So we built the tools and the service to help them see what their practice is worth and act on it.
We have been in and around accounting practice M&A for a long time. Long enough to notice a pattern that bothered us more the longer we saw it.
Talented, experienced accountants were spending 30 to 40 percent of their professional lives on payroll processing. The AICPA's 2023 PCPS Top Issues Survey consistently ranks practice management and workflow as the top operational burdens for small CPA firms, and payroll processing is cited as one of the highest-volume, lowest-margin services in the profession. Not because they wanted to. Because they had built it into their practice years ago and it had become load-bearing infrastructure. They did not know how to get out, and most of them did not know what it was worth.
When we started talking to them about multiples and comparable transactions, the reaction was almost always the same: surprise, followed by a calculation, followed by a question about what it would actually take to convert it.
That conversation was not happening anywhere. There was no resource for it. There were no tools to help an accountant understand what their portfolio was worth, what drove the multiple up or down, or how to find the right buyer. The market existed. The information did not.
So we built it.
PayrollAnalysisTools.com started as a set of free analysis tools for CPAs. The AICPA benchmarking data shows payroll processing generates average hourly realizations of $80 to $150 for most small and mid-size firms, compared to $200 to $400 for advisory and planning work. The same time investment produces dramatically different returns depending on how it is deployed. Benchmarking calculators, workforce cost models, compensation data, practice growth projections. The kind of intelligence that major payroll platforms give their own clients but that most independent accountants never had access to.
The portfolio advisory service came out of the same observation. If we were going to help accountants understand what their clients' payroll data meant, we might as well help them understand what their own payroll practices were worth. The two things were connected. The accountants who had the clearest picture of their portfolio value were the ones who could make the best decisions about it.
The team behind this has backgrounds in accounting practice finance, M&A advisory, and practice management. We are not accountants ourselves. But we have spent enough time inside accounting practices to understand how they work, what they are worth, and where the value gets left on the table.
Every tool on this site is free. We do not charge accountants for anything. The portfolio advisory service is free to sellers because we are compensated by buyers when deals close, the same way any professional business broker works. We only make money if we find you a match and a deal closes. Our incentive is aligned with yours: get you a fair price from the right buyer.
We think you deserve to know that upfront, before you share anything about your practice with us. Some intermediaries obscure how they earn their fee. We do not. An intermediary paid by buyers could theoretically push toward a quick low-price sale. We do not, because our reputation depends on outcomes that sellers are happy with. That is how we get the next referral.
Most accountants decide what to do with their payroll practice without knowing what it is worth, what buyers pay, or what drives the multiple. We exist to close that gap.
Based on BizBuySell and IBBA data, payroll portfolios trade at 1.5x to 2.75x annual revenue. An $80k/year portfolio is worth $120k to $220k. Most accountants have never thought about it that way.
Advisory practices sell for 1.5x to 2.5x at transition. Compliance practices sell for 0.8x to 1.2x (AICPA PCPS 2023). The accountants building the most valuable practices make deliberate decisions about where their time goes — and payroll processing rarely makes the cut.
We earn a fee from buyers when deals close. We tell you that upfront because you deserve to know who is on what side of the table.
Here is exactly what happens from form to close.
Tell us about your portfolio: number of clients, average monthly fee, payroll platforms, and your email. That is all we need to get started. No call required, no commitment, no sales process to get through.
A professional PDF report with your estimated offer range, what drives your multiple up or down, and what you could do to improve it before selling. You get this regardless of whether you decide to sell. It is yours to keep.
If you want to explore a sale, we have a brief conversation. We want to understand your timeline, what matters most in a transition, and what a good outcome looks like for you and your clients. No pressure, no pitch. Just context gathering.
We connect you with qualified buyers who specialize in your platforms and client profile. We aim to get you at least one introduction within 30 days and work to generate up to three competing offers. You evaluate, negotiate, and decide. We facilitate.
If one of the offers works for you, great. If none of them do, you walk away with a free valuation report and a clearer picture of your options. If we cannot connect you with a buyer in 90 days, we send you a written analysis of what is holding back your multiple. No cost either way.
Our service is completely free to sellers. We earn a transaction fee from buyers when a deal closes, similar to how any professional business broker works. This means our incentive is aligned with yours: we only earn anything if we find you a good match at a fair price.
We do not sell your information to mailing lists or third parties. We do not charge for the valuation report, the buyer introductions, or the 90-day guarantee. The only thing we earn is a success fee when a transaction closes, and only if you choose to proceed.
We tell you this upfront because we think transparency about incentives is how you build trust. You deserve to know exactly who is on what side of the table before you share information about your practice with anyone.
Some things we want to be clear about upfront.
Built because every accountant should have access to the same intelligence that major payroll platforms give only their own clients. Free, no signup, works for any payroll platform.
Free valuation report. At least one qualified buyer introduction within 30 days. 90-day guarantee. Two minutes to get started.
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