Clayridge Lending explains funding for accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll practices in Enid, OK and Garfield County, OK: loans to buy a CPA firm or a client book, credit lines for the months between deadlines, and growth funding, with county Census counts for the profession. Each request is decided by the funding partner that reviews it.
| Accounting and tax employers (2023) | 26 |
|---|---|
| Paid employees | 327 |
| Under five employees | 61.5% |
| In ZIP 73701 | 15 |
| Options to compare | Term loan; credit line |
A year built around deadlines
A tax practice can collect much of its fees in a few months and carry salaries, rent and software through the rest. Bookkeeping and payroll services may be billed monthly, though their clients can pay late. Audit and advisory work often bills by engagement. A practice shaped like that can look profitable on paper and still need to manage when cash arrives.
CPA firm financing options
| Need | Option | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Months between filing deadlines | Line of credit | Draw in quiet months, repay in busy ones |
| Buying a practice or a book of clients | Term loan | Fixed purchase, longer payback |
| Hiring ahead of a deadline | Working capital | Short, known gap |
| Office technology and furniture | Equipment financing | Secured by the items |
Loan to buy an accountancy practice
A practice acquisition is one reason an accounting firm might borrow a larger sum. Partners funding a loan to buy an accountancy practice look at the seller's collections over several years, how many clients are expected to stay after the sale, any earn-out or client-retention clause in the purchase agreement, and whether the buyer's existing practice can carry the payment if retention disappoints. A purchase like this can be set up as a term loan.
Price of a CPA firm: what drives it
We have no sourced local price data. Prices depend on recurring revenue, client concentration, employees who stay and the seller's role during transition. Bring the proposed price and the seller's records, and a partner can say what it would finance.
How to grow an accounting practice without starving cash
- Price recurring bookkeeping and payroll work monthly to smooth the year
- Bill advisory engagements in stages rather than at the end
- Hire before the deadline crunch, funded from a line that is repaid when deadline fees arrive
- Buy client books where retention can be checked, not on revenue alone
What partners review
- Business bank statements across a full year, to show the deadline pattern
- Revenue by service line, if available
- For purchases: seller collections, client list summary and the purchase agreement
- Existing debt and leases
Illustrative example: funding a book purchase
Illustrative arithmetic only. A practice agrees to buy a retiring preparer's client book for $120,000. A term loan repaid at $2,450 a month over 60 months totals $147,000. If 80% of the book's clients stay and they bring in $3,200 a month in fees after the cost of serving them, the payment is covered; if retention falls to 60%, the margin becomes thin. Retention is one of the questions a partner may weigh.
Hiring before deadlines
If a practice hires and trains seasonal preparers and reviewers ahead of a filing deadline, wages go out before the related fees arrive. A line of credit drawn for those wages and repaid from collections after the deadline matches that pattern. A term loan for the same purpose would keep charging after the need ends.
Security and technology
Client data security, tax software licenses and remote-work equipment are costs a practice may need to plan for. Hardware and office equipment can be financed; annual software licenses are an operating cost, so plan them into the months after the deadline rush.
Accounting business loans for merging two practices
Two small practices sometimes combine rather than one buying the other outright. A merger can still need funding: buying out one owner's share over time, moving into a shared office, or unifying software. Partners reviewing a merged practice look at both firms' collections, the agreement between the owners, and how clients have been told. A term loan can cover the buyout element, and a line of credit can cover the months while systems and billing are brought together.
Garfield County, OK accounting figures
Garfield County, OK had 26 accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services employer establishments in 2023, employing 327 people with about $18.7 million in annual payroll; 61.5% had fewer than five employees (U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023). Our arithmetic: about 12.6 employees per establishment. Fifteen sat in ZIP 73701 (U.S. Census Bureau, ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023). Separately, U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics 2024 counted 64 such practices with no payroll in 2024.
Law firms and insurance agencies are on funding for law firms and insurance agency funding; the full list is on the industry page. County figures are on Clayridge's Enid, OK numbers page.
By Clayridge Lending · Updated
