P22 Dropbox HubSpot

New client folder pack

Generate a standard client folder pack when a proposal is signed — no more copying last year’s folders by hand.

Symptom
Staff spend the first week of every engagement recreating the same Dropbox or Drive folder tree for each new client.
Who this is for
Firms that store workpapers and client docs in Dropbox (or Drive) and kick off from a CRM or proposal tool.
Time / margin leak
30–90 minutes per new client renaming folders, fixing permissions, and chasing the ‘where does this go?’ question.
Guardrail
Templates create folders and placeholders only — confidential prior-year files are never auto-copied without a human review.

Before → after

Before: Someone duplicates an old client folder, deletes leftovers, renames paths, and invites the wrong people. Naming drifts. Workpapers land in email instead of the pack.

After: “Proposal signed” (or checklist stage “Folder ready”) runs a template: ClientName / YY / 01-Admin, 02-Bank, 03-Payroll, 04-Workpapers, 05-Client-Upload. Permissions follow a standard group. Intake links point at 05-Client-Upload.

Steps to implement

  1. Design one folder pack — Agree names and nesting once; document what belongs in each folder.
  2. Store a clean template — Empty folders + README placeholders only — no real client data inside the template.
  3. Connect the trigger — HubSpot deal Closed Won (or Zapier/Make from proposal tool) → create Dropbox folder from template → rename with client code.
  4. Set permissions by group — Partners full access; bookkeepers edit; clients upload-only to the client folder.
  5. Link back to the checklist — Paste the folder URL into the onboarding checklist / CRM so the team stops asking for the path.

Failure modes

  • Copying a live client folder as the template — Old SSNs, passwords, and wrong year’s files leak into the new pack.
  • Inconsistent client codes — Automations break when names include punctuation; use a short code (ACME-042) in the path.
  • Over-permissioned shares — Default “anyone with link” for client upload folders; lock to named emails.

When not to automate

Trust / estate engagements with custom custody rules, or clients who mandate their own SharePoint structure — create a minimal admin folder manually and map their system in the checklist instead.

Related playbooks

P06 client onboarding

Client onboarding checklist

Automate the client onboarding checklist for accounting firms so kickoff tasks stop living in email threads.

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