Accounting Firm Coach: Office Hours

🚀 Get smarter faster by learning with other firm owners: https://www.rlz.io/
📩 Want a simple way to keep up with accounting firms and AI? I break it down every week in my newsletter: https://www.jasononfirms.com/newsletter

📌 Check out the cool stuff our sponsors are doing here: https://accountingfirmcoach.com/sponsors/

Welcome to Accounting Firm Coach Office Hours presented by Canopy. I’m Jason Staats. Ready to get 1% better at running an accounting firm? In this episode, I break down Perplexity’s local AI capabilities and whether accounting firms should trust AI running entirely on their computers. Then I share Halloween costume ideas for accountants, explore whether it’s time to start cloning accounting software with AI, and explain why space accounting could be a massive niche opportunity. In 📬 Mailbag, I cover how to charge for midyear bookkeeping catch-up, building an email list that actually converts, developing future firm leaders, choosing between Intuit Link and other tax workflow tools, and whether buying leads is worth it.

// Chapters:
01:35 - The All-In-One Local AI!
13:34 - 11 Halloween Costumes for Accountants
19:04 - Time To Start Cloning Accounting Apps?
29:23 - $21B Went Into This Niche In Q3 Alone!
34:43 - How To Charge For Catch-Up?
38:43 - Worth Building an Email List?
44:08 - How To Develop Leaders
47:47 - Is Intuit Link Good Enough?
50:47 - Worth Buying Leads?
53:27 - Because We Love Them!

📞 Leave me a voicemail at +1 (516) 980-4968!
📧 Email me! [email protected]

💰 Today's Sponsors
Canopy: https://www.getcanopy.com/jason
Gusto: https://gusto.com/
Kick: https://www.kick.co/
Stanford Tax: https://stanfordtax.com/
Tax Bandits: https://www.taxbandits.com/
Cloud Accountant Staffing: https://www.cloudaccountantstaffing.com/

🗣️ Continue the discussion on social!
X https://x.com/jasononfirms
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jstaats/
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@jasoncpa

🚀 Get smarter faster by learning with other firm owners: https://www.rlz.io/
📩 Want a simple way to keep up with accounting firms and AI? I break it down every week in my newsletter: https://www.jasononfirms.com/newsletter

📌 Check out the cool stuff our sponsors are doing here: https://accountingfirmcoach.com/sponsors/

Welcome to Accounting Firm Coach Office Hours presented by Canopy. I’m Jason Staats. Ready to get 1% better at running an accounting firm? In this episode, I talk about whether independently owned convenience stores make a profitable accounting niche, share how one firm built a specialized practice serving disaster restoration companies, and tackle the growing frustration of clients using AI to challenge their accountants and attorneys. Plus, in 🤖 You Need This Tech, I share a battery management solution every parent needs, highlight accounting professionals looking for their next opportunity, and answer 📬 Mailbag questions about marketing bookkeeping services, finding and retaining talent, and whether free QuickBooks alternatives are worth considering.

// Chapters:
02:15 - Convenience Store Niche?
15:39 - This Firm Built A Disaster Restoration Niche
19:49 - Normies Vent About AI Being Better Than Professionals
32:18 - You Need This Battery Tech!
37:43 - Folks You Should Hire
39:33 - How to Market Bookkeeping Without Calling It Bookkeeping
43:28 - Finding and Retaining Talent?
48:37 - Free QuickBooks Alternative?
54:27 - We Love Them

📞 Leave me a voicemail at +1 (516) 980-4968!
📧 Email me! [email protected]

📌 A link to Nikole Mackenzie’s niche story https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/messy-middle-what-one-tells-you-niching-nikole-mackenzie-qvcoe/
🔋 Here’s that battery charger you need https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DSL7VZBP?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback

💰 Today's Sponsors
Canopy: https://www.getcanopy.com/jason
Kick: https://www.kick.co/
Stanford Tax: https://stanfordtax.com/
MakersHub: https://makershub.com/
Verito: https://verito.com/jason?utm_campaign=42071442-Jason&utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_content=show-notes
TaxBandits: https://www.taxbandits.com/

🗣️ Continue the discussion on social!
X https://x.com/jasononfirms
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jstaats/
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@jasoncpa

🚀 Get smarter faster by learning with other firm owners: https://www.rlz.io/
📩 Want a simple way to keep up with accounting firms and AI? I break it down every week in my newsletter: https://www.jasononfirms.com/newsletter

📌 Check out the cool stuff our sponsors are doing here: https://accountingfirmcoach.com/sponsors/

Welcome to Accounting Firm Coach Office Hours presented by Canopy. I’m Jason Staats. Ready to get 1% better at running an accounting firm? In this episode, I break down the three biggest priorities accounting firm owners need to tackle before year-end, including tech transitions, hiring, client renewals, and getting ahead of January production. Then, in 🏹 Firm Hunters, we look at a $1.4 million accounting firm with an unbelievable 87% of revenue going to the owner. I also introduce a new segment called 👿 Mean Bag to tackle whether AI is about to get dramatically more expensive, rethink the all-in-one versus best-of-breed software debate in 🤓 Nerd Corner, and answer 📬 Mailbag questions about accounting ledgers, getting clients to sign proposals, AI agents, and keeping client data secure.

// Chapters:
01:32 - Do This By November 1
11:06 - Do This By December 1
20:44 - Do This By January 1
22:49 - This $1.4M/yr Firm Is Running An 87% Margin!?
28:38 - Is AI About To Get Expensive?
34:03 - Is All-in-One A Mirage?
42:38 - Double vs New AI Ledgers
45:38 - Simplify That Proposal!
47:28 - Create An AI Agent User?
49:12 - Claude MAX Plan Made Secure?
52:07 - Lester Returns

📞 Leave me a voicemail at +1 (516) 980-4968!
📧 Email me! [email protected]

📌 Here’s that $1.4M/yr firm https://privatepracticetransitions.com/business-listing/1265-established-cas-practice-with-strong-growth/

💰 Today's Sponsors
Canopy: https://www.getcanopy.com/jason
Gusto: https://gusto.com/
Kick: https://www.kick.co/
Stanford Tax: https://stanfordtax.com/
Realize: https://www.rlz.io/
Cloud Accountant Staffing: https://www.cloudaccountantstaffing.com/

🗣️ Continue the discussion on social!
X https://x.com/jasononfirms
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jstaats/
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@jasoncpa

🚀 Get smarter faster by learning with other firm owners: https://www.rlz.io/
📩 Want a simple way to keep up with accounting firms and AI? I break it down every week in my newsletter: https://www.jasononfirms.com/newsletter

📌 Check out the cool stuff our sponsors are doing here: https://accountingfirmcoach.com/sponsors/

Welcome to Accounting Firm Coach Office Hours presented by Canopy. I’m Jason Staats. Ready to get 1% better at running an accounting firm? In this episode, I explore how to build a niche accounting firm by tapping into industry-specific communities and partnerships. In 🤓 Nerd Corner, I cover eight major tech updates from Canopy, Financial Cents, Digits, Karbon, Gusto, Double, Kik, and RightTool. Then, in the 📬 Mailbag, I tackle delegating more work to admins, construction accounting software, Microsoft Copilot, tax workflow tools, lead tracking, and building a remote accounting firm.

// Chapters:
00:00 - These Industries Need YOU
15:14 - 8 Tech Updates
29:19 - Push This Work to Admins
33:44 - Construction Accounting Software?
36:09 - Microsoft AI Use-Cases
37:59 - Don’t Buy This Tax Workflow Software
42:54 - Lead Tracking App
44:53 - Transitioning A Firm To Remote Work
51:31 - We Love Them

📞 Leave me a voicemail at +1 (516) 980-4968!
📧 Email me! [email protected]

💰 Today's Sponsors
Canopy: https://www.getcanopy.com/jason
TaxBandits: https://www.taxbandits.com/
Stanford Tax: https://stanfordtax.com/
MakersHub: https://makershub.com/
Verito: https://verito.com/jason?utm_campaign=42071442-Jason&utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_content=show-notes
Realize: https://www.rlz.io/

🗣️ Continue the discussion on social!
X https://x.com/jasononfirms
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jstaats/
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@jasoncpa

🚀 Get smarter faster by learning with other firm owners: https://www.rlz.io/
📩 Want a simple way to keep up with accounting firms and AI? I break it down every week in my newsletter: https://www.jasononfirms.com/newsletter

📌 Check out the cool stuff our sponsors are doing here: https://accountingfirmcoach.com/sponsors/

Welcome to Accounting Firm Coach Office Hours presented by Canopy. I’m Jason Staats. Ready to get 1% better at running an accounting firm? In this episode, I break down two surprisingly profitable accounting firms for sale, including one generating over $1.6 million with just two people, and explain why outsourcing and offshoring can create very different business models. In 💾 You Need This Tech, I share a $400 artificial skylight designed to bring natural-looking light into your office. Then, in 🤓 Nerd Corner, I challenge some of the guidance around AI and taxpayer data presented at an IRS National Tax Forum session. Finally, I answer 📬 Mailbag questions about Double as a practice management tool, seller financing when buying a firm, AI for nonprofit accounting, software security, Grok, and why heavily funded tax AI startups aren’t on my app recommendations list.

📌 The skylight https://www.amazon.com/PHILIPS-Skylight-Ceiling-NatureConnect-inches/dp/B0HDTPRNSD?sr=8-1
💲 The tax firm that’s for sale https://privatepracticetransitions.com/business-listing/1262-established-virtual-tax-practice/
🧾 And the CAS firm that sold https://poegroupadvisors.com/practice/cp2024/

// Chapters:
00:00 - A 2-Person $1.6M Firm
11:32 - A 60% Margin CAS Firm
21:52 - You Need This Tech
26:05 - Bad AI Advice From The IRS
36:56 - Double As A PM?
40:04 - Up-Front Cash?
44:16 - AI For Fund Accounting
47:35 - How To Know if an App Is Secure?
49:21 - Firms Using Grok!?
52:53 - BlackOre Basis and Accrual

📞 Leave me a voicemail at +1 (516) 980-4968!
📧 Email me! [email protected]

💰 Today's Sponsors
Canopy: https://www.getcanopy.com/jason
Gusto: https://gusto.com/
Kick: https://www.kick.co/
Stanford Tax: https://stanfordtax.com/
MakersHub: https://makershub.com/
Verito: https://verito.com/jason?utm_campaign=42071442-Jason&utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_content=show-notes

🗣️ Continue the discussion on social!
X https://x.com/jasononfirms
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jstaats/
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@jasoncpa

🚀 Get smarter faster by learning with other firm owners: https://www.rlz.io/
📩 Want a simple way to keep up with accounting firms and AI? I break it down every week in my newsletter: https://www.jasononfirms.com/newsletter

📌 Check out the cool stuff our sponsors are doing here: https://accountingfirmcoach.com/sponsors/

Welcome to Accounting Firm Coach Office Hours presented by Canopy. I’m Jason Staats. Ready to get 1% better at running an accounting firm? In this episode, I break down a new AI accounting study suggesting that leading models can outperform human accountants, and explain what that actually means for our firms. I share why public booking links are a bad idea, explore Claude’s faster AI models and new ChatGPT features, and explain why AI won’t fix bad business decisions. Then I highlight accountants available for hire and answer questions about selling a firm to private equity, why I dropped Xero from my recommendations, and whether standalone receipt management software still makes sense.

📌 Here’s that AI vs accountants study https://www.mercor.com/blog/human-baselines-for-benchmarks-ai-now-outperforms-junior-accountants/

// Chapters:
00:00 - The End Is Near
13:45 - Bad Booking Links
17:35 - This AI Model is FAST
24:20 - Hormozi Pops The Balloon
26:20 - ChatGPT Updates
31:45 - Accountants For Hire
34:25 - Sell His Firm to PE?
42:45 - I Dropped Xero
47:55 - New Receipt Tech?

📞 Leave me a voicemail at +1 (516) 980-4968!
📧 Email me! [email protected]

💰 Today's Sponsors
Canopy: https://www.getcanopy.com/jason
Gusto: https://gusto.com/
Kick: https://www.kick.co/
Stanford Tax: https://stanfordtax.com/
MakersHub: https://makershub.com/
Verito: https://verito.com/jason?utm_campaign=42071442-Jason&utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_content=show-notes

🗣️ Continue the discussion on social!
X https://x.com/jasononfirms
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jstaats/
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@jasoncpa

🚀 Get smarter faster by learning with other firm owners: https://www.rlz.io/
📩 Want a simple way to keep up with accounting firms and AI? I break it down every week in my newsletter: https://www.jasononfirms.com/newsletter
📌 Check out the cool stuff our sponsors are doing here: https://accountingfirmcoach.com/sponsors/

Welcome to Accounting Firm Coach Office Hours presented by Canopy. I’m Jason Staats. Ready to get 1% better at running an accounting firm? In this episode, I break down whether you can build a bookkeeping firm without QuickBooks or Xero, and why specializing around a painful industry-specific accounting system may be a much bigger opportunity than simply choosing a newer ledger. I also look at Meta’s upcoming VR glasses, debate separating technical production from client relationship management, dissect a supposedly self-sufficient $1.2 million accounting firm for sale, empty out September’s Swear Jar, and answer Mailbag questions about sponsorships, advisory positioning, buying versus building a firm, AI-powered email management, and tax research tools.

📌 Here’s that firm we talked about https://poegroupadvisors.com/practice/va2036/

// Chapters:
01:54 - Building a Bookkeeping Firm Without QuickBooks or Xero
11:20 - The Industry Ledger Opportunity
17:05 - Meta VR Glasses: Goodbye, Monitors?
23:25 - Technical Hire or Relationship Manager?
26:49 - Planning for When Someone Leaves
31:58 - A CPA Firm Run in 30 Owner Hours a Year
33:46 - What You're Really Buying
38:05 - The September Swear Jar
42:41 - How Sponsors Work at Accounting Firm Coach
45:01 - What's Wrong With the Word "Advisor"
48:07 - Buy a Firm or Grow Organically?
50:55 - Admin vs AI for Email Management
57:00 - CoCounsel vs. Claude, ChatGPT or Blue J

📞 Leave me a voicemail at +1 (516) 980-4968!
📧 Email me! [email protected]

💰 Today's Sponsors
Canopy: https://www.getcanopy.com/jason
Gusto: https://gusto.com/
Kick: https://www.kick.co/
Stanford Tax: https://stanfordtax.com/
MakersHub: https://makershub.com/
Verito: https://verito.com/jason?utm_campaign=42071442-Jason&utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_content=show-notes

🗣️ Continue the discussion on social!
X https://x.com/jasononfirms
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jstaats/
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@jasoncpa

🚀 Get smarter faster by learning with other firm owners: https://www.rlz.io/
📩 Want a simple way to keep up with accounting firms and AI? I break it down every week in my newsletter: https://www.jasononfirms.com/newsletter
📌 Check out the cool stuff our sponsors are doing here: https://accountingfirmcoach.com/sponsors/

Welcome to Accounting Firm Coach Office Hours presented by Canopy. I’m Jason Staats. Ready to get 1% better at running an accounting firm? In this episode, I break down how I’d approach a potential $540,000 client opportunity without simply discounting services, share a three-step system for eliminating reactive client status check-ins, and look at the latest AI models from Claude and ChatGPT for accounting firm work. Then I hit the 📫 Mailbag to talk three-tier pricing, niche positioning, getting an overwhelmed firm back under control, connecting Claude across multiple QuickBooks clients, AI security, and work-paper management.

// Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
01:04 - A $540K Opportunity
11:20 - A $243M Opportunity
18:58 - A System for Client Updates
27:06 - The Worst Thing A Client Can Feel
29:16 - A New AI Model in Claude
35:16 - New Models in ChatGPT
38:43 - 3-Tier Fails
41:43 - Fully-Automated Micro Bookkeeping
44:29 - What To Do When You Don’t Know What To Do
47:23 - Connecting Claude to Multiple QuickBooks Files
50:41 - Struggling To Capitalize On AI
53:16 - Workpaper Management for Small Firms
54:54 - Closing Thoughts

📞 Leave me a voicemail at +1 (516) 980-4968!
📧 Email me! [email protected]

💰 Today's Sponsors
Canopy: https://www.getcanopy.com/jason
Gusto: https://gusto.com/
Kick: https://www.kick.co/
Stanford Tax: https://stanfordtax.com/
MakersHub: https://makershub.com/
Verito: https://verito.com/jason?utm_campaign=42071442-Jason&utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_content=show-notes

🗣️ Continue the discussion on social!
X https://x.com/jasononfirms
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jstaats/
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@jasoncpa

🚀 Get smarter faster by learning with other firm owners: https://www.rlz.io/
📩 Want a simple way to keep up with accounting firm and AI? I break it down every week in my newsletter: https://www.jasononfirms.com/newsletter

☎️ Leave me a voicemail at (1)516-980-4968!
📧 Email me! [email protected]

In this episode, I break down why the latest generation of AI models should force accounting firms to rethink how work actually gets done, from bookkeeping and tax prep to review, staffing, and firm structure. I explain why the biggest limitation is no longer the AI itself, but workflows that were never designed for AI, and how firms can rebuild production around more structured, reviewable systems. I also run through 10 recent accounting tech updates in 🤓 Nerd Corner, answer 📫 Mailbag questions about app recommendations, AR services, Juno, document management, Power Automate, and Claude plus Beancount, and share the upcoming rebrand from Jason On Firms to Accounting Firm Coach.

⚒️ Tools I mentioned in the podcast:
- Filed open sources their 1040 engine https://www.filed.com/blog/we-open-sourced-our-tax-engine
- Ramp launches accounts receivable https://ramp.com/blog/introducing-accounts-receivable
- Campfire forecast https://www.linkedin.com/posts/johnglasgow_campfire-is-the-first-erp-that-calls-the-activity-7507836212796227584-MPz-
- Accrual Arc https://accrual.com/arc
- Canopy + Juno integration https://juno.tax/integrations/canopy
- QuickBooks updates https://www.firmofthefuture.com/product-update/september-2026-mpu
- Double lower-cost AI model https://doublehq.com/
- Digits’ 11 new automated quality-control checks https://digits.com/blog/quality-checks/
- Financial Cents AI file routing https://financial-cents.canny.io/changelog/ai-file-routing
- RightTool right-click QBO navigation https://righttool.app/release-notes/

💰 Today's Sponsors
Verito: https://verito.com/jason?utm_campaign=42071442-Jason&utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_content=show-notes
Soraban: https://hubs.ly/Q04cNLF80
MakersHub: https://makershub.com/get-started?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=jasonstaats
Canopy: https://www.getcanopy.com/jason complete your demo for a $75 gift card

// Chapters:
00:00 - AI Changes the Workflow
04:30 - Building From Scratch
06:40 - AI at Any Scale
06:50 - Claude + QuickBooks
10:25 - Automating Tax Prep
12:05 - The Workflow Problem
13:30 - AI-Compatible Workflows
18:35 - Rebuilding Production
20:15 - Excel 1040
21:25 - Accounting AI Agents
24:40 - Solo + AI Firms
27:15 - The First Human Hires
30:15 - Rethinking Firm Structure
35:10 - Work Worth Doing
38:35 - Building AI Skills
40:03 - 🤓 Nerd Corner
40:13 - Filed Open-Source Tax Engine
41:24 - Ramp Accounts Receivable
41:49 - Campfire Forecasting
42:19 - Accrual ARC
42:39 - Canopy + Juno
42:49 - QuickBooks Updates
45:04 - Double AI Costs
45:39 - Digits Quality Control
46:14 - Financial Cents File Sorting
46:49 - RightTool Updates
48:03 - 📫 Mailbag
48:13 - Apps by Firm Size
52:58 - Managing Client AR
56:23 - Juno for Tax Intake
58:28 - Replacing FileCabinet
01:00:48 - Microsoft Power Automate
01:02:18 - Claude + Beancount
01:03:53 - Accounting Firm Coach
01:05:03 - The Podcast Is Changing

🗣️ Continue the discussion on social!
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LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jstaats/
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@jasoncpa

🚀 Get smarter faster by learning with other firm owners: https://www.rlz.io/
📩 Want a simple way to keep up with accounting firm and AI? I break it down every week in my newsletter: https://www.jasononfirms.com/newsletter

☎️ Leave me a voicemail at (1)516-980-4968!
📧 Email me! [email protected]

In this episode, I break down eight different types of hires accounting firm owners can make, ranking them based on how effectively they give the owner time back and reduce bottlenecks. In 🤖 You Need This Tech, I share a simple hydration tool that can help you stay focused and productive throughout the day. Then I answer 📫 Mailbag questions about securely redacting PII, the future of my live events, buying your first accounting firm, audit tech stacks, contract review work for other firms, and whether I might eventually get involved in accounting firm M&A or rollups.

💧The Autonomous Hydrate https://www.autonomous.ai/robots/hydrate

💰 Today's Sponsors
Verito: https://verito.com/jason?utm_campaign=42071442-Jason&utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_content=show-notes
Soraban: https://hubs.ly/Q04cNLF80
MakersHub: https://makershub.com/get-started?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=jasonstaats
Canopy: https://www.getcanopy.com/jason complete your demo for a $75 gift card

// Chapters:
00:00 - Hiring Backwards
03:45 - Eight Hiring Paths
04:25 - Production Capacity
06:40 - The Growth Hire
08:00 - Specialist Expertise
09:50 - Operations Hire
14:50 - Client Experience
17:40 - Tech + Automation
20:35 - Your Future Successor
22:50 - Administrative Support
25:00 - Best Hiring Options
26:10 - 🤖 You Need This Tech
27:25 - Autonomous Hydrate
31:00 - Four Available Accountants
33:45 - 📫 Mailbag
34:05 - Redacting Client PII
38:15 - Future Live Events
40:25 - Buying Your First Firm
45:35 - Audit Tech Stacks
48:05 - Contract Work for Firms
50:25 - JasonOnFirms M&A?
53:00 - Building a Firm Network
54:30 - Could It Become a Rollup?
56:00 - Closing Thoughts

🗣️ Continue the discussion on social!
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LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jstaats/
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@jasoncpa