I demystify finances for 7 & 8 figure business owners | Founder @ Celerity Accounting | Top 100 Proadvisor 2024

I’m Tailor Hartman, founder and CEO of Celerity Accounting.

We’re a fractional accounting and advisory firm for 7 and 8-figure businesses using NetSuite and QuickBooks Online.

If your books are messy, your reports are unclear, or you’re scaling fast without the right financial visibility, we’re the team that fixes it.

A few milestones along the way:

- Named one of CPA Practice Advisor’s “40 Under 40 CPAs in the Profession” 
- Built Celerity from a solo operation into a trusted partner for $5–50M businesses.
- Launched a modern firm owner newsletter called "The Net Effect" for accountants

We partner with e-commerce, manufacturing, and other growth-minded companies to turn chaos into clarity.

Because accounting shouldn’t just be about compliance. It should be a system that drives better decisions, faster growth, and fewer surprises.

At Celerity, we don’t just clean up your numbers. We own the outcome. That means clear communication, controller-level oversight, and real partnership.

If your NetSuite or QBO setup isn’t doing its job, let’s fix it.

Happy to connect and share what we’ve learned!

Email: info@celerity.io
X: @tailor_hartman
https://linktr.ee/tailorh

Tailor Hartman

Reflecting on Celerity Accounting's 4th anniversary this week.

I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built. The team. The clients. The impact.

To me, year 4 was the year we decided which lane to be in.

- We leaned fully into NetSuite.
- We committed to the mid-market.
- We stopped trying to be everything to everyone.

In the first three years, we rarely said no.

In year four, we said no every single week.

And that changed so much for the firm.

- Better alignment.
- Stronger clients.
- Clearer positioning.

We're more focused than ever. 
Here's to a more intentional 5th year!

P.S. thanks Miggy's Bakes for the incredible cake!

Founder @ Celerity | Building the modern NetSuite accounting firm for mid-market companies

Celerity Accounting turned 4!

What started as a side gig to pay off student loans has grown into a modern, mid-market focused accounting firm serving dozens of amazing companies across the US. 

Over the past four years, we’ve:

• Built a team that values relationships and results
• Helped growing companies strengthen their financial infrastructure
• Focused on continuous improvement both for our clients and ourselves.

To our clients, partners, and team members: thank you for trusting us and growing alongside us.

Here's to making year 5 the best year yet!

Here's a new job posting for Celerity Accounting for a NetSuite Accountant.

 Know anyone who might be interested?

Apply below ⬇️

Bringing clarity, speed & automation to $5–50M SMBs | Founder @ Celerity

I had to stop thinking like an accountant to grow my firm.

For most of my career, my job was simple: make sure the numbers were right.

That’s what we’re trained to do as accountants.

But running a firm forces you to think differently.

At some point, you stop being just an accountant and become a full-time operator.

Accounting optimizes for accuracy.
And accuracy is a lagging signal.

It rewards you for being right after the fact.

But growing a firm depends on being early enough to act.

By the time something is fully accurate, the decision window is usually gone.

That’s the difference.

An accountant focuses on what happened.
An operator cares about what’s happening and what’s about to happen.

An accountant is comfortable once the month is closed.
An operator is uneasy if they can’t see what’s happening mid-month.

An accountant protects the integrity of the numbers.
An operator protects the business from surprises.

Accounting thinking is designed to explain outcomes while operating thinking is designed to shape them.

Both are necessary.
Only one grows the firm.

That doesn’t mean accounting is wrong.

It means the role changes.

Because the business changes.

And eventually, you have to change with it.

Looking for an opportunity at a great place to work?

We’re looking for someone who:
- Thinks beyond debits and credits
- Likes improving systems
- Loves helping people
- Has experience in Netsuite

If you know of someone or if that's you, here's the link to apply --> https://bit.ly/4qZOC6W

Looking for a new role?

If you have experience with:
- Netsuite
- Working with clients
- Month-end Accounting

Please apply here --> https://bit.ly/4qZOC6W

You were hired to do the accounting.

But that’s rarely where it stops.

You start by cleaning up the books.

Then you realize data is flowing between systems without controls. Sales updates forecasts manually at month end. Reporting depends on one person’s spreadsheet.

So you step in.

You redesign a workflow.
You help formalize compensation logic.
You suggest a better approval structure.

This is the part most firms pretend isn’t happening.

We say we’re “just doing accounting.”

But modern CAS, especially in mid-market companies, inevitably touches operations.

The numbers are downstream from the process.

If the process is fragile, the reporting will be too.

So the real question isn’t whether this work shows up.

It will.

The question is whether you treat it as accidental scope creep.

Or you acknowledge it and design your firm around it intentionally.

Modern accounting doesn’t stay in its lane.

It can’t.

Reliable financials require reliable operations. 

And that work doesn’t happen by accident.

No alternative text description for this image

Accountants overestimate the risk of starting their own firm and underestimate the risk of staying where they are.

A defined role feels stable.
A steady paycheck feels safe.
A clear promotion track feels predictable.

But none of those things are guaranteed.

What is guaranteed?

You already have marketable skills.

You know how to manage deadlines. How to communicate with clients. How to solve financial problems under pressure.

Starting your own firm isn’t some irreversible leap.

It’s a test.

You take on a few clients, see if you enjoy it, learn what you’re missing, and adjust.

If it works, you build something on your terms.

If it doesn’t, you get another job.

When I left, I didn’t have a brand, a niche, or a scalable lead engine. I had experience and the willingness to figure it out.

That was enough.

If you’ve built real skills and have even a modest financial runway, the downside is smaller than you think.

Bet on yourself.

Worst case?
You go back to a job.

Best case?
You build the firm you’ve always wanted to work for.

That’s a bet worth making.

—

PS - If you're an accountant or firm owner looking for real-world insights, relevant news, and useful tech recommendations, check out my free newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gDv-_Fpw

We’re publishing our first guest edition of The Net Effect on Monday and it's with Tom Zehentner, CPA!

He wrote about:
– Being social on social media
– Why cringe is the cost of opportunity
– How to post in a way that doesn’t feel manufactured

If you write online(or want to), you’ll like this one.

Don't miss it! 

https://lnkd.in/gDv-_Fpw

undefined undefined

QuickBooks Online Certification Level 1

QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisor

Certified Public Accountant

QuickBooks Online

Learn how to automate the accounting for your small business with this guide

How to Elevate & Automate your Accounting

I demystify finances for $5-50M SMBs | Founder @ Celerity Accounting | 40 under 40 CPA

My name is Tailor Hartman. I am the founder and CEO of Celerity Accounting, a fractional accounting & advisory firm for 7 & 8 figure businesses using QuickBooks Online or NetSuite. I am also an:

- Accounting Instructor
- 40 Under 40 CPA's in the Profession - CPA Practice Advisor
- Business accounting writer/content creator


Interested in hearing more? Let's chat!

Email: info@celerity.io
X: @tailor_hartman
https://linktr.ee/tailorh

Book a Consultation Call

Helped sort food and answer phones to raise food and money to feed those who cannot afford food. 

QuickBooks is better with FinOptimal.

I just took the Working Genius assessment.

It breaks work into 6 stages:

1. Wonder - identifying problems
2. Invention - generating ideas
3. Discernment - evaluating what will work
4. Galvanizing - driving action
5. Enablement - supporting execution
6. Tenacity - finishing and ensuring completion

It’s designed to show which types of tasks give you energy and which ones drain it.

For me, coming up with ideas and evaluating them feels natural.

Driving every detail to completion? Not so much.

I can still do it but it just costs more energy.

Where this gets interesting is at the team level.

A lot of what we call “misalignment” is really energy mismatch.

One person is wired to question and invent. Another is wired to push things across the finish line.

If you expect everyone to thrive in every stage, you create unnecessary friction.

The more clearly you understand:

• What energizes you
• What drains you
• And who naturally complements you

The easier it is to design roles around strengths instead of trying to make everyone good at everything.

Highly recommend taking it if you have a team.

—

PS - If you're an accountant or firm owner looking for real-world insights, relevant news, and useful tech recommendations, check out my free newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gDv-_Fpw

I care more about taste than tactics.

Tactics are visible.

• New niche
• New service lines
• New pricing model

You can point to them, market them, sell them.

Taste is invisible.

When I look at the firms I actually respect, it’s not their tactics that stand out.

It’s what they say no to.

They don’t do everything.
They don’t chase every client.
They don’t say yes just to protect revenue.

They’ve decided who they are (and who they aren’t).

That’s taste.

• Saying no to work you could technically do
• Telling a client you’re not the right firm for that
• Raising prices instead of adding more to justify them

Anyone can learn tactics.

Very few people develop judgment.

Software will change.
Rules will change.
AI will automate the mechanics.

But knowing what to leave out? What to simplify? What to refuse?

That’s the real differentiator.

I don’t want to win because we do more.

I want to win because we are better at what we do.

If your financials are slow, you’re spending 95% of the time guessing.

This is something I’ve noticed over and over again working with growing companies.

The businesses that scale smoothly don’t magically have a better strategy.

What they have is a faster feedback loop.

They know revenue is down by the second week, not at the end of the month.

They know spend is running hot by day 10, not when the P&L shows up.

They catch working capital tightening during the month, not once vendors are calling.

That changes how the business feels day to day.

The companies that struggle usually aren’t careless or poorly run.

They’re just late.

Late to notice.
Late to react.
Late to adjust.

And when feedback shows up late, every decision turns reactive by default.

So the real question isn’t, “How do we scale faster?”

It’s, “How quickly do we find out when something is off?”

That comes down to cadence.

If you only review revenue, spend, and cash after the month closes, you’re always looking in the rearview mirror.

As you scale, the goal isn’t to eliminate 100% of problems.

That’s unrealistic.

The goal is to shrink the gap between what’s happening and when you can see it.

That gap is the difference between guessing and actually being in control.

This is live!

Check it out here --> https://lnkd.in/gFRdG55T

Daniel Talbott

Talbott Advisory Group

In 2023, Talbott Advisory Group, launched M&A advisory services and soon found a niche in helping other accounting firms and their clients exit their businesses quickly, easily, and for the most money possible—or grow through acquisition.  

Brokered by: eXp Commercial

M&A Advisor

Talbott & Co., now Talbott Advisory Group, started by offering bookkeeping, accounting, tax services under the name Balancely, and fractional CFO services as Profit and Grow. We now exclusively focused on mergers and acquisitions advising and business brokerage. 

Talbott & Co. began in 2019 as a family owned and operated advisory accounting firm, offering tax planning, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and strategic advisory services to small businesses all over the US.

Business Consultant

eXp Commercial

Business Broker

Acquisition Experts, LLC / Florida Business Brokers

Formations

Formations is an tax accounting software as a service company, building a platform to offer bookkeeping, accounting, and tax preparation to Real Estate agents and other professionals.

Sr. Corporate Tax Manager

Collective

Joined the co-founders as the first full-time employee. Served the client base of Solo Entrepreneurs with accounting, tax planning, and tax preparation. 

Managed Sales and Client Success, and aided in build the Operation, Marketing, and Fulfillment teams.

Senior Tax Advisor

Omni Financial Vero Beach, FL

Once credentialed, as an Enrolled Agent, built a client book of 80 cases; high net worth, business owners, and non-profits. 

Managed and implemented tax controversy resolutions and tax mitigation strategies. Handled all negotiations with the Federal and State taxation authorities. Advised clients in ongoing tax mitigation restructuring.

Tax Associate

Career pivot into Tax Accounting

Served as paralegal to a Tax Attorney while learning the tax resolution and tax planning business, and working toward licensure. 

Analyzed tax controversy cases, established initial resolution strategies, prepared financial packets, offers, and abatement letters.

Tax Law Paralegal

Bankers Surety

2013-2014, founded and operated an independent agency. 

2014-2018, acquired and operated a larger, more established agency, and served as Principle Agent.

Principal Agent

As a limited liability surety agent, I managed business development, customer relationships, and financial underwriting of new bonds.

Agent

As an Intern / Agent-in-Training, I learned surety bond underwriting while preparing documentation and agency reporting. Responsible to managing notices and client contact.

Intern

I’m Daniel Talbott, founder of Talbott Advisory Group, where we specialize in helping accountants achieve their goals—whether it’s maximizing the value of their business for a sale, navigating growth through strategic acquisitions, or adding revenue through the addition of M&A Advisory services. 

With a focus on Main Street and lower middle-market firms, $500k-$5M in EBITDA, we bring expertise in M&A advisory, business brokerage, and a firm growth. 

My journey began as an entrepreneur, which gave me firsthand experience with the challenges of running a business. Over the years, I’ve scaled two venture-backed virtual accounting firms, launched my own client advisory accounting services (CAAS) firm, and expanded into mergers and acquisitions. Today, I combine my modern accounting firm expertise with a deep understanding of the human side of entrepreneurship to deliver results that matter.

At Talbott Advisory Group, we offer a white-glove, investment banking-level experience to firm owners looking to sell their businesses, acquire new ones, or build a strategy for long-term success. My specialty lies in serving accountants and professional service firms, but my passion is helping all entrepreneurs reach their next chapter, whether they’re planning for retirement or pursuing growth opportunities.

Let’s connect if you’re ready to:
	•	Maximize the value of your Firm
	•	Acquire another Firm to fuel growth
	•	Scale your Firm by offering M&A Services

📩 Reach out—I’d love to help you achieve your next big goal.

Founder / Fractional CFO

Talbott & Co. is a fractional CFO, tax resolution and planning, and consulting firm serving companies anywhere in the USA.

📣 Just Sold: Virtual CAS Firm

Valuation: 2.125x Revenue - 6.3x EBITDA

RightExit brokered the sale of a fully virtual bookkeeping / CAS accounting firm

• 100% remote | virtual firm
• US and PH employees
• Business client niche
• $4,000,000 revenue
• $1,350,000 EBITDA
• $1,929/mo avg fee
• 34% net margin

Sold to a strategic acquirer executing a PE-backed roll-up growth strategy

Based on these stats

What’s you firm worth in today’s market?

The market is hot 🔥, NOW is a great time to exit

———

RightExit brokers the sale of businesses in the upper Main Street and Lower Middle markets 
($2m-$20m)

I specialize in bookkeeping, accounting, CPA, tax, and advisory firms. 

Want to know the ONE thing you should work on next to boost your firm’s value?

📥 DM me

Daniel Talbott, CEPA

Founder, RightExit® | M&A Brokerage for firms $2m+ revenue | You built a firm on trust and relationships, we’ll find the next steward for your legacy.

This guy is 100% correct!

Private Equity groups ARE frustrated

• Frustrated that they aren’t the only buyer

• Frustrated that Sellers are represented

• Frustrated that Sellers are educated

• Frustrated they won’t get a steal

What are they doing about it?

Hiring agencies and building internal teams to contact sellers with offers too good to be true…

Too good to actually make it to closing without price cutting a few times in due diligence. 

So before you get excited about that letter, email, or phone called offer…

Consider who’s best interest is in mind. 

Are you better served by working with one buyer who is leading you through the process, telling you what is or isn’t normal 

Or

Do you want to run a professional process with capable representation, multiple competing buyers offering market rate or more, and informed options for your deal structure?

If you have received an offer for your firm, and you’re considering it, I want to talk to you!
 

———

RightExit is a M&A Advisory and Exit Planning firm for Bookkeepers, Accountants, CPAs, and Tax Professionals 

Whether you want to sell or scale, I want to help you find the ONE thing you should work on next to boost your firm’s value. 

📥 DM me

What actually makes a firm valuable? 

It's not revenue
It's not profit
It's not niche

The answer is almost never what owners expect.

It's how durable and transferable the firm is. 

If there is too much dependence on you, or overworked team members, it could be worth nothing!

On March 24th at 4PM EST, I'm sitting down with Agustín Morrone from Vintti to break this down from the M&A and the talent side.

We’ll share real strategies for structuring and recruiting a team that will increase your firms value.

Take a break and bring some questions!

At the very least, you will learn something to help make busy season more bearable. 

Reserve your spot at this link: https://lnkd.in/eT8-xep5

When selling an accounting firm
 the financials are usually pretty clean

The messy part is the Organizational Chart

• Receptionists doing bookkeeping

• Tax professionals packing and mailing tax returns

• That one experienced accountant who gets the hard stuff

One of the best things you can do for your firm is to clean up the Org Chart

Break down your roles into:

Junior -role-
-role-
Senior -role-

ie.

Junior Controller
Controller
Senior Controller 

Each level of each role in your firm should only be responsible for 3-5 tasks

Each task should have no more than 3-5 measurable performance indicators 

Easy to manage

Easy to track headcount needs

Everyone is 3-6 months from a promotion and a raise

Is this how your firm is set up already
 or is it something you need to work on?

———

RightExit is a M&A Advisory firm for Accountants, CPAs, and Advisors

We broker the sale of firms in the upper Main Street and lower middle markets ($2m+ revenue)

Want to know the ONE thing you should work on next to boost your firm’s value?

📥 DM me

Has anyone used Found?

I'm looking for a new go-to business bank.

March and April are the most important months for accounting firm VALUATIONS.

Not just because you will earn most of your tax revenue for the year.

Because it's the best time for the 2 major ways to increase your firms value.

1.) Upsell / Cross-Sell services

Your clients are finally paying attention in March and April

No one likes to pay taxes

So this is the one time of the year your clients will really HEAR your advice 

This is the opportunity to offer them:
- Tax Planning
- Monthly Bookkeeping
- Fractional CFO Services

Those key recurring and advisory services that we help them make or keep more money!

2.) Referrals! 

When you speak with your clients

and they tell you how happy they are

that's the time to see if they know anyone who isn't happy!

Don't miss out...

It's easy to get lost in the weeds and forget that you're a business owner first

and accountant second.

All of the levers to increase the value of your firm

Sell to more clients
Sell more to clients
Sell to clients more
Raise prices 👆 
Cut costs 👇 

1️⃣ Sell to more clients

Pretty self explanatory. Sell your services to more unique clients to drive revenue up. 

2️⃣ Sell more to clients

Offer complementary services to improve the total lifetime value of a client. ie. upsell tax clients tax planning services

3️⃣ Sell to clients more

This is frequency of purchases. The more times someone buys, the more opportunity there is to generate profit. Think of each time you get paid as an individual purchase. 

Annual bookkeeping (1 purchase)
Quarterly bookkeeping (4 purchases)
Monthly bookkeeping (12 purchases)
Weekly bookkeeping (52 purchases)

Annual bookkeeping $3600
Quarterly bookkeeping $900
Monthly bookkeeping $500
Weekly bookkeeping $300
(actual averages charged by real firms)

The same clients is worth
$3,600
$6,000
$15,600
to different firms.

What about for tax?

One time preparation 1120S $1,500
Quarterly tax estimates with prep $500 x4
Monthly tax subscription $250 x12
(I’ve actually done this)

4️⃣ Raise prices 👆 

Make raising prices a standard part of your year. Bundle it with encouraging your clients to raise their prices. Give inflation data to support their recommended price increase. If it makes sense for them to do it, it makes sense for you to do it. 

Even if you don’t raise every year, make sure to have leveled prices at some point. We all deal with scope creep. If you avoid it, it’s robbing your retirement. 

5️⃣ Cut costs 👇

Cutting costs is easier than ever. 

Most of us are paying for redundancies. Simplify and optimize your tech stack. 

Review your staff and highlight top producers, elevate the middle, replace the bottom. 

Consider automating or offshoring basic workflows, and look into remote and nearshore top talent for reduced payroll costs. 

———

RightExit® brokers the sale of businesses in the upper Main Street and Lower Middle markets 
($2m-$20m)

I specialize in bookkeeping, accounting, CPA, tax, and advisory firms. 

Want to know the ONE thing you should work on next to boost your firm’s value?

📥 DM me

taplio

The Battle

Tailor Hartman

Daniel Talbott

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreTailor Hartman's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreDaniel Talbott's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Tailor Hartman

Daniel Talbott

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Tailor Hartman's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreDaniel Talbott's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreTailor Hartman's LinkedIn Performance