Finding the right accounting niches is a tried, tested, and true way to quickly grow your firm.
In this article, you’ll hear about:
- What a niche is
- The 5 benefits to niching
- The 1 big disadvantage when you niche
- How you can niche
- 10 great examples of accounting niches
Read on to hear more!
What is an Accounting Niche?
A niche is another word for “market” or “industry.”
You’ve probably seen a firm (or more) targeting specific types of business or segments of the market. Dentists, SaaS companies, B2B services, eCommerce, and the list goes on. In simple terms, these are niches.
A subterm is “niching” which means your firm specializes in servicing a particular market or industry. Your marketing material speaks to those businesses, the website is full of their industry language, even your services are tweaked to cater to that subset of business.
With that clear, let’s now talk about why you might go for niche accounting in the first place.
Why Niche? (ie. 5 benefits)
- Streamlined business model: A niche means focusing on a specific type of client, streamlining processes for your team and reducing complications by serving clients with shared needs and structures.
- Deeper understanding, deeper services: Startups track “burn rate” and “financing,” dentists seek office expansion and new hires. Understanding your niche allows you to “speak your clients’ language” and have a bigger impact.
- Easier to market and sell: When you know exactly who you’re talking to and what their needs are, you’ll be able to create more effective SEO articles and marketing campaigns. Additionally, this will help you land your ideal clients more easily.
- Commands a premium price: Specialized and customizable service always commands a premium in the marketplace. Accounting services are no exception (so long as you can communicate the benefits and value of said services).
- Higher lifetime value of the client: By offering custom reporting, targeted advice, and maintaining a deep understanding of clients’ needs, you build trust and value that makes it more likely they’ll stick around long-term.
Disadvantages of Accounting Niches
Really, there is one big drawback which is the whole “eggs in one basket” dynamic.
For example, during the early phase of the pandemic, accounting firms heavily focused on restaurants faced significant revenue drops due to widespread closures.
So while there are many advantages to niche accounting, one big risk does exist.
How to Find Your Niche
How to niche begins with thinking about the types of profitable companies that are perfect for your accounting practice and its growth, otherwise known as ideal clients.
Building an ideal client profile (ICP) and it’s something I’ve talked about a fair bit in Future Firm Accelerate®.
Really what it comes down to is analyzing your current clients, identifying your best ones and coming up with a list of common characteristics that they share in common. What they have in common becomes your niche.
First, the ICPs you settle on may be rigid, a bit more loose, or somewhere in between. But whatever your profile makeup, sticking to finding and closing those clients is an extremely important aspect of niching.
The technical terms here are “psychographic,” “firmographic,” and the most well-known “geographic.”
- Psychographic traits include personality, attitudes, values, and interests. For instance, selling virtual CFO services to a driven startup COO creates a specific service angle. Identifying this profile helps target ideal clients in your search.
- Firmographics are business traits in your niche. For example, when targeting dentists, you might focus on those with 2-4 offices, specific revenue, employee count, etc.
- Geographic details are all about the country and region. Certain areas have large groupings of certain industries, like Silicon Valley for tech and software.
If you’re a firm with a number of clients, in various industries, different points of contact (in a multitude of roles), and have varying pricing and services for those customers — it’s possibly time to take a look at the roster to better evaluate your niche.
10 Types of Accounting Niches
Here’s a non-exhaustive list of some of the accounting niches out there along with some firms that focus on them.
1) Software and SaaS Startups
Startups are a profitable niche, simply because of the number of Venture Capital and investor dollars thrown into so many of these businesses.
There’s also hiring, building accounting systems, and a host of other specialized accounting services these businesses need.
Example: Kruze Consulting
Kruze targets software and SaaS startups with specialized services and content marketing geared toward founders.
2) Ecommerce
Buying online is a huge business, from unique single-product shops to large retail giants with no brick-and-mortar shops.
In e-commerce, specialized firms offer tailored tax and accounting services to online retailers and businesses operating within specific industries.
With complex shipping, multiple sales channels, and the other needs of a growing business, eCommerce is a solid niche.
Example: Bean Ninjas
Notice how Bean Ninjas mention that they’re experts in specific ecommerce tools, right in the hero image of their website.
As soon as a business owner hits the page, they know this firm is talking their language.
3) Real Estate
Real estate has its ups and downs, in a long enough timeframe. But it’s also not going anywhere, and as we’ve seen over the past year, crises don’t necessarily spell doom for housing.
Example: The Real Estate CPA
In the specialty accounting niche of real estate, transactions are subject to various rules and tax laws.
Navigating these can be tough for individuals and businesses, but specialized accountants in this field know these regulations well and can ensure compliance for their clients.
In addition to tailoring their offering toward real estate businesses, this firm also built some passive income drivers showing industry pros tax-saving tips.
4) Contractors/Construction
Similar to real estate, and great for offering tax prep services, including helping these kinds of businesses figure out their job costing.
Example: Check the Level
In general, notice how deep these firms go into their niches. Even the name of their company reflects their focus.
Check The Level also creates clear messaging around ensuring contractors that each project will be financially well-managed.
Moreover, construction projects often span long durations, allowing accountants to build strong relationships with clients.
During these extended periods, accountants can assist with things like tax planning and wealth management, ensuring consistent cash flow.
5) Cryptocurrency
Crypto has insane (and growing) popularity, is gaining traction amongst the financial influencer community, and the regulations are increasing. All of these factors make a very lucrative niche, from new high net worth individuals to companies looking to invest or take crypto payments.
Example: Founder’s CPA
Crypto is one target sector of Founder’s CPA (another is obviously startups).
They’re delivering tailored content on how to file taxes, crypto accounting software, and other key terms crypto buyers are searching for.
This particular industry can be tricky for taxes. So accountants specializing in this are in-demand, especially in tax preparation and crypto transactions.
6) Law Firms
Law firms deal with massive levels of compliance and regulatory issues. Trust is a big deal, and specializing in the specific needs of law practices helps build trust faster. These issues make legal professionals a great niche since they understand the need for specialized services.
Example: KORE Accounting Solutions
A quick look at KORE’s homepage and you understand the trust issue. They put credentials, testimonials, headshots of accountants, and several other elements that dig into showing who they are and why they’re the right choice for lawyers.
7) Fitness / Gyms
One of the hardest-hit industries early on in the pandemic. However, like other impacted industries on this list, they’ve adapted in many ways to overcome and even expand health services to a broader audience.
Example: The Fitness CPA
This CPA firm created content around surviving during the pandemic, turning the downturn into a positive. And since home gyms, remote training, and consultations exploded, it’s likely a choice that turned some heads in the fitness industry.
8) Restaurants and Food Service
Restaurants can be profitable clients, even if they did shut down for a period of time during the pandemic.
It’s almost at a reset level, with new advancements in delivery service and takeout. We’ve seen a tremendous amount of innovation in food service over the last two years.
Example: Ry CPAs
Ry is another example of a job well done communicating how stimulus changes/grants work for and affected Restaurants.
9) Non Profits
Not-for-profit (NFP) companies are another powerful niche required to document and report details on finances. It’s also a decent-sized niche with religious, social, and a number of other entity types, all falling under NFP status.
Example: Jitasa
Jitasa is an international firm specializing in NFP bookkeeping, tax, and advisory services. It’s all they do and have garnered the trust of massive organizations, including Boys and Girls Club.
10) Cannabis
Like crypto, cannabis is high-growth, increasing regulation, and a relatively new (legal) business model. One wrong move is costly and possibly involves litigation, so a tailored accounting experience is an easy sell.
Example: The Green Leaf CPA
Using targeted language and on-point branding, Green Leaf CPA knows their ideal client. Even the favicon of their website is a cannabis leaf.
Is Niching for Your Firm?
Choosing a target market is not about reducing the number of customers, but about improving the focus of your firm.
Understanding this mental shift is paramount to the success of pulling off the niche firm business model.
I have personally seen the firsthand fruit of properly selecting, marketing, and serving a particular market.
But as with every business decision, it’s up to you and the owner.
Which is why this resource stops just shy of telling you, “Of course you’re ready for an accounting niche.”
One final thing.
Regardless of which specific niche you choose, keep in mind that client satisfaction rules all.
Prioritizing exceptional service and maintaining strong client relationships will ultimately drive your success and set you apart from the competition.
