Your proposals and engagement letters are more than just paperwork. They are the first real impression you make on a client and getting them right decides between a life-long client or a missed opportunity.
Yet many firms continue to send proposals that feel generic, inconsistent and overly complex, costing themselves valuable client relationships.
This is where, tools like Ignition and FigsFlow come in. Both platforms allow you to send polished, professional and personalised proposal documents within minutes.
But Which Platform is best suited for your needs?
4/5 ★★★★☆
Sell. Bill. Get Paid.
Trusted by accountants, and other service-based businesses
4.7/5 ★★★★⯪
Proposal, Pricing & Engagement Software
For Accountancy, Tax Advisory & Bookkeeping services
We, at FigsFlow put both these software through real-world testing across the following key areas.
- Core philosophy
- Proposal Creation
- Service Pricing
- Engagement Letter Creation
- Integrations with other software
- Client Onboarding
- Client Relationship Management (CRM)
- User Experience (UX)
- Value for Money
You can use our detailed comparison and the final decision-making dashboard at the end and make an informed choice between Ignition and FigsFlow.
Introducing: The Two Competitors
In the blue corner, we have ignition– a client engagement and billing platform that helps businesses of all kinds send proposals, get contracts signed and collect payments automatically.
And in the red corner, we have FigsFlow– a proposal, pricing and engagement software for accountancy, tax advisory and bookkeeping firms.
Let’s take a brief overview of each platform before diving into detailed comparison.
So, which proposal tool is the best overall value?
Let’s find out.
Which Tool Puts Accountants First?
First, we decided to see which tool is tailored to the needs of accountants.
Let’s see.
Ignition
Ignition aims to free business owners and professionals from proposal, billing and payment hassle and let them focus on what truly matters- client relationship and growing the business.
Our mission is to transform the way people do business together, sparking long-lasting relationships by putting professional service businesses and their clients on the same page from the start.
-Ignition
FigsFlow
FigsFlow is built around the simple principle: Compliance and convenience should not be the trade-off for accountancy, tax advisory and bookkeeping firms.
At FigsFlow, our mission is to simplify how accountancy firms start and grow client relationships- with professional proposals, regulatory compliant engagement letters, advanced pricing calculator and seamless client onboarding, all in one place. It’s everything we wish we had when working every day.
–Raju Gajurel, CEO & Founder of FigsFlow
Bottom Line:
Overall, FigsFlow wins the battle by miles. While Ignition caters all kind of professionals, FigsFlow is laser-focused on accounting and advisory firms.
Which Tool Is Best for Proposal Creation?
Next, we wanted to see which tool excel at creating proposal.
Let’s see, which one creates professional looking proposal with ease and offer higher customisation features.
Ignition
In Ignition, you can generate proposal by clicking on “Create New” icon within the dashboard.
Then, you’re required to go through five sections, and fill up the related details.
- General (add client and expiry date, setup contract date and period, and more)
- Services (add services, and define service type)
- Terms (make changes to LOE)
- Presentation (make changes to wording in proposal letter, and preview the client side of proposal)
- Send (share via link, email or accept on behalf of client)
The workflow is smooth, and the whole process takes less than 5 minutes.
FigsFlow
In FigsFlow, generating the proposal is as simple as clicking on “Generate Proposal” icon on the dashboard.
Then, you are required to follow 3 step paths– add, preview and send.
- Add (input services and entity name, price is auto calculated with service pricing calculator)
- Preview (make changes in proposal in preview-window and preview client point of view of proposal and LOE)
- Send (send proposal and LOE via email or save as draft)
The workflow is smooth and intuitive from start to finish. It literally took me 10 clicks and 39.74 seconds to craft proposal and engagement letter for tax advisory and compliance services.
Now, let’s see some of the proposal customisation features available in Ignition and FigsFlow.
Bottom Line:
FigsFlow wins proposal creation by hair. While both the tools offer smooth workflow, FigsFlow offer more customisation, and generate proposal in seconds.
Which Tool Is Best for Service Pricing?
The next feature I wanted to look was service pricing calculator.
In other words:
Which tool offer advanced service pricing calculator (and flexibility)?
We tested built-in pricing calculator in the software for dozens of accountancy services.
Let’s see what happened next…
Ignition
Ignition has a solid built-in calculator functionality for services ranging from cleaning, and consulting to accounting and bookkeeping.
To price the services within Ignition, you are required to:
- Define the type of service (recurring, one-off, or billed upfront and balance later)
- Add service
Ignition would automatically calculate the pricing for your services.
Also, Ignition offers the flexibility to change the billing mode (automatic or manual billing), Quantity, VAT and discount rates and most importantly, allow the manual override of pricing.
However, even after months of using Ignition, I couldn’t spot service pricing library. Thus, adjusting service prices as per firm requirements is a complicated process.
FigsFlow
FigsFlow offers advanced service pricing calculator for accounting, tax advisory and bookkeeping services. It incorporates industry trends, firm profitability ratios, fixed expenses and other dozens of variables within its prices.
Also, the pricing library is well-placed and can easily be accessed through “setting” to customise variables as per firm requirements.
To price the services within FigsFlow, you are required to:
- Add the services from library
- And you are done.
FigsFlow automatically calculates the pricing for your services, applies custom VAT and discount rate where relevant.
Now that you know how the pricing calculator works within each software, let’s see some of the service pricing features available in each of the software.
Bottom Line:
FigsFlow is the winner in the service pricing calculator. Not only it incorporates pricing for every service Accountancy, Tax Advisory and Bookkeeping firm's needs, its pricing are relevant and up to the industry standard.
Which Tool Is Best for Engagement Letters?
Both Ignition and FigsFlow feature creation of letter of engagement (LOE).
But which one is the best?
Let’s see…
Ignition
Like any proposal and engagement letter software, Ignition creates Proposal and Engagement letter together.
However, the terms and conditions of engagement are integrated within proposal letter and thus, it won’t be possible to send engagement letter alone.
FigsFlow
In FigsFlow, engagement letter is created alongside proposal.
Also, FigsFlow allow you to send both proposal and LOE or LOE only by simply clicking on small checkbox on the bottom of “Generate Proposal” section.
Now, let’s look at some of the additional LOE features available in each software.
Bottom Line:
When it comes to LOE, FigsFlow wins by miles. That’s mostly because it provides regulatory compliant LOE templates for 100+ accounting services and features an option to send LOE only.
Which Tool Offers Smoother Software Integrations?
Both Ignition and FigsFlow support integrations with several accounting, practice management and CRM software.
But which one offers more relevant integrations for Accountants?
Let’s find out.
Ignition
It integrates with almost everything Accountants can think of– from accounting and payroll software to CRM, Workflow and Email marketing software.
However, Ignition lacks direct integration with Companies House. Thus, Ignition users won’t be able to auto-fetching company data and stay updated with changes in company status.
FigsFlow
FigsFlow integrates with several accounting, practice management, and data integration software like Xero, QuickBooks, Stripe, Gmail, Outlook, and more.
It’s important to note that, Zapier is compatible with 6000+ apps and allow automation in data transfer between apps. Thus, One Zapier Link equals thousands of possible integrations.
Bottom Line:
It’s a close tie between Ignition and FigsFlow. While Ignition integrates with large number of platforms, it lacks Companies House Integration. However, each software integrates with Zapier, which makes it easy to connect with thousands of other apps.
Which Tool Best Handles Client Onboarding?
Client onboarding is the must-have feature for any proposal and engagement software.
And it is usually done in the five-step approach namely:
- Data Import
- Service Agreement
- Identity Verification
- Call/check-in (not limited to this step only)
- Project Launch
Let’s see how each of these software performs across these steps.
| Onboarding Steps | Ignition | FigsFlow |
|---|---|---|
| Data Import (importing contacts into FigsFlow) | Add manually or import from apps like Xero, QuickBooks, Practice CS and UltraTax CS | Add manually or import excel files |
| Service Agreement | Send proposal, and Engagement letter (at once), E-signatory feature for engagement | Send proposal and engagement letter at once or separately, built-in and legally binding e-signatory functionality for engagement |
| Identity Verification & AML Checks | No built-in system, need to do in person | No built-in features, can use communication channel integrated within FigsFlow for AML checks |
| Call/Check-in | Use Calendly for booking meeting with clients | Use Outlook, and Google Mail for scheduling the meeting and communication with client |
| Project Launch | Tools like Trello, and Asana create tasks and lists when Ignition proposal are accepted by clients | No task created; however, the proposal is marked as won, triggering the need for task within FigsFlow |
Bottom Line:
Overall, it's a close tie between Ignition and FigsFlow. Both tools offer excellent onboarding functionalities. Where FigsFlow leads with Proposal and service agreement, Ignition has done a really good job with task management.
Which Tool Offers Better CRM Features?
Now, let’s look at the key Client Relationship Management (CRM) features available in each software relevant to accountants.
In other words, let’s see- which tool checks all the boxes for CRM features?
Bottom Line:
It’s a close tile between Ignition and FigsFlow. Both tools offer excellent features for client relationship management.
Which Tool Has Better User Experience?
For most people, the experience and ease of use is as important as any other features. That is why, we decided to test user experience of each software.
For the test purpose, we assigned 21 Accountants at FigsFlow to use both the tools for a period of a month. After the end of the period, we seek their review entirely based on the ease of use.
Here’s the test results based on the 5 areas of service delivery.
Bottom Line:
When it comes to pure UX, FigsFlow wins. This is mostly because, related features in FigsFlow are bundled in modules and rightly placed, offering smoother navigation and shorter workflow.
What Sets Each of These Tools Apart?
Now that we have evaluated the software based on common parameters, let’s see the features available in each software that makes them unique.
In short, what makes Ignition and FigsFlow stand out?
Ignition
Ignition has some cool features that FigsFlow doesn’t have.
The biggest one is tracking client billing cycle. Ignition features the option to sort clients based on billing due date, billing period, and billing state.
In addition to this, Ignition has payout feature, that shows the combined batch of payment that’s collected and that’s processed for deposit into bank account.
These features are highly helpful for accountants, thereby allowing them to onboard client and complete the entire sales cycle at ease.
FigsFlow
FigsFlow has tons of unique features that most proposal and engagement software doesn’t have.
It has 100+ pre-built templates for accounting services and regulatory compliant engagement letters for professional bodies across the UK and the Globe.
And if done right, you can draft professional proposal and engagement letter in less than 30 seconds. Also, you can send LOE only– a feature that’s rare in most proposal and engagement software.
It lets you add cover letter for Proposal and Engagement letter with a single click. The cover letter is highly customisable, and you can make adjustment to reflect brand colour, font and logo.
In addition to this, you can use and duplicate existing template for proposal, letter of engagement, cover letter, and email to create your own template library.
And most importantly, you can edit proposal and engagement letter in a live preview window.
Bottom Line:
FigsFlow is the overall winner in unique features criterion. While both these tools have unique features relevant to Accountants, FigsFlow
So, Which Tool Is the Best Overall Value?
Now, it’s time for the most important question: “Which tool provide you the most value for your spend?”
Ignition
Ignition pricing is quite straightforward for the UK users. It offers 4-tier pricing plan ranging from £29/month to £299/month. However, for the users in United States, Pro+ plan is replaced with Enterprise plan with custom pricing.
You can get most of the features of Ignition with Core plan (£79/month). However, advanced features such as bulk renewal of proposals, proposal expiry dates and lead and client forms are available in higher tier (Pro and Pro+) packages.
If you decide to pay it monthly, Ignition ranges from £39/month to £399/month.
FigsFlow
FigsFlow also offers 4-tier pricing plans ranging from £8/month to £120/month if paid annually and £10/month to £150/month if paid monthly.
Most of the core features of the FigsFlow are available within Standard plan (£60/month). However, if you are managing proposal and engagement letter for multiple firms/workplaces, you need professional tier plan, which cost further £60/month.
Feature-to-Pricing Test
Let’s map out the key features accountancy, tax advisory and bookkeeping firms need and see which tools offer them and at what cost.
| Must-Have Features for Accountants | Ignition | FigsFlow |
|---|---|---|
| Regulatory Compliant Letter of Engagement (LOE) templates | Not available | Available in all plans (£8/month to £120/month) |
| Professional and customisable proposal | Available in all plans (£29/month to £299/month) | Available in all plans (£8/month to £120/month) |
| Advanced service pricing calculator | Available in all plans (£29/month to £299/month) | Available in all plans (£8/month to £120/month) |
| Multiple E-signatory option | 1 e-signature per proposal in Solo plan (£29/month), 2 e-signatures per proposal in Pro plan (£169/month), and 10 e-signature per proposal in Pro+ plan (£299/month) | Unlimited e-signatory per engagement letter but different engagement letter is sent to different parties involved (available in all plans - £8/month to £120/month) |
| Renew lost proposal | Included in plans starting from £79/month | Available in all plans |
| Detailed sales reporting and analytics feature | Available in all plans | Available in all plans |
Bottom Line:
FigsFlow is the clear winner when it comes to value for money. Not only it provides regulatory compliant engagement letters, but it also has everything Accountants need at relatively cheaper price.
Ignition Vs FigsFlow: Decision-Making Checklist
| Key Parameters | Ignition | FigsFlow |
|---|---|---|
| Accountant-Centric Workflows | Tailored to meet the needs of every kind of service providers from digital marketing and software development to cleaning and accounting | Tailored for Accountancy, Advisory and Bookkeeping firms |
| Proposal Creation | Can easily create Proposal but offers limited customisation options | Easily create proposals within few clicks, Customisable to reflect brand colour, logo and ideology |
| Service Pricing Calculator | Available for consulting, and professional services, cannot customise service pricing settings to reflect the requirements of the firm | Advanced service pricing calculator available for accounting and tax advisory services, customisable to meet the requirements of the firm |
| Engagement Letter Creation | Automatically generate engagement letter along with Proposal, cannot send engagement letter only | Offers library of engagement letters to choose from, generate LOE along with proposal, and can send LOE only with a single click |
| Third Party App Integrations | Integrates with almost every software Accountants might need exception of Companies House | Integrates with several accounting, practice management, and data integration software, Companies House integration is also available |
| Client Onboarding | Excel at importing contacts, and communication with client | Excel at proposal, engagement letter and service pricing – service agreement segment |
| Client Relationship Management | Excel at contact management, task management, and proposal tracking | Excel at proposal tracking, and automation |
| User Experience (UX) | Service pricing is easy and highly preferred | Proposal and engagement letter creation, client onboarding and tracking proposals is most preferred compared to service pricing |
| Unique/Cool Features | Tracks client billing cycle, and shows batch of payment that’s collected and deposited into bank | 100+ pre-built templates for accounting services, regulatory compliant LOE, generate LOE in seconds and feature send LOE only functionality |
| Value for Money | Most accountants focused features such as multiple e-signatory, renewing lost proposal and automated reminders are available in higher tier plans | Accountants-centric features like e-signatory, regulatory compliant LOE, and renewing lost proposal are available in all plans |
| Score | 6.3/10 | 8.2/10 |
| Secondary Parameters | Ignition | FigsFlow |
|---|---|---|
| Customer Support | E-mail and in-app support for every client, priority support also available for higher tier plans | Basic onboarding and email support available in all plans, Live chat support available in higher tier plans |
| Time to Generate Proposal | Less than 5 minutes | 30 seconds |
| Proposal and Engagement letter customisation options | Add logo, brand colour, and embed multi-media | Add brand logo, brand colour, font style, and embed images in proposal and engagement letter |
| Ratings and Customer Reviews | G2 Review: 4.7/5 Trustindex Review: 2.0/5 |
G2 Review: 5/5 Trustindex Review: 4.9/5 |
| Ability to create own LOE template library | Can create own proposal and LOE template library from scratch | Can create proposal and LOE template library either from scratch or by duplicating the existing templates |
| Privacy and Security | Two factor authentication available along with secure e-signatory | Two-factor authentication, and secure e-signatory available |
| Analytics & Reporting | Detailed Analytics available based on revenue, proposal, payments, and conversions | Visually appealing analytics based on Revenue, Conversion, and deals, detailed breakdown of revenue based on services also available |
| Onboarding Support/ Training Resources | Ignition learning centre available that features detailed article, blogs and webinars for onboarding and training | FigsFlow learning centre available that feature blogs, and videos for client onboarding and training |
| Mobile Accessibility | Mobile app available, web version is accessible across multiple devices | Web version is accessible across multiple devices but lacks mobile app |
| Multi-user access & permissions | Multi-user access available but cannot restrict access within app | Multi-user and multi-firm access available, assign user with custom roles and access |
| Score | 7.6/10 | 8/10 |
And the Winner Is
Both Ignition and FigsFlow are excellent software and in some cases, they complement well with each other.
However, there are some parameters where FigsFlow lead Ignition by miles. These includes but are not limited to proposal creation, automation of engagement letter, service pricing calculator, regulatory compliance and workflow. And most importantly, FigsFlow is tailored to the real-world needs of Accountants, Tax Advisers and Bookkeepers.
As these parameters are pre-requisite for any Accountancy practice, FigsFlow is the winner.
English (UK) 
English