Selling an Accounting or Tax Practice?

Do you know the steps to selling your accounting practice? Are you searching for assistance in valuation, negotiations and finding the right buyer? If you’re looking to retire soon or take a different direction with your life, you’ve come to the right place.

Accounting Practice Sales is the largest marketer of tax and accounting firms in North America. There is a reason for that. Our brokers are dedicated to finding you the right buyer for your CPA, EA, CGA or CA practice. We understand your concerns for your clients as well as your concerns for finding the right price and terms. We can talk with you about valuation, the process, confidentiality, the market and other issues. Contact us for a free discussion of your options.

Seller Articles

Who are the Best Buyers When Selling an Accounting Practice?

Believe it or not when selling an accounting practice, but the best buyer is not a larger firm. It is usually an individual, and frequently a current employee of practice near you, or someone coming out of a large or regional firm who is looking for platform to build on. This is true for a couple of reasons. Firstly, existing firms often do not hav[…]

What Questions Will You Be Asked When Selling a CPA Firm?

Sellers will be asked different questions at different points in the process of selling a CPA firm. Brokers have questions, banks have questions, landlords have questions, and of course, buyers have question. Buyer’s questions are more general at the beginning of the process and get more specific as they start due diligence. Most questions are […]

Why Accountants Attempt to Sell on Their Own

Undoubtedly, practitioners understand the value that their expertise brings to their clients. We’ve all seen the results of clients who self-prepare their taxes using that well-known tax software (no need to mention names) ... Accountants would never advise clients to prepare their own taxes, sell their own home or, if a business owner, to sell t[…]

Ten Questions You Must Ask Before You Sign

1. DID THE BUYER SEEK OUTSIDE FINANCING? There is widespread misconception that the seller should be the default source of financing the sale of a practice. Fortunately, there are options to finance a sale. It’s always beneficial to have potential buyers explore bank financing as a first option. Lenders love financing a business with cons[…]

Selling or Buying an Accounting Practice In Today's Credit Crisis

With daily headlines proclaiming gloom and doom and such notables as Alan Greenspan declaring that we have hit a “once-in-a-century credit tsunami'' it is no wonder we might be anxious. Owners contemplating retirement as well as individuals looking to buy a firm may be rethinking those decisions. But, like most things in life, we make the best ch[…]

Here to There: Successful Transitions

In every successful sale of an accounting practice a good transition is essential. And to have that, both the buyer and the seller must be involved. Almost all major failures in a transition come from either a buyer or a seller not doing the basic things. These are the things that will get you from here to there successfully: 1. Seller and bu[…]

Don't Go There: The Agreement That Tells You What You Can't Do

From time to time owners will ask us if they will need to sign a non-compete agreement. The answer stays the same: "Yes, Yes, Yes. Buyers will always want a non-compete." An essential part of every practice sale/purchase is the non-compete clause or, as it is sometimes called, the covenant not to compete. This clause or agreement is essent[…]

Having Your Cake & Eating it Too: Why Keeping Clients May be Bad

Practice owners wanting to sell sometimes express a desire to keep some clients in order to continue an income stream. Be aware that decision can have undesired consequences on the sale. First of all, almost all buyers will be suspicious that the owner is cherry-picking the clients. That is a very real concern because, in our experience,[…]

Common Misconceptions in Selling a Practice

Selling an accounting practice is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most practice owners. Because it is such a rare event, sellers need to be aware of the key misconceptions about the process. Misconception #1 " The seller needs to stay around for months or years to assist the buyer in the transition." Experience with countless practice sal[…]

For Sale By Owner: Limiting Your Options

Let's say you have a Star Wars action figure or an old Lone Ranger lunch pail. If you went up and down the street do you think you could get the best price-true market value? Probably not. Could you do better if you offered the items on EBay? There is no guarantee you could but we all know the best chance to get full value is to have the larg[…]

Ten Pitfalls to Avoid When Selling Your Practice

Selling with a contingency. Our buyers often pay full price with no contingencies and future adjustments. At Accounting Practice Sales, we work on the premise that the buyer has the primary control over client retention; therefore, the seller generally should not bear this risk. As a seller, you cannot afford to have your retirement rest on […]

Key Factors in Practice Value

Practitioners often ask what their accounting or tax practice is worth, but asking that question is like asking what houses are worth. It is not prudent to rely on simplistic rules of thumb when assessing the worth of your practice because various factors will influence its price. In this article, we will explore the seven key factors that have th[…]

Show Me the Money: How Accounting and Tax Practices are Sold

Today, accounting and tax practices are sold in each of the following four ways. As you will learn, the premium offered to the seller lies within the deal terms themselves. WITH SELLER GUARANTEES: 1 Collection Pricing When the seller receives payments based on collections or billings over a period of time, this is referred to as “percen[…]

Top Reasons to Hire Accounting Practice Sales

1. Practice valuation. Fair market value is what a willing buyer will pay a willing seller, period. At Accounting Practice Sales we know the accounting practice market from the experience of buying and selling practices, not merely from theory. 2. Confidentiality. Our brokers protect the seller and buyer in every possible way although the s[…]