligible platform fees SourceX actually collects from the referred company's licensing deals, capped at $100,000 per referred company. Rewards become payable only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee, and no reward is guaranteed. The full sequence is on how it works.

Next step

Copy Template 1 into your email drafts and fill in the placeholders for the next owner who says yes. If you have not joined yet, register as a partner first; once consent is on file, the introduction email builder drafts the introduction itself.