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Hub · Profitability

Running a profitable firm

A firm can be busy all year and still not make much. The margin usually leaks somewhere quiet: low-fee work nobody wants to drop, admin that costs more than the partner time it frees up, clients who expect an answer at nine at night.

This hub collects what The Firm has published on finding those leaks: which work pays, where the cost hides, when advisory is worth adding, and how to grow without simply adding seats.

Updated 27 September 2026 · 29 pieces

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Everything else
  1. How to build and scale a profitable advisory service for your accounting firm 29 November 2025
  2. Clients don’t pay for 24/7 access, so why are you on call? 29 November 2025
  3. The biggest mistake accounting firm owners make when trying to scale 29 November 2025
  4. Hiring your first employee: the revenue benchmarks, red flags, and growth tips for year 1 29 November 2025
  5. Stop Drowning, Start Scaling: How Smart Firms Make Outsourcing & Podsourcing Pay Off 29 November 2025
  6. Accounting practice benchmarks: 9 numbers that tell the truth 27 September 2026
  7. 98% of accountants already use AI. Only 1 in 5 are doing it on purpose. 25 June 2026
  8. The one thing every accountant thinks but nobody says 5 May 2026
  9. Where AI actually fits in your accounting firm 10 April 2026
  10. Structure before scale: the real growth strategy for accounting firms 7 April 2026
  11. Why I believe your firm’s most valuable asset isn’t in your ledger 30 March 2026
  12. The Crunch 2026: why Australian accounting firms need benchmark data more than ever 19 February 2026
  13. What solo and micro firms really need to thrive 29 November 2025
  14. From solo start-up to a 38-strong remote firm: lessons from Onside Accounting’s rapid rise 29 November 2025
  15. How to tune your accounting engine so it deserves to scale 29 November 2025
  16. Why EOS is the secret weapon for scaling accountancy firms 29 November 2025
  17. Why every accounting firm should embrace NPS (Net Promoter Score) with their clients 29 November 2025
  18. The future of accounting in 2027: what the data says 27 September 2026
  19. Your client connected Xero to AI. Now what? 24 September 2026
  20. Copilot adoption in Australian Accounting firms: The productivity is real, but the value is uneven 1 May 2026
  21. The firms that win with AI will feel more human, not less 30 April 2026
Hiring, leading and outsourcing
  1. Accounting outsourcing: the firm owner's honest guide 22 July 2026
  2. How to use the “Right People, Right Seats” strategy to build thriving teams 29 November 2025
  3. Scaling with Soul: Safeguarding Culture as Your Firm Grows 29 November 2025
  4. $40K to hire a client manager? Are accountants being ripped off? 29 November 2025
  5. Why Rachel Harris pays her team to fail - and thinks you should too 29 November 2025

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