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Buy vs Build for Accounting Firm Software in the AI Era

Logan Graf and AJ Zepeda discuss whether accounting firms should buy or build software as AI tools proliferate, noting that post–tax season is a common time for firm owners to reassess their tech. They describe being inundated with AI outreach and argue that personal, non-automated communication can stand out. They suggest firms use AI first for marketing and content creation (visuals, social posts, meeting-note-derived ideas) rather than trying to force AI into core tax workflows. On build vs buy, they caution that building client-facing, document-handling systems creates security, compliance, support, and maintenance burdens, and is usually only feasible for those with engineering backgrounds; they prefer buying integrated tools like Karbon and Ping. Logan shares a limited “build” example using Airtable for lightweight project tracking and considers building an internal reporting workflow to avoid per-client software costs. They expect major accounting platforms to converge in features, emphasize documenting processes before automation, and preview attending Intuit Connect and recording an in-person episode 10.

00:00 Welcome and Topic Setup
00:50 Post Tax Season Reset
01:44 AI Spam and Outreach
03:51 Personal Beats Automation
06:25 AI for Content Creation
10:36 Web Design in the AI Era
12:13 Build Versus Buy Framework
15:35 When Building Makes Sense
17:51 AI Consultants and Process First
24:23 All Apps Converging
27:04 Unified Dashboard Dream
29:38 Intuit Connect and Wrap Up

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Partnership Pros and Cons: Taking Time Off, Decision-Making, and Building the Right Firm Structure

In episode eight of the Own Your Firm podcast, Logan and AJ discuss running a firm solo versus with partners, starting with AJ’s two-week trip to Greece for the Feast of Tabernacles and how he prepared by front-loading work, notifying clients, assigning projects to team members and partners, and scheduling media in advance. AJ explains how having a team and two partners made the break possible compared to being solo, though returning meant catching up on emails and meetings. They touch on industry chatter about whether billable hours are going away, AI claims that accountants are “cooked,” and Logan’s upgraded microphone setup. The main conversation covers Maverick’s origin as a three-owner partnership, how they divide responsibilities, make decisions, and split profits, along with challenges like alignment, accountability, and slower decision-making. Logan shares solo pros and cons, including autonomy but having to handle sales, operations, and delivery alone.

00:00 Welcome And Catch Up
01:00 Prepping For Two Weeks Away
02:02 Greece Trip And Holy Days
03:01 Working Less While Traveling
05:39 Team Coverage While Away
06:49 Planning Your Own Sabbatical
07:52 Spicy LinkedIn And AI Talk
10:59 Desk Setup And New Mic
12:29 Solo Versus Partners Intro
14:18 How Maverick Partnership Formed
16:26 Partner Roles and Rhythm
16:55 Choosing Complementary Partners
17:32 Accountability and Workload Balance
20:23 Decision Making Tradeoffs
20:45 Office Upgrade and Focus
21:49 Home Distractions and Studio Dreams
24:26 Solo Practice Pros and Cons
27:11 Balancing Content and Firm Work
31:20 Profit Sharing and Entity Setup
34:33 Cost Sharing and Alternative Models
37:10 Wrap Up and Listener Q&A

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Solo vs Scalable: Hiring, AI Bookkeeping, and Building a Firm That Runs Without You

In episode six of the Own Your Firm podcast, hosts AJ and Logan Graff compare running an accounting firm as a solo operator versus building a scalable business with employees, partners, systems, and processes. They discuss recent AI bookkeeping developments, including Mercury launching Mercury Books and Accrual acquiring Puzzle’s ledger and close technology, and predict more banks and niche SaaS platforms will bundle bookkeeping/ledger tools, creating a messier tool landscape that forces accountants to level up. Logan shares how burnout in 2022–2023 pushed him to hire, noting AI and tools like SurePrep reduce data entry but still can’t replace humans for complex prep and client follow-ups. AJ explains Maverick’s growth mindset, low firm sale multiples (about 1.14x revenue), and why hiring, starting with contractors, can improve quality of life, enable sales/networking, and support passion projects like content and podcasts.

00:00 Welcome and Topic Setup
 00:43 Mercury Books AI Ledger
 02:26 Relay Banking and Invoicing
 03:58 Puzzle Acquisition Debate
 06:54 Banks and POS Ledgers Future
 08:36 Niche SaaS Bookkeeping Wave
 10:13 Solo vs Team Mindset Shift
 11:28 Logan Burnout and Hiring Trigger
 13:39 AI Prep vs Human Workflow
 17:47 AJ Scaling Maverick and Energy
 22:05 When to Hire Financially
 25:33 Quality of Life and Passion Projects
 30:48 Employees as Long Term Assets
 32:37 Wrap Up and Listener Q&A

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Episode 6: Firm Acquisition News and How to Price One-Time Consult Calls

In episode six, the hosts note an upgrade to AJ’s microphone and discuss launching the podcast on YouTube, early download/view metrics, and a weekly release plan. They cover an industry update: Brandon Hall’s acquisition of Tooth and Coin, a dental-focused accounting firm where one host previously worked, describing it as a 2,000-client firm acquiring a roughly 400-client firm and discussing Tooth and Coin’s long-standing online presence and growth opportunities post-acquisition. The main topic is how to price one-time consultation calls, using a community question about a $250 one-hour consult that required prep time; the hosts argue for charging more or using a short discovery/scoping call that leads to a fixed-fee proposal or monthly engagement credit, emphasizing value-based pricing, factoring prep time and risk, avoiding underpricing one-off projects, using standard pricing, and “pricing the client, not the project.”

00:00 Episode Intro and Mic Upgrade
01:28 Gear Investments and Setup
02:25 Industry News Tooth and Coin Acquisition
04:13 Growth Strategy and Online Presence
07:24 Random Thing and Audience Metrics
10:18 YouTube Launch and Posting Schedule
11:21 Pricing One Time Consult Calls
16:48 Value Based Pricing and Upsells
21:59 Standard Pricing and Pricing the Client
27:15 Wrap Up and Counter Community Plug

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Logan Graf and AJ Zepeda kick things off with their latest random finds — a camera robot that follows you around and a metal smart business card — before diving into the main topic: Logan's viral LinkedIn post about losing an $8,000 accounting engagement because a prospect wanted to use AI to do their own bookkeeping cleanup. They break down the proposal details, why the cleanup wasn't optional, how AI is changing client confidence and expectations, and what it means for firm owners navigating the new landscape of AI-assisted accounting.

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How Much Should Your Accounting Firm Make? Hitting $200K–$250K Take-Home

Logan and AJ discuss money goals for accounting firm owners on the Own Your Firm podcast, starting with their early-career earnings. They note entry-level public accounting pay has risen to roughly $75K–$84K. AJ’s target is $250K personal income for retirement contributions, lower stress, travel, and increased giving, and he estimates their three-partner firm needs about $2M in annual revenue to support $200K–$300K each. Logan’s target is similarly $200K–$250K net; he describes previously netting about $200K on roughly $280K gross with heavy workload, and estimates $350K gross could net $200K with a manager. They compare budgeting, insurance and car costs, and outline growth plans focused on staying lean, improving sales, and reducing day-to-day workload.

00:00 Money Talk Kickoff
01:21 First Paychecks Revealed
04:02 Entry Level Salaries Today
05:47 Income Goals for Firm Owners
11:43 What It Takes to Net 250K
12:32 Keeping the Firm Lean
12:54 AI Tools and Subscriptions
14:20 AI Thumbnails and LinkedIn Flags
16:27 Why 250K Means Freedom
17:55 Giving Goals and Autopilot Money
18:50 Timeline to 250K and Cutting Consulting
20:02 Cars and Lifestyle Boundaries
20:41 Host Shares His 200–250K Target
24:12 Retirement vs Taxable Investing Debate
25:01 Family Priorities and Catching Up
27:38 Budgeting Reality Check
30:37 What It Takes to Net 200K
33:01 How to Scale to 250K Net
34:25 Client Math and Pricing Strategy
35:05 Wrap Up and Listener Q&A

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Logan Graff’s Origin Story: From UIL Accounting to Launching a Virtual Tax Firm

Logan Graff and AJ Zepeda introduce an episode of the Own Your Firm podcast focused on Logan, briefly discuss possibly attending QuickBooks Connect, and joke about doing a live podcast from the beach. Logan shares personal background (living in Austin, married 12 years, three daughters), interests (a 1965 Mustang project, fitness, hiking, mountain biking, making pizza), and that his faith in Christ is central to his life, noting it influenced AJ to speak about it online. Logan explains how he became an accountant through high school accounting classes and UIL competitions, then an internship at Padgett Stradoman (later merged with RSM), and being rejected by Big Four. After being terminated from Padgett, he moved to smaller firms, pursued a partner path, became a tax director at a tiny firm, and ultimately launched his own firm in 2020 by purchasing about 60 clients and starting with roughly 90–100 during COVID. He describes early challenges (income stability, taking the wrong work), later focusing on pricing and client fit, and his current setup: about 130 clients, $250k–$300k revenue, a remote CPA manager, and splitting time across firm, community, and content. His advice to day-one Logan is to worry less, take the right clients, and raise rates faster.

00:00 Welcome Back and AJ Shoutout
00:42 QuickBooks Connect and Beach Plans
01:28 Meet Logan Graff
03:02 Hobbies Fitness and Pizza
05:04 Faith and Speaking Up
06:01 Origin Story Becoming an Accountant
08:48 Early Career Internships and Big Four
11:08 Fired Then Finding the Ownership Path
14:57 Launching the Firm During COVID
17:59 Early Struggles Pricing and Survival Mode
20:07 Graff Tax Co Today Team Clients Revenue
21:37 Advice to Day One Logan and Wrap Up

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AJ Zepeda and Logan Graf introduce the new Own Your Firm podcast and begin by sharing AJ’s background. AJ describes himself as a quirky, tattooed accountant, a father of three, churchgoer, HYROX athlete, and Rivian owner. He explains his firm today: a tech-forward, client-focused practice with seven employees, three partners (including a tax partner), about $500K in annual sales, and a mostly virtual setup with an office in Tyler, Texas. AJ recounts stumbling into accounting after leaving electrical engineering, becoming an accounting manager right after college, and learning management through early mistakes. He later worked at Kruze, Acuity (running a crypto practice), and served as COO at Tooth and Coin (dental niche) before launching his current firm with partners, merging books of business and teams. He discusses lessons on pricing, firing clients sooner, month-end close by the 15th, and plans to target construction clients in East Texas.

00:00 Podcast Kickoff
 00:46 Meet The Hosts
 01:30 AJ Personal Intro
 02:32 Fitness And Rivian
 04:18 Firm Snapshot Today
 05:57 Becoming An Accountant
 08:24 Early Career Leadership
 11:55 Burnout And Startup Shift
 14:59 Path To Firm Ownership
 17:44 Launching With Partners
 20:45 Lessons And Daily Rhythm
 23:31 Owning The Firm
 24:08 Next Six Months Goals
 24:44 Wrap Up And Mustaches

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Own Your Firm: Why We’re Starting This Podcast and What to Expect

AJ and Logan announce their new podcast, “Own Your Firm,” created as scheduled “bro time” and a space to discuss how firm owners can build businesses that don’t lead to burnout. They explain the title’s inspiration and aim to help accountants become better business owners, noting industry trends like consolidation, acquisitions, and AI. Planned topics include running firms effectively, bridging CAS and tax perspectives, light current events, listener questions, and pulling discussions from Logan’s accounting firm owner community, Counter, plus possible product/tech reviews and a “random” segment. They share brief personal backgrounds: both are Christian dads with three kids; AJ (32) worked at small and large firms, including niche dental accounting, now owns a firm with partners and does consulting; Logan (35) runs The Graff Tax Co. (founded 2020), creates content, and built Counter to about 280 members.

00:00 Podcast Kickoff

00:49 Why Own Your Firm

02:12 Firms That Dont Own You

04:11 Planned Segments And Reviews

08:27 From Job To Business Owner

12:15 Meet AJ Background Story

16:53 Meet Logan Counter And Firm

19:17 Future Ideas And Wrap Up