Internal memo template: proposing that your firm join a referral program

How do you propose joining a referral program to your firm's partners?

Send a one-page memo that states the ask, the program in plain words, the clients who could fit, the open compliance questions and a small pilot with a stop date. Partners approve what they can reverse, so frame it as a limited trial of two or three permissioned introductions.

The memo below is written for a partner at an advisory, accounting or consulting firm who needs sign-off from a managing partner, an ethics or risk partner, or a partnership committee. Edit the bracketed parts, delete what does not apply, and keep it to one page.

The memo

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What each section of the memo is for

Questions the ethics or risk partner will ask

Have answers ready before you send the memo.

• Do we provide attest services to any of the clients we would consider? If so, are they excluded?
• What do our professional rules and state rules say about accepting a referral fee, and what disclosure is required?
• Do the engagement letters allow us to share a client's name and contact details with a third party on request?
• Do any clients have confidentiality terms that cover the fact of our relationship?
• How will we record the client's permission and our disclosure?
• Who at the firm is allowed to speak about the program?

Disclosure to clients who hear about the program is a point of its own. The FTC disclosure examples show wording for advisors who mention a paid connection, and the written referral agreement explainer covers what to read in the paperwork.

How do you pick the pilot clients?

Choose clients who pass three tests, in this order.

1. Fit. They meet the baseline in who qualifies. Owners can run the non-binding company fit checker themselves without giving contact details, and the introduction email builder drafts the note once a client passes.
2. Relationship. You can have a plain conversation with the owner or CFO without involving a junior colleague.
3. Independence. No attest or other restriction applies, per the ethics partner.

For firms with engineering or design clients, the engineering and design industry page gives an example of a segment that often holds long project histories. CFO-led teams may prefer the framing in the CFO email to a CEO.

Check what counts as a credited introduction before you promise anything internally: see what is a qualified referral.

How rewards work, for the memo's finance paragraph

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. The reward is paid only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee; an introduction, meeting or signed agreement alone does not trigger payment, and no reward is guaranteed. The reward is a share of SourceX's fee, never deducted from what the company receives. The memo should not state an expected amount, because none can be promised.

Registered securities professionals in the firm should also check FINRA's outside activities requirements; FINRA reported in September 2026 that the SEC approved a new Rule 3290 on outside activities, with an effective date still to come. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm with your compliance team and counsel before acting.

When not to send the memo

• You have no clients that meet the baseline.
• The firm's rules ban referral fees, and the partners are not willing to take part without them.
• A single partner would be the only participant and no one would review it.

Next step

Once the pilot is approved, register as a partner and use the introduction email builder to draft your first note.