How to start an accounting firm
To start an accounting firm, pick a niche and a short list of services, write a one-page business plan, choose a structure, register with your tax regulator and professional body, and put insurance and AML compliance in place before you take the first client. Then build a small tech stack, choose a pricing method, win clients through people who already trust you, and hire before you are buried.
Updated 2 October 2026. Covers Australia, the UK, the US, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa.
Starting a practice is two jobs at once
Whether you call it a CPA firm or an accountancy practice, you are setting up a regulated service and a small business at once. The regulated part has a checklist that differs by country. The business part is where most new firms struggle: unclear niche, guessed prices, and a founder still doing every job in year three. The steps below run in the order that saves rework.
The sequence, step by step
- 1
Decide who you serve and what you sell
Pick the client you want twenty of, not the client you will take first. A niche can be an industry (trades, medical, hospitality, agriculture), a client stage (first-year founders, businesses about to sell) or a service line (tax only, outsourced CFO, compliance for one entity type). Then write each service as a product with a defined scope. A narrow list is easier to price, staff and market.
- 2
Write a one-page business plan before the long one
An accounting firm business plan needs five numbers before it needs prose: the income you need to draw, your overheads for year one, the hours you can actually bill or deliver (usually far fewer than the hours you work), the number of clients that covers all three, and how many months of runway you have while you get there. If the plan only works with a full book in month three, it does not work.
- 3
Choose the structure
Sole trader, partnership, company or (in some places) an incorporated practice entity. The choice affects liability, tax, who can own the firm and what your professional body will let you call it. Several bodies restrict non-member ownership of a firm that uses their designation, and US state boards set CPA ownership rules for CPA firms. Decide the structure with the ownership rules in front of you, not after you have registered a name.
- 4
Register with the regulator and your professional body
This is the step that varies most by country, so it has its own section below. The pattern is the same everywhere: the tax authority or tax practitioner regulator decides whether you can act for clients on tax, and your professional body decides whether you can offer public practice services under its designation. Many founders need both.
- 5
Put professional indemnity insurance in place
In most of these markets PI insurance (professional liability in North America) is a condition of registration or of your practising certificate, not an optional extra, and the body sets minimum cover. Get quotes early: the premium is one of the bigger fixed costs in year one and it changes your break-even. Ask about run-off cover for work you did before, and whether the policy covers every service you plan to sell.
- 6
Set up anti-money laundering compliance from day one
Australia, the UK, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa all bring some accounting work inside an AML regime. Where it applies you will need to enrol or register with a supervisor, write a program or policy, and run customer due diligence before you act. Building this into onboarding now is far cheaper than retrofitting it later.
- 7
Build the smallest tech stack that works
You need a ledger your clients will use (Xero, QuickBooks, MYOB or Sage, depending on market), a way to collect documents and receipts (Dext or Hubdoc, for example), practice management to track jobs and deadlines, and a way to send proposals and engagement letters and collect payment (Ignition is one). Practice management choice is regional: Karbon, FYI and Xero Practice Manager are common starting points in Australia and New Zealand; TaxDome, Financial Cents and Canopy in the US; Engager, BrightManager and Pixie in the UK. Add a tool only when a specific job hurts. Before staff or clients touch an AI tool, write down the rules for it.
- 8
Choose a pricing method, then set your prices
Decide how you price before you decide what you charge. Hourly billing is simple to start and caps your income at your hours. Fixed fees per service or a monthly package reward efficiency and need a tight scope. Value-based pricing ties the fee to what the outcome is worth to the client and needs confidence and a good discovery conversation. Whichever you pick, work out your floor first: what you need to earn plus overheads, divided by realistic delivery hours, gives a minimum hourly cost, and any fixed fee below that cost for the time a job takes loses money.
- 9
Win the first clients
Most new firms start from people who already trust the founder: former employer referrals (check any restraint of trade first), personal networks, and referral partners such as lawyers, mortgage brokers and financial planners who see your ideal client before you do. A website that says who you help and what happens after someone gets in touch does more than one that lists every service.
- 10
Make the first hire before you are drowning
The usual trigger is when the founder is doing work that a less experienced person could do at a lower cost while sales and review time disappears. Hire for the work you should stop doing, whether that is a graduate, an experienced senior, a part-time bookkeeper or an offshore team member. Document the processes before they start.
The Tech Stack Directory lists the software firms report running, by category, and the practice management software by country page shows the regional options for step 7. For the AI rules, our AI policy template for accounting firms is a complete, editable starting point, and the rest of our free templates for accounting firms cover other documents a new practice needs.
Registration, insurance and AML by country
Checked against the primary sources in October 2026. Fees, thresholds and phase dates change, so confirm each one with the body named before you rely on it.
Australia (AU)
- Registration
- To charge for tax agent services you must be registered as a tax agent with the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB). BAS work for a fee needs BAS agent registration.
- Practising certificate
- CA ANZ, CPA Australia and the IPA each require members offering public accounting services to hold a public practice certificate.
- PI insurance
- Required for TPB registration. CPA Australia sets a minimum of $2 million cover for services provided in Australia.
- AML
- Since 1 July 2026 some accounting services are designated services under the AML/CTF Act. Enrol with AUSTRAC within 28 days of first providing one.
- Firm name
- Register a business name with ASIC. Designations such as "Chartered Accountants" are governed by the body that grants them.
United Kingdom (UK)
- Registration
- From May 2026, anyone paid to deal with HMRC on a client's behalf must register with HMRC as a tax adviser, in phased windows. "Accountant" is not itself a protected title.
- Practising certificate
- ICAEW members in public practice generally need a practising certificate, which requires two years of relevant post-qualification experience. ACCA and other bodies run their own practising certificate rules.
- PI insurance
- Compulsory for ICAEW members who hold a practising certificate and are in public practice, whatever the practice income.
- AML
- Accountancy service providers must be supervised under the Money Laundering Regulations by HMRC or a professional body. The government plans to move this supervision to the FCA, subject to legislation.
- Firm name
- Companies Act business name rules apply. ICAEW firms can use the "Chartered Accountants" description only if they meet its ownership and control tests.
United States (US)
- Registration
- CPAs are licensed by state boards of accountancy. A firm that uses the CPA title or offers attest work must register with, or hold a permit from, the board in each state where it practises, subject to mobility rules.
- Practising certificate
- The individual CPA licence plays this role. Firms doing attest work generally must enrol in peer review.
- PI insurance
- Not a general federal requirement; some states and entity types require it. Check your state board's rules and get quotes either way, because an uninsured claim lands on the firm and its owners.
- AML
- There is no AML supervision regime for accounting firms as a class equivalent to the UK or Australia (as at October 2026).
- Firm name
- State boards regulate CPA firm names and ownership: non-CPA owners are typically limited to a minority stake. Anyone paid to prepare federal returns needs a PTIN from the IRS.
New Zealand (NZ)
- Registration
- To be listed with Inland Revenue as a tax agent you must prepare income tax returns for 10 or more clients.
- Practising certificate
- CA ANZ members offering accounting services to the public need a Certificate of Public Practice once fees pass $13,000 a year or they practise through an entity.
- PI insurance
- CPA Australia requires members practising in New Zealand to hold at least NZ$1 million of cover. CA ANZ sets its own PI requirements for Certificate of Public Practice holders.
- AML
- Accounting practices providing captured activities are reporting entities under the AML/CFT Act. The Department of Internal Affairs has been the sole supervisor since 1 July 2026.
- Firm name
- Register through the Companies Office; CA ANZ governs use of its designation.
Canada (CA)
- Registration
- Accounting is regulated provincially through the CPA bodies (CPA Ontario, CPA Alberta, CPABC and others). Public accounting, meaning assurance and some compilation work, needs a public accounting licence.
- Practising certificate
- Bookkeeping, tax preparation and advisory are not "public accounting" in Ontario, but CPAs offering any services to the public still register their firm with their provincial body.
- PI insurance
- Mandatory for CPA firms providing accounting services to the public. CPA Ontario sets minimums by firm size, starting at $1 million per claim.
- AML
- Accountants and accounting firms are FINTRAC reporting entities when they receive or pay funds, buy or sell property or business assets, or transfer funds for a client.
- Firm name
- Provincial business name registration, plus the provincial CPA body's rules on names and the CPA designation.
South Africa (ZA)
- Registration
- Anyone who advises on tax or completes returns for others must register with SARS as a tax practitioner, through a recognised controlling body such as SAICA, SAIPA, SAIT or ACCA, within 21 business days of first doing so.
- Practising certificate
- SAICA and SAIPA set public practice rules for their members. Audit is reserved for IRBA-registered auditors.
- PI insurance
- Set by your professional body's rules for members in practice; confirm current requirements with SAICA or SAIPA.
- AML
- Since 19 December 2022 the FIC Act covers more trust and company service providers. If you form companies or act for clients in that way, register with the FIC within 90 days.
- Firm name
- Company names are registered with CIPC. Designations such as CA(SA) belong to the body that grants them.
How to decide what to charge
Copying the rates of the firm you left builds in its overheads and brand. Start instead with the floor: target drawings plus overheads, divided by the hours you can realistically deliver. Then estimate the hours each service really takes you, including the chasing and the review, and price each service at or above the floor for that time.
From there, adjust for the market and the client. A niche lets you price on what the outcome is worth to that kind of client, because you understand their problem better than a generalist does. Check what comparable firms in your area publish, if they do, as a sense check rather than a target. Set your own prices from your costs, capacity, market and the value to the client; no benchmark replaces that calculation. We cover the next two questions in whether to publish your prices online.
One rule saves most of the year-one fee arguments: every client signs an engagement letter before work begins, and it names what is excluded. Then time the first ten jobs of each service honestly and re-price from what you see.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need to be a CPA or chartered accountant to start an accounting firm?
- It depends on the work and the country. In most of these markets anyone can offer bookkeeping and many advisory services, but tax work for a fee is gated (TPB registration in Australia, SARS tax practitioner registration in South Africa, a PTIN in the US, HMRC tax adviser registration in the UK), and audit or assurance work is reserved for licensed practitioners everywhere. Using a protected designation, such as CPA in the US or CA in Australia and New Zealand, requires membership and usually a practising certificate.
- How much does it cost to start an accounting firm?
- The unavoidable costs are registration and membership fees, professional indemnity insurance, software subscriptions and a few months of living costs while the client base builds. Office space is optional for many new firms. The larger cost is usually the income you give up in year one, so plan runway in months, not just a startup budget. Get insurance quotes and software pricing for your own market before you commit, because both vary widely and change often.
- How long does it take to build a profitable accounting firm?
- There is no reliable standard. It depends on how many clients you start with, how quickly referrals arrive and whether your pricing covers your real delivery time. Track monthly recurring fees against the break-even number in your business plan and you will know your own answer early.
- Should I buy an existing practice instead of starting one?
- Buying gives you clients, cash flow and often staff on day one, in exchange for a purchase price, financing and the risk that clients leave after the sale. Starting from scratch is cheaper and lets you build the systems and niche you want, but slower to reach full income.
- What should be in an accounting firm business plan?
- The target client and the services sold to them, the pricing method, a year-one budget of overheads and drawings, realistic delivery capacity in hours, the number of clients needed to break even, how those clients will be found, and the compliance steps (registration, insurance, AML) with their costs and timing. Add a short section on the first hire: the trigger that tells you it is time and what that person will take off your desk.