Free Accounting Firm Business Plan Template (Word + PDF) and Sample Plan (2026)

By The Zarla Team · Updated October 2026

Download the free accounting firm business plan template as Word or PDF, read a complete sample plan for Harborview Tax & Accounting, and get the numbers first: typical startup costs of $1,430–$21,946, what owners really earn, the licenses you'll need in the US and how to write every section — or make the plan yours in five questions.

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Accounting firm business plan at a glance

Starting an accounting firm in the US typically costs $1,430–$21,946. Typical monthly costs run $227–$2,857 before owner pay and tax. The average fee for a base 1040 at a CPA in the 2025 NATP fee study, $228 at an enrolled agent and $185 without a credential (Accounting Today, December 2025): $280.

Licenses and permits in the US (6 in all): a CPA license, and a state firm permit 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 October 27, 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

$1,430–$21,946to start an accounting firmTypical US range, required lines

$280the average fee for a base 1040 at a CPA in the 2025 NATP fee study, $228 at an enrolled agent and $185 without a credential (Accounting Today, December 2025)

$400–$599the most common fee for an individual return in Ignition's 2025 benchmark (a software vendor); monthly accounting most often $250 to $499

$83,680the 2025 US median pay for an employed accountant or auditor, $40.23 an hour (O*NET) — the number to beat

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
Professional tax software, first yearDrake's pay-per-return package is $379.99 for the 2026 tax year with ten individual returns included and $49.99 each after; its unlimited Drake Tax Pro is $2,495 for one user. Intuit's ProSeries pay-per-return license is $539 plus $69 an individual return for the 2025 tax year — the vendors' own pages, October 2026.	$380	$2,495
Practice-management software and client portal, first yearMany tax packages include a basic portal, so the low end is nothing extra; Canopy's Standard plan is $74 a user a month billed yearly ($888) at the high end, Karbon's Team plan $59 — the vendors' own pricing pages.	$0	$888
Professional liability (and cyber) insurance, first yearInsureon's medians for accountants and CPAs (June 2025): professional liability $45 a month ($537 a year) at the low end; add cyber cover at $80 a month ($964 a year) for a firm holding clients' Social Security numbers at the high end.	$537	$1,501
Business registration (PLLC, PC or LLC) and EINAn LLC is $40 in Kentucky, $300 in Texas, and $70 plus a $20 statement of information in California, where every LLC also owes $800 a year (the states' own pages); the EIN is free (IRS). Many boards require a professional entity for a CPA firm — the fee is the same filing.	$40	$890
State firm permit or registration, and the PTINThe PTIN is $18.75 a year and the EFIN is free (IRS); Washington exempts a sole proprietorship with no employees from its firm fee, so the low end is the PTIN alone. California's $250 application and $520 permit for a CPA partnership or corporation (16 CCR §70, from July 2026) plus the PTIN at the high end. Florida's firm license is $145, or $45 for a sole proprietor; Washington's $330 then $230; New York's by form.	$19	$789
Continuing education and professional dues (first year)Nothing in a year with the license already current at the low end; Becker's Select CPE subscription at $499 (its Essentials is $329), AICPA regular membership at the top of its $0 to $1,020 range and a Texas Society chapter at $150 at the high end — the sellers' own pages.	$0	$1,669
Computer, two monitors, a scanner and encrypted backupPlanning range; many accountants start on the laptop they already own and add a second monitor and a scanner as the client list grows.	$0	$5,000
Website and Google Business ProfileIncluded with ZarlaYour Zarla plan includes the website — a call button at the top, your services and starting prices, and a booking request form — and walks you through your Google Business Profile; a designer typically charges $2,500 or more to build one — a planning range.	$0	$2,500
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
Working capital (first two months)Two months of the tax software, insurance, practice software, admin, marketing and office lines below.	$454	$5,614
Living costs until year-round clients cover the bills (up to six months) (optional)Optional — typically $0–$30,000. Planning range — the reason most new firms open with monthly accounting clients already signed, and the AICPA's insurance program's advice to cover at least the first six months of operating costs.	$0	$0
Enrolled agent exams and enrollment (if you aren't a CPA) (optional)Optional — typically $1,091. Three exam parts at $317 each and $140 to enroll (IRS) — the credential that lets a non-CPA represent clients before the IRS.	$0	$0
Office lease deposit, furniture and signage (optional)Optional — typically $1,000–$8,000. Planning range; 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)	$1,430	$21,946

Software and dues: Drake Software's own prices for the 2026 tax year ($379.99 pay-per-return with $49.99 a return, $2,495 unlimited) and Intuit ProSeries' for 2025 ($539 plus $69 a return), Canopy's ($74) and Karbon's ($59) pricing pages, Becker's CPE page ($329 to $799), the AICPA's dues page ($0 to $1,020) and the Texas Society's chapter dues ($50 to $150), read October 2026. The computer, the office, admin, marketing, invoicing software and living costs are planning 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	$32–$208
Professional liability (and cyber) insurance	$45–$125
Practice-management and client portal software	$0–$74
Invoicing, booking and client records (included with Zarla)	$0–$50
Office or coworking space	$0–$1,500
Phone, internet, secure backups and continuing education	$100–$400
Marketing, society dues and referral lunches	$50–$500

Typical total: $227–$2,857 a month. Prices and pay: the 2025 NATP fee study as reported by Accounting Today (December 2025), Ignition's 2025 US Accounting and Tax Pricing Benchmark as reported by CPA Practice Advisor (August 2025), Intuit's 2021 rate survey, four firms' own fee pages (WCG, Kruze, Xendoo, Straight Talk CPAs) read October 2026, a TaxDome survey of 350 businesses as reported by CPA Practice Advisor (August 2025), and O*NET's 2025 medians for accountants and auditors ($83,680) and bookkeeping clerks ($50,670). 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

A firm that sells only tax returns earns most of its year between January and April; the firms that grow sign monthly accounting and planning clients billed all year, price by the return and the package rather than the hour — only 3% of firms bill tax prep hourly in Ignition's benchmark — and raise fees every year or two, as 83% of preparers do in the NATP study. On firms' own pages, WCG in Colorado Springs starts a 1040 at $800 and bookkeeping at $190 to $500 a month, Kruze in San Francisco $650 to $850 a month, Xendoo $395 and $695; Intuit's 2021 survey put a CPA at $126 an hour.

$280 — the average fee for a base 1040 at a CPA in the 2025 NATP fee study, $228 at an enrolled agent and $185 without a credential (Accounting Today, December 2025)
$400–$599 — the most common fee for an individual return in Ignition's 2025 benchmark (a software vendor); monthly accounting most often $250 to $499
$83,680 — the 2025 US median pay for an employed accountant or auditor, $40.23 an hour (O*NET) — the number to beat

Fees and rules: the IRS on the PTIN ($18.75), the EFIN (free), the enrolled agent ($317 a part, $140 to enroll) and the written information security plan (Publication 5708); Texas Occupations Code §901.354; California's 16 CCR §70 and Business and Professions Code §5079; Florida Statutes §473.3101 and rules 61H1-31.003, .005 and .010; New York's Office of the Professions; Washington's RCW 18.04.195 and WAC 4-30-038; the Kentucky, Texas and California Secretary of State fee pages and the California FTB. Insurance: Insureon's medians for accountants and CPAs (June 2025).

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 for a CPA firm	In Texas a licensed firm needs a majority of its ownership held by certificate holders; in California the CPA certificate is $250 to apply and $400 for the permit, and a firm's registration $250 plus $520; in Florida the firm license is $145 ($45 for a sole proprietor) and the CPA's $50 then $100 every two years; in New York the license and first registration are $427 and a firm using the CPA name registers every three years; in Washington the license is $330 then $230 and a sole proprietorship with no employees pays no firm fee. Check your own board's firm page.
A PTIN for every preparer, and an EFIN to e-file	In the US anyone paid to prepare, or to help prepare, a federal tax return needs a Preparer Tax Identification Number — $18.75 a year — and the firm needs an EFIN to e-file, which costs nothing but takes a suitability check, so apply before the season (IRS).
Business registration and the professional entity your state requires	In the US form the PLLC, professional corporation or LLC your board allows — $40 in Kentucky, $300 in Texas, $70 plus a $20 statement of information in California, where every LLC owes $800 a year — and get the free EIN from the IRS.
A written information security plan for client tax data	In the US the IRS says federal law requires tax and accounting professionals to create and maintain a written information security plan; the IRS's Publication 5708 is the template and the FTC Safeguards Rule is the law behind it.
Accountants professional liability insurance	In the US no board checked requires it, 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 — $45 a month at Insureon's median, with cyber cover at $80 for a firm holding Social Security numbers.
Continuing professional education to keep the license	In the US each state board sets the hours a CPA must complete to renew, and enrolled agents renew with the IRS; Becker's one-year subscriptions run $329 to $799 and AICPA membership $0 to $1,020 a year by tier.

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 $1,430–$21,946 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, $10,139 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 — 57% of businesses found their accountant through a peer referral in a 2025 survey, 3% through advertising; 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 $1,430–$21,946 for an accounting firm, and the two biggest lines (working capital; computer, 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 ($227–$2,857 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: $10,139 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 — 57% of businesses found their accountant through a peer referral in a 2025 survey, 3% through advertising
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, starting fees and a booking request form

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 the written information security plan federal law requires
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
Professional tax software, first year	$1,438
Practice-management software and client portal, first year	$444
Professional liability (and cyber) insurance, first year	$1,019
Business registration (PLLC, PC or LLC) and EIN	$465
State firm permit or registration, and the PTIN	$404
Continuing education and professional dues (first year)	$835
Computer, two monitors, a scanner and encrypted backup	$2,500
Website and Google Business Profile	$0
Invoicing, booking and client records, first year	$0
Working capital (first two months)	$3,034
Total	$10,139

Typical range to start an accounting firm in the US: $1,430–$21,946. 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 — a call button at the top, your services and starting prices, and a booking request form — and walks you through your Google Business Profile; a designer typically charges $2,500 or more to build one — a planning range. 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: $227–$2,857 a month, before the owner's own pay.

At $22,000 in monthly sales, Harborview Tax & Accounting would clear $19,143–$21,773 a month before owner pay and tax, and recover the $10,139 startup budget in roughly 1 month.

Typical monthly operating costs
Cost	Typical range
Tax software, spread across the year	$32–$208
Professional liability (and cyber) insurance	$45–$125
Practice-management and client portal software	$0–$74
Invoicing, booking and client records (included with Zarla)	$0–$50
Office or coworking space	$0–$1,500
Phone, internet, secure backups and continuing education	$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 — the written security plan is the law, not a nicety

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 for a CPA firm — In Texas a licensed firm needs a majority of its ownership held by certificate holders; in California the CPA certificate is $250 to apply and $400 for the permit, and a firm's registration $250 plus $520; in Florida the firm license is $145 ($45 for a sole proprietor) and the CPA's $50 then $100 every two years; in New York the license and first registration are $427 and a firm using the CPA name registers every three years; in Washington the license is $330 then $230 and a sole proprietorship with no employees pays no firm fee. Check your own board's firm page.
A PTIN for every preparer, and an EFIN to e-file — In the US anyone paid to prepare, or to help prepare, a federal tax return needs a Preparer Tax Identification Number — $18.75 a year — and the firm needs an EFIN to e-file, which costs nothing but takes a suitability check, so apply before the season (IRS).
Business registration and the professional entity your state requires — In the US form the PLLC, professional corporation or LLC your board allows — $40 in Kentucky, $300 in Texas, $70 plus a $20 statement of information in California, where every LLC owes $800 a year — and get the free EIN from the IRS.
A written information security plan for client tax data — In the US the IRS says federal law requires tax and accounting professionals to create and maintain a written information security plan; the IRS's Publication 5708 is the template and the FTC Safeguards Rule is the law behind it.
Accountants professional liability insurance — In the US no board checked requires it, 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 — $45 a month at Insureon's median, with cyber cover at $80 for a firm holding Social Security numbers.
Continuing professional education to keep the license — In the US each state board sets the hours a CPA must complete to renew, and enrolled agents renew with the IRS; Becker's one-year subscriptions run $329 to $799 and AICPA membership $0 to $1,020 a year by tier.

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
Read your state board's firm rule — who may own the firm, what the permit costs, what the name may say — and form the entity it requires
Renew your PTIN and apply for an EFIN now: the suitability check takes weeks
Buy tax software, set up a secure client portal and write your information security plan from Publication 5708
Get a professional liability quote and write next year's engagement letter
Set fixed fees by return type and a monthly package from the dated surveys, not the cheapest firm in town
Set up a free Google Business Profile and put your website live with your credentials, services and starting fees
Tell bankers, attorneys, bookkeepers and former colleagues that the firm is open, and sign the first monthly clients before tax season

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 $1,430–$21,946 in the US, counting every required line in the table above. The range is wide because the biggest items (working capital; computer, 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?

$280 the average fee for a base 1040 at a CPA in the 2025 NATP fee study, $228 at an enrolled agent and $185 without a credential (Accounting Today, December 2025); $400–$599 the most common fee for an individual return in Ignition's 2025 benchmark (a software vendor); monthly accounting most often $250 to $499; $83,680 the 2025 US median pay for an employed accountant or auditor, $40.23 an hour (O*NET) — the number to beat. A firm that sells only tax returns earns most of its year between January and April; the firms that grow sign monthly accounting and planning clients billed all year, price by the return and the package rather than the hour — only 3% of firms bill tax prep hourly in Ignition's benchmark — and raise fees every year or two, as 83% of preparers do in the NATP study. On firms' own pages, WCG in Colorado Springs starts a 1040 at $800 and bookkeeping at $190 to $500 a month, Kruze in San Francisco $650 to $850 a month, Xendoo $395 and $695; Intuit's 2021 survey put a CPA at $126 an hour.

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

A CPA license, and a state firm permit 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.