How can accountants and bookkeepers reply to reviews without sharing confidential information?
Short answer
As an accountant or bookkeeper, reply to reviews in general terms, professionally and warmly, without confirming that someone is a client and without mentioning anything from a file. Thank them for the feedback, acknowledge the experience, explain your general way of working and invite them to a personal conversation. Never discuss figures, invoices, deadlines or tax questions in public, always directly.
An accounting firm usually does not get many reviews. Business owners rarely write one after the year-end close. But anyone looking for a new accountant or bookkeeper reads those few reviews very closely, and a single critical voice stands out.
At the same time, you work with the most confidential information a business owner has: figures, debts, sometimes a personal situation. A reply to a review must give none of that away. Below you will read how to reply personally, warmly and convincingly all the same.
Why does every review carry so much weight for an accounting firm?
Because you have so few. At a restaurant, one bad review disappears among hundreds of others; at a firm with twelve reviews, it does not. Every review and every reply therefore shapes the impression a business owner forms before picking up the phone.
That impression counts. According to BrightLocal's survey of 1,002 US consumers (2026), 68% will only use a business with at least four stars, up from 55% a year earlier, and 31% only one with 4.5 stars or more. The survey is about consumers, not business owners choosing an accountant, but it shows how quickly an average rating can tip the balance.
Your reply to a positive review counts too. It shows how you communicate: clearly, on time and with care.
With few reviews, every reply is a business card. Write it with the same care as a letter to a client.
What can you say about a client, and what not?
In public, say nothing that comes from a client relationship: no figures, no amounts, no deadlines, no file details and preferably no confirmation that the reviewer is a client. What you can do: explain your general way of working, acknowledge the experience and invite them to talk.
Many accountants and bookkeepers are bound by professional secrecy or a duty of confidentiality, and in Europe the GDPR applies to all of your clients' personal data. In plain terms: what a business owner entrusts to you is not something you use to defend yourself in public. Exactly which rules apply depends on your profession and country, so check with your professional body. Google, too, advises in its tips for writing better replies never to share a reviewer's private information.
A ruling from healthcare shows how strictly this can be judged. In March 2025, a Dutch disciplinary tribunal for healthcare in Amsterdam gave a warning to a dentist who shared a patient's medical information in a reply to a negative review. According to the tribunal, the fact that the complainant posted a review and shared information in it did not amount to consent. It concerns a dentist in the Netherlands, not your profession, but it is a useful benchmark.
| Do | Better not |
|---|---|
| Thank them for the feedback, even when it is sharp | Confirm that the reviewer is or was a client |
| Explain your general way of working, for example how clients can reach you | Mention that client's amounts, invoices or hourly rates |
| Acknowledge that the experience was frustrating | Explain that the client sent in documents late |
| Invite them to talk, with a clear way to get in touch | Give tax or legal advice in the reply |
| Pass praise on to the team as a whole | Say which staff member worked on which file |
How do you reply to complaints about availability and invoices?
With both complaints, acknowledge the frustration, explain in general terms how your firm works and offer a direct conversation. Say nothing in public about the specific invoice or that one unanswered email. That conversation belongs at the table or on the phone.
- Availability. These complaints often come around tax deadlines and year-end. Explain the quickest way for clients to reach you, for example a fixed call-back time. Do not promise a response time you cannot keep in your busiest week.
- Invoices. Someone who finds an invoice too high often feels caught off guard. Explain how you generally work, for example with an engagement letter, and invite them to go through the invoice together. Do not mention amounts.
- Errors or missed deadlines. Write that you take the concern seriously, but do not describe what happened and do not make any statement about who is responsible. If in doubt, get advice first.
Do not reply on impulse. A professional reply that comes a day later is better than an emotional one within the hour. In the BrightLocal survey, 81% of US consumers expect a response within a week. So you have time to get it right.
How to answer a review as an accountant in 5 steps
Follow the same five steps for every review. That keeps your reply professional and warm, and you check each time that nothing confidential slipped in. If several people work at your firm, have one designated person write or review the replies.
- Address the reviewer and say thank you. Use the name shown with the review, even for criticism.
- Acknowledge the experience in your own words. Without confirming that this is a client.
- Explain how your firm works in general. One or two sentences, no defense, no details.
- Invite them to talk. With a concrete route: call the office and ask for the managing partner.
- Run the confidentiality check. Could anyone deduce something from your reply about the reviewer's figures, situation or client relationship? Then change it.
That last step is a good reason not to let any reply go out unchecked. In ReplyHero you can choose, per location, that every suggested reply first waits in the portal until you approve or edit it. That way you get help with the writing and keep control yourself.
What does a professional but warm tone sound like?
Professional and warm means: a respectful form of address, short sentences, and still letting it show that a person is answering, not a department. Avoid legal-sounding phrasing and jargon. A business owner wants an accountant who speaks clearly, not one who hides behind procedures.
- Instead of ‘We regret your experience and refer you to our terms and conditions’, write ‘I am sorry it went this way. I would be glad to talk it through with you.’
- Instead of ‘Your file was handled in accordance with the agreement’, write nothing about a file, but rather ‘I would be glad to look at what we can improve together.’
- Instead of a bare ‘Thank you for your review’, write in response to praise ‘How lovely to read such kind words. I will gladly pass them on to the team.’
Sign with your name and role: ‘Karen, managing partner’ reads more personally than ‘the firm’. For more on the same tension between openness and confidentiality, read the article on replying as a dentist.
Example replies
Use them as a starting point and make them personal: mention something from the review and sign with your own name.
Negative review about availability and an invoice
Three weeks without an answer to my emails, right during tax season. Then an invoice that was much higher than expected. For a firm that claims to be client-focused, that is disappointing.
Reply
Dear Mr. Clarke,
Thank you for your feedback. I understand how frustrating it is to wait a long time for an answer during a busy period, and that an unexpected invoice then weighs all the more.
We never discuss specific files in public, but I would like to look into this personally. Would you call the office and ask for me? Then we will take the time to go through everything together.
Kind regards,
Karen Porter, Managing Partner, Porter Bookkeeping
Mixed review about a single point of contact
Good work on the substance, no question. But you never know who is handling your file and you have to explain everything twice. A single point of contact would make a big difference.
Reply
Dear Sandra,
Thank you for your honest review and for your words about the quality of the work. Your point about a single point of contact is fair. Nobody wants to tell their story twice.
A dedicated contact person is our starting point too, and we are looking at how to make that happen better for everyone. I would be glad to discuss it with you. You can call or email the office and ask for me.
Kind regards,
Karen Porter, Managing Partner
Positive review from a new business owner
As a brand-new business owner I had no idea what I was getting into. Here I got patient explanations without jargon, and I finally understand how my numbers fit together. Highly recommended!
Reply
Dear Joseph,
What kind words, thank you. Explaining things without jargon is something we value highly as a firm. Numbers only become truly useful when you understand them yourself, and we want that for every business owner.
I will gladly pass your compliment on to the whole team. Wishing you every success and lots of enjoyment in your business.
Kind regards,
Karen Porter, Managing Partner
ReplyHero for accountants and bookkeepers
ReplyHero reads the reviews on your Google Business Profile and writes a personal reply to every new review, in the tone you choose. For each location you decide how the reply reaches Google:
- Fully automatic: ReplyHero posts the reply right away.
- With a review window: the reply waits for you for 48 hours. If you do nothing, ReplyHero posts it.
- You approve: you read the reply in your portal and post it with one click, or edit it first.
Free forever for one location, or from $9 per location per month. Cancel any month. See pricing.
Start with ReplyHeroFrequently asked questions
Can an accountant confirm in a reply that someone is a client?
Better not. Even if the reviewer writes that they are a client, do not confirm it and do not go into the file. Reply in general terms, acknowledge the experience and invite them to a direct conversation. Exactly which confidentiality rules apply to you depends on your profession and country. Check with your professional body.
Should I also reply to a positive review without text?
Yes, briefly. At a firm with few reviews, every reply counts. Two sentences are enough: thank the reviewer by name and pass the compliment on to the team, without saying anything about working together. According to BrightLocal (2026, 1,002 US consumers), 89% expect business owners to respond to reviews.
Can I answer a tax question in a review?
No. A public reply is no place for tax or legal advice. From a review you do not know the full situation, and a general answer can be misunderstood by other readers. Thank them for the question and invite them to contact the office, so you can look at it carefully.
What do I do if a review comes from someone who was not a client?
Reply briefly and neutrally, without confirming or denying that the person was a client, and invite them to get in touch. If the review breaks Google's rules, for example a fake review or a conflict of interest such as a review from a former employee, you can flag it. You cannot remove it yourself.
How do I ask happy clients for a review?
Ask all your clients in the same way, for example in the email after the year-end close. Google prohibits selectively asking for positive reviews, applying pressure and offering a reward, such as a discount on the next invoice. A simple, friendly request with a direct link to your Google profile is enough.
Sources
- BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026
- Google Business Profile Help, Tips to write better review replies
- Regional Disciplinary Tribunal for Healthcare, Amsterdam, 14 March 2025 (ECLI:NL:TGZRAMS:2025:59)
- Google, Prohibited and restricted content (contributed content policy)
