The FirmLever Weekly Roundup: Issue #47
We hit $292M this week...
Tax Season Didn't Slow Us Down. It Proved the Point.
Last week I told you I had a major announcement coming. I do — and I'm going to get to it.
Warning: this is a LONG one and if you just want the TL;DR, sorry this one is worth it. Grab that Americano.
But first, let's talk about what just happened.
Because what happened this week — during the single busiest stretch of the year for every accountant reading this — is the clearest signal I've seen that this thing is working.
This Week's Numbers
113 new accounting firms joined the network this week. That's not a typo.
Some quick stats:
Last Week:
This Week:
Almost half of our entire membership base signed up in the seven days before tax deadline. You're all drowning in 1040s and extensions, and you still showed up.
Thank you for believing in what we're building and I'm grateful that you're here to change the industry with us. We're just getting started!
This is where it gets interesting.
The micro M&A marketplace — individual client blocks, not whole-firm acquisitions — is heating up fast:
- 28 new firm-to-firm connections formed this week
- Invite conversions up 55% week-over-week — members are bringing in colleagues
- 306 feed interactions — interests and passes. Members aren't just browsing, they're actively curating.
- Referrals doubled week-over-week
And this is during tax season. Imagine what happens after April 15.
FirmLever Micro M&A Spotlight: Deals & Listings This Week
- A bookkeeping firm in North Carolina · Client Block for Sale
$30,000/yr · 20 Bookkeeping Clients · 19 firms interested
20 bookkeeping clients available as a single block. Within a week, 19 firms expressed interest — the highest demand on a single listing to date.
- An advisory firm in South Florida · Client Available
$200,000 · PE Fund Client · 5 firms interested
PE fund client invested in alt credits — needs fund admin, portfolio management software, and bank/workflow automation. Found five qualified firms in days.
- A tax firm in Georgia · Client Block for Sale
$12,000/yr · 20 Tax Compliance Clients · 5 firms interested
20 tax compliance clients listed as a block — the kind of micro M&A deal that doesn't exist on the traditional broker market. Five firms moved on it within the first week.
- A firm in Florida · Client Available
$3,500 · International Tax · 4 firms interested
U.S.–Australia cross-border complexity: Australian unit trust, super fund, and missing FBAR/8938 filings. Too specialized for the listing firm — perfect for someone with international tax experience.
Over 20% of our user base has asked whether FirmLever will open up for entire firm M&A — rollups, tuck-ins, platform builds.
Short answer: it's coming. Not yet, but it's on the roadmap.
Here's why we're being deliberate about it. The micro M&A layer — client blocks, referral corridors, individual engagements — is the foundation. It's where trust gets built, where reputation scores accumulate, where you prove you can actually absorb and serve clients before you try to absorb an entire firm.
Unless you're IPA 500, every firm doing a tuck-in should have a track record of successful client transitions first. That's what FirmLever gives you.
When we do open the full-firm layer, it won't look like what's out there now.No 10% broker commissions. No six-month exclusive listings that go nowhere. We're building something different — and the data we're accumulating on firm specialization, capacity, and referral behavior is what makes it possible.
If you're actively thinking about a full-firm acquisition or exit in the next 12–18 months, I want to hear from you. Not to sell you anything — to make sure what we build actually fits. Reply to this email with your situation and I'll respond personally.
The Scarcity Signal
Since we soft-launched the Firmlever Network less than 3 weeks ago we've been shipping enhancements daily. (I want to apologize for a couple technical hiccups we've had). Due to the growth rate and activity I needed to make the hard choice to slow down the waitlist admittance.
Of the 480 firms who have applied, 251 have been admitted so the waitlist is now 229 firms long.
The hack is if you know anyone who has been admitted, you get to skip the line if they invite you via their personal invite link. Hint: It may or may not be one of these 200 firm runners.
How It Works
Every member who joins FirmLever Network sets two things on Day 1: what services they offer and what services they refer out. These are almost never the same: 97% of our members have distinct profiles.
The algorithm matches you not with firms that do what you do, but with firms that do what you don't.
When a fractional CFO posts that they need tax clients referred, the platform surfaces it to CPAs — not other CFOs. When a CPA or tax pro posts looking for bookkeeping work, bookkeepers see it.
The matching is asymmetric by design.
And if you're a full-service firm? This is micro M&A: you're not buying or selling an entire practice. You're listing 5, 10, or 20+ clients you've outgrown and letting the network find the right buyer based on what they actually specialize in.
Some interesting "gaps" are starting to emerge:
The Biggest Referral Corridors
Where the Gaps Are
The demand-to-supply ratio shows where the network is underserved. If you specialize in any of these — or know someone who does — the opportunity is wide open.
- Audit & Assurance — 7:1 ratio. 132 firms need an audit partner. Only 19 auditors in the network.
- Estate Planning — 5:1 ratio. 123 firms need an estate partner. Only 23 here.
- Wealth / Financial Planning — 4:1 ratio. 122 firms need a wealth partner. 33 available.
- Business Valuation — 3:1 ratio. 113 firms need a valuation partner. 33 available.
If you're an auditor reading this — you have 132 potential referral relationships waiting the day you join. How many conferences or networking events does that equal to?
Which brings me to the big announcement...
The Big Announcement: RIA & Wealth Partners Are Now Live 🎉
122 accounting firms on FirmLever are actively referring out wealth management and financial planning work — with no wealth advisor to send it to.
That changes today.
If you're a CPA or fractional CFO, you know the pattern. A client sells their business for $4M. They need wealth management. You don't do that. So you... what? Google someone? Give them a name from a conference two years ago and hope it works out?
Now there's infrastructure for that. When you refer out wealth management on FirmLever, that opportunity hits the feed of every vetted wealth advisor in the network.
They see your firm (anonymous until you approve), your reputation score, and the opportunity. You pick the best fit. And because the platform tracks reciprocity, wealth advisors who refer back — tax work, bookkeeping, CFO engagements — rise to the top over time.
For accounting firms:
We currently have 229 firms on the waitlist. Your accounting firm peers are already here. The question is will wealth advisers match with just 1 or 2 (decent deal flow) or 20 (a full referral-based practice).
Apply to the FirmLever Network as CPA/CFO →
But it works both ways...
For RIAs and wealth advisors:
These are not just clients from random accounting firms. These are warm, vetted, CPA-endorsed introductions to actual clients with real money to manage — not cold leads, not bought lists, not 25bps of AUM leads from Schwab.
- 200+ CPA firms already in the network, actively referring out wealth management
- Zero fees. No rev-share. No 25bps forever. Flat SaaS subscription.
- Vetted & scored. Every CPA has a reputation score that you can see before engaging.
- Two-way flow. Refer wealth clients needing tax, bookkeeping and CFO back. The algorithm rewards reciprocity.
That's it for this week. If you know a CPA, fractional CFO, or wealth advisor who should be in this network — forward this to them (if you do, email me at marc@firmlever.com and I will fast track you both). The scarcity signal is real, and the early movers are already getting matched.
Marc
Founder, FirmLever
Connect with me on LinkedIn
P.S. — Tax deadline is Wednesday. After that, the floodgates open. Get on the early invite list while you still can.
