A accounting firm in Lockport is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Joliet — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. The statewide accounting firms playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Lockport file. Confidential sale. No upfront listing fee.
Confidential • No upfront fees • Illinois statewide
Lockport market
Selling a accounting firm in Lockport
A accounting firm in Lockport is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Joliet — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. The statewide accounting firms playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Lockport file.
Lockport is the I&M Canal historic city in Will County — a stone downtown on the canal, Lockport Township, and industrial along the Des Plaines, between Lemont and Joliet.
Canal-downtown hospitality and a working industrial south side are different buyers. Lewis University is closer to Romeoville; do not borrow it. Buyers who want “Will County growth” still have to choose this historic city over Plainfield’s subdivisions.
Lockport has about 26,102 residents in Will County, inside the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area. Nearby markets buyers already compare this book to include Joliet, Romeoville, Lemont, Homer Glen. That comparison changes who shows up: a buyer who will drive from Joliet is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.
Planning facts
Typical multiple
1x–1.5x Annual Revenue
Typical timeline
6–15 months
SBA eligible
Often — confirm
County
Will County
Population
26,102
Metro
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Nearby comps
Joliet, Romeoville, Lemont, Homer Glen
Closing clock
Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago
DuPage, Lake, Kane, Will, McHenry, Kendall, and neighboring collar shops sell on household density and the I-88, I-90, I-94, and I-55 corridors.
There is no Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. Buyers still compare this suburb to the next one on the same highway.
Lockport demand for accounting firms is the customer list and the license path — not the Census population figure. About 26,102 residents is context for who already lives in the trade area. It is not a sale price.
Accounting Firm in Lockport
What a Lockport buyer will underwrite on this accounting firm
A accounting firm in Lockport is retention and re-papered appointments or a signing credential — not a contest year. Households and commercial accounts already compare Lockport to Joliet, Romeoville, Lemont. Confidential outreach matters; employees commute and talk.
Accounting Firms statewide typically plan around 1x–1.5x Annual Revenue and a 6–15 months process when books and the lease are ready. That is a planning range, not a price for this Lockport shop. Buyers here usually argue client retention history, revenue per client, tax vs advisory mix, billing rates, client concentration.
Closing clock for this Lockport file: Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. License path: IDFPR CPA licenses are personal and do not transfer. The industry hub teaches the statewide rule. This URL is the Lockport application of it.
In a suburb like Lockport, cpa firms, regional accounting groups, pe-backed platforms are the names that usually appear on the NDA list. A buyer who will drive from Joliet is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.
Buyer pool
Who buys a accounting firm in Lockport
Logistics, trucking, light industrial, and home-services buyers are active because of I-80, I-55, and the CenterPoint / BNSF intermodal complex. PE looks at scale HVAC and trades; owner-operators buy the rest. A Joliet file is not a Naperville file.
Illustration: a two-partner CPA shop in Peoria with a heavy 1040 season, a growing monthly CAS book, and a selling partner who still reviews every business return. Not a closed sale.
A accounting firm whose customers already sit in Joliet, Romeoville, Lemont, Homer Glen is a larger business than one that stops at the Lockport city limit. Tell the truth about the route. Buyers will map it.
SDE recast
How a buyer will read the books on this Lockport accounting firm
Buyers often talk 1x–1.5x revenue on small CPA books; this business uses 2.5x–4x SDE as the planning band next to other Main Street shops. Recast after a market-rate CPA if the seller still signs every return. Pull one-time catch-up books and any litigation-support year. Realization and write-offs tell the truth. A book that is 90 percent personal 1040s in March is not a 4x advisory firm.
Illustration only — not a quote for any Lockport shop. A accounting firm whose tax return shows $263,000 of net profit is not worth $263,000 × a rumor multiple.
Add back the owner’s $109,000 W-2 and payroll tax, $9,000 of discretionary benefits, $12,500 of accepted one-time cost, and $13,000 of personal expenses that a buyer will not run. Then subtract $81,000 of replacement labor if the owner still diagnoses, sells, or closes the books.
Adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings are $325,000. At the planning range 2.5x–4.0x, enterprise value is $812,500 to $1,300,000. Mid-range 3.25x is $1,056,250 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. A Lockport buyer will argue the multiple after they ride with the staff and read the lease.
At 3.25 times $325,000 of seller’s discretionary earnings, enterprise value is $1,056,250 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. That is the planning conversation. It is not a listing-site guess.
SDE line items
Reported net profit (tax return, not the marketing P&L)
+ Interest expense
+ Income taxes (not payroll, sales, or property tax)
+ Depreciation and amortization
+ Owner W-2, bonuses, and payroll taxes on the owner
+ Discretionary owner benefits that a buyer will not keep (auto, personal travel, family on payroll with no role)
+ Accepted one-time or non-recurring expenses
− Market-rate replacement labor for owner work that will not transfer
= Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE)
Illustration recast for a Lockport accounting firm — not a quote
Net profit
$263,000
Owner W-2
$109,000
Benefits
$9,000
One-time
$12,500
Personal
$13,000
Replacement labor (subtract)
−$81,000
Recast SDE
$325,000
Planning EV at 3.25x
$1,056,250
Recast Seller’s Discretionary Earnings, then apply a planning multiple for accounting firms.
Replacement labor is subtracted. This is a planning tool, not an appraisal.
Recast SDE—
Planning enterprise value—
Before debt, working-capital peg, holdback, and tax. Educational only.
Enter your annual Seller's Discretionary Earnings (SDE) — your net profit plus owner's salary and any personal expenses run through the business — to estimate a range.
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1x3.0x8x
Estimated Value Range—to—
This is an estimate for planning purposes only. Actual value depends on lease terms, asset quality, customer concentration, and current market conditions. Request a professional valuation for a precise number.
Will County closings are state CBS-1 plus Joliet, Bolingbrook, Plainfield, Romeoville, and village licenses. Intermodal and industrial parks often have park covenants and landlord estoppels that take longer than Main Street retail. No Chicago 45-day notice unless you also operate in the city.
IDFPR CPA licenses are personal and do not transfer. Firm names and “CPA” use are regulated. Peer review, if they do attest work, sits on the firm and the named partners. A non-CPA buyer cannot simply own attest work under Illinois accountancy rules. Client businesses transfer only with engagement-letter and confidentiality discipline.
Labor and lease
What has to keep working on Monday after close in Lockport
For a accounting firm in Lockport, the first labor question is: Recurring CAS or business-tax retainers.
Driver, warehouse, and CDL labor is the constraint. Union awareness is higher than in most collar suburbs. Floodplain, truck routing, and overnight parking rules show up in diligence. Residential suburbs (Frankfort, New Lenox, Homer Glen) behave more like DuPage for service businesses.
Will County’s industrial tax base and population growth support cash-flow businesses that serve warehouses and new rooftops. Price the customer mix — Amazon-adjacent freight vs. local residential — separately.
Diligence
What a serious accounting firm buyer will open
Levers that move the multiple in this vertical: Recurring CAS or business-tax retainers; A staying CPA who can sign; Realization that survives a rate conversation; Low 1040-only concentration; Clean IDFPR and peer-review status.
Have these ready before anyone hears the name of the Lockport business: Fee mix: 1040, business tax, monthly CAS, attest; Realization, write-offs, and aged WIP; Who signs, who is staying, and IDFPR firm status; Client concentration and whether the seller is the relationship; Software (QBO, UltraTax, CCH) ownership and data export; Peer-review status if they do attest.
Buyer tool
SBA payment sketch for a Lockport accounting firm buyer
Most Illinois owner-operator acquisitions use SBA 7(a). This is a payment sketch, not an approval.
SBA 7(a) loans are the most common financing for business acquisitions. Estimate your monthly payment and required down payment based on the purchase price.
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yrs
Down Payment Required—
Loan Amount—
Est. Monthly Payment—
This calculator provides estimates for planning purposes only. Actual SBA loan terms depend on your credit profile, the specific lender, and current market conditions. Contact us to connect with SBA-approved lenders in Illinois.
Sale steps
How to prepare a Lockport accounting firm for sale
Recast this Lockport accounting firm. Start with the tax return. Add owner pay. Subtract replacement labor if the seller still does the work a Lockport buyer must hire. Do not treat a spike year as the new normal.
Name who can operate on Monday. List every credential that lets this accounting firm pull a permit or see a patient in Lockport, and whether that person stays. Personal licenses do not transfer with the assets.
Tell the truth about the Lockport trade area. Map customers against neighboring towns. Buyers will. A book that already covers those towns is larger than a book that stops at the Lockport limit.
Open the lease and the labor file. Remaining term and assignment in Will County. Whether the crew can run without the seller living eight minutes away.
Calendar the notices that apply here. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. Start them at letter of intent, not the week of funding.
Read the statewide playbook, then talk. The Illinois accounting firms hub is the statute and recast teaching. This page is the Lockport file. Confidential consult — no upfront listing fee.
Answers for owners and buyers in Will County, including local closing steps.
Illinois accounting firms typically sell for 1x–1.5x annual revenue. Firms with high client retention, strong revenue per client, and a healthy mix of tax, bookkeeping, and advisory services command the higher end.
Client retention is the top priority in every accounting firm sale. We structure transitions with appropriate introductions, joint client meetings, and earnout provisions that incentivize the seller to support client retention during the handover.
All buyers sign an NDA before receiving any identifying information. Your clients will not know you are considering a sale until you choose to disclose it, typically after a deal is signed.
Yes. Sole proprietor accounting practices sell regularly. The key is demonstrating that clients are loyal to the firm and the work can be transitioned to a qualified buyer.
Buyers purchasing accounting firms in Lockport typically need to be CPAs. Some transactions involve non-CPA buyers who partner with licensed CPAs to manage the practice. We vet buyer credentials as part of our qualification process.
Most Lockport asset sales file Illinois Form CBS-1 at least 10 business days before closing. Will County does not use Chicago’s 45-day city notice unless the business also operates there. Municipal licenses and the lease still need their own calendar.
Buyers in Lockport are often SBA owner-operators and neighboring operators along the same corridor. Larger recurring books can draw a platform. They will compare this suburb to the next town in Will County.
No. The planning multiple for accounting firms is a statewide starting point, not a Lockport appraisal. Buyers in Will County still adjust seller’s discretionary earnings, then argue the lease, licenses, labor, and owner dependency.
Service Area
Accounting Firm Brokerage Near Lockport
We serve accounting firms owners and buyers across Will County and the surrounding region.