Orchardpeak Business Funding, a small-business funding service in Stillwater, OK, explains CPA and accounting firm financing: loans to buy an accountancy practice, lines of credit for uneven fee months, and funding to grow a firm. Payne County, OK had 25 accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll employers in 2023.
| County accounting employers (2023) | 25 |
|---|---|
| Under five employees | 68.0% |
| In ZIP 74074 | 13 |
| No-payroll firms (2024) | 90 |
How cash moves through an accounting practice
Tax preparation fees may arrive in a cluster around filing deadlines, while bookkeeping, payroll and advisory clients may pay monthly retainers. A firm with mostly tax work can have an uneven year; a firm with more recurring monthly work may see a steadier one. Whatever the mix, staff are paid on a payroll calendar whether or not the fees for their work have arrived.
A loan to buy an accountancy practice
Buying a practice is one way a firm can grow. The price may be set against the annual fees the client list produces, and part of it may depend on how many clients stay after the sale. A term loan can fund the cash portion. Partners review the seller's fee history by client type, client concentration, and the transition plan for introducing clients to the new owner.
CPA firm prices: start from retained fees
We publish no price figures. Practice prices depend on fee volume, the mix of recurring and seasonal work, client retention and the terms of the deal. Price the deal on what the client list will produce after realistic attrition, and work out the loan payment on the financed amount before you agree.
How to grow an accounting practice, and where financing fits
- Buy a client list or a retiring owner's practice: term loan
- Hire staff ahead of the busy period: line of credit repaid from the fees that follow
- Upgrade software and hardware: equipment financing for the hardware
- Move or expand the office: a term loan sized to the bids
CPA firm financing: what partners usually review
- Fee history by month, showing any seasonal pattern
- Recurring versus one-time client revenue
- Bank statements and tax returns
- For acquisitions, the purchase agreement and the seller's fee records
Illustrative example: carrying staff into the busy months
Illustrative arithmetic only: a firm adds two seasonal preparers for $24,000 in wages before the fees they help produce arrive. A line drawn for those wages and repaid from the higher fees a few months later costs interest only for the weeks the money is out. A term loan for the same purpose could run on past the date the fees are collected.
Accounting business loans: buying a retiring owner's practice
An accounting practice may change hands when an owner retires, and the sale can include a transition period in which the seller introduces the buyer to clients, which is meant to protect client retention. A term loan covers the cash at closing; an earn-out or seller note covers the rest, paid from fees as clients stay.
Before agreeing a price, sort the client list by service: tax-only clients may behave differently from monthly bookkeeping and payroll clients.
Accounting firm financing: questions to answer first
- What share of fees comes in the busiest three months?
- How many clients pay monthly retainers?
- Which staff are seasonal, and when are they paid?
- What would a 10% client loss after a purchase do to the payment?
A partner reading your statements may ask similar questions; having the answers ready gives the request a head start.
Software, hardware and the quieter months
Tax software and other subscriptions are recurring costs, and computers and scanners wear out on their own schedule. Subscriptions can be paid from cash or a short draw on a line; hardware can go on equipment financing. A firm whose fees are seasonal can draw on its line for payroll in a quieter stretch and repay it from the next fees.
Payne County, OK bookkeepers, preparers and CPAs in the counts
Payne County, OK had 25 accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services establishments with employees in 2023, and 68.0% had fewer than five employees (U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023). Thirteen of the 25 had a ZIP 74074 address (U.S. Census Bureau, ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023).
Separately, 90 businesses in this group reported receipts with no paid employees in 2024 (U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics 2024); that is a different Census program from the employer counts above, so the two are not added or compared. Related pages: law firms and insurance agencies. County context: the Stillwater, OK page; all industries.
By Orchardpeak Business Funding · Updated