Referral tracking software that replaces the spreadsheet
Referrals kept in a spreadsheet go stale. Nobody updates the status, the other side has to ask where things stand, and the fee terms live in an email nobody can find. Ethix keeps the same information on a live record both sides can see.
What a referral record holds
A referral tracker only helps if it stays true after the referral leaves your office. Every referral in Ethix carries the same six things, and they update as the matter moves.
The referring side, the receiving side, and the date the referral was actually sent — recorded once, not reconstructed from an email thread.
Flat fee, percentage, or tiered rates stored on the referral itself, so the number is never in dispute months later.
Pending, contacted, retained, declined, or closed — updated by whoever has the information, visible to both sides.
Every referral carries a PDF certificate recording who referred what, when, and on what terms.
Each status change and note is appended, so the record shows what happened and when, not just where things ended up.
Which partners actually send work that gets retained, and which fees are still outstanding.
Referral spreadsheet vs. a referral tracking system
A spreadsheet is a fine place to start. These are the specific things it stops doing once you are sending referrals regularly.
| Capability | Spreadsheet | Ethix |
|---|---|---|
| Status stays current | ||
| The other side can see it without asking | ||
| Fee terms attached to the referral | ||
| Automatic check-ins for stale referrals | ||
| Timestamped, tamper-evident record | ||
| Reporting on partners and outstanding fees | ||
| Costs nothing to start |
What it looks like in use
Every year we were losing referrals to poor tracking, gaps in communication, and follow-up. We tried a couple programs but we were stuck in a network and couldn't share referrals with people we knew and trusted unless we did so outside of the program we were paying for. Ethix has solutions for all of these and we now have a solid system paired with our intake department.
Shared with permission. Name and firm withheld at the customer’s request.
Any professional relationship, not just firm to firm
Ethix was built with law firms, and it carries what they need: recorded fee terms, verified referral certificates, and minimal client information on the record. The same structure works wherever work is referred out and someone needs to know what happened to it — a referral you send to a firm in another state, to a specialist in a different practice area, or to a professional in an adjacent field. The record holds the relationship, the terms, and the outcome regardless of who is on the other end.
Work out a split first with the referral fee calculatorCommon questions
- What is referral tracking?
- Referral tracking is keeping a reliable record of every referral you send or receive: who it went to, what was agreed, what stage it is at now, and whether the fee was paid. Most firms start with a referral spreadsheet or a referral log and move to software once the follow-up becomes the bottleneck.
- Why isn't a referral spreadsheet enough?
- A spreadsheet records intent, not reality. It only shows what someone remembered to type, the other side cannot see it, nothing prompts an update when a referral goes quiet, and there is no timestamped record of the terms you agreed. Ethix keeps the same information but updates it from both sides and prompts for status on a schedule.
- Does the other side need an account?
- No. The person you refer to gets a link. They can see the current status and post an update from that link without an account, a password, or a credit card. Only the referring side subscribes.
- Can I import the referrals I already track?
- Yes. Existing referral history can be imported, so your spreadsheet becomes the starting point of the record rather than something you keep maintaining alongside it.
- Is this only for law firms?
- Ethix was built with law firms and carries features they need, like recorded fee terms and referral certificates. The same record works for any professional relationship where work is referred out and a fee or outcome needs to be tracked.
- What does it cost?
- Plans start at $69/month for a single user and include every feature; plans differ only by number of users. Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial and no credit card is required to start.