Aspenspring Business Loans in Durango, Colorado places accounting firm funding requests with funding partners. La Plata County, CO counted 60 accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll firms with paid employees in 2023. This page covers buying a CPA practice, how firms are priced, financing an acquisition, and software, staff and office upgrades.
At a glance
- Accounting and tax firms, La Plata County, CO
60 (County Business Patterns 2023)
- Share with fewer than five employees
76.7% (County Business Patterns 2023)
- Firms without paid employees
193 (Nonemployer Statistics 2024)
Accounting Firm Loans Around Durango, CO by the County Numbers
Accounting firm loans start from the firm count. County Business Patterns counted 60 accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services employers in La Plata County, CO in 2023, with 249 employees and $24.9 million in annual payroll, about $100,028 per employee (our arithmetic); 76.7% had fewer than five employees (County Business Patterns 2023). ZIP 81301 counted 36 of them (ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023).
Nonemployer Statistics counted 193 firms in the same group without paid employees for 2024, with $6.5 million in receipts (Nonemployer Statistics 2024). Professional, scientific and technical services as a whole, which includes accounting, counted 320 employer establishments, 78.1% of them under five employees (County Business Patterns 2023).
How to Buy a CPA Practice in La Plata County, CO, in Five Moves
- Define the practice wanted: tax, bookkeeping, payroll or audit work, and the client mix.
- Review the seller's client list with annual billings per client, without names until a confidentiality agreement is signed.
- Agree a price and a structure in a letter of intent.
- Confirm financing: down payment, any seller note and the loan.
- Plan the transition: letters to clients, the seller's role and staff retention.
A practice purchase is a purchase of client relationships, so the transition plan carries as much weight with a partner as the price.
How Much Does It Cost to Buy a CPA Firm When Clients Can Leave?
Accounting practices are priced against their gross annual billings, with an adjustment for how many clients stay after the sale. Illustration only, invented figures: a practice billing $360,000 a year priced at 1.0 times gross costs $360,000. If the agreement pays the seller only for clients retained after a set period, and 90% stay, the final price is $324,000 (our arithmetic).
The multiple, the retention clause and the payment terms are negotiated between buyer and seller; a partner reads the result to judge whether the retained billings carry the payment.
How to Buy an Accounting Firm That Mixes Tax, Bookkeeping and Payroll Work
Not every client is worth the same to a buyer. Monthly bookkeeping and payroll clients pay all year and are billed on a schedule; tax-only clients pay once and can leave at the next filing. A partner reading a purchase looks at that mix, because recurring monthly billings carry a fixed loan payment more steadily than one large annual billing period.
- Billings by client and by service line for the last three years.
- Client tenure: how many years each client has stayed.
- Engagement letters, and whether they transfer to the buyer.
- Software licenses and data that move with the practice.
A buyer who already runs a practice can fold the acquired clients into existing staff and software, which changes how much of the price the combined billings can carry.
How to Acquire an Accounting Firm With a Term Loan and a Seller Note
Illustration only, invented figures: on the $360,000 price, a $36,000 down payment leaves $324,000; over 84 months at an invented 9.5% the payment is about $5,295 a month (our arithmetic). A seller note, where the seller takes part of the price over time, reduces the loan, and a retention clause can adjust that note if clients leave.
A term loan is the funding type. A partner reads three years of the practice's returns, billings by client, the buyer's credentials and experience, and the letter of intent. The Colorado acquisition guide covers the general steps.
Software, Staff and Office Upgrades for an Accounting Practice
Tax and practice software, secure document portals, computers and an office fit-out are the other purchases. Hardware can be financed as equipment; software subscriptions and the fit-out suit a term loan or a line of credit. Hiring a staff accountant before the work arrives is a working capital need, read against the firm's billing pattern.
Payroll Between Billing Cycles in a Small Accounting Firm
Firms that bill after the work is done, or whose clients pay on terms, carry payroll before the money arrives. A line of credit sized to that gap is drawn when billings lag and paid down when they come in. A partner reads billings and collections by month for the last two years, the receivables aging and the firm's existing debts. Working capital covers a one-off gap, such as integrating an acquired client list.
The law firm page covers a practice with similar timing, and the Durango, CO page has the county counts.
By Aspenspring Business Loans · Updated