Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services counted 48 employer establishments in Sullivan County, TN in 2023, and architectural and engineering services 33 (County Business Patterns). Keelport Capital in Kingsport, Tennessee passes professional office funding requests to partners. This page covers buying a practice, engineering firm lines of credit and office equipment.
At a glance
- Accounting and bookkeeping employers, Sullivan County, TN
48 (CBP 2023, NAICS 5412)
- Architecture and engineering employers, Sullivan County, TN
33 (CBP 2023, NAICS 5413)
- Accounting businesses without paid employees
130 (NES 2024, NAICS 5412)
Questions to Ask When Buying an Accounting Practice in Sullivan County, TN Before an LOI
- How much of the revenue comes from the selling owner's personal relationships?
- What share of clients stayed through the last ownership change, if there was one?
- How concentrated is revenue among the largest clients?
- Will the seller stay on for a transition period, and on what terms?
- What is the split between tax, bookkeeping, payroll and advisory work?
A partner financing the purchase asks the same questions, because the answers decide how much of the price the business can carry.
Ask for client-level billing for at least three years, not only the totals. A book where the ten largest clients bring in a large share of fees is riskier than one spread across many small returns, and a book heavy on one-time projects is harder to keep than recurring monthly bookkeeping. Both points change the price a buyer should pay and the amount a partner will lend.
How to Buy a CPA Practice in Kingsport, TN: Price, Retention, Payment
CPA practices change hands on a price tied to revenue, adjusted for how much of it the buyer keeps. Some deals pay part of the price over time based on retained revenue, which shifts risk back to the seller. A partner sizes the loan on the practice's cash flow after the buyer's own salary, and reads the seller's returns and client billing reports.
How to Buy an Accounting Firm: Steps for a Kingsport, TN Buyer
- Settle the price and deal terms with the seller in a letter of intent.
- Get three years of the practice's returns and billing by client.
- Plan the transition: client letters, the seller's role, employee retention.
- Call (423) 418-6720 or send the request form with the price, down payment and any seller note.
- Read each offer for payment, security and what happens if revenue falls.
Invented figures, for illustration only: a buyer pays $300,000 for a book with $300,000 in annual billings, puts $45,000 down and finances $255,000 over 84 months at an annual rate of 10%; the payment is about $4,233.30 a month (our arithmetic).
Engineering Firm Line of Credit Requirements Near Kingsport, TN
Engineering and architecture firms bill on project milestones and can wait on clients to approve invoices. A line of credit covers payroll and subconsultant costs during that wait. Partners read work in progress, unbilled hours, accounts receivable aging and the firm's backlog of signed contracts.
Keep the backlog list current: client, project, contract value, billed to date and expected billing by month. It is the strongest document an engineering firm can bring.
Software, Furniture and Workstations for a Kingsport, TN Tax Office
Workstations, servers, tax and accounting software, scanners, secure storage and office furniture can be financed as equipment, though software and furniture hold little resale value. Invented figures, for illustration only: a firm outfitting four new desks at $28,000 in all might finance the hardware and pay for licenses from operating cash.
Equipment financing explains which items partners take as collateral.
Accounting and Engineering Offices in Sullivan County, TN by the Census Count
County Business Patterns counted 48 accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll employers in Sullivan County, TN in 2023 with 268 employees; 32 had fewer than five employees and 10 had a ZIP 37660 address. Architectural, engineering and related services counted 33 employers with 247 employees and $36 million in payroll; 13 had a ZIP 37660 address.
The professional, scientific and technical services sector as a whole counted 240 employer establishments in the county. Nonemployer Statistics, a separate program, counted 130 accounting businesses and 89 architecture and engineering businesses without paid employees in 2024.
A Book-of-Business Purchase, on Paper
Invented figures, for illustration only: the buyer above keeps 85% of the $300,000 in billings, $255,000 in the first year (our arithmetic). The partner tests the loan payment against that retained revenue, not the full book, and asks how the buyer would cover the payment if retention came in lower.
Business term loans explain seller notes and down payments in acquisitions.
By Keelport Capital · Updated