High-Growth Tax & Accounting Practice, Oregon

$4.1M

Revenue

$1.3M

SDE

7.2x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is an Oregon-based tax, accounting, and advisory firm serving roughly 700 active clients across both business and individual segments. The revenue mix is diversified for a practice of this size: 57% tax, 23% accounting, 17% advisory, and 3% bookkeeping, with many clients buying across multiple service lines. That cross-sell behavior is the engine behind both retention and wallet share, and it is the reason a firm this size can command a near-$1.1M EBITDA and a $9.5M ask.

The practice is genuinely growing, which is rare for a sleepy accounting book. It posted $3.68M in gross receipts in 2025 and projects just over $4.0M for 2026 based on actuals through August, implying roughly 9% to 12% top-line growth. A 15-person team including the ownership group is running the operation, and the firm leans on a long-standing community reputation and proven client retention to keep the pipeline full.

What you are buying is a durable, essential-services annuity: tax filings and compliance work recur every single year regardless of the economy, and advisory relationships compound as clients grow. The question for a buyer is less about whether the revenue holds and more about how much of the economics walks out the door with the departing ownership team and whether the advisory margin can survive a leadership transition.

Why we like it

Earnings quality is strong and essential: $4.1M revenue against $1.07M EBITDA is a 26% margin, and tax/accounting work is non-discretionary compliance spend that clients pay for every year. The 57% tax and 23% accounting mix is the stickiest part of the book, giving you a predictable annual revenue floor before you count advisory upside.
Durability comes from a 700-client base with proven retention and heavy cross-selling, where many clients use multiple service lines. In accounting practices, switching costs are high because the incumbent holds the client's financial history, so attrition tends to be low absent a botched transition.
The tailwind here is genuine growth, not a flat annuity: 2025 receipts of $3.68M projecting to $4.03M in 2026 implies roughly 9% to 12% organic growth, with 17% of revenue already coming from higher-margin advisory. Advisory is the fastest-growing, highest-value line in the profession and this firm already has a foothold.
Operator advantage is real for a buyer who can add capacity: a 15-person team is already in place, and the diversified service mix means an acquirer can push bookkeeping (only 3% today) and advisory deeper into the existing client base without buying new logos.

How to improve it

Lock down the top 20 client relationships within the first 90 days by having the departing ownership team personally introduce the new owner, documenting every key contact and the scope of work. Client concentration and personal loyalty to selling partners is the single biggest value leak in professional-services deals, so this is job one.
Grow the bookkeeping line aggressively from its current 3% of revenue. Bookkeeping is recurring monthly revenue that smooths out the seasonal tax spike and creates a natural on-ramp to advisory and tax work, improving both cash flow predictability and client stickiness.
Systematize and productize the advisory practice, which is already 17% of revenue but likely tied to specific senior people. Build repeatable advisory offerings (cash flow, entity structuring, tax planning retainers) with documented deliverables so the margin survives a staffing change and can be delivered by mid-level staff.
Renegotiate or extend the lease well before the 08/01/2027 expiration, since rent is $10,782 per month on 4,500 SF. A near-term lease expiration is a negotiating lever for the buyer and a continuity risk you want resolved on your terms, not the landlord's.
Implement standardized pricing and annual engagement-letter renewals across the book to convert informal relationships into contracted, repricing-friendly recurring revenue. Many legacy practices underprice long-tenured clients, so a disciplined rate review can lift margin with minimal churn.
Invest in workflow software and offshore or seasonal staffing to add capacity during tax season without permanent headcount. A 15-person team at $4.1M revenue has room to lift revenue per employee through better tooling, directly expanding the 26% EBITDA margin.
Build a referral and niche-marketing engine to replace the seller's community reputation as the primary growth driver. The firm's pipeline currently leans on goodwill and word of mouth, which does not transfer cleanly, so a repeatable client-acquisition channel de-risks future growth.

Diligence notes

Scrutinize client concentration and how much revenue is tied to relationships with the selling owner and minority shareholders specifically. Request a client-by-client revenue breakdown and tenure, because a practice whose top clients bank with a departing partner is worth far less than the headline 7.2x suggests.
The 7.2x cash flow multiple is rich for an accounting practice, where books typically trade at 3x to 5x of SDE. Pressure-test whether the premium is justified by the growth rate and advisory mix, and structure meaningful seller financing or an earnout tied to client retention to protect the downside.
Reconcile the SDE of $1,318,905 against EBITDA of $1,071,705 and verify the add-backs, particularly owner compensation for what is described as an ownership team plus minority shareholders. Understand exactly how many working owners you must replace and at what market salary, because that directly reduces true buyer cash flow.
Confirm the 2026 revenue projection of $4.0M by auditing the actuals through August rather than taking the annualized estimate at face value. Tax revenue is heavily seasonal, so a run-rate built partly on first-half filings can mislead on full-year performance.
Assess staff retention risk across the 15-person team, including any non-compete and non-solicit agreements. In accounting firms, a senior manager who leaves can take a book of clients, so verify key-employee contracts and consider retention packages before close.
Verify the lease terms and the realistic cost of renewal given the 08/01/2027 expiration, plus whether the current $10,782 monthly rent is at market. Factor relocation or renewal risk into your model since a disruptive move during tax season could cost both clients and staff.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →