3 Strategies for Running a Well-Oiled Accounting Firm

There’s no shortage of advice on how to grow an accounting firm, but very few leaders break it down like Jason Blumer. Drawing from decades of experience running his own firm and advising others through his community, Thriveal, Jason’s frameworks are clear, actionable, and grounded in what actually works for service-based businesses.

Here are the three foundational strategies he teaches for running a more efficient, scalable, profitable accounting firm.

#1 The Dichotomy Between Service and Operations

Most firms are built by technical founders who start out doing the work (like preparing tax returns or managing client accounts), then slowly transition into firm ownership.

But here’s the catch: most firm owners never stop operating like technicians. They stay deeply embedded in service delivery and neglect the systems required to actually run the business.

Jason calls this the “dichotomy between service and operations" because there's a healthy pull between these two parts of running a firm. It helps you remember that to deliver great technical services, you also have to run your business well.

Here’s what it looks like in practice:

• Service roles are your technical staff doing the work that brings in revenue
• Operations roles (which Jason calls “movement roles”) are the people and processes that move work through the firm, like client onboarding, billing, contract management, internal workflows, and tool administration

Too often, firms try to grow by hiring more accountants. But that only increases service load without solving the underlying workflow issues. This leads to burnout, disorganization, poor client experience, and stalled growth.

Instead, Jason recommends building out your operations team early - as early as your third or fourth hire. That way, your technical team can focus on what they do best, and your firm has the infrastructure to scale.

#2 Cash is King, Even for Firms.

Accountants spend a lot of time advising clients on healthy cash flow management. But many firms don’t apply those same principles internally.

According to Jason, the traditional model of billing by the hour and waiting 30-60 days to get paid is not just outdated, it’s a cash flow liability. You’ve already paid your team to do the work. Why wait to collect?

This disconnect between how we advise our clients and how we run our own firms creates unnecessary stress, weakens margins, and limits our ability to invest in growth. If we expect clients to treat cash like a priority, we need to model that behavior ourselves.

Many of the firms Jason consults with take out all their cash as pay for the partners, leaving little to reinvest in the team, technology, or long-term growth. But that’s not how firms scale. A healthy business pays appropriate salaries, sets aside reserves for growth, and invests in its future. Cash is the lifeblood of the firm, and it has to be protected, saved, and managed wisely.

4 ways firms can enhance cash flow:

1. Start with methodical onboarding: Requiring a client to go through a structured onboarding process gives you the ability to shape the relationship from the very beginning. It sets expectations, introduces your systems, and builds trust by showing that your firm operates with intention and clarity.

2. Agree to a price upfront: Use value-based pricing to eliminate billing surprises and align expectations. When clients know the cost before work begins, it becomes easy to collect payment upfront and fund your growth.

3. Lock in a long-term commitment: Ask clients to sign a 12–18 month agreement. This enhances stickiness and allows you to price on a cadence (like weekly or monthly).

4. Make monthly drafting non-negotiable: Once the client has been onboarded, priced, and contracted, monthly drafting becomes a natural next step. You’ve already established the rhythm; now you’re simply reinforcing it by automating how and when you get paid.

And one more thing: as firm owners, you’re responsible for managing your own bookkeeping, cash flow reporting, and financials every single month. If your own accounting is behind, you’re failing to model the behaviors you expect from your clients. And let’s be honest, it’s stressful.

#3 The Value of Knowledge Capture

Your firm’s value is tied directly to your knowledge. As Jason shares, it’s the only ‘widget’ you have to sell: your insights, your team’s expertise, and the systems that turn information into action. Which means how you manage knowledge capture in your firm is key.

But what is knowledge capture? It’s the processes, systems, software, and team structure that allows you to take in knowledge from clients, turn that knowledge into value, then deliver that knowledge for a price.

5 Ways to Capture and Protect Your Firm’s Knowledge:

1. Use a centralized system like Canopy: Keep tasks, documents, client communication, and deliverables in one place. Don’t rely on inboxes, spreadsheets, or memory.

2. Assign a “Champion”: Designate someone to own your accounting workflow software. This person ensures your tools stay clean, current, and aligned to your firm’s needs, especially as you scale.

3. Assign a note taker: Meetings are often where knowledge is captured or delivered. Assign someone to be present, so you walk away with clear next steps and clients feel supported.

4. Set up recurring meetings: Weekly, monthly, or quarterly check-ins are where consistent knowledge capture happens. Clients will appreciate the rhythm, and it’s a simple way to reinforce your value.

5. Leverage AI: Many firms are already using AI to summarize meetings, capture tasks, and extract next steps. Just be mindful of privacy and opt clients in when appropriate.

These ideas might seem obvious, but they’re essential to protect the very thing you’re selling every day, your knowledge. And that’s why you price upfront - because when you lead with clarity and structure, you ensure your team isn’t giving away their expertise for free.

Building Your Well-Oiled Machine

We’ve covered some big shifts that can fundamentally change how your firm operates. You won’t implement them all overnight - but take it one step at a time and watch your firm go from overwhelmed and reactive to running like a well-oiled machine.

Ready to see how Canopy can help turn your firm into a well-oiled machine?