How Webcite.ai transformed HubSpot into a fully integrated CRM + ATS for Baker Thornton Recruitment

Baker Thornton is a specialist recruitment firm focused on placing audit, tax, and accounting professionals into accounting and CPA practices across the UK, USA, and Canada. Working with Top 10–100 firms, regional practices, and niche tax and audit boutiques, they deliver curated shortlists of candidates who understand practice life, client demands, and busy season pressures.

As Baker Thornton scaled internationally, they needed a single, connected system to manage both sides of their business:

- Clients (accounting and CPA firms)

- Candidates (audit, tax, and accounting professionals)

They turned to Webcite.ai to implement HubSpot as both their core CRM for client relationships and an effective Applicant Tracking System (ATS) for candidates—bringing everything into one place.

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Baker thornton

  • The Challenge 🔴

Baker Thornton’s growth created operational complexity:


Fragmented tools and data
Client information, candidate profiles, and job mandates were spread across spreadsheets, inboxes, and separate tools, making it difficult to get a single, reliable view of any search or relationship.

No unified system for clients and candidates
HubSpot was in place but used mainly as a contact database. It wasn’t configured to handle the dual nature of recruitment operations—managing firms as clients while simultaneously tracking candidates, roles, pipelines, and placements.

Inefficient workflows and manual processes
Consultants were spending too much time manually updating records, searching emails, and patching together candidate journeys rather than focusing on relationship-building and filling roles quickly.

Limited visibility for decision-making
Leadership lacked clear dashboards to see live roles, pipeline stages, candidate progress, and key performance metrics such as time-to-shortlist and time-to-fill.

Baker Thornton needed HubSpot to function as both a powerful CRM and a fit-for-purpose ATS, without investing in an additional recruitment platform.

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  • The Solution ✅

Webcite.ai reconfigured HubSpot to operate as an integrated recruitment platform tailored to Baker Thornton’s model:

Data model for clients, roles, and candidates

Designed a structured setup separating client firms, live roles, and candidates, with practice-specific properties (service line, level, geography, billable focus) for each. Linked every role to its hiring firm and all shortlisted candidates.

Recruitment pipelines inside HubSpot

Built ATS-style pipelines that mirror real recruitment stages (Briefed → Shortlist → Interview → Offer → Placed) and track candidate progression from Screened through to Placed or Rejected.

Process automation and communication

Automated key touch points like acknowledgements, interview reminders, and follow-ups, and set up tasks so recruiters are prompted to review candidates, schedule calls, and move roles forward at the right time.

Single workspace for all activity

Centralised notes, emails, calls, and documents (CVs, job specs) on the right client, role, and candidate records so consultants can see a complete interaction history in one place.

Reporting and leadership visibility

Created dashboards for pipeline health, active mandates, candidate progress, consultant activity, and time-to-fill, giving leadership real-time visibility across regions and practice areas.

Together, this setup allows HubSpot to work as both a client CRM and a recruitment ATS tailored to accounting and CPA practice hiring.

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  • The Result 💚

By transforming HubSpot into an integrated CRM + ATS, Baker Thornton achieved:

One unified recruitment platform

Consultants now run all recruitment from HubSpot—managing firms, roles, and candidates without spreadsheets or extra tools.

Lower tech costs

HubSpot powers both CRM and ATS, eliminating separate ATS licenses and simplifying the tech stack.

Faster, more consistent hiring

Automated workflows, structured pipelines, and clear data visibility move roles from brief to shortlist faster—especially during peak hiring seasons.

Better data and reporting

Centralised tracking gives leaders real-time insight into activity, pipeline health, and consultant performance for smarter planning.

Stronger client and candidate experience

Timely communication, complete records, and a single source of truth strengthen relationships and reduce hiring risk.

Webcite.ai turned HubSpot into a purpose-built recruitment engine for accounting and CPA firms, all within one efficient platform.

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