Real asking prices from 1,393 priced listings — before we ask you for anything.
The market numbers come first — free on this page, no form to see them.
From three generations of accountants — including one who built, grew, and sold his own firm.
Revenue, asking price, and multiples from 1,393 priced listings. All 50 states. Updated weekly.
Now the honest part: asking is not selling. These are asking prices — what sellers hope to get, not what buyers paid.
The Journal of Accountancy reports that small-firm sold prices have fallen from 1.5 to 2 times revenue a generation ago to roughly 0.75 to 1.2 times today. An asking price is an opening position, not a closing check.
The gap between what sellers ask and what sellers keep is where preparation pays. That gap is what the rest of this page is about.
The Journal of Accountancy reports that retention of acquired clients tends to be the single factor that most significantly affects a small firm's value in a sale — and most deals tie part of your proceeds to how many clients stay. Keep your clients through the transition and you keep your price.
Accounting firms have historically sold with 20–30% down, the balance paid over time as clients stay — what deal people call an earnout. A traditional collection deal — 20% down, then 20% of collections each year — puts nearly all of the retention risk on you, the seller. A big headline price on weak terms can pay you less than a smaller price on cash-heavy terms.
Documented owner earnings give buyers a second yardstick beyond revenue. On our marketplace, where sellers disclose owner earnings, asking prices run about twice those earnings.
Know your number. Prepare your firm. Keep your clients.
It depends on the buyer you choose — and so does your price.
Clients stay where the people and the service feel familiar. The buyer who keeps your team and your culture protects the very thing your price rests on — the retention economics you just read.
So buyer selection is a people question and a money question at the same time. Choose the buyer first on how they will treat your staff and your clients — then talk price.
When we match sellers with buyers, we screen for exactly this with our Culture & Care Scorecard — how we choose buyers is at the bottom of this page.
Seven questions. About two minutes. Personally reviewed by an advisor.
The market numbers are above. Now place your firm inside them.
Answer seven questions — about two minutes. Then a Dream Firms advisor personally reviews every submission — a real person, not an algorithm, not an auto-reply — and follows up on your firm's range: what it means and what would move it.
Three figures. Your best estimates are fine — your advisor will refine them with you.
Your full valuation analysis will be emailed within 1 business day.
Your advisor calls to walk you through the analysis.
We respect your privacy. Your information is never sold. Privacy Policy
This is an automated estimate for general guidance only, not a formal valuation, appraisal, or offer. It's based on current market multiples for small accounting/CPA firms and your self-reported inputs; actual value depends on diligence, deal structure, and buyer demand. Your advisor will email a full written analysis within 1 business day.
We start with your Seller's Discretionary Earnings (SDE), your net income plus owner's compensation, because that's the real profit a buyer is acquiring. We then apply a market multiple reflecting what accounting, CPA, and bookkeeping firms actually sell for (typically 1.7–3.2x SDE), and adjust it up or down based on the factors below.
This range is a conservative, data-driven baseline. Things a short quiz can't capture (a profitable niche, a premium client roster, clean books, or the right strategic buyer) can push your firm's value higher. The only way to know your real number is a conversation. Let's find it together.
No pitch. No pressure. Just a real conversation about what your firm is worth and what a sale could look like for you.
Check your inbox. Your mutual NDA arrived the moment you submitted. Your full written valuation analysis will follow within 1 business day. Book the call above and we'll walk through everything together.
The price is a headline. The proceeds are a schedule.
Most accounting firm deals tie the seller's proceeds to client retention over a defined period. The common structures: a one-year retention period, a two-plus-year retention period, or a full-collection deal where you're paid as the buyer collects.
Historically, firms have changed hands with 20–30% down and the balance paid out over time as clients stay. The traditional collection deal — 20% down, then 20% of collections per year — leaves nearly all of the retention risk on the seller.
So the question isn't whether retention terms exist. It's how the risk is split: the size of the down payment, the length of the guarantee, what happens when clients leave for reasons you can't control. Every point of structure you negotiate is money you keep.
Ask two advisors how long your sale takes; you'll get two different answers. Published estimates run from three months to two years. Plan your timeline around the structure of your deal, not around anyone's promise.
Start With Your Number — Get Your Firm's Range
Prefer to read? Seller financing, explained in plain English
Selling without a broker? Signing with one? Know the economics either way.
Some owners sell on their own. Some sign with a broker. If you go it alone, we would rather arm you than sign you: our marketplace shows revenue, asking price, and multiples upfront, so you can study what firms like yours ask before you talk to anyone.
Before you sign anything, know three things.
Practice brokers typically charge around a tenth of your sale price — paid by you, the seller.
Listing agreements typically grant the broker 6 to 12 months of exclusivity, and they are binding once signed. One warning sign to watch for: tail clauses claiming a commission for 12–24 months after the agreement ends, without a named list of the buyers the broker introduced.
"Buying the listing" — inflating your valuation to win your signature — is a documented industry red flag. One broker treats your number as your life's work. Another treats it as this month's quota. Same firm, very different outcomes.
Every broker will value your firm for free. Get more than one opinion before you sign anything.
Free education for firm owners thinking about selling. A structured seller curriculum. No cost.
Every lesson is built around plain learning objectives — "after this lesson you'll be able to…" — so you know exactly what you'll walk away with before you spend a minute.
The lessons are on the way. Want the full arc in one read today? The complete guide covers it, start to finish — no form, no email.
Private equity is buying accounting firms — what it means for sellers
Or start with your number — get your firm's range.
Tyler Clark sold the accounting firm he built and grew himself. He has been the seller — the person deciding what the firm is worth, who deserves the clients, and what life looks like after.
His family has spent three generations in the profession. His father's firm, NCI, generated over $1 billion in new revenue for accounting firms across 30-plus years. Our mission now: generate $1 billion of new client wealth.
Dream Exit Matchmaking — for firms billing $300,000 to $10 million.
No public listing of your firm. We go find the buyer who fits — screened with our Culture & Care Scorecard, so your clients and your team land with someone who deserves them. And the whole engagement runs on one principle: if we don't perform, we don't get paid.
If we don't successfully close a transaction that you sign and fund, you pay us $0.
We only earn a fee when you voluntarily sign a purchase agreement you're happy with. If you don't like the deal, you don't sign — and we don't get paid.
Five culture-fit buyer meetings within 120 days — financially qualified, pre-screened, ready to move — so you're never forced to take the first offer.
We invest the time and cost of packaging and marketing your firm. We only recover it when your sale closes.
The full guarantee stack — buyer approval, disclosure control, weekly transparency, walk-away rights — is spelled out on the Second Opinion page and in every engagement letter. No sale, no fee; terms and conditions apply.