Not every KYC system solves the same problem. A tool built for bank onboarding does not help a firm that must show client due diligence, risk assessment, and routines to the County Administrative Board.
Most accounting firms do not look for a KYC system because they lack routines. They look because client due diligence takes too long, sits spread across different tools, and because it is hard to show what was done when someone asks.
The market does not make it easier. "KYC system" means everything from bank onboarding to simple ID checks. This guide covers what a firm actually needs, which types of tools exist, and how to compare them without getting stuck in demo mode.
A KYC system (Know Your Customer) keeps the firm's client due diligence in one place: identifying the client and its beneficial owners, risk classification, screening against PEP and sanctions lists, and the documentation that shows everything was done.
KYC is the client-facing part of the firm's AML work. The general risk assessment, routines, and manual belong to the same whole, and in supervision they are audited together, not separately.
For accounting firms, the work is governed by the Swedish Anti-Money Laundering Act (2017:630), and it is the County Administrative Board that audits. That changes what "good" means. A system that only does polished onboarding does not help on the day you must show how a client due diligence connects to your general risk assessment and your routines.
The numbers are clear: in the County Administrative Board of Stockholm's sanction decisions against accounting firms 2020 to 2025 (29 firms), 97 percent of the deficiencies concerned documentation, not routines missing entirely. The firms often did the work. They could not show it.
Five requirements that separate firm needs from generic KYC tools:
The tools fall into three categories, and the category decides more than the brand.
KYC modules in practice management systems. Fortnox, Blikk, and similar tools the firm often already has. The strength is that everything sits in the same environment as the engagements. What usually needs checking is the depth: the link to the general risk assessment, ongoing screening with history, and how quickly you can produce records by date.
Generic AML platforms. Tools built for banks, payment services, and financial institutions. Often strong on screening and volume, but the flow starts from transaction monitoring and consumer onboarding, not from accounting engagements and the County Administrative Board's supervisory practice.
Specialised systems for firms. Tools built around the firm's entire AML work: general risk assessment, routines and manual, client due diligence, and history in the same chain. Qapla sits in this category. Evaluate us on the same questions as everyone else.
Not the vendor's example. One of your clients with an ownership chain. Time it from start to approved client due diligence.
Ask: what applied for this client six months ago? Do you get an answer with date and approver, or an export file to interpret yourself?
Point at a client's risk class and ask the system to show how it connects to your general risk assessment and your routines.
Take your number of active clients and calculate the annual cost, including lookups, users, and any minimum fees.
Pricing models are hard to compare directly: some charge per user, others per lookup or check, others per client. For a firm, price per active client is usually easiest to calculate, since the cost then follows the client base rather than how many in the team work in the system.
Qapla costs 24 SEK per active client per month. All features included: general risk assessment, AML manual, client due diligence, PEP and sanctions screening, and history. No minimum fee, first month free, no credit card.
Qapla is built for Swedish accounting firms and for the way the County Administrative Board audits. General risk assessment, routines, manual, and client due diligence connect in one chain, and every approval is saved as a snapshot with date and approver.
That also means Qapla is not for everyone. Banks, payment services, and businesses that need transaction monitoring need other tools. If you are a firm that wants to show its compliance without gathering records for days, you are who we built this for.
If you are switching from another system, import is included: client due diligence, risk assessments, and manuals come along. How that works in practice is covered in our guide on switching KYC systems.
Want to see where you stand first? Take our firm review with ten questions, or download our anti-money laundering checklist, which covers what the County Administrative Board typically asks for in supervision.
Switching KYC systems is rarely about leaving paper behind. Client due diligence often already sits in the firm’s everyday tools, but the flow is slow and the history is hard to show.
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