A client segmentation worksheet for accounting firms and CAS teams

A client segmentation worksheet for an accounting firm scores every client on the same observable facts and sorts the list into tiers. To find clients worth a data licensing introduction, score four factors from your own files: peak full-time headcount, years of documented operations, number of business systems and direct access to the owner, then stop on any red flag.

What this segmentation worksheet adds to your client tiers

A client segmentation worksheet ranks every client with the same handful of facts, so the team spends advisory time where it is most likely to matter. Most CAS practices already tier clients by fees, complexity or growth. This worksheet adds a second lens: which clients hold years of operational records and could be worth a permissioned introduction to SourceX for data licensing.

The lens is narrow on purpose. Across the US economy most firms are very small: the SBA Office of Advocacy's 2026 small business FAQ reports that 82.3% of small businesses have no employees at all. A company needs 50+ full-time employees at peak, contractors excluded, to meet the SourceX baseline, so on many client lists the headcount column does most of the sorting before any scoring starts.

The worksheet columns

Build one row per client in a spreadsheet. Everything comes from files you already keep; nothing requires asking the client for records.

Column	What to enter	Where to find it
Client	Legal entity name	Engagement letter
Services you provide	CAS, tax, advisory or attest; flag any attest work	Practice management system
Industry	A plain description	Onboarding file
Peak full-time headcount	Highest full-time count ever reached, contractors excluded	Payroll reports, onboarding answers
First year of documented operations	The year the company's records begin	Formation documents, oldest ledger
Business systems	Count of systems in use plus archived ones still accessible	The systems section of the client onboarding questionnaire
Retired systems	Yes or no, with a note on where the records went	Onboarding answers, migration history
Owner access	Direct, through a manager, or none	Your relationship map
Upcoming event	Sale, refinancing, migration, wind-down or leadership change	Planning notes
Red flags	Any item from the list below	Your judgment
Score and tier	From the rubric	Calculated

The scoring rubric

Score four factors from 0 to 2 for a maximum of 8. A headcount below the baseline, or any red flag, is an automatic stop whatever the score.

Factor	0	1	2
Peak full-time headcount	Below 50: stop	50 to 149	150 or more
Years of documented operations	Under 3	3 to 9	10 or more
Business systems	Fewer than 5	5 to 9	10 or more
Owner access	No relationship with the owner or executive team	Through a manager or controller	Direct relationship with the owner, CEO or CFO

The bands are a practical heuristic for ranking a list, not SourceX qualification criteria. SourceX assesses size, history, data breadth and rights itself, and the who qualifies page sets out the full baseline.

Tier definitions to paste into the worksheet

Red flags for the red flag column

The client's records mostly belong to its own clients, as at many agencies, outsourcers and staffing firms, and those clients have not consented.
The data is mainly consumer personal information or patient health records.
Archives were deleted, or nobody at the client can export the main systems.
A secured lender, receiver, assignee or court has taken control of company assets and has not been brought in.
The data has already been licensed for AI training.
Records were produced with AI tools for the purpose of selling them.

Illustrative: five scored rows

Illustrative only. These clients are fictional and the rows show how the rubric behaves, not real outcomes.

Client (fictional)	Peak full-time headcount	Years	Systems	Owner access	Score	Tier
Regional HVAC parts distributor	140	18	11	Direct, via the CFO	7	1
IT managed service provider	160	9	14	Direct, via the owner	7	1
Civil engineering consultancy	60	12	6	Through the controller	5	2
Digital marketing agency	70	7	9	Direct	n/a	Stop: records mainly belong to its clients
Multi-site dental group	45	15	8	Direct	n/a	Stop: below the headcount baseline

The two stops show why the gates come before the arithmetic: the agency scores well on paper, but rights to its most valuable records sit with its own clients.

How to adapt the worksheet to your firm

Firm setup	Adjustment
CAS-only practice with no attest work	Use the rubric as written
Firm with an audit, review or compilation practice	Add an independence column and send flagged clients to your risk partner before any outreach; the referral compensation policy template sets the internal rule
Fractional CFO firm	Expect most rows to score 2 on owner access, so break ties on systems and history
Firm with industry niches	Add a column for the niche system, such as a transportation management system for logistics clients
Very long client list	Filter on peak headcount from payroll data first, then score only the rows that pass

A firm that itself has 50+ full-time employees at peak may be a candidate in its own right; the referral screening worksheet for accounting and bookkeeping firms covers that case.

When to update the scores

After year-end close, when headcount and system changes are fresh in the files.
Before each Tier 1 client's annual client advisory meeting, so the conversation starts from current facts.
When a new client finishes onboarding.
In the same week a client announces a migration, sale or wind-down, because those events decide whether old records survive.

What never goes in the worksheet

Client records, exports, screenshots or samples.
Estimates of licensing value or of any partner reward.
Notes about a client's employees or customers.
Anything shared outside the firm without the client's permission.

The worksheet stays internal. Nothing about a client reaches SourceX until the owner agrees to an introduction, and even then the firm passes on basic fit information only.

How rewards work if your firm makes introductions

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, and the reward becomes payable only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee. The reward comes from SourceX's fee, not from the client's proceeds. Check your firm's policy and the professional rules that apply to you before accepting anything, and see how introductions sit alongside other new revenue streams for accounting firms.

Next step

Score your top 30 clients this month and pick the two strongest Tier 1 rows. Test each with the company fit checker, and if an owner says yes to an introduction, register as a partner so your referral link is ready for that conversation.

Step 1Share your linkSend your personal link to a company you know.
Step 2Company appliesThe company applies itself at /apply.
Step 3Buyer selects and paysThe buyer selects and pays for the data and SourceX receives its fee.
Step 4You get your rewardYour share of SourceX fees becomes payable.

Common questions

How is this different from segmenting clients by fees or complexity?

Fee and complexity tiers tell you how to staff and price the work. This worksheet asks a different question: which clients hold enough documented history, across enough systems, to interest AI developers, and whether you can reach the person who would decide. Keep both views; a modest-fee client can still be a strong Tier 1 row here.

Why score peak headcount rather than today's headcount?

The SourceX baseline counts full-time employees at peak, with contractors excluded, because a company that has since shrunk still holds the records its larger team created. Payroll history usually shows the peak year. Count full-time staff only, as the baseline does; part-time staff and contractors do not count toward it.

Can a client that scores low today move up later?

Yes. Systems count and history grow every year, and a client can move from Tier 2 to Tier 1 once missing facts are filled in. A client that loses records in a careless migration can also drop out, which is why rescoring after any announced migration, sale or wind-down matters more than the calendar.

Should clients know they have been scored?

The worksheet is an internal planning tool, like any fee or risk tiering, so there is no need to share the scores. What clients should hear is the outcome: a plain mention of the licensing option when their answers suggest a fit, and an introduction only if they ask for one.

Do we need client permission before mentioning a client to SourceX?

Yes. Get the owner's agreement before sharing the company's name or any fit information, and keep what you pass on to basic facts such as size and industry. The company can also apply directly through your referral link, so the owner controls what is shared and your introduction credit is preserved.

Free resources

Business DSCR calculator — Debt service coverage from cash flow and loan terms.
MCP ROI calculator — Estimate hours saved, implied savings and first-year ROI from MCP.
Business exit readiness assessment — A preliminary exit readiness score and checklist for advisors.
All free tools · MCP resource center

By SourceX Partnerships Team · Published 2026-10-09 · Updated 2026-10-09

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