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CanadaA CPA Firm Was Spending 40% More Than It Needed on Bookkeeping. Here's What Fixed It.
CPA Firm Profile
A CPA firm on the East Coast with 6 staff and 80+ small business clients. Bookkeeping was handled entirely in-house, alongside tax and payroll services.
- › High turnover meant rehiring and retraining every 12–18 months
- › Junior staff often needed 3–4 months of training before working independently
- › Office space and equipment costs added to the overall bill, even with hybrid work
Challenges Faced By the CPA Firm
- Spending roughly $28,000 a month on in-house bookkeeping staff and overhead
- Two bookkeepers earning $60K+ salaries, plus benefits, software, and training costs
- High turnover meant rehiring and retraining every 12–18 months
- Junior staff often needed 3–4 months of training before working independently
- Office space and equipment costs added to the overall bill, even with hybrid work
- The firm wasn't inefficient; they were simply paying full-time, in-house rates for work that didn't need to be done that way.
How We Solved the Cost Issue
What Was Actually Driving the Cost: Fixed salaries and overhead, regardless of monthly workload. Turnover costs, since every departure meant restarting training from scratch. No flexibility to scale up or down with client volume. Benefits, payroll taxes, and software licenses stacked on top of base salaries.
- Moved bookkeeping to a dedicated outsourced team, sized to actual monthly workload
- Removed the need for two full-time in-house salaries and associated benefits
- Standardised processes so the transition required no retraining if staff changed on our end
- Kept oversight in-house, with the firm's partners reviewing final numbers only
At a Glance: 41% Cost Cut | $138K Saved Annually | 0 Turnover Cycles
$336K → $198K in annual bookkeeping spend
No more rehiring or retraining every 12–18 months
Partner time redirected from staff management to client work
Monthly cost reduced from $28,000 to $16,500 with zero turnover cycles.
Why It Worked
The savings didn't come from cutting corners — they came from removing costs that didn't need to exist in the first place: turnover, training cycles, and fixed overhead for variable workload. The firm kept the same quality of work, just without carrying the fixed costs of an in-house team.
The Data: Before and After
| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly bookkeeping cost | $28,000 | $16,500 |
| Annual cost | $336,000 | $198,000 |
| Staff turnover impact | Re-hire every 12–18 months | None (fixed team) |
| Training time per new hire | 3–4 months | Not applicable |
| Partner time spent managing bookkeeping staff | 15 hrs/month | ~2 hrs/month |
How Long It Took to Change the Scenario
Reviewed existing costs and workload, scoped the outsourced model
Transitioned client accounts in batches, in-house staff phased out
Full transition complete, new monthly cost in effect
Costs held steady at the reduced rate, no hiring or retraining needed
Still Paying Full-Time Rates for Bookkeeping?
If salaries, turnover, and training costs are quietly eating into your margins, there's a proven way to cut those costs without cutting quality — see how much your firm could save. To learn more about our Bookkeeping Services, schedule a free meeting with us!