Plumhill Capital Group of Hendersonville, North Carolina explains how Henderson County accounting and tax practices are bought and financed, and how firms carry tax-season costs, with invented figures.
At a glance
- Accounting firm employers
Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services, Henderson County, NC: 46 employer establishments (CBP 2023)
- CPA offices
Offices of certified public accountants, Henderson County, NC: 24 employer establishments (CBP 2023)
- No-payroll accounting businesses
Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services, Henderson County, NC: 153 nonemployer businesses (NES 2024)
How to Buy a CPA Firm When a Henderson County, NC Partner Retires
When a partner in a Henderson County, NC CPA firm retires, the firm or another CPA can buy the practice. The buyer acquires client relationships, files, staff and sometimes the office. Offices of certified public accountants had 24 employer establishments in the county in 2023 (CBP).
The smaller firms are very small: 31 of the 46 accounting employer establishments, or 67.4%, had fewer than five employees, and another 153 accounting businesses ran with no payroll in 2024 (CBP; NES).
A partner reading the request looks at the seller's billings by client, the buyer's experience, and the transition plan.
Professional rules on transferring client files are a matter for the firms' own advisers.
Employers with a ZIP 28792 address, a ZIP that reaches well beyond the city limits, numbered 22 accounting, tax and bookkeeping firms in 2023 (ZBP), so a buyer looking locally is choosing among a small group of practices.
How to Buy a CPA Practice: Client Retention and the Purchase Price
A CPA practice is priced on its recurring billings, and the price is only as good as the clients who stay. Many purchase agreements tie part of the price to retention: if clients leave in the first year, the price adjusts.
Buyers commonly ask for billings by client and service line for three years, realization rates, staff tenure and the seller's commitment to introduce the buyer to clients.
A retention clause protects the buyer and, indirectly, the lender, since the payments come from the retained billings.
Seasonality matters: a tax-heavy practice earns much of its year in a few months.
A buyer can ask the seller to stay for one or two tax seasons as part of the price; partners count that as lower risk.
How to Buy an Accounting Firm With a Term Loan and a Seller Note
The usual structure is a term loan, a seller note and buyer cash. The seller note keeps the seller invested in the transition.
Invented example, illustration only: on a $300,000 purchase, the seller carries a $75,000 note and the buyer puts in $45,000, leaving $180,000 to finance (our arithmetic). Over 84 months at an invented annual rate of 9.5%, that loan costs about $2,942 a month.
Business term loans explains purchase loans.
The seller note is often paid after the bank loan or alongside it, as the agreement sets out.
Ask how the seller note ranks behind the term loan and whether its payments can be deferred if retention falls short; partners read that clause closely.
A buyer who already runs a practice can fold the purchased clients into its own office and staff, which often lowers costs; a first-time buyer leans more on the seller's staff staying.
Tax Season Cash Flow in a Henderson County, NC Accounting Practice
An accounting practice with a large tax season earns much of its year between February and April, then collects through the summer as extensions are filed. Payroll for seasonal preparers, software renewals and office costs run ahead of those fees.
- Billings and collections by month for two or three years.
- Recurring monthly clients, such as bookkeeping and payroll services, and their share of revenue.
- Seasonal staff counts and their cost.
- Software and hardware renewal dates.
- Receivables by age after each tax season.
A practice whose recurring monthly work covers its fixed costs through the year is the strongest candidate for a line of credit; the line then carries only the seasonal staffing.
Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services in Henderson County, NC had 186 paid employees in 2023 (CBP). Firms that add bookkeeping or payroll services smooth the year and give a buyer's loan steadier support.
Invented example, illustration only: four seasonal preparers at $22 an hour for 40 hours a week over 12 weeks cost $42,240 (our arithmetic) before payroll taxes, most of it paid before the April fees are collected.
Accounting Firm Loans for Tax-Season Staffing and Software
Tax season brings seasonal preparers, overtime and software renewals before the fees come in. A line of credit drawn in January and paid down in April and May fits the pattern.
Invented example, illustration only: $18,000 of software and hardware over 36 months at an invented annual rate of 11% costs about $589 a month (our arithmetic).
Business lines of credit and working capital loans are compared on their own pages; county figures are on the Hendersonville, NC page.
Accounting payroll in the county was $7.7 million in 2023 (CBP).
By Plumhill Capital Group · Updated