Should I keep the practice manager when I buy an accounting practice?

When a practice changes hands, clients watch the partner. The staff watch the manager. In many accounting practices the practice manager is the person who knows where everything is: which return is due, who is waiting on a document, how the software is set up and how the invoices go out. Losing that knowledge during a handover can cost you months.

What the manager holds

Ask the seller to list what the manager does in a normal month. Deadlines and work-in-progress tracking, staff scheduling, billing and collections, software administration and client onboarding are common. Then ask what is written down and what is only in their head. The gaps tell you how much you depend on them.

Meet and assess them early

Ask the seller to introduce you before closing, and spend real time with the manager. Watch how they handle a busy week, how they speak about clients and whether they welcome change. A manager who is loyal to the seller alone may leave, and the practice would lose the knowledge that person holds.

Keeping them through the transition

Talk about their role, pay and hours before the sale closes, not afterwards. Some buyers offer a retention arrangement for the first busy season. Your lawyer can tell you what an employee’s existing terms mean on a sale and how to document a new arrangement. See also what buyers of an accounting practice underestimate.

If they are not the right fit

Ask your lawyer what obligations carry over to the manager on a sale. If the fit is poor, plan a handover so their knowledge is recorded first, and line up cover for the busy period. Do not decide in your first week.