Accounting Firm Business Plan: Free Template, Sample Plan and Startup Costs (2026)

By The Zarla Team · Updated September 2026

Typical startup costs of $950–$49,400, what owners really earn, the licenses you'll need in the US, how to write every section, and a complete sample plan for Harborview Tax & Accounting — free to download as a Word template or PDF, or make it yours in five questions.

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Accounting firm business plan at a glance

Starting an accounting firm in the US typically costs $950–$49,400. Typical monthly costs run $220–$3,075 before owner pay and tax. Typical published US hourly rate for a CPA: $150–$400/hr.

Licenses and permits in the US (6 in all): a CPA license, and a state firm permit or registration for a CPA firm; a PTIN for every preparer, and an EFIN to e-file; and business registration and the professional entity your state requires — the rules vary by state.
The plan: eleven sections, from the executive summary to what a lender, a landlord or an investor will ask for, written from five questions — free, no sign-up to write it.
The sample plan on this page: Harborview Tax & Accounting, Raleigh, NC — a fictional accounting firm, a two-person CPA practice doing tax returns, monthly accounting and tax planning for owner-run businesses.
The first 30 days: 8 steps, starting with “Choose the firm's niche and services”.
Downloads: the fill-in template as Word and PDF, and the sample plan as PDF — free, no email address.

Facts checked September 25, 2026. Every figure is a published US range, not a quote; the sources are listed on this page, which covers how to write an accounting firm business plan, the complete sample plan and the free template.

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The numbers first

$950–$49,400to start an accounting firmTypical US range, required lines

$150–$400/hrtypical published US hourly rate for a CPA

$400–$900typical published US fee for a self-employed person's tax return with a Schedule C

$83,680US median pay for accountants and auditors, May 2025 — what a staff accountant you hire will expect

Startup costs

What it costs to start an accounting firm

Typical US ranges, whole dollars. Optional lines are marked and left out of the total. The struck-through lines are what a Zarla plan covers, with the reason beside each; the generator turns this table into your own list.

Accounting firm startup costs
Item	Low	High
Living costs until year-round clients cover the bills (up to six months)The reason this table's top end sits far above the $1,500–$6,000 launch in our accounting guide: that figure is the business costs only. Tax fees arrive in a rush between February and April, so an accountant who leaves a salary to open in summer waits months for them; one who keeps a job or brings clients along can put nothing here.	$0	$30,000
Computers, two monitors, a scanner and encrypted backupMany accountants start on the laptop they already own and add a second monitor and a scanner as the client list grows.	$0	$5,000
Professional tax software, first yearPublished 2026 prices run from about $380 for a ten-return pay-per-return package to about $2,600–$2,700 a year for unlimited individual returns on one user; business returns and state modules can add to it. The table's lowest total already counts the cheapest pay-per-return package, which is how it lands near the $1,000 lean start in our accounting guide; a practice that starts with monthly accounting only, on the free accountant editions of the big platforms, can skip this line and start lower still.	$380	$3,000
Accountants professional liability insurance, first yearMost solo practices pay about $500 to $1,500 a year; published US premiums for small CPA firms reach about $3,000 with more revenue, tax work for businesses or a claims history, and a firm that does audits pays more.	$500	$3,000
Website and Google Business ProfileIncluded with ZarlaYour Zarla plan includes the website — services, credentials and a booking link — and walks you through your Google Business Profile; a designer typically charges $2,000 or more to build one.	$0	$2,500
Continuing education (CPE) and professional membershipsCPAs and enrolled agents must keep up continuing education — most state boards expect about 120 hours every three years for a CPA, ethics included. Society memberships are optional but bring referrals.	$0	$2,000
Client portal, e-signatures and practice-management software, first yearMany tax packages include a basic portal; a separate practice-management platform is worth it once more than one person works the returns.	$0	$1,500
Invoicing, booking and client records, first yearMostly included with ZarlaInvoicing, online booking and a client list come with your Zarla plan; your tax and accounting software is separate.	$0	$600
Business registration, professional entity filing and EINMany states require a CPA firm to form as a professional corporation or professional LLC; state filing fees vary, and the EIN from the IRS is free.	$50	$800
State firm permit or registration, PTIN and local business licenseState board firm fees vary widely; the PTIN is $18.75 for 2026 and the EFIN costs nothing.	$20	$1,000
Office lease deposit, furniture and signage (optional)Optional — typically $1,000–$8,000. Many new firms start at home or in a shared office and meet clients by video or at the client's business.	$0	$0
Typical total (required lines)	$950	$49,400

Startup ranges: current published US professional tax software prices (pay-per-return from about $380 for ten returns; unlimited individual returns about $2,600–$2,700 for one user), published accountants professional liability premiums (most solo practices about $500 to $1,500 a year, small CPA firms up to about $3,000), practice-management software plans and state filing fees, the IRS PTIN fee ($18.75 for 2026), the IRS EFIN and e-file rules, the FTC Safeguards Rule and IRS Publication 5708, and state board CPE and firm rules — compiled 2026 as ranges. Ranges are what a small operation typically pays in the US; replace them with real quotes as you get them.

Monthly costs

What it costs to run each month

Typical monthly operating costs for a small operation, before the owner's own pay.

Cost	Typical monthly range
Tax software, spread across the year	$30–$250
Professional liability insurance	$40–$250
Practice-management and client portal software	$0–$125
Invoicing, booking and client records (included with Zarla)	$0–$50
Office or coworking space	$0–$1,500
Phone, internet, secure backups and CPE	$100–$400
Marketing, society dues and referral lunches	$50–$500

Typical total: $220–$3,075 a month. Monthly ranges, rates and pay: published US hourly rates (CPAs $150 to $400; accountants without the license $40 to $150) and tax preparation fees (a simple individual return $150 to $450; a self-employed return with a Schedule C about $400 to $900), published software plans and insurance premiums, and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2025 median pay for accountants and auditors ($83,680), checked 2026. Lines marked (included with Zarla) are what those tools cost separately — with Zarla they are part of one monthly plan.

How much an accounting firm makes

An accounting firm earns in two shapes. Tax preparation pays per return — a simple individual return typically $150 to $450, a business owner's more — and arrives between January and April, with a second wave for extensions in September and October; monthly accounting, payroll tax filings and tax planning pay every month. A firm built only on returns has a great spring and a thin summer, so most plans aim to grow the year-round work until it covers the fixed costs on its own, and to price returns as fixed fees by complexity rather than by the hour. Hourly rates rise with credentials and niche — an accountant without the CPA license typically bills $40 to $150 an hour — a CPA who knows one industry's tax rules well is easier to find and easier to refer. The pay figure is the US Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2025 median for accountants and auditors; the rate and fee ranges are published US pricing surveys.

$150–$400/hr — typical published US hourly rate for a CPA
$400–$900 — typical published US fee for a self-employed person's tax return with a Schedule C
$83,680 — US median pay for accountants and auditors, May 2025 — what a staff accountant you hire will expect

Licenses and permits

Licenses, permits and insurance for an accounting firm

What you need before you can legally trade in the US. Rules vary by state and city — confirm each item with your local licensing office and an accountant.

Requirement	What it means
A CPA license, and a state firm permit or registration for a CPA firm	In the US each state board of accountancy licenses individual CPAs, and most also register or permit CPA firms; only licensed CPAs may use the CPA title, and a firm that performs attest work (audits, reviews and most compilations) needs a firm permit and, in most states, peer review. Many states also require a CPA firm's majority owners to be CPAs. Without a license you can still do accounting work and — subject to your state's preparer rules — prepare tax returns, but you can't call the business a CPA firm or perform attest work.
A PTIN for every preparer, and an EFIN to e-file	In the US anyone paid to prepare, or to help prepare, all or substantially all of a federal tax return needs a Preparer Tax Identification Number — $18.75 for 2026, renewed every year. A preparer without a CPA license or enrolled-agent status also has to meet any state preparer rules: California, for example, requires CTEC registration with 60 hours of qualifying education and a $5,000 bond, and states including Oregon, Maryland, New York and Connecticut license, register or permit paid preparers. To file electronically the firm needs an Electronic Filing Identification Number from the IRS (free; allow up to 45 days), and a preparer who expects to file 11 or more individual returns in a year must e-file them.
Business registration and the professional entity your state requires	Many states require a CPA firm to form as a professional corporation or professional LLC; the EIN from the IRS is free. Check your state board's rules on firm names — most restrict what a CPA firm can call itself.
A written information security plan for client tax data	In the US a firm that prepares tax returns is covered by the FTC Safeguards Rule and must keep a written information security plan, with a named person responsible for it; the IRS's Publication 5708 is a free template. The IRS also expects preparers to report data theft to it promptly.
Accountants professional liability insurance	Not required by most states, but a penalty from a missed deadline or a costly error is a claim against the firm, and many clients and referral partners ask for proof of cover.
Continuing professional education to keep the license	Most US state boards require about 120 hours of CPE every three years, with an ethics course; enrolled agents need 72 hours every three years with the IRS. Track the hours from day one — a lapsed license stops the firm.

How to write it

How to write an accounting firm business plan

The sections a lender, a landlord or an investor expects to see — and what goes in each one for an accounting firm. Harborview Tax & Accounting's sample plan below follows this outline exactly.

Executive summary

One page, written last: what the business is, where it trades, who it serves, what it costs to start — typically $950–$49,400 for an accounting firm — and where that money is coming from. Someone who reads nothing else should still know the whole plan. For Harborview Tax & Accounting below, that page says: a two-person CPA practice doing tax returns, monthly accounting and tax planning for owner-run businesses in Raleigh, NC, $23,625 to start.

Products and services

What you offer and how you charge for it. For an accounting firm that usually means individual and small-business tax returns; monthly accounting and financial statements; and tax planning and quarterly estimates. Keep the base offer simple and price the add-ons separately.

Market analysis

Who pays, and why they'd pick you: owner-run businesses that want a tax return, a tax plan and someone to call during the year; self-employed people and freelancers who owe quarterly estimates and dread April. Name the two or three local competitors a customer would compare you with and the one thing you do better. Skip the market-size statistics — a lender wants your customers, not the industry's.

Marketing strategy

How those customers find you: referrals from clients, bankers, attorneys and financial advisers — the way most firms grow; Google Business Profile and Google — “CPA near me” and “tax preparer” plus your city peak from January to April; and word of mouth from business clients, who talk to other owners about their accountant. Put a cost and an expected result beside each channel, and say which one you'll start with.

Operations plan

The week to week, plainly: an engagement letter for every client, every year, with the fee and the scope in writing; tax season planned in November: organizers sent, deadlines booked, extensions decided early; and monthly accounting and advisory clients billed all year, so the summer pays the rent. If the plan can't say who does what on an ordinary Tuesday, it isn't finished.

Startup costs

Every line you'll spend before you start, with a running total — typically $950–$49,400 for an accounting firm, and the two biggest lines (living costs until year-round clients cover the bills; computers, two monitors, a scanner and encrypted backup) move it most. The table above is the starting list; replace each range with a real quote as you get one.

Financial plan

Typical monthly costs ($220–$3,075 a month for a small accounting firm, before your own pay), the monthly sales you're aiming for (Harborview Tax & Accounting plans on $22,000 a month), and how many months it takes to recover the startup budget. Use ranges until you have quotes, and never invent a revenue forecast to make the page look full.

Milestones, risks and the appendix

The first 30 days as a dated to-do list. Harborview Tax & Accounting's begins: choose the firm's niche and services — tax only, or tax plus monthly accounting and planning. Then the risks, said out loud: most of a new firm's revenue arrives between January and April, and the rest of the year still has to pay the rent. Then the licenses and permits you'll need, and what a lender will ask for beyond the plan: two years of personal tax returns and a personal financial statement, for a start.

The sample plan

Harborview Tax & Accounting is a fictional accounting firm in Raleigh, NC — a two-person CPA practice doing tax returns, monthly accounting and tax planning for owner-run businesses. The plan below is exactly what the free generator writes from five answers, in the outline above, with every number calculated from the figures on this page rather than invented. Read it as a worked example, then make it yours.

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Business plan

Sample plan · fictional business

A complete accounting firm business plan: Harborview Tax & Accounting

Raleigh, NC · Startup plan · a fictional accounting firm, written by the free generator from five answers

Executive summary

Harborview Tax & Accounting is a new accounting firm in Raleigh, NC offering individual and small-business tax returns; monthly accounting and financial statements; tax planning and quarterly estimates; entity setup, S corp elections and payroll tax filings; and IRS notice and audit representation. The model is fixed fees by complexity, year-round accounting and planning clients to carry the months between tax seasons, and referrals from clients and other professionals as the main source of growth.

Startup budget: $23,625 across 10 items, funded from savings. Target: $22,000 in monthly sales.

Twelve months from now, success looks like this: Eighty tax clients, twenty monthly accounting clients billed all year, and tax season under a third of revenue

Products and services

Harborview Tax & Accounting's core service is individual and small-business tax returns. Every client signs an engagement letter each year setting out the scope and the fee, every return gets a second review before it is filed, and business clients are offered monthly accounting and a mid-year tax plan so the relationship doesn't end in April.

Individual and small-business tax returns
Monthly accounting and financial statements
Tax planning and quarterly estimates
Entity setup, S corp elections and payroll tax filings
IRS notice and audit representation

Market analysis

The customers are owner-run businesses and self-employed people who need a tax return, a plan for next year's tax and someone to call in between — plus households with rental property or a side business, and the bookkeepers and advisers who send them.

Owner-run businesses that want a tax return, a tax plan and someone to call during the year
Self-employed people and freelancers who owe quarterly estimates and dread April
Households with rental property, stock compensation or a side business
Bookkeepers and financial advisers who need a CPA to send their clients to

Marketing strategy

Most new clients will arrive by referral and word of mouth — from clients, bankers, attorneys and financial advisers — and Google decides between the firms they're given: a searcher for “CPA near me” in February compares Google Business Profiles, reviews and a website that shows the firm's services, credentials and a way to book.

Referrals from clients, bankers, attorneys and financial advisers — the way most firms grow
Google Business Profile and Google — “CPA near me” and “tax preparer” plus your city peak from January to April
Word of mouth from business clients, who talk to other owners about their accountant
One industry niche, known well enough that its owners find you and recommend you
A website with your services, credentials, a secure upload link and a way to book a consultation

Operations plan

The partners prepare and review the work themselves in year one, plan each tax season in November, move every client document through a secure portal under a written security plan, and track realization — hours worked against the fee charged — so underpriced clients are repriced the next year.

An engagement letter for every client, every year, with the fee and the scope in writing
Tax season planned in November: organizers sent, deadlines booked, extensions decided early
Monthly accounting and advisory clients billed all year, so the summer pays the rent
Client documents through a secure portal, under a written information security plan
A second review of every return before it is filed

Startup costs

What it will take to open the doors, funded from savings.

Startup costs
Item	Amount
Living costs until year-round clients cover the bills (up to six months)	$15,000
Computers, two monitors, a scanner and encrypted backup	$2,500
Professional tax software, first year	$1,690
Accountants professional liability insurance, first year	$1,750
Website and Google Business Profile	$0
Continuing education (CPE) and professional memberships	$1,000
Client portal, e-signatures and practice-management software, first year	$750
Invoicing, booking and client records, first year	$0
Business registration, professional entity filing and EIN	$425
State firm permit or registration, PTIN and local business license	$510
Total	$23,625

Typical range to start an accounting firm in the US: $950–$49,400. Your list is what you decided to spend — replace estimates with real quotes as you get them. Website and Google Business Profile: Your Zarla plan includes the website — services, credentials and a booking link — and walks you through your Google Business Profile; a designer typically charges $2,000 or more to build one. Invoicing, booking and client records, first year: Invoicing, online booking and a client list come with your Zarla plan; your tax and accounting software is separate.

Financial plan

The numbers below come from your own startup list and typical monthly costs for a small accounting firm in the US. Running costs are modest and steady while fees arrive in a spring rush, so the plan's real question is how much year-round work covers the months between tax seasons — and the cash reserve covers the first of them.

Typical monthly operating costs for an accounting firm: $220–$3,075 a month, before the owner's own pay.

At $22,000 in monthly sales, Harborview Tax & Accounting would clear $18,925–$21,780 a month before owner pay and tax, and recover the $23,625 startup budget in roughly 2 months.

Typical monthly operating costs
Cost	Typical range
Tax software, spread across the year	$30–$250
Professional liability insurance	$40–$250
Practice-management and client portal software	$0–$125
Invoicing, booking and client records (included with Zarla)	$0–$50
Office or coworking space	$0–$1,500
Phone, internet, secure backups and CPE	$100–$400
Marketing, society dues and referral lunches	$50–$500

US ranges for a small operation; replace with your own figures as you learn them. Lines marked (included with Zarla) are what those tools cost separately — with Zarla they are part of one monthly plan.

Risks and honest downsides

Every accounting firm plan should say out loud what can go wrong. For Harborview Tax & Accounting, the real risks are:

Most of a new firm's revenue arrives between January and April, and the rest of the year still has to pay the rent
A missed deadline or an error on a return means penalties the client will expect the firm to cover
Taking every client in year one fills tax season with low-fee returns that crowd out better work
Clients who pay only after the return is filed stretch cash in the slowest months
Holding Social Security numbers and bank records makes the firm a target for data theft

Licenses, permits and insurance

What Harborview Tax & Accounting needs before it can legally trade in the US. Rules vary by state and city — confirm each item with your local licensing office and an accountant.

A CPA license, and a state firm permit or registration for a CPA firm — In the US each state board of accountancy licenses individual CPAs, and most also register or permit CPA firms; only licensed CPAs may use the CPA title, and a firm that performs attest work (audits, reviews and most compilations) needs a firm permit and, in most states, peer review. Many states also require a CPA firm's majority owners to be CPAs. Without a license you can still do accounting work and — subject to your state's preparer rules — prepare tax returns, but you can't call the business a CPA firm or perform attest work.
A PTIN for every preparer, and an EFIN to e-file — In the US anyone paid to prepare, or to help prepare, all or substantially all of a federal tax return needs a Preparer Tax Identification Number — $18.75 for 2026, renewed every year. A preparer without a CPA license or enrolled-agent status also has to meet any state preparer rules: California, for example, requires CTEC registration with 60 hours of qualifying education and a $5,000 bond, and states including Oregon, Maryland, New York and Connecticut license, register or permit paid preparers. To file electronically the firm needs an Electronic Filing Identification Number from the IRS (free; allow up to 45 days), and a preparer who expects to file 11 or more individual returns in a year must e-file them.
Business registration and the professional entity your state requires — Many states require a CPA firm to form as a professional corporation or professional LLC; the EIN from the IRS is free. Check your state board's rules on firm names — most restrict what a CPA firm can call itself.
A written information security plan for client tax data — In the US a firm that prepares tax returns is covered by the FTC Safeguards Rule and must keep a written information security plan, with a named person responsible for it; the IRS's Publication 5708 is a free template. The IRS also expects preparers to report data theft to it promptly.
Accountants professional liability insurance — Not required by most states, but a penalty from a missed deadline or a costly error is a claim against the firm, and many clients and referral partners ask for proof of cover.
Continuing professional education to keep the license — Most US state boards require about 120 hours of CPE every three years, with an ethics course; enrolled agents need 72 hours every three years with the IRS. Track the hours from day one — a lapsed license stops the firm.

Milestones: the next 30 days

The first month's to-do list for Harborview Tax & Accounting, in order:

Choose the firm's niche and services — tax only, or tax plus monthly accounting and planning
Register the firm with your state board and form the entity your state requires
Renew your PTIN and apply for an EFIN now: the IRS can take up to 45 days
Buy tax software, set up a secure client portal and write your information security plan
Get a professional liability quote and write next year's engagement letter
Set up a free Google Business Profile and put your website live with a secure upload link
Tell bankers, attorneys, bookkeepers and former colleagues that the firm is open
Sign your first monthly accounting clients before tax season, so January starts with a base

Appendix: what a lender will ask for

This plan tells the story and shows the numbers. If you take it to a bank, expect to be asked for these documents as well:

Two years of personal tax returns and a personal financial statement
A month-by-month 12-month cash-flow projection showing the tax-season peak and the summer dip
Your CPA license, firm registration and PTIN
Signed engagement letters, or the client list following you from a previous firm where your agreement allows it
Proof of professional liability insurance and business registration
Your credit report

Every figure in Harborview Tax & Accounting's plan is a typical US range from the tables above or arithmetic on the sample's own startup list and $22,000 monthly sales target — nothing is a market projection. The template downloads above are the same plan with [bracketed] lines for your own business.

Step two

Turn this plan into a website

Add your name and your city to the line, and Zarla builds the website with your services in place. You edit the rest in chat.

Or download the free template (Word)

Keep going

The plan is the thinking. These are the next pieces for an accounting firm:

Accounting firm business plan FAQ

How much does it cost to start an accounting firm?

Typically $950–$49,400 in the US, counting every required line in the table above. The range is wide because the biggest items (living costs until year-round clients cover the bills; computers, two monitors, a scanner and encrypted backup) depend on what you already have and where you are. The free generator turns the table into your own list with your own figures.

How much can an accounting firm make?

$150–$400/hr typical published US hourly rate for a CPA; $400–$900 typical published US fee for a self-employed person's tax return with a Schedule C; $83,680 US median pay for accountants and auditors, May 2025 — what a staff accountant you hire will expect. An accounting firm earns in two shapes. Tax preparation pays per return — a simple individual return typically $150 to $450, a business owner's more — and arrives between January and April, with a second wave for extensions in September and October; monthly accounting, payroll tax filings and tax planning pay every month. A firm built only on returns has a great spring and a thin summer, so most plans aim to grow the year-round work until it covers the fixed costs on its own, and to price returns as fixed fees by complexity rather than by the hour. Hourly rates rise with credentials and niche — an accountant without the CPA license typically bills $40 to $150 an hour — a CPA who knows one industry's tax rules well is easier to find and easier to refer. The pay figure is the US Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2025 median for accountants and auditors; the rate and fee ranges are published US pricing surveys.

What licenses and permits do I need to start an accounting firm in the US?

A CPA license, and a state firm permit or registration for a CPA firm; a PTIN for every preparer, and an EFIN to e-file; business registration and the professional entity your state requires; a written information security plan for client tax data; accountants professional liability insurance; and continuing professional education to keep the license. Rules vary by state and city — confirm each item with your local licensing office and an accountant before you spend on it.

Do I need a business plan to start an accounting firm?

You need the thinking more than the document: what you'll offer, who pays, what it costs to start, what it costs to run each month and how long the budget takes to recover. A lender, a landlord or an investor will ask for the document — and for things beyond it: two years of personal tax returns and a personal financial statement; a month-by-month 12-month cash-flow projection showing the tax-season peak and the summer dip. The sample plan above has every section; the generator writes yours from five questions.

Can I turn this business plan into a website?

Yes — that's the point. Your plan's own marketing section says people will find you on Google and through word of mouth; a website is how both happen. Zarla builds your accounting firm website from what you've already told us — free to build, pay when you publish.

Is there a free accounting firm business plan template?

Yes. The accounting firm business plan template on this page downloads free as a Word document or a PDF — no email, no sign-up. It's the complete plan for a placeholder business with [bracketed] lines to fill in, and the typical figures for an accounting firm already in the tables. The generator writes the same plan with your own name, city, services and numbers in five questions.

What should an accounting firm business plan include?

The sections a lender, a landlord or an investor expects: an executive summary, products and services, market analysis, marketing strategy, an operations plan, startup costs, a financial plan, the risks, licenses and permits, milestones and an appendix. Harborview Tax & Accounting's sample plan above has all eleven, and the section-by-section notes explain what goes in each one for an accounting firm.