Accounting Firm Loans and SBA Financing

What we finance for accounting firms

• Book-of-business acquisition

  Buy a retiring CPA's client book or a whole practice, underwritten on the recurring revenue being acquired and how much of it is retained.

  Business acquisition financing

• Partner buy-in and buyout

  Fund a senior manager's buy-in to partnership or buy out a retiring partner without draining the firm's working cash.

  Partner buy-in financing

• Expansion and second office

  Open, relocate or build out an office, with furniture, technology and opening costs in one request.

• Staff and technology

  Hire ahead of busy season or invest in tax, workflow and practice management systems before the fees they generate arrive.

• Seasonal working capital

  A line of credit for the quieter months after filing deadlines, when payroll and rent continue but new fees slow.

  Business lines of credit

• Refinancing

  Replace or consolidate earlier acquisition or short-term debt when the new payment and total cost actually improve.

SBA loans for CPA firms

The SBA 7(a) program allows several eligible uses in one loan, including complete or partial changes of ownership, working capital and equipment. That fits the three most common accounting firm projects: buying a practice or client book, a partner buy-in or buyout, and expansion. The SBA requires the borrower to be creditworthy and show a reasonable ability to repay; the lender sets the documents and decides.

Compare an SBA quote with a conventional term loan on the same project. A bank that already knows the firm may move with fewer steps; SBA can help when the down payment is smaller or the project mixes several uses. See SBA 7(a) loans and our SBA vs conventional comparison.

Buying a book of business or a practice

An accounting practice is mostly its client relationships, so acquisition lending turns on recurring revenue: tax compliance, bookkeeping, payroll and advisory work that renews each year. The lender underwrites how much of that revenue is likely to stay with the buyer after the sale, which is why the transition plan matters as much as the price.

• Retention terms: how the purchase agreement handles clients who leave, through an earn-out, holdback or price adjustment.
• Seller transition: how long the seller stays involved in introducing clients.
• Revenue mix: recurring engagements versus one-time projects.
• Combined cash flow: whether the merged practice covers the new payment through the off-season.

Accounting firm lenders compared

How the accounting firm loan process works

1. Intro call. Tell us the project and how the firm performs today.
2. Documents. We send a checklist: tax returns, financial statements, a recurring-revenue schedule, a debt schedule and the purchase or buy-in terms.
3. Lender matching. We take one prepared request to the SBA, bank and non-bank lenders that fit the use of funds.
4. Term sheet and close. You compare written offers side by side, choose one, and the lender completes underwriting and closing.

We explain how we get paid before you choose an offer.

Who qualifies for an accounting firm loan

Each lender sets its own criteria. Most look at:

• Client retention and the share of recurring work.
• Cash flow after owner compensation and existing debt, month by month.
• Owner credit and experience, and time in business.
• For an acquisition or buy-in, the target's revenue quality and the valuation.

Our loan readiness checklist lists the documents lenders commonly ask for. We work with firms across New York and New Jersey.

Program summaries are not an approval or a commitment to fund. Lenders determine eligibility, amounts and terms after review.