Preparing an Accounting Practice Fact Sheet: What Goes In?

A useful fact sheet gives your broker a clear, supportable picture of the practice: what services it provides, what the financial figures represent, who does the work, and which operating details need explanation. We recommend starting with records you can verify, then flagging anything that still needs confirmation.

Before writing an accounting practice sale fact sheet, ask your accounting practice broker which format to use and what information is needed for the initial review. That keeps you from building a lengthy document around assumptions about what should be included.

Establish What the Summary Is Meant to Cover

An internal summary for broker review can include questions and supporting notes that do not belong in a buyer-facing description. We suggest deciding the audience before filling in the details.

Define the Practice Being Described

Start with the business background: when it was established, where it operates, and whether services are delivered in person, remotely, or through a combination of both.

Then clarify the scope of the proposed sale. If you operate more than one office or service line, explain which activities the summary covers. A total for the entire business could mislead someone reviewing only one part.

Separate Facts From Owner Preferences

Your preferred exit date and willingness to remain involved are useful discussion points. Label them as preferences to discuss, rather than settled terms.

The same applies to statements about staff or clients. You can describe the team’s current responsibilities, but don’t present continued employment or client retention as confirmed without a basis for doing so.

Our practice-sale preparation guide covers broader readiness. This summary should concentrate on describing the business accurately.

Make the Financial Information Understandable

A revenue figure needs context. We recommend recording its period and source alongside the amount, so the broker can understand what it measures.

Label the Figures Before Explaining Them

Keep completed-year results separate from forecasts. If you supply an annualized figure, make that label visible instead of presenting it as an actual full-year result.

Explain Differences Without Hiding Them

A billing report and an income statement may show different totals because they measure different things. Identify the reason rather than selecting whichever number looks stronger.

If you cannot reconcile a difference, note it for review. Ask your financial advisor or the person maintaining the records to help establish the correct explanation.

Keep any proposed asking price separate from the operating figures. The summary should give the broker reliable inputs, with questions about value left for the appropriate review.

Describe Services and Clients Without Double Counting

Service mix helps explain how the practice earns its revenue. We suggest describing the work in terms a reader can understand without knowing your internal billing codes.

Give Each Service a Clear Meaning

Separate recurring work from occasional assignments where the records support that distinction. Explain whether a fee covers bookkeeping alone or a package that includes other services.

For each category, consider including:

• The work provided and its usual frequency.
• The relevant revenue period.
• The number of engagements or service accounts.
• Any material limitation affecting the figures.

Don’t make the reader guess whether a monthly amount has already been included in an annual total.

Distinguish Clients From Engagements

One business might use your bookkeeping, payroll, and tax services. Counting those as three service engagements can be useful; describing them as three separate clients would give a different picture.

Label the count you are using. If a unique-client total is not yet available, say so instead of adding service counts together.

Describe client industries and the general service area without inserting client names into a summary intended for wider circulation. Discuss identifying information and appropriate disclosure with the broker before sharing it.

Explain How the Practice Runs

Financial records alone do not show how work moves through the office. We recommend a brief operating description that explains the people and resources behind the services.

Show the Owner’s Role

Describe what you personally handle, including preparation, review, management, and client contact. Explain seasonal changes where they matter.

For staff, distinguish full-time employees, part-time employees, seasonal help, and contractors. Head count alone can obscure substantial differences in available capacity.

If specialist work depends on one person, identify that dependency for broker review without making unsupported claims about future availability.

Summarize Premises and Systems

Include the basic office arrangement and the main systems used to deliver services. Identify whether premises are leased or owned and whether remote work is part of normal operations.

Listing software describes the current setup; it does not confirm that licenses can transfer. Likewise, describing an office does not establish that a buyer can assume its lease.

Our published practice fact sheets provide context for the kinds of business information presented to buyers. Prepare your own facts rather than borrowing another firm’s descriptions or figures.

Send a Reviewable Draft

Before sending the summary, check reporting periods, category totals, and client-count definitions. Include a short list of unresolved points and keep supporting records available for the broker’s questions.

We recommend leaving uncertain fields clearly marked rather than filling them with guesses. A draft with specific questions gives the review a useful starting point.

At New Clients, Inc., we help owners prepare for a sale and evaluate their next steps. Request a confidential seller consultation and bring your draft summary so we can discuss the practice you are considering selling.