640 I Analyzed 5,000 Accounting Firm Sales - 9 Things To Know [We found some surprising trends]

🚀 Get smarter faster by learning with other firm owners: https://www.rlz.io/ 📩 Want a simple way to keep up with accounting firms and AI? I break it down every week in my newsletter: https://www.jasononfirms.com/newsletter 📌 Check out the cool stuff our sponsors are doing here: https://accountingfirmcoach.com/sponsors/ Welcome to Accounting Firm Coach Office Hours presented by Canopy. I’m Jason Staats. Ready to get 1% better at running an accounting firm? In this episode, I talk about whether independently owned convenience stores make a profitable accounting niche, share how one firm built a specialized practice serving disaster restoration companies, and tackle the growing frustration of clients using AI to challenge their accountants and attorneys. Plus, in 🤖 You Need This Tech, I share a battery management solution every parent needs, highlight accounting professionals looking for their next opportunity, and answer 📬 Mailbag questions about marketing bookkeeping services, finding and retaining talent, and whether free QuickBooks alternatives are worth considering. // Chapters: 02:15 - Convenience Store Niche? 15:39 - This Firm Built A Disaster Restoration Niche 19:49 - Normies Vent About AI Being Better Than Professionals 32:18 - You Need This Battery Tech! 37:43 - Folks You Should Hire 39:33 - How to Market Bookkeeping Without Calling It Bookkeeping 43:28 - Finding and Retaining Talent? 48:37 - Free QuickBooks Alternative? 54:27 - We Love Them 📞 Leave me a voicemail at +1 (516) 980-4968! 📧 Email me! [email protected] 📌 A link to Nikole Mackenzie’s niche story https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/messy-middle-what-one-tells-you-niching-nikole-mackenzie-qvcoe/ 🔋 Here’s that battery charger you need https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DSL7VZBP?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback 💰 Today's Sponsors Canopy: https://www.getcanopy.com/jason Kick: https://www.kick.co/ Stanford Tax: https://stanfordtax.com/ MakersHub: https://makershub.com/ Verito: https://verito.com/jason?utm_campaign=42071442-Jason&utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_content=show-notes TaxBandits: https://www.taxbandits.com/ 🗣️ Continue the discussion on social! X https://x.com/jasononfirms LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jstaats/ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@jasoncpa

🚀 Get smarter faster by learning with other firm owners: https://www.rlz.io/ 📩 Want a simple way to keep up with accounting firms and AI? I break it down every week in my newsletter: https://www.jasononfirms.com/newsletter 📌 Check out the cool stuff our sponsors are doing here: https://accountingfirmcoach.com/sponsors/ Welcome to Accounting Firm Coach Office Hours presented by Canopy. I’m Jason Staats. Ready to get 1% better at running an accounting firm? In this episode, I break down the three biggest priorities accounting firm owners need to tackle before year-end, including tech transitions, hiring, client renewals, and getting ahead of January production. Then, in 🏹 Firm Hunters, we look at a $1.4 million accounting firm with an unbelievable 87% of revenue going to the owner. I also introduce a new segment called 👿 Mean Bag to tackle whether AI is about to get dramatically more expensive, rethink the all-in-one versus best-of-breed software debate in 🤓 Nerd Corner, and answer 📬 Mailbag questions about accounting ledgers, getting clients to sign proposals, AI agents, and keeping client data secure. // Chapters: 01:32 - Do This By November 1 11:06 - Do This By December 1 20:44 - Do This By January 1 22:49 - This $1.4M/yr Firm Is Running An 87% Margin!? 28:38 - Is AI About To Get Expensive? 34:03 - Is All-in-One A Mirage? 42:38 - Double vs New AI Ledgers 45:38 - Simplify That Proposal! 47:28 - Create An AI Agent User? 49:12 - Claude MAX Plan Made Secure? 52:07 - Lester Returns 📞 Leave me a voicemail at +1 (516) 980-4968! 📧 Email me! [email protected] 📌 Here’s that $1.4M/yr firm https://privatepracticetransitions.com/business-listing/1265-established-cas-practice-with-strong-growth/ 💰 Today's Sponsors Canopy: https://www.getcanopy.com/jason Gusto: https://gusto.com/ Kick: https://www.kick.co/ Stanford Tax: https://stanfordtax.com/ Realize: https://www.rlz.io/ Cloud Accountant Staffing: https://www.cloudaccountantstaffing.com/ 🗣️ Continue the discussion on social! X https://x.com/jasononfirms LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jstaats/ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@jasoncpa

🚀 Get smarter faster by learning with other firm owners: https://www.rlz.io/ 📩 Want a simple way to keep up with accounting firms and AI? I break it down every week in my newsletter: https://www.jasononfirms.com/newsletter 📌 Check out the cool stuff our sponsors are doing here: https://accountingfirmcoach.com/sponsors/ Welcome to Accounting Firm Coach Office Hours presented by Canopy. I’m Jason Staats. Ready to get 1% better at running an accounting firm? In this episode, I explore how to build a niche accounting firm by tapping into industry-specific communities and partnerships. In 🤓 Nerd Corner, I cover eight major tech updates from Canopy, Financial Cents, Digits, Karbon, Gusto, Double, Kik, and RightTool. Then, in the 📬 Mailbag, I tackle delegating more work to admins, construction accounting software, Microsoft Copilot, tax workflow tools, lead tracking, and building a remote accounting firm. // Chapters: 00:00 - These Industries Need YOU 15:14 - 8 Tech Updates 29:19 - Push This Work to Admins 33:44 - Construction Accounting Software? 36:09 - Microsoft AI Use-Cases 37:59 - Don’t Buy This Tax Workflow Software 42:54 - Lead Tracking App 44:53 - Transitioning A Firm To Remote Work 51:31 - We Love Them 📞 Leave me a voicemail at +1 (516) 980-4968! 📧 Email me! [email protected] 💰 Today's Sponsors Canopy: https://www.getcanopy.com/jason TaxBandits: https://www.taxbandits.com/ Stanford Tax: https://stanfordtax.com/ MakersHub: https://makershub.com/ Verito: https://verito.com/jason?utm_campaign=42071442-Jason&utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_content=show-notes Realize: https://www.rlz.io/ 🗣️ Continue the discussion on social! X https://x.com/jasononfirms LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jstaats/ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@jasoncpa

🚀 Get smarter faster by learning with other firm owners: https://www.rlz.io/ 📩 Want a simple way to keep up with accounting firms and AI? I break it down every week in my newsletter: https://www.jasononfirms.com/newsletter 📌 Check out the cool stuff our sponsors are doing here: https://accountingfirmcoach.com/sponsors/ Welcome to Accounting Firm Coach Office Hours presented by Canopy. I’m Jason Staats. Ready to get 1% better at running an accounting firm? In this episode, I break down two surprisingly profitable accounting firms for sale, including one generating over $1.6 million with just two people, and explain why outsourcing and offshoring can create very different business models. In 💾 You Need This Tech, I share a $400 artificial skylight designed to bring natural-looking light into your office. Then, in 🤓 Nerd Corner, I challenge some of the guidance around AI and taxpayer data presented at an IRS National Tax Forum session. Finally, I answer 📬 Mailbag questions about Double as a practice management tool, seller financing when buying a firm, AI for nonprofit accounting, software security, Grok, and why heavily funded tax AI startups aren’t on my app recommendations list. 📌 The skylight https://www.amazon.com/PHILIPS-Skylight-Ceiling-NatureConnect-inches/dp/B0HDTPRNSD?sr=8-1 💲 The tax firm that’s for sale https://privatepracticetransitions.com/business-listing/1262-established-virtual-tax-practice/ 🧾 And the CAS firm that sold https://poegroupadvisors.com/practice/cp2024/ // Chapters: 00:00 - A 2-Person $1.6M Firm 11:32 - A 60% Margin CAS Firm 21:52 - You Need This Tech 26:05 - Bad AI Advice From The IRS 36:56 - Double As A PM? 40:04 - Up-Front Cash? 44:16 - AI For Fund Accounting 47:35 - How To Know if an App Is Secure? 49:21 - Firms Using Grok!? 52:53 - BlackOre Basis and Accrual 📞 Leave me a voicemail at +1 (516) 980-4968! 📧 Email me! [email protected] 💰 Today's Sponsors Canopy: https://www.getcanopy.com/jason Gusto: https://gusto.com/ Kick: https://www.kick.co/ Stanford Tax: https://stanfordtax.com/ MakersHub: https://makershub.com/ Verito: https://verito.com/jason?utm_campaign=42071442-Jason&utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_content=show-notes 🗣️ Continue the discussion on social! X https://x.com/jasononfirms LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jstaats/ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@jasoncpa

🚀 Get smarter faster by learning with other firm owners: https://www.rlz.io/ 📩 Want a simple way to keep up with accounting firms and AI? I break it down every week in my newsletter: https://www.jasononfirms.com/newsletter 📌 Check out the cool stuff our sponsors are doing here: https://accountingfirmcoach.com/sponsors/ Welcome to Accounting Firm Coach Office Hours presented by Canopy. I’m Jason Staats. Ready to get 1% better at running an accounting firm? In this episode, I break down a new AI accounting study suggesting that leading models can outperform human accountants, and explain what that actually means for our firms. I share why public booking links are a bad idea, explore Claude’s faster AI models and new ChatGPT features, and explain why AI won’t fix bad business decisions. Then I highlight accountants available for hire and answer questions about selling a firm to private equity, why I dropped Xero from my recommendations, and whether standalone receipt management software still makes sense. 📌 Here’s that AI vs accountants study https://www.mercor.com/blog/human-baselines-for-benchmarks-ai-now-outperforms-junior-accountants/ // Chapters: 00:00 - The End Is Near 13:45 - Bad Booking Links 17:35 - This AI Model is FAST 24:20 - Hormozi Pops The Balloon 26:20 - ChatGPT Updates 31:45 - Accountants For Hire 34:25 - Sell His Firm to PE? 42:45 - I Dropped Xero 47:55 - New Receipt Tech? 📞 Leave me a voicemail at +1 (516) 980-4968! 📧 Email me! [email protected] 💰 Today's Sponsors Canopy: https://www.getcanopy.com/jason Gusto: https://gusto.com/ Kick: https://www.kick.co/ Stanford Tax: https://stanfordtax.com/ MakersHub: https://makershub.com/ Verito: https://verito.com/jason?utm_campaign=42071442-Jason&utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_content=show-notes 🗣️ Continue the discussion on social! X https://x.com/jasononfirms LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jstaats/ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@jasoncpa