When you run a migration practice on your own, you are the intake desk, the case officer, the bookkeeper and the person who remembers every date. Most software comparisons are written for agencies with teams and branches. This guide is for the registered migration agent working alone or with one assistant.
What a one-person practice actually needs to track
A sole practice is small, but the obligations are not. At a minimum, you need one reliable place for:
- Enquiries and leads, with where they came from and what you promised to send them.
- Clients, with contact details, family members on the application and a history of every contact.
- Applications, each with its subclass, current stage and the deadlines that apply to it. One client often holds several applications over the years.
- Dates, including visa expiries, passport expiries, requests for further information and your own follow-up dates.
- Documents, including what you asked for, what has arrived and what is still missing.
- Fees, including what you invoiced, what has been paid and what is outstanding.
- File notes, recorded as you go, not reconstructed later. Our record keeping checklist sets out what a client file should hold.
If you have an assistant, add one more item: who is doing what. The moment two people touch the same client, a shared record with a named owner for each task matters more than any individual feature.
What spreadsheets and email really cost
Plenty of good practices start on spreadsheets. The costs are easy to overlook because none of them arrive as an invoice.
Time spent looking. A client rings and you search the inbox, then the shared drive, then the spreadsheet, then your phone's notes. If that hunting takes 20 minutes a day, it adds up to 80 hours over a 48-week year. That's two full working weeks.
Dates that depend on you remembering. A spreadsheet holds an expiry date, but it can only show you that date when you open the right tab and sort the right column. It has no way to email you at 90 days.
One point of failure. If you're sick, on leave or in a long appointment, nobody else can see what is due. An assistant working from a copy of the spreadsheet may be working from yesterday's version.
Fees that slip. Invoices sent from a template and payments checked against a bank statement tend to drift apart. Small unpaid balances are the first thing to be forgotten in a busy month.
Privacy. Client names, passport numbers and visa histories in an emailed spreadsheet or an open share link are hard to control. The Australian Privacy Principles ask organisations covered by them to take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, loss and unauthorised access (APP 11, OAIC). A system with individual sign-ins and access control makes that far easier to show.
What to look for in a CRM at your size
Most feature lists are built for agencies. For a sole agent, these five points decide whether a CRM earns its place.
1. Setup time you can fit into a week. Look for a system you can import your existing spreadsheet into and start using within a few days. Ask whether setup is self-serve or a paid service.
2. Export you can run yourself. Your client records are the practice. Check that you can export everything, in a common format such as CSV, without raising a support ticket, and that it works during the trial so you can test it before you commit.
3. Reminders that reach you without you looking. A date that only shows inside the app still depends on you logging in and checking. Look for reminder emails at set points before each expiry and deadline, and check who receives them.
4. Price you can plan around. Ask how the price is calculated, whether an assistant costs the same as a registered agent, whether GST and setup fees are extra, and how long the contract runs. For a one-person practice, a multi-year commitment is a big decision.
5. Access for one more person. Even if you work alone today, check that you can add an assistant or contractor later with their own sign-in and limited access, and that two-step sign-in is available for both of you.
Branch reporting, sub-agent management and education commissions matter less at your size. Paying for them early rarely helps a sole agent.
Our buyer's checklist for choosing migration agent software turns these into questions to ask any vendor, with a scoring table and a two-week trial plan.
A realistic first week
- Day 1. Tidy your client spreadsheet: one row per client, dates in one format, expiry dates in their own column. Our spreadsheet to CRM guide covers the clean-up.
- Day 2. Import it, check duplicates and fix anything the import flags.
- Day 3. Add your open applications with their current stage and deadlines.
- Day 4. Set up one reusable document checklist for the visa type you handle most often.
- Day 5. Record this week's invoices and payments, then run an export to confirm you can get everything back out.
By the end of the week, the morning view should tell you what is due without opening a single spreadsheet.
How AgentDS fits a sole practice
AgentDS is a Sentient CRM built in Australia for registered migration agents, agencies and immigration law firms. For a one-person practice, it works like this:
- One morning view. The dashboard shows applications, appointments, overdue work, client concerns, fees and visa expiries. The owner's daily brief lists follow-ups that are due, unpaid invoices, client concerns and applications with no activity for 14 days.
- Reminders by email. When a recorded visa, passport, document, application or task date is 90, 60, 30 or 7 days away, or falls due, AgentDS emails the owner and the responsible person that morning. See visa expiry tracking.
- Applications with stages. Each application carries its service stage, recorded deadlines and private notes, with reusable task and document checklist templates.
- Documents and client email. Attach files to document records, stored privately in Sydney and checked for malware before anyone can open them. Send prepared messages to clients from AgentDS, each with an unsubscribe link.
- Fees in view. Create invoice records, record money received, reconcile balances and print an invoice copy.
- Room for an assistant. Individual accounts, staff roles and case assignments control who sees what, and two-step sign-in with an authenticator app is available for everyone. Data storage is set out on the security page.
- Your data, your call. Import from CSV, Excel, TSV, JSON or supported ZIP exports, including Agentcis and Zoho. Export all your data as CSV at any time.
Appointment confirmations carry a calendar file your clients can add to their own calendar.
Every feature is free for 14 days, with no card needed. When the trial ends, you choose a plan and everything stays switched on, or you download your data and leave. See how the trial and plans work.
Frequently asked questions
Is a CRM worth it for a sole migration agent?
Usually, once you hold more dates and follow-ups than you can keep in your head. A good CRM gives the time back through faster searching, automatic reminders and fees you can see at a glance.
What is the most important feature for a one-person practice?
Reminders that reach you by email before each visa expiry and deadline, so nothing depends on you remembering to check a spreadsheet.
Can I move my existing spreadsheet into AgentDS?
Yes. Upload a CSV or Excel file, match your columns, check duplicates and review everything before it's saved.
Can I add an assistant later?
Yes. Each person gets their own account, and staff roles and case assignments control which records they can see.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. Every feature is free for 14 days, with no card needed.