Sell a business · Accounting & tax practice
Sell your accounting practice, on your terms.
Accounting and tax practices are among the most liquid small businesses in the market: client relationships renew annually almost by default, revenue is visible a year in advance, and a structural shortage of CPAs has buyers - individual practitioners and consolidators alike - competing for quality books. Practices are sometimes quoted in revenue terms (around 1x annual revenue is a common shorthand), which usually lands in the same place as the SDE math.
Client retention through transition is the entire game. Buyers routinely structure part of the price as contingent on retention through the first season or two, which means the seller's transition plan - introductions, joint meetings, a tax season of overlap - directly shapes how much of the headline price actually gets paid.
What buyers pay for
What moves your accounting practice toward the top of the band.
Recurring engagement mix
Monthly bookkeeping and CAS (client accounting services) revenue is the most prized, annual tax compliance next, one-off project work last. The mix sets the band position.
Client tenure and fee levels
A book of long-tenured clients at healthy, recently-raised fees beats a larger book of underpriced ones. Buyers screen for deferred fee increases they will have to push through.
Staff who hold the relationships
Seniors and managers who own client contact make retention through transition credible. A practice where every client calls the owner personally is priced for that risk.
Prepare before you list
Diligence starts long before the buyer shows up.
Build a client-level revenue tape
Anonymized client list with service type, tenure, and three years of fees. It is the single document every practice buyer underwrites from.
Plan the transition season explicitly
Spell out what you will do post-close: introductions, joint client meetings, one tax season of availability. A concrete transition plan converts directly into better retention terms.
Address work-in-progress and unbilled time
WIP, unbilled hours, and retainer balances need a clean cutoff convention at closing. Agreeing the mechanics early avoids the classic end-of-deal friction.
Free valuation calculator
What is your accounting practice actually worth?
Two minutes, no signup. We start from the typical accounting & tax practice band of 2.3x to 3.2x owner profit, then adjust for your growth and track record. The math runs entirely in your browser - we never store what you type.
Estimate my business valueThe Slyced Exchange
Sell without telling the world.
When you are ready to ask the market, the Exchange is a private way to do it. Your listing is anonymous by default: built from ranges and categories, screened word by word for anything that could identify you, and reviewed by a person before it goes live.
Buyers verify their identity before they can request access, you approve every request, and a real NDA is signed before your name is revealed. Listing is a flat subscription - never a percentage of your sale.
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Talk to us about sellingAnonymous by default
The public profile is built from ranges and categories. Your name and exact numbers have no field to live in.
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Anyone can browse, but requesting access requires identity verification first. No anonymous tire-kickers.
NDA before any reveal
You see who a buyer is before they learn who you are, and a real NDA is signed before the reveal.
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A flat software subscription. We never take a percentage of your sale - not at listing, not at closing.
Plain answers
Questions accounting & tax practice owners ask.
- What is an accounting practice worth?
- Typical transactions put accounting and tax practices at roughly 2.3x to 3.2x SDE - often quoted equivalently as around 1x annual revenue. Recurring monthly engagements and strong client tenure support the top of the band. Retention-based payment structures are common, so the headline multiple is only part of the picture.
- Why do buyers tie part of the price to retention?
- Because the asset being purchased is client relationships, and those are proven only through a transition. Earn-outs or holdbacks tied to first-year retention are standard practice. A deliberate transition plan is how sellers protect that contingent portion.
- Is tax-only seasonal work worth less than monthly engagements?
- Generally yes, per dollar of revenue. Monthly bookkeeping and advisory engagements bill year-round and churn less, so buyers weight them more heavily than once-a-year returns - though a large, stable tax book is still a genuinely sellable asset.