Earmark CPE

Earn CPE Anytime, Anywhere

Work Life Balance

From Burnout to Blueprint: How One CPA Built a $200K Practice Working Just 15 Hours a Week

· ·

When Erica Goode, CPA, became a mother, she found herself juggling late-night work sessions and hectic commutes. It took a toll on her well-being. “I was going to prove to everybody that working moms can do it all,” she recalls, “and I did it all. But it felt awful.”

Fast-forward a few years, and Erica now runs an accounting practice making over $200,000 yearly—on less than 15 hours of work per week. How did she do it? Through intentional constraints, deep specialization, and refusing to let burnout define her career.

Erica’s story, which she shared on the Earmark Podcast, offers a roadmap for accounting professionals who want to build financially rewarding practices without sacrificing quality of life.

Escape from Corporate Burnout

Erica’s career began at KPMG, where she moved up the ranks to senior auditor. She was then recruited to Walgreens in Deerfield, Illinois, where a demanding promotion collided with early motherhood. 

Even with on-site childcare, the constant scramble to manage deadlines and family obligations was a struggle. “I was always dragging my kids behind me to make a meeting, to get back home to make dinner, only to hop back online until 10:00. It was just this grind I didn’t want,” she says.

Feeling trapped, Erica took a demotion to escape the grueling schedule. Ultimately, she decided to leave Walgreens entirely and planned to become a stay-at-home mom. She never imagined running an accounting firm. When her boss suggested it after she gave notice, she remembers thinking, “That is the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard.” 

An Accidental First Client

Erica never planned to start her firm. It started when she offered to help the owner of her daughter’s Taekwondo studio with QuickBooks. “I had never seen QuickBooks because I’d always worked with huge systems like SAP or Oracle,” she says. But Erica learned quickly, and soon, a steady stream of referrals turned her “accidental” freelance gig into a bona fide practice.

Growth was slow by design. Balancing parenting with minimal childcare hours, Erica allowed her client base to expand only as her children’s school schedules opened up. “I literally was only growing as fast as preschool grew,” she jokes. This deliberate approach allowed her to refine processes at each stage instead of piling on hours.

Designing a 15-Hour Workweek

Erica’s top priority was to avoid the relentless schedule that had led to burnout. She set a strict 15-hour limit, working Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a mandatory one-hour lunch away from the computer. “That adds up to 18 hours, but I don’t count the lunch break,” she explains. “So I’m really working 15 hours or less.”

While this schedule might seem impossible, Erica credits well-documented standard operating procedures and intentional use of technology for optimizing efficiency. She also hired a non-US-based contractor as a senior bookkeeper. Together, they ensure bookkeeping tasks stay on track without Erica needing to handle every detail. “I want to be the reviewer and the exception-finder,” she says. “That’s where the real client value lies.”

Tech Stack: QuickBooks Online and Fathom

A big part of Erica’s efficiency stems from QuickBooks Online paired with Fathom. QuickBooks automates the bulk of data entry, while Fathom handles real-time reporting and forecasting. “Once I close the books in QuickBooks, Fathom syncs automatically and spits out a customized monthly report for each client,” she says.

She personalizes these reports for each of her 10 clients, highlighting the KPIs and trends most relevant to consultants. But the real game-changer is the forecasting feature. During monthly meetings, she and the client jump into Fathom to update forecasts on hiring plans, upcoming expenses, and potential new revenue. “Business owners love seeing a clear picture of how decisions today will affect their cash flow in six months,” Erica says.

Specialization: Consultants and Agencies Only

At the core of her approach is strict specialization. Erica focuses exclusively on consultants and small B2B agencies—no construction companies, no retail inventory. This uniformity keeps her processes consistent, allowing her to offer clear service tiers and simple pricing. She maintains three tiers:

  1. Bookkeeping ($500–$600/month)
  2. Mini CFO ($1,400/month)
  3. Fractional CFO (up to $5,000/month)

“There’s a huge gap for solopreneurs or small consultancies that need more than just bookkeeping but aren’t ready to pay $3,000 a month for a CFO,” she says. The middle tier solves that issue. Because she only accepts businesses operating within a well-defined niche, the bulk of her bookkeeping and forecasting tasks can be systematized.

The Power of Monthly CFO Meetings

Although she provides “done-for-you” bookkeeping, Erica finds the most significant client value comes from monthly CFO calls. “We’ll spend maybe 20% of the time reviewing the monthly report. Then the rest is what’s on the client’s mind—like, ‘I’m hiring two people. Will I run out of cash by October?’” she explains. Together, they plug those assumptions into Fathom so clients can see real-time outcomes.

“They get clarity on big decisions, whether it’s paying themselves consistently, timing a new hire, or maximizing retirement contributions,” she notes. And it’s precisely this hands-on advisory that justifies her subscription model. Even when clients weigh downgrading services, they quickly realize the CFO session is what they value most.

Why She Doesn’t Do Tax Prep

One key departure from many CPA firms: Erica does not handle income tax filings. Instead, she collaborates with clients’ existing tax preparers or refers them to an outside specialist. “I come in as the translator,” she says, acting as the liaison between client and preparer. By avoiding tax busywork, she preserves her bandwidth for strategic discussions and the recurring monthly engagements that truly move the needle for her clients.

Growing Slowly—on Purpose

Today, Erica’s firm earns around $200,000 in annual revenue, with a net of about $180,000. It took around five or six years to reach this point, largely because she refused to exceed her self-imposed 15-hour weekly limit or expand beyond her one contractor. “I know the formula to scale bigger,” she says, “but I also know that I enjoy my life more without adding complexities.”

A telling story: She once tried removing herself from capacity constraints and realized she risked falling back into the same burnout patterns she had fled. “I’m quick to fire if the client isn’t a good fit, and I stick to my niche,” she emphasizes. “I’m not looking to become a million-dollar firm with multiple CPAs. That’s just not the lifestyle I want.”

Rethinking Practice Success

For Erica, success means earning a healthy income without sacrificing time with her kids or her passions—like hiking in the vast national forests of Idaho. She’s proof that a smaller, highly specialized practice can be profitable and deeply rewarding. “I used to be afraid to say out loud that I only work 15 hours,” she confesses. “But now I see it inspires other CPAs who don’t want the 40- to 60-hour grind.”

Her advice is simple: start small, niche down, price for value, and automate relentlessly. If you’re willing to challenge traditional accounting firm norms, you can build a practice that prioritizes both client results and your well-being.

Learn More & Earn Free CPE

Erica shares more insights and tips on her podcast, Consultants and Money, where she offers free advice on everything from planning cash reserves to consistently paying oneself. 

Check out her interview on the Earmark Podcast to hear the full story of how she structured her 15-hour week. 

You can also earn CPE for listening! Register for the free CPE course on the Earmark app.

The Fun CPA Shares How to Work No More Than 40 Hours In Tax Season

· ·

For many accountants, working just 40 hours a week during tax season sounds like a fantasy.Tax pros often work 60+ hours for months straight, wearing those long hours as a “badge of honor” in a profession that glorifies the grind.

Yuri Kapilovich, known as “The Fun CPA,” has rejected that model entirely. He’s built a practice where he works just 40 hours during tax season and just 10-15 hours per week the rest of the year. His firm generates roughly $225,000–$250,000 annually, giving him time for family, fitness, and hosting memorable networking events.

Earn CPE for this episode: You can earn Continuing Professional Education credit by listening to the podcast and then taking a brief quiz in the Earmark app.

Escaping the Public Accounting Treadmill

After 12 years and seven different firms, Yuri kept encountering the same frustrating culture: pressure to bill more hours, looking busy for appearance’s sake, and efficiency being punished.

“I would look at these partners who are in the office more than I am. I’m leaving and they’re still there,” he recalls. “They have a boss, just like I have a boss. If I can make $800,000 and work 10 to 2, I would have stayed. But you can’t.”

Yuri decided to break free by purchasing a small block of clients from a friend. That deal unexpectedly fell apart, but he decided to move forward anyway. He contracted part-time with two CPA firms, working two or three days a week while gradually building his client base. This bridge approach kept his income steady and let him say “no” to prospective clients who weren’t a good fit.

The Economics of Premium Pricing

The foundation of Yuri’s business model is simple but powerful: charge more, serve fewer clients, and provide exceptional value. He started with a minimum fee of $800 and now won’t take on any tax-only client for less than $2,000.

Yuri emphasizes that working fewer hours doesn’t mean delivering less value. It’s about charging enough to serve clients well without drowning in low-fee work. He explains the difference between accepting hundreds of returns at $300–$500 each—earning decent revenue but shouldering an avalanche of busywork—and serving fewer clients at a much higher minimum fee.

Here’s how the math works when comparing traditional high-volume practices to his approach:

Traditional Model:

  • 300 clients at $500 per return = $150,000 revenue
  • At least 1 hour per client (realistically more with admin, communication, etc.)
  • 300 hours over just 8 weeks (Feb 15 – Apr 15) = 37.5 hours weekly at a minimum
  • Reality: Information arrives late, questions pile up, schedule compresses
  • Result: 60+ hour weeks, constant administrative chaos

Yuri’s Model:

  • 100 clients at $2,000+ per return = $200,000+ revenue
  • Higher-value clients with more complex needs
  • Work spread more evenly, better boundaries
  • Result: 40-hour weeks max, even during tax season

That doesn’t simply triple his revenue per client—it dramatically changes his day-to-day life. He feels in control of his workload, and his clients benefit from more personalized attention.

The most surprising discovery? Yuri says, “As the price went up and as you’re dealing with somebody who’s seeing your value, you know what goes down? The number of questions, the number of bothers.”

Service Packages That Create Value for Both Sides

Beyond standalone tax returns, Yuri offers:

Quarterly Package: Starting at $1,500 per quarter ($6,000 annually)

  • Tax preparation for business and personal returns
  • Proactive tax strategy discussions
  • Quarterly planning meetings (approximately one hour each). Having this regular touchpoint helps avoid unpleasant surprises in April.

Monthly Package: The “full service” option

  • Everything in the quarterly package
  • Bookkeeping (outsourced locally in Brooklyn)
  • He still maintains a quarterly meeting schedule rather than monthly. This structure keeps everyone on track but prevents excessive demands on his time.

Life by Design: What Freedom Looks Like

In large firms, partners can earn very high incomes—sometimes $800,000 or more a year. But from Yuri’s perspective, those partners often trade away family time, mental health, and control of their schedules to hit those numbers. Many are still at their desks long after younger staff have gone home.

Yuri has optimized his practice to support his priorities: 

  • family time with his two young children (ages 2 and 6), 
  • fitness, and 
  • enjoying life.

His summer schedule is particularly enviable. “My friends make fun of me, and it’s partially true—I don’t really work. Especially in the summertime, it’s like 2 to 3 hours a day at most. And we can do it from anywhere.”

He’s accessible to clients (they can text him directly), but because he’s selective about who he works with, this accessibility doesn’t become overwhelming. He even occasionally takes client calls while at the gym.

Yuri also hosts creative networking events to bring business owners together. When asked what he gets from these events, he answers simply: “I have no goal. I literally am here to put these people together so they can interact and do business together.”

Breaking Free: Advice for Building Your Practice

If you’re considering a similar path, Yuri offers these tips:

  • Start with Contract Work
    “My advice to anybody looking to go out on their own—try to find a contracting gig. Those 2 to 3 days will keep the lights on while you build your firm the way you want to with the other 2 or 3 days.”
  • Start with Higher Fees Than You Think

“If you’ve already built a firm with a lot of volume but want to get to the value aspect, it is extremely difficult to just all of a sudden say, ‘By the way, I know I was charging you $500, it’s $1,000 now.’ Not only will you lose the client, but you’ll lose reputation and street cred.”

  • Be Ruthlessly Selective About Clients
    “Here’s how the conversation typically goes with a prospect looking for cheaper returns: ‘Hey, are you taking on clients like me?’ And I’ll say, ‘Are you a business owner?’ And they’ll say, ‘No, I have a W-2 only.’ I’m like, ‘I’m happy to work with you W-2 only. My minimum fee is $2,000.’ Then I stop talking.”
  • Create a Memorable Brand

Whether intentional or not, having something that makes you stand out helps attract the right clients and sets expectations about your approach to accounting.

Building the “Fun CPA” Brand

Establishing a personal brand was a key part of Yuri’s strategy. His Instagram handle and hashtag—#thefunCPA—emerged almost by accident. But it quickly set him apart in an industry that often feels stiff. He showed up at events with “Fun CPA” banners, printed T-shirts, and a big smile, which made people do a double take.

Yuri also hosts networking events that don’t feel anything like typical “mixers.” He might invite business owners on a boat outing or to a local hangar party where private jets are on display. His main purpose is to connect people and let them create business opportunities together. If they want to talk taxes or accounting, they’ll ask.

Rethinking Success in Accounting

The accounting profession often measures success by top-line revenue and billable hours—metrics Yuri calls “trash” and “imaginary.”

“I think as a profession we need to refocus. And especially if we want to fix this pipeline problem, the way we do that is by focusing on the people—your number one asset,” he says. “When you neglect that and just grind them for billable hours that mean absolutely nothing, it is of no surprise to me that people are leaving.”

Yuri’s model shows that building a profitable, sustainable practice that prioritizes accountant and client well-being is possible. By serving the right clients at the right price, you can transform accounting from a seasonal grind into a genuinely rewarding career—one with time for birthday celebrations, family dinners, and maybe even the occasional boat day.

Want more details? Listen to the full Earmark Podcast episode with Yuri Kapilovich, and don’t forget you can earn CPE credit by downloading the Earmark app and taking a quick quiz after you listen.

Design Better Habits, Build a Better Accounting Firm

· ·

When Rachel Dillon began her 4:30 a.m. workouts in January 2010, she only knew she needed a routine that fit her teaching schedule. She had no idea this personal commitment would eventually shape how she and her husband, Marcus Dillon, run their accounting firm, Dillon Business Advisors. Years later, they discovered that the same habits guiding their health journey could also help them overhaul their business.

Starting from Excess and Finding Focus

In 2016, Rachel and Marcus merged their firm with a mentor’s practice. This left them juggling more clients than they could serve effectively. At the same time, they were both working with a nutrition coach to improve their health. Seeing how steady, daily actions led to personal change, they realized these principles could solve their firm’s overload problem.

The final puzzle pieces came together when the Dillons read James Clear’s Atomic Habits. They recognized they’d already been applying many of his ideas to their personal lives and their accounting practice. This sparked an intentional approach to three principles that continue to guide their growth today.

1. Make It Obvious and Easy

A big lesson from Atomic Habits is turning good intentions into obvious, easy actions. The Dillons did this by scheduling important firm tasks at the start of each year. They get quarterly client meetings, team scorecards, and even vacation windows on the calendar long before anything else can crowd them out.

Rachel explains, “What gets measured, gets managed, and what gets scheduled is more likely to happen.” 

Going on a family vacation during spring break is nearly unheard of in accounting firms as it often falls right in the middle of the March 15th and April 15th tax deadlines. But the Dillons started blocking off spring break in small steps. At first, it was just a few days, but then they eventually built up to the entire week. This helped them balance busy season deadlines with time for family. Over time, team members also learned that when tasks and priorities are clearly laid out, everyone stays accountable.

2. Environment Design

Environment design means shaping spaces and systems so the right behaviors become natural. When Rachel and Marcus wanted more flexibility for their team, they began transitioning to remote work. Before going fully remote, they tested digital tools like Microsoft Teams so people became comfortable collaborating online. They also invested in proper desks, monitors, and other equipment rather than letting everyone rely on a single laptop at the dining room table.

According to Marcus, “If someone stayed on one small laptop for five years, they wouldn’t be as effective. Actually spending money on environmental design was a good call.” By building a flexible, remote-first culture, they kept talented staff who valued autonomy. They also served clients more effectively because team members had the right setups to do their work.

3. Identity-Based Habits

Finally, the Dillons aligned their daily actions with the values and identity they wanted for their firm. Marcus and Rachel emphasize transparency, so they share their objectives early—even when they’re unsure how plans will unfold. For example, they’ve begun exploring possible firm acquisitions to grow beyond the standard one-client-at-a-time model. They keep their team in the loop even before potential deals become certain.

“Transparent leaders do this,” says Rachel. Their team appreciates being trusted with big-picture thinking and offers ideas for making acquisitions smoother. Marcus adds that their firm’s vision and values mirror their personal ones, so it feels natural rather than forced. When beliefs, words, and actions match, big changes tend to stick.

Personal Habits Fuel Professional Results

The Dillons’ story shows that lasting change often starts with personal commitments. By applying principles of habit formation to their firm—making tasks obvious, designing supportive environments, and acting consistently with their values—they’ve built an organization that embraces growth year-round.

To learn more about how Rachel and Marcus continue to evolve their firm and stay true to their values, listen to the full episode of the “Who’s Really the Boss” podcast. You can also visit Collective.cpa for more resources to help you design a modern accounting practice.

Rachel and Marcus Dillon, CPA, own a Texas-based, remote client accounting and advisory services firm, Dillon Business Advisors, with a team of 15 professionals. Their latest organization, Collective by DBA, supports and guides accounting firm owners and leaders with firm resources, education, and operational strategy through community, groups, and one-on-one advisory.