Sell your accounting business.
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Selling an accounting business comes down to cash flow a buyer can underwrite, the people who already do the work, and a file they can diligence. For the overview of selling a business, use the seller page. Start with a valuation and the notes on how the sale is financed. The complete accounting business guide covers buyers, diligence, and the handoff.
What buyers typically underwrite
Client Relationships
Clients may switch to competing firms during transition.
Staff Retention
CPAs and experienced accountants are competitive to retain.
Revenue Concentration
Over-reliance on few large clients creates risk.
Seasonal Fluctuation
Tax season creates revenue peaks and valleys.
A 1040 following is SDE. A staffed firm can move.
A practice where you still sign every return is priced on seller's discretionary earnings after a real reviewer wage. Those firms often trade around 2x–3.5x SDE of the book a successor can keep. A manager or second CPA who already runs busy season, with engagement letters that assign, often moves toward 2.5x–4.5x SDE. Write-up and advisory retainers are stronger than a personal 1040 list. A managed firm priced near $10 million is more often read on adjusted EBITDA, commonly about 3x–6x. Directional only. Not a quote. Not legal, tax, or lending advice.
Regional firms and successor CPAs, not a fund
Buyers are CPAs stepping into a staffed office and regional firms buying a book. A one-person 1040 shop is an owner-operator sale. It does not draw private equity. A staffed firm with a manager through April sometimes draws a larger regional group, and that group is reading recurring work, not your personal following.
SBA 7(a) is common when the book is staffed and letters assign. The SBA 7(a) cap is $5 million. A seller note and a holdback through the next filing season are standard. This is not lending advice.
Snowbird returns are a Florida example of seasonality
Florida's seasonal residents stack a winter 1040 book that is not the same as a year-round closely held practice. Other states have their own seasonal or industry concentrations. Hurricane filing relief is a calendar item, not extra earnings. Bridge Point sells accounting practices nationally. Buyers still want a second CPA, letters that assign, and a book that is not only you.
How accounting-firm purchases get financed
Practices finance on a recurring book a licensed successor can keep. SBA 7(a) is common when engagement letters assign, a manager or second CPA can run busy season, and peer-review or firm registration issues are clean. Tax season does not annualize the whole firm. Write-up and advisory retainers underwrite differently than a personal 1040 following.
Seller notes and a retention holdback through the first filing season are standard. Client concentration and the owner who still signs every return are the credit. We would rather show a smaller transferable book than a busy April that only works because you never left the office.
Who typically buys an accounting firm
Regional firms buying a book, CPAs stepping into a staffed practice, and advisory shops that want write-up density. A buyer who needs you to keep the largest closely held clients is buying a rainmaker. We show that share before we talk about a lender.
Complete industry guide
How CPA and accounting practices trade — book quality, retention, and what buyers actually underwrite.
Read Buying or Selling an Accounting Practice: The Complete GuideFrequently asked questions
Ready to talk through a listing?
Request a confidential consult or call (352) 515-0226. We will tell you whether a sale is realistic before you go to market.