One broker treats your firm as your life's work — and fights for every dollar of it.
The other treats it like a house flip — the fastest paycheck wins, and the hard work that gets you, your clients, and your family the exit you deserve never happens.
The listing agreement in front of you is binding the moment you sign. Make sure you know which broker is holding the pen.
You'll likely sell a firm once in your life. The broker across the table does this for a living. Here's what that asymmetry costs when you take the first number you hear:
Every broker will value your firm for free. The second opinion costs you nothing. Skipping it can cost you the number above — so get more than one opinion before you sign anything. Including from us.
This applies to every listing agreement from every broker. Ours included.
A listing agreement is a contract, not a handshake. Read it before you sign — not after.
Six months is described as the industry standard. Once you sign, your firm is committed to that one broker for the full term — even if the phone never rings.
Some agreements claim a commission on any buyer who appears for 12 to 24 months after the agreement ends. A long tail with no named list of buyers the broker actually introduced is a documented red flag. Ask for the list.
Some brokers "buy the listing" — quote a generous price to win your signature. It's a documented red flag. If one opinion towers over the rest, ask hard questions before you celebrate.
Brokers typically charge around a tenth of your sale price, and the seller pays it. On a $600,000 sale, that is real money. Make sure it's earned.
One more thing. Ask two advisors how long your sale will take; you'll get two different answers — anywhere from a few months to two years. Get the reasoning behind the timeline, not just the promise.
Most brokers ask for your trust. We'd rather hand you the terms and let you hold us to them. Demand this list from anyone who wants to sell your firm.
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.
Our compensation is a percentage of the final sale price, not hours worked. We only make more if you walk away with more.
There are no upfront fees for valuation, packaging, or marketing. We invest that time and cost; we only recover it if we close your sale.
Our fee is calculated on consideration you actually receive at closing — cash and agreed consideration — not hypothetical valuations or unsent earn-outs.
A minimum of five financially qualified, culture-fit buyer meetings within 120 days — so you're never forced to take the first offer unless it's the right one.
No one gets access to your detailed information or books without your written approval and a signed NDA.
Every buyer you speak to is pre-screened for financial capacity, strategic fit, and a timeline we agree on up front. No tire-kickers on your calendar.
We do not contact your team or your clients without your explicit written permission and a planned timeline.
We do not represent the buyer against you. Our engagement is to maximize your outcome; our fee comes from your side only.
If we haven't produced at least five qualified buyer conversations or an acceptable LOI within 120 days, you can terminate the engagement with no fee owed.
You get a simple weekly report: buyers contacted, buyers vetted, conversations held, offers received, next steps. No black-box process.
If at any point you feel we're not adding value, you can exit the relationship on 30-day written notice, owing us nothing unless a deal we sourced closes.
Exclusivity period, tail clause, fee — in writing, in plain language, walked through line by line before you sign. If any broker won't do that, that's your answer.
No sale, no fee. Terms and conditions may apply — and you'll see them in writing before you decide anything.
Take it to every conversation. Hold us to the same standard — here is how we answer each one.
Our answer: Nothing. No sale, no fee (terms and conditions in writing before you decide anything). And when your firm does sell? Our full fee is spelled out in the same agreement, in plain language, before you sign.
Our answer: everything in the guarantee stack above — starting with five culture-fit buyer meetings within 120 days. Not assurances on a phone call. Paper.
Our answer: We don't list your firm. We hunt your ideal buyer. We call it Dream Exit Matchmaking — buyers screened for culture fit with our Culture & Care Scorecard, so your clients and your team land somewhere worthy of them. Other processes force you into a box; matching starts with who fits you.
Our answer: historically, many accounting firm sales close with 20–30% down and the rest tied to client retention — a structure that puts nearly all the risk on the seller. The Journal of Accountancy notes retention of acquired clients tends to be the factor that most significantly affects a small firm's value. That's why we push cash-heavy structures and screen buyers for culture fit: clients who stay protect your payout. Ask every broker about structure, not just the headline price.
Our answer: we show our work. We run a marketplace where listings show revenue, asking price, and the multiple upfront — all 50 states, updated weekly. The median firm asks about 1.1× gross revenue; half ask between 1.0× and 1.2×. Any number we give you comes with the reasoning attached.
Our answer: our exclusivity period and tail clause, in writing, in plain language, walked through line by line before you sign anything. Demand the same from every broker. If anyone won't walk you through their agreement line by line, that is your answer.
Free. Seven questions. About two minutes. Nothing to sign.
Before you sit across from any broker, know what your firm may be worth — on your own terms.
Our free valuation takes seven questions and about two minutes. An advisor personally reviews every submission — this is not an automated estimate.
There is no listing agreement, no obligation, nothing to sign. And to be plain about it: our number is one more opinion, not the verdict. Hold it — and us — to the same six questions you'd ask anyone else.
Start The Free ValuationDream Firms is built by three generations of accountants. Founder Tyler Clark didn't just study firm sales — he built, grew, and sold his own accounting firm. He knows what it feels like to hand over a client list you built yourself.
His father's firm, NCI, generated over $1 billion in new revenue for accounting firms across more than 30 years. We work with firms billing $300K to $10M — and our buyer network grows every week, fed by a marketplace buyers actually use.
Already have a broker's number in hand? Good. Bring it. We'll tell you honestly how it compares to what firms like yours are asking on our marketplace — even if the honest answer is "that's a fair number."
Not there yet? Start with your own number. Seven questions. About two minutes. Nothing to sign.
Not ready to talk to anyone? That's the right instinct — read first, sign later.
How to Sell Your Accounting Firm ·
Seller Financing for Accounting Practices ·
Private Equity in Accounting Firms