Last updated 10 October 2026

Client Relationship Manager

Two openings.

Apply for this role. Reading the page is not applying. The application is the only way to be considered, and it is the whole first step.

In software this role is called a Customer Success Manager. In an accounting firm it is called this, and the work is the same: you hold a named list of clients, you make sure they are getting what they pay for, and you find the next thing to sell them.

Why this role exists

We need someone to oversee these items:

You hold the client relationship from the end of onboarding onward, for as long as they are a client.
Every client you keep is revenue that renews without being sold again. A 5% lift in retention is worth up to 95% in profit growth, and 67% of accounting firms name cross selling as their top growth plan.
You are the reason a client who was quietly unhappy in month four is still here in year two.

Logistics

Company stage: Small firm, growing, thin at the top.
Start: As soon as possible.
Location: Remote, hired from Eastern Europe. Croatia, Poland, North Macedonia, Serbia, and the wider Balkans.
Reports to: the Head of Delivery.
Direct reports: None.
Video: On, every internal meeting.
Equipment: Yours. You'll reach our systems through a remote desktop we set up.
Contract: Contractor. The template agreement shows every term before you get to the end.

Role summary

You hold a named list of clients. You know what each one pays for, whether they are getting it, and what they need next. You run their check ins, you notice when one goes quiet, and you go after it before it turns into a cancellation.

What you own

Your list of clients. Every one has an owner and that owner is you.
The check ins. On the rhythm agreed with each client, held whether or not anything is wrong.
Catching the ones about to leave. A client who stops replying, stops sending things, or starts asking what they pay for is a client giving you notice. You act on it while it is still fixable.
Finding the next piece of work. The client already trusts us, and most of what they need next is work we already do.
Telling the firm what you hear. The same complaint from three clients is a thing to fix, not three conversations to smooth over.

What this role does not do

Onboarding. The Implementation Manager owns a client's first 30 to 90 days and hands them to you when the first month end close comes out clean.
The phone and the inboxes. The Client Care Coordinator answers those and works the request line. You hold relationships, not a line.
Bookkeeping, tax returns, and month end close.
Setting or changing what the firm charges.

How your results are measured

How many of your clients are still clients twelve months from now.
How much more your clients buy than they did when you took them on.
Every client on your list has a check in on the calendar and a date on the record.
No client cancels without somebody here having seen it coming and written it down first.

What we need from you

You have held a named list of clients or accounts and been measured on keeping them.
You have sold more work to a client who already bought something, and you can say what you sold and why they said yes.
You raise a problem while it is small rather than managing around it.
English clear enough to hold a call with a client who is unhappy.
You are comfortable reading a set of books well enough to know what a client is getting. No accounting qualification is needed.
Your AI experience to reduce human effort where it is not value additive.
Your career goals for the next three years.

Career growth

Tell us what you want over the next three years. We will help.
You book a career conversation with your manager every quarter. It's your meeting to run, and it's where we plan what you learn next.
You are closer to what clients want than anybody else here, which is the shortest path to running a part of this firm.

Work hours

Full time is 7 am to 4 pm Austin time. That's 2 pm to 11 pm in Warsaw, Belgrade, and Skopje.
Part time is four hours a day. Two of those four are 12 pm to 2 pm Austin time, which is 7 pm to 9 pm in Warsaw, Belgrade, and Skopje. The other two are yours to choose.
The gap is seven hours all year, so those times hold through both daylight saving changes.
Monday through Friday, year round.

Full time here

You are passionate about your work. Full time here means 8 to 10 hours a day, because you want to see things through to finished.

Who we want here

Women. We want more of them here.
Autistic people. The rules are written down. Nobody has to read a room.
Direct communicators.
People who think in systems. When something breaks, they look for what caused it instead of fixing only the part they can see.
People who are optimistic about the outcome when they are under stress or facing a challenge.
People who move fast and get a lot done.
People who are all in.
People who want the company to grow and are excited to help make that happen.
People who, when they are stressed, notice what they are feeling, then say what they need and write it down. Stopping at the feeling, with nothing written down, is not a fit here.

Who should not apply

This is not the role for you if you:

Wait for somebody else to pick a thing up, or need the work handed to you tidy and already decided.
Report a problem and stop there.
Try somebody once, get no answer, and give up.
Go quiet when something needs raising, or find telling the truth consistently hard.
Read hidden meanings and office politics instead of the plain words.
Overstate what you can do, or are different before you are hired and after.
Have changed jobs every year or two, or want short projects and a work whenever schedule.

And not if you:

would rather send an email than pick up the phone.
take a message and pass it on without finding out what the client needs.

How SMB Numbers works

We move fast, and we do not do chaos. We do consistency. If something is off, we say it early. If you do not know, you ask once, then take a smart first try. If you make a promise, you follow through. And if it is not written down, it did not happen.

How we work together

We work at the same hours most of the time, and some of the work is done asynchronously. You will not always have somebody online to ask, so you write things down and you keep going.
Written, asynchronous communication is modeled as part of the company's culture. Things are read in writing before a live call is requested, and writing is used to prevent the need for calls.
Tell the truth early. If something is late, stuck, or going wrong, say it early and clearly.
Be proactive.
Keep records clean enough that someone else can step in, so you can take time off.
Protect client information and handle sensitive material carefully.
Track your time correctly and on time.
When you see a repeat problem, fix the system.

Software we use

Canopy, for the client record, calls logged against it, and time.
A hosted remote desktop, which is how you reach our systems.
Google Workspace, for mail, chat, and documents.
Our internal site, for the SOPs and daily priorities.
Zoom phone

The technology you need to work here

The setup is the same for every role here. The technology you need to work here lists the computer, the internet, the power backup, the audio and the workspace.

How to apply

Fill in the application. It is the whole first step.

It asks for a web address for a short video recording answering both of these questions. Put the video anywhere we can open without an account, and paste the address into the application.

What do you do when you get a task/project you do not understand?
From a logistics standpoint, when is the earliest that you could start full time if you were to be accepted?

Apply now. If you have read this far and it sounds like you, send it. We read every one.

Tax and accounting career levels, the levels used across the firm.