The Accounting Leads Now Podcast

Lee Walker gave his firm two months' notice so his team and clients wouldn't be left hanging. Leadership's answer: "we're just going to let you go." Within weeks he had launched his own business, turned his Denver house into a 14-bed Airbnb, started learning Spanish and moved to Peru. His first paying client didn't come for nine months.

Episode 97 features Lee Walker, founder of Daily Driver Consulting, known as the CAS Doctor. He spent three years inside an accounting firm that grew from $1M to $10M in revenue, 10 to 50 employees and 300 to 900 clients without a single acquisition or merger, rebuilding its people, delivery and operations systems as a fractional CFO and people advisor. Today he guides firm owners from compliance to real advisory, has written three books including People + Process = Profit and Emergence, and works nomadically across South America.

What you will take away:

1. How Lee's Airbnb covered nine months of his life while the business got off the ground, and why he hired an outside pricing expert instead of relying only on AI pricing tools.

2. The lesson he would give himself on day one: follow-up is the most important thing you do, you need a system for it, and you need at least one key person in your corner.

3. Why being stubborn is both a blessing and a curse for firm owners, and how being one degree off course over a thousand miles is the difference between landing in Newfoundland and landing in Mexico.

Lee also explains why every firm owner needs both a mentor and a coach, how the two are different, and why the right deadline can get more done than months of good intentions.

Eliminate, automate, delegate.

Connect with Lee:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lee-walker-ms-shrm-cp-66a3b8b0

Daily Driver Consulting: https://dailydriverconsulting.biz

Emergence (Lee's book): https://dailydriverconsulting.biz/book

Book a call with our team: https://accountingleadsnow.com

Grab my book, Booked Solid: https://a.co/d/02rch7Qz

Send us Fan Mail

Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > http://accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work.

Referrals are great, but if they're your only plan, your growth is in someone else's hands. This week it's just me, no guest, and an announcement I've been sitting on for months.

Episode 96 is a solo episode with host James Donovan, founder of Accounting Leads Now. Four weeks out from episode 100, James shares what's been happening inside the business and makes the first official announcement of a new event for accounting and bookkeeping firm owners.

What you will take away:

1. Inner Circle Live: Nashville, November 20 and 21, co-hosted with Heidi Ryder of keepful and Jaime Rodriguez of Bookkeepers.com. Just 25 firm owners in a room, rolling up their sleeves to build what they keep putting off, with the goal that the event pays for itself before they fly home. This year's seats are spoken for, and next year's dates will be announced live in Nashville.

2. Gusto's business firm consultants program: Gusto is putting its own money behind its gold and silver tier partners, including on marketing. Here's what it is and how to check whether your firm is eligible.

3. Where to find James this fall: Women Who Count in Hilton Head, Intuit Connect in Las Vegas and the Tax Rep Network Summit in Orlando, plus a recap of Gusto Next in San Francisco.

James also welcomes Matt and Emile to the client success team and celebrates Ana Toro's two years with Accounting Leads Now.

Eliminate, automate, delegate.

Book a call with our team: https://accountingleadsnow.com

Grab my book, Booked Solid: https://a.co/d/02rch7Qz

Send us Fan Mail

Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > http://accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work.

A fake Claude download. Three minutes later, the desktop was empty, the antivirus was off and every password saved in the browser was gone.

Episode 95 features Luke Kiely, founder of ComplyWise and a former law enforcement detective who spent his career investigating fraud, cybercrime and organised crime. ComplyWise is cybersecurity and compliance built specifically for accountants, bookkeepers and financial professionals, and Luke's GrowCon 2026 talk, Exploitation Economy, changed how a room full of firm owners thought about their own risk.

What you will take away:

1. Why nearly every attack Luke has investigated in the last two years started with a phishing link and no multi-factor authentication, and why cybercriminals smash and grab instead of quietly waiting.

2. What IRS Section 7216 means before you put client data into ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude, plus the technical and governance controls every firm should have in place.

3. How Luke sells cybersecurity without fear tactics, with a free assessment that runs like a business conversation, and what firm owners can borrow for their own sales calls.

Luke also shares the insider threat case where an organised crime gang coerced an employee into stealing card details, why the cybercriminals he tracked down were often teachers, doctors and business owners, and his one piece of advice for every firm owner listening.

Eliminate, automate, delegate.

Connect with Luke:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luke-k

ComplyWise: https://www.complywise.online

Book a call with our team: https://accountingleadsnow.com

Grab my book, Booked Solid: https://a.co/d/02rch7Qz

Send us Fan Mail

Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > http://accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work.

Your clients are telling you what they need next on every call. Most firms never hear it, because the notes go somewhere nobody reads.

Episode 94 features Camden Bean, CEO and co-founder of Ping, AI built only for accounting firms. Camden is the son of a CPA, worked with accounting firms at Divvy (later acquired by BILL), and helped raise and run a $100M early-stage venture fund before leaving to build Ping. Recorded live at Bridging the Gap, this is the show's first in-person episode, and Randy Crabtree , CPA and co-founder of Tri-Merit, pulls up a chair halfway through to become our first two-time guest.

What you will take away:

1. Why note taking is "the very bottom" of what AI can do for your firm, and how meeting and email data can surface upsell and cross-sell opportunities your staff would miss.

2. Why "advisory" is too broad to sell, and how a specific playbook (like a sales tax practice built on tools like Zamp or Kintsugi) turns it into a real offer.

3. How to actually find advisory clients: Randy's relationship-first approach and Camden's top, middle and bottom of funnel view, where it all starts with new leads.

Camden also shares how a jacket covered in ping pong balls got him escorted out of Intuit Connect, why Ping said no to every industry except accounting, and his advice for firm owners tired of AI hype. Randy explains the one mistake he made when he started his first firm, and the simple phone test for spotting your ideal client.

Eliminate, automate, delegate.

Connect with Camden:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camden-bean

Ping: https://www.pingassistant.com

Connect with Randy:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/randy-crabtree-cpa-1945a67/

Tri-Merit: https://tri-merit.com

Send us Fan Mail

Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > http://accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work.

His first year: one client paying $600. Five years later: a $500K tax practice, built in a city where he knew nobody. No referrals, no network, no warm introductions.

Episode 93 features Luke Frye, CPA and Accountant in Residence at Canopy. Luke was the first accountant hired at Bench, became the first account executive at Pilot to break $40K in MRR, and has helped platforms like Bench, Pilot and Puzzle reach thousands of firm clients. Today he works directly with firm owners on overcapacity, underpricing and the missing systems that keep them stuck.

What you will take away:

1. Why "leads are the seeds": how to set up a simple CRM with a lead list and a 3 to 5 stage pipeline, and why a deal should not exist until the prospect is qualified against your ICP.

2. The three-sentence monthly email to lawyers, bankers and insurance contacts that can turn into a steady stream of referrals, and why you have to treat growth as an active sport.

3. How to find the bottleneck in your firm with an 11x17 sheet of paper, a pencil, and a value stream map that starts from "filed and paid" and works backward.

Luke also shares why he would go in knowing it takes five years, not five months, why he closed his biggest deal on New Year's Eve, why sales and operations need productive tension, and the question he asks every client: what do you want to be when you die?

Eliminate, automate, delegate.

Connect with Luke:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukefrye/

Canopy: https://www.getcanopy.com

Send us Fan Mail

Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > http://accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work.

When a company moves about 1% of the country's GDP in a year, you would expect its revenue chief to lean on experience. Jonathan Leaf says the opposite: the old principles, old ways of working and old decision frameworks all need rethinking, starting with his own.

Episode 92 features Jonathan Leaf, Chief Revenue Officer at BILL, the financial operations platform trusted by close to half a million businesses and more than 9,500 accounting firms. Jonathan owns BILL's entire global go-to-market organization: sales, marketing, customer success, support, revenue operations, enablement and partnerships. Before BILL he was Chief Revenue Officer at BambooHR, SVP of Commercial Sales at RingCentral, where he led a 600-plus person team supporting over $2 billion in annual recurring revenue, and a sales leader at AWS during the public cloud boom.

What you will take away:

1. Why using AI to make old processes a little faster is "optimizing our past," and how to make bolder bets that redefine the work instead.
2. The unglamorous wins that matter most: an AI agent for W-9 creation that 175,000 BILL customers adopted almost immediately, and fraud prevention that has saved customers tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars.
3. Why, in a world where everyone is trying to AI everything, showing up, shaking hands and building trust is still the thing that cannot be replaced.

Jonathan also shares why he believes the fastest learner in the seat now beats the best domain expert, what the cloud migration era taught him about which companies pull ahead, why pricing for firms is shifting toward outcomes over hours, and why his team probably does not want to work for an agent.

Thank you to BILL for supporting the Accounting Leads Now podcast.

eliminate, automate, delegate.

Connect with Jonathan:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-leafBILL: https://www.bill.com

Send us Fan Mail

Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > http://accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work.

Five women on one team became first-time homeowners. Not because of a bank, a nonprofit or a government program, but because their agency changed how it paid people.

Episode 91 features Madeline Reeves, Founder and CEO of Fearless Foundry, a global collective of senior strategists, storytellers and creatives serving fintech, B2B SaaS, professional services and technology. Madeline spent her earlier career on the business development side at Intuit, Avalara and Fathom, where she was Fathom's first US employee, before building Fearless Foundry into a boutique brand and production firm now approaching its 10th anniversary. She also created Advisory Amplified, the only US tour dedicated entirely to advisory, running across six cities from September 22 to October 9.

What you will take away:

1. Why your logo is not your brand, and how a generic five-page website and a name made of three last names quietly repels the clients you want.

2. The operating model shift that changed everything: paying every team member a percentage of project revenue instead of hourly, which let Fearless charge properly, reward quality over hours and share both wins and losses with the team.

3. How to spot the pitch that will burn you. If someone promises a full rebrand in two weeks or hundreds of leads, ask the only question that matters: are they good?

Madeline also walks through the hardest stretch of her ten years, losing roughly half a million in pre-booked revenue in under 30 days in 2022 and letting go of half her team, and why that loss is the reason the business works the way it does now. She closes on the skill she believes will decide the next era for firms: relationships. Get out from behind the books and in front of people.

James's sign-off still applies: eliminate, automate, delegate.

Connect with Madeline:

Website: https://www.fearlessfoundry.com

Advisory Amplified tour: https://www.advisoryamplified.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madelinekreeves

Send us Fan Mail

Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > http://accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work.

You built the team. Delegated everything. Followed all the advice.

And somehow you're more miserable than when you started.

Episode #90: Karen Reyburn built a marketing agency for accountants up to 21 full-time employees. Then she cut it down to six. Not because business was bad. Because she was sacrificing her health, her finances, and her own goals to keep everyone else happy.

In this episode, Karen walks through the exact moment she realized the team wasn't the problem, she was. The leading indicators she ignored for years. And why she now believes "20 seconds of courage" is the difference between staying stuck and actually changing your business.

You'll walk away with:

• The profit trends most firm owners never check
• How to spot resentment before it wrecks your business
• Why living out your real goal (even something as specific as buying a house on an island) can rebuild your entire pricing model

Send us Fan Mail

Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > http://accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work.

What if your firm never ran a single ad, never sent a cold email, never hired a marketing agency, and still grew fast enough to expand across multiple states?

Episode 89 features Mike Payne, Chief Growth Officer at Haga Kommer, Ltd. and founder of BOSS Advisors, the first Arizona firm approved as an Alternative Business Structure. Mike is a lawyer and a CPA who ignored every colleague who told him to wear one hat, built a CPA firm and a law firm side by side, then sold to a group doing 30+ acquisitions with a $10M annual acquisition budget. Today he leads growth for a platform that delivers CPA, legal, wealth management, banking and insurance under one roof.

What you will learn in this episode:

- Why "we will refer that out" quietly costs firms their most trusted client relationship, and what the one-roof model changes

- How Haga Kommer grows through acquisition plus mining the relationships already sitting under their feet, no ad spend required

- The "three C's" of accountability (curious, confused, concerned) for getting a team to actually follow the process

- Why you should sell the result and never the how, and how that ends the fear of giving away free advice

- The advice Mike ignored for years, and what it cost him before he reset

If you are a firm owner who keeps referring work out, or one who is winning on referrals but has no repeatable growth engine, this one is for you.

Connect with Mike:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelpaynejdcpa

Website: https://themikepayne.com

Firm: https://hagakommer.com

Also: if you run a $1M to $2M CPA firm and want to hear about joining a multidisciplinary group, Mike is actively looking. Reach out to him directly.

Send us Fan Mail

Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > http://accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work.

Most firm owners calculate the ROI of AI in hours saved. Blake Oliver says that math is exactly why the savings never show up in the bank account.

Episode 88 features Blake Oliver, CPA, founder and CEO of Earmark and co-host of The Accounting Podcast, the most popular show for accountants and bookkeepers in the world. Blake started as a cello major, talked his way into a bookkeeping job during the Great Recession, became one of the first Xero partners in the United States, sold his firm Cloud Sourced Accounting in 2015, and has been named to CPA Practice Advisor's 40 Under 40 twice and Accounting Today's Top 100 Most Influential People.

Three takeaways:

1. Time saved is not money earned. Speeding up prep while client document collection and partner review stay clogged just moves the bottleneck. Fix the constraint, not the easy part.

2. Great marketing exposes every weakness behind it. If a firm has no documented processes and no spare capacity, more leads can make the firm worse, not better.

3. Raise your prices before you change anything else. Price creates the margin, margin creates capacity, and capacity is what lets you actually serve the clients you keep.

Blake also gets honest about burning out at $1M, why he wishes he had held on, and the day two friends died and he started logging off at 3PM and got sharper, not slower.

Connect with Blake:

Blog and newsletter: https://www.blakeoliver.com/

LinkedIn: Blake Oliver CPA

The Accounting Podcast: on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube

Free CPE app: https://earmark.app

Send us Fan Mail

Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > http://accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work.

He has closed over 500 accounting firm acquisitions. Not 50, but 500. He knows exactly which deals fall apart and why.

Episode 87 features Shannon Hay, Senior Vice President of Commercial Lending at United Midwest Savings Bank, where he leads SBA and commercial lending for accounting and tax firms nationwide. Over 30 years in commercial lending, with stops at Bank of America and Live Oak Bank, and nearly $500 million in accounting and tax firm transactions behind him.

In this conversation Shannon explains why the SBA 7(a) program lets an existing firm owner buy another firm with no money down, what actually kills a deal before closing, and the tax advice that makes accountants wince: if you plan to sell in the next three to five years, stop mitigating so hard and start dropping income to the bottom line, because margin drives value and banks lend on the last three years of returns.

He also breaks down why it is still a seller's market, what buyers get wrong in the letter of intent, how private equity consolidation is changing the lower market, and why his philosophy is education first, sales second, including the trade show he called a waste of time that turned into a $3 million loan three years later.

His number one action item: never stop learning, and never stop teaching.

Connect with Shannon:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-hay-accounting-tax-leader

X: @shaysba

Email: shay@umwsb.com

Cell: 614-648-9199

United Midwest Savings Bank: https://umwsb.com/about/experience/shannon-hay

Send us Fan Mail

Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > http://accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work.

Most firm owners think the problem is the market. Sometimes the problem is that you do not believe the number you are about to say out loud.

Episode 86 features Marit Burmood, CPA, EA, MTax, owner of Flair Financial LLC in Salt Lake City. She holds a master's in taxation from Weber State, was named a 2026 Top U.S. Tax Advisor by Insightful Accountant, speaks at GrowCon and AICPA Engage, and writes for OnPay. She also tripled her firm's revenue in eight months, and not by finding a better niche or hiring a sales team.

In this conversation Marit explains how imposter syndrome quietly set her pricing for years, why she chased an EA and then a CPA hoping credentials would finally make clients respect her advice, and the mindset shift that changed everything: raise your prices so you need fewer clients, which buys back the time you thought building a firm would cost you. She breaks down how to price the intangible value you are already giving away for free, why you should test a new price on your least favorite client first, and how she got to the point where she can say her range out loud without wanting to barf.

Then it turns to marketing. Marit shares the advice she got from a seven-figure firm owner at GrowCon about niching plus showing up at industry events, why visibility beats credentials, and the line every firm owner needs to hear: making a social media post is not marketing.

James adds the Nine Two Media side of raising prices, why the best kept secret in town never gets the phone call, and why the firms you dislike are winning on visibility alone.

Her number one action item: block half a day every single week for your own firm and your own growth. She blocked every Friday and calls it the best decision she has made.

Connect with Marit:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marit-burmood

Instagram: @the_extroverted_accountant

Send us Fan Mail

Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > http://accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work.

Most firm owners who feel stuck are not short on skill or short on clients. They are short on clarity about what they are actually worth, and what they actually want.

Episode 85 features Will Hill, founder and owner of Will Hill Consults, LLC, a coaching and consulting firm serving the tax and accounting profession. Will has been working with firms since 2001 and was named to Accounting Today's "Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting."

In this conversation, Will breaks down the two versions of stuck he sees on almost every first call, why "I keep changing things and I am just busier" is a symptom of an alignment problem and not a technical one, and the order he uses to roll out a new value proposition: new clients first, then clients hitting a natural life cycle change, then clients being served below your minimum, and the price-only conversations last. He also explains why firms should track client goals the same way they track numbers, what happens to team trust the moment an owner fires a client who mistreats staff, and the one exception he will never make no matter how much that client pays.

James adds the Nine Two Media side of it, including the client they refunded on the onboarding call and why that decision changed how the team saw the business.

If you are one to three months out from a price increase or a service restructure, listen to this one first.

Connect with Will:
Email: will@willhillconsults.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wghill
Website: https://willhillconsults.com

Send us Fan Mail

Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > http://accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work.

It took him 15 years to build his book of business. He rebuilt the same thing in under two years after niching down.

Episode 84 features Emil Abedian, CPA, founder and CEO of Counsel CPAs, a firm that works with law firms only. Emil started his practice around 2009 in Los Angeles after beginning his career in Sweden, and for years he said yes to everything: tax, bookkeeping, payroll, sales tax, cash flow analysis. He was working 80 to 100 hours a week and building what he calls a high-paying job instead of a business. He is also the author of "Counsel to Counsel: From Practice to Business."

In this conversation, Emil breaks down how he graded his clients A through D and handed the D book to a younger CPA, why he now dictates the services instead of letting clients dictate them, and how specialization turned his sales process into a conversation he does not have to sell in. He also explains the weekly email that keeps clients and prospects reaching out to him, why his real bottleneck is team capacity and not lead flow, and why he thinks automation matters more than AI for the average firm.

If you are still taking on the electrician, the dentist, and the referral who is completely out of your lane, this one is for you.

Connect with Emil:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilabedian

Counsel CPAs: https://www.counselcpas.com

Book, Counsel to Counsel: https://a.co/d/09y7nh4E

Send us Fan Mail

Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > http://accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work.

He's an Enrolled Agent, a franchise firm owner, and a rapper. And the craziest part? His firm makes more money now that he's not involved in the day-to-day.

Episode 83 featuresScott Scarano, the visionary behind Padgett Business Services in Raleigh, NC, also known as Scotty OKR (yes, OK Rapper). Scott grew Padgett NC to $1.5 million, replaced himself in every seat on the org chart, and then did something most firm owners only dream about: he walked away from operations entirely.

In this conversation, Scott breaks down how EOS helped him see the aspirational org chart that changed everything, the guilt that hit when he realized the firm ran better without him in it, and why the jump from $300-500K to $1.2M requires you to make less money before you make more. He also gets into why Google reviews are still the most underrated growth lever for local firms, the team page trick that made prospects say "I want to work with that person," and how rapping became the creative outlet that kept him sane after stepping away.

If you have been stuck doing everything in your firm and cannot picture anyone else doing it, this one is for you.

Connect with Scott:

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/scottscarano

Facebook: https://facebook.com/scottscarano

Padgett NC: https://www.padgettnc.com

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Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > http://accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work.

He spent 22 years inside Intuit, co-hosts the #1 podcast in accounting, and now he's building the CPE app that lets accountants earn credits from any content with a play button. And his best career advice? "The procrastinators will be rewarded."

Episode 82 features David Leary, Co-Founder of Earmark CPE and co-host of the Accounting Podcast. David started at Intuit doing tech support at 21, took thousands of calls, climbed through QA, engineering, and product management, and had a George Costanza moment that changed how he builds everything: do the exact opposite of what everyone else is doing.

In this conversation, David breaks down why vibe coding is a double-edged sword for accounting firms (your clients are about to build their own broken apps), the MVP mindset that landed his Intuit project in the appendix of The Lean Startup, and why firms need to document their processes before they touch any AI tool.

If you've been wondering whether AI is going to replace your firm or create more work for it, the answer might be both.

Connect with David:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidleary

Earmark CPE: https://earmarkcpe.com/

David's website: https://davidleary.com/

Send us Fan Mail

Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > http://accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work.

She'll tell you straight up: she doesn't like bookkeeping. She built a successful bookkeeping firm anyway. Then she bought a marketing company.

Episode 81 features Heidi Ryder, a former middle school math teacher who started Healthy Books LLC in 2017 and replaced her teacher's salary within six months. Last year she acquired keepful, the marketing automation platform built to help bookkeepers, accountants, and tax pros organize leads, automate follow-up, and build stronger client relationships, all while homeschooling four kids.

In this conversation, Heidi breaks down the LinkedIn strategy that turned cold connections into referral partners and clients (hint: it involves hitting record), how she juggles two businesses without pretending there's such a thing as balance, and her playbook for actually getting ROI out of conferences like GrowCon instead of flying home with a notebook full of ideas you never touch.

If marketing is the part of your firm you keep avoiding, this one's for you.

Send us Fan Mail

Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > http://accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work.

You ask clients to send a PDF through a secure portal. If they can't, they're not your client.

Sounds harsh. It's not, it's a filter.

Episode 80 features Christopher Papin, who runs a law firm AND a CPA firm at the same time, and somehow still keeps a third of his day for life outside the office. Forbes and Thomson Reuters have both recognized his work. He's also the author of "168 Hours" and host of the BLABO podcast.

In this conversation, Chris breaks down the exact onboarding system that gets him a 70-80% close rate, why he calls every signed letter of intent a "promise ring," and how hiring people with bartending and hospitality backgrounds fixed his client communication overnight.

If you've ever lost a deal because you didn't ask the right follow-up question, this one's for you.

Send us Fan Mail

Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > http://accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work.

You've spent years building your firm. But if someone asked what it's worth today, could you actually answer that?

Most owners can't. And that gap is exactly where deals fall apart.

Justin Farmer is a licensed attorney and business intermediary who has helped close accounting firm transactions for over 12 years, with a 100% accepted-offer track record. He's sat at more closing tables than most CPAs will see in a lifetime, and he pulls zero punches about what separates a clean exit from a costly one.

In this episode: why not knowing your financial goal is the #1 deal-killer, how to structure internal succession before you ever go to market, and why even a $500K solo practice can sell, if you're reasonable.

Send us Fan Mail

Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > http://accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work.

Your pipeline feeling a little thin? Clients suddenly asking more questions about price?

You're not imagining it. And you're not alone.

Since fall 2024, a perfect storm has been building, AI-assisted offshore firms, a softening economy, tariff anxiety, and clients who are now very aware there are cheaper options. The firms getting hit hardest? Bookkeeping and fractional CFO. And the old playbook of "raise your prices, show your value" doesn't always work when someone is genuinely watching their cash.

Erica Goode isn't here to sugarcoat it. Former KPMG auditor. Former Walgreens finance exec. Now running a virtual fractional CFO firm from the Idaho mountains, on her own terms and founder of Aligned Accountants, the community for solo firm owners who want a real life AND a real business.

In this episode: why she saw the pricing shift coming, what the actual conversation looks like when a client wants to spend less, and the one question that tells you whether to fight for the client or let them walk.

Send us Fan Mail

Tired of referrals that only show up during tax season?

Most firm owners are one slow quarter away from panic. We fix that.
We help accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build predictable client acquisition systems using paid advertising, so qualified prospects are coming to you year-round, not just when it's convenient for them.

Book a free strategy call > http://accountingleadsnow.com We'll look at your firm specifically and map out exactly what it would take to build a pipeline that doesn't go quiet in July.

Grab my book, Booked Solid > Get your copy here The digital marketing playbook built specifically for accounting firms. No theory. Just what works.

Join our Skool community - 7 days free > Join here Get access to the exact systems we implement for our clients. Frameworks, templates, and a community of firm owners doing the work.