Clients spend $5K a year on accountant until revenue passes $1M
- Key Insight: Small business accounting budgets stagnate until hitting a specific revenue threshold.
- Expert Quote: “…the budget for an accountant barely moves, then jumps…” — Kimberly Green, Sam’s List
- Supporting Data: 4% of businesses with less than $100,000 in revenue said they plan to spend $20,000 or more
Businesses plan to spend an average $5,000 a year for an accountant until revenue passes $1 million, according to a new study — then the budget triples to $15,000. Over half (56%) of respondents with an established small or mid-sized business said they plan to spend $5,000 or less on an accountant, and only 25% said they plan to spend $20,000 or more.
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According to Sam’s List’s
Sam’s List is a directory and marketplace for financial professionals. It surveyed nearly 2,000 people who used its matching quiz to find an accountant, bookkeeper, fractional CFO or financial advisor. (This includes business owners and people looking for help with their personal taxes.)
Only 4% of businesses with less than $100,000 in revenue said they plan to spend $20,000 or more, followed by 5% of businesses with $100,000 to $500,000, 13% with $500,000 to $1 million, 46% with $1 million to $5 million, and 54% of $5 million or more.
“This shows the client’s side of the table,” Kimberly Green, cofounder of Sam’s LIst, said in a statement. “For most businesses, the budget for an accountant barely moves, then jumps once the company grows past a certain size. When people do leave the professional they have, the reason they give most often is that their current one isn’t meeting their needs.”
Introductory bullet points created by AI with editorial review.
