Shorerock Loans, a small-business funding service in Marietta, Georgia, explains funding for Cobb County accounting, tax and bookkeeping practices: acquisition financing for client lists, credit lines for deadline seasons and technology funding, with Census Bureau counts.
At a glance
- Accounting, tax and bookkeeping employers, Cobb County, GA
457 establishments, 2,489 employees (CBP 2023)
- Share with fewer than 5 employees
76.8% (CBP 2023)
- Practices without payroll
1,385 (Nonemployer Statistics 2024)
CPA Firm Financing in Marietta, GA
Cobb County had 457 accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services employers in 2023, with 2,489 employees and $192.6 million in annual payroll; 351 of them, or 76.8%, had fewer than five employees (County Business Patterns). Another 1,385 such practices worked without paid employees in the separate 2024 Nonemployer Statistics, and 33 employers had a ZIP 30060 address.
Small practices face two funding moments: carrying seasonal staff before fees arrive, and buying another practice's clients.
Accounting Firm Funding for Cobb County, GA Businesses
| Expense | Compare | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Seasonal staff before fees arrive | Line of credit | Draw before the deadline, pay down after |
| Buying a client list or practice | Term loan | Payments sized to retained fees |
| Software, servers and security | Equipment financing or a term loan | Leases suit hardware |
| An office move | Term loan | Lease and build-out estimate |
Accounting Firm Loans
A partner reading an accounting practice looks at fee collections by month, client concentration, recurring engagements such as monthly bookkeeping or payroll, and the owner's history. Recurring monthly work makes deposits steadier, which a partner can see in the statements. A practice heavy on individual returns will show a peak around the filing deadline; explain it rather than leave it to be inferred.
CPA Firm Acquisition Financing: How It Works in Marietta, GA
- Get the seller's fee history by client for three years.
- Agree on the price and how it adjusts if clients leave in the first year.
- Plan the client introduction letters and the seller's transition role.
- Work out the down payment and any seller note.
- Request a term loan for the remainder, with the purchase agreement.
A practice sale can tie part of the price to client retention, which protects the buyer if clients leave. A partner will want to see that clause and how payments would change.
Accounting Business Loans: How It Works in Marietta, GA
Illustration only, invented figures: a buyer pays $300,000 for a practice with $250,000 of annual recurring fees, puts $60,000 down, and the seller carries $90,000 as a note. That leaves $150,000 to fund (our arithmetic: $300,000 - $60,000 - $90,000). Payments on both the loan and the seller note must fit inside the retained fees after staff costs.
Accounting Firm Financing for Marietta, GA Owners
For the deadline season, a line of credit lets a firm draw for temporary staff and overtime, then pay down as fees arrive. For a single shortfall, working capital may fit. Buying a practice points to term loans.
Systems a Cobb County, GA practice runs on
Tax software licenses, document portals, secure storage and backup hardware are recurring costs. Hardware can be leased; annual software licenses are an operating cost paid from working capital rather than financed.
Census counts for Cobb County, GA tax and bookkeeping practices
Accounting, tax and bookkeeping services (NAICS 5412): 457 employers in 2023; by our arithmetic payroll averaged $77,372 per employee. Nonemployer Statistics counted 1,385 practices without employees in 2024 with $54.9 million in receipts, a separate program from the employer count.
Neighboring professions have pages too: law firms and insurance agencies. Cobb County counts for practices like these are on the Marietta, GA page. All industries: the industries page.
Client concentration and recurring engagements
A partner looks at how much of the practice depends on a few clients. If one business client is a large share of fees, explain the relationship and its history. Monthly bookkeeping, payroll and advisory engagements smooth deposits through the year and read more steadily to a partner than one built only on annual returns.
Succession inside a Cobb County, GA practice
Not every practice sale goes to an outsider. A senior employee buying out the owner over several years is one route; the buyer may use a term loan for part of the price and a seller note for the rest. The agreement should say what happens if the buyer leaves or the clients do.
A filing-season budget for a Cobb County, GA practice
- Count the temporary staff and overtime hours the deadline needs.
- Price software seats and any added office space.
- Estimate when fees for that work will be collected.
- Draw on a line for the gap and plan the paydown from those fees.
A practice that repeats this each year can show a partner last year's draw and paydown as evidence the line works.
Tax practices without employees
Some tax preparers work alone through the filing season. A sole practitioner can send a request; the partner reads the practice's deposits across the whole year, not only the busy months.
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