Build a more valuable accounting firm.
The Renew Operating Model is a structured, step-by-step system built from over 25 years of real firm data. The right clients. The right prices. The right team. A firm that generates real profit — and is worth something when the time comes to sell or transition.
A better firm operating model. Better outcomes.
Average price increase in Year 1 — with only 4% client attrition
Model Firm target AHCR — (Average Hourly Charge Rate) today.
Years of real firm data powering the Pareto for Profit™ analysis
Growing revenue
is not the same as
building a better firm.
Most accounting firms are built to grow revenue — not to build better operating models. As they scale, complexity increases, pricing lags behind cost increases, and owners and partners work more to maintain the same level of profitability.
The result: a firm that is growing, but not more profitable or increasing in value. They add more cost — usually labor — to serve clients they should not have, and trade dollars rather than build equity.
"You cannot correctly price the wrong client."
— Renew Maxim
The Renew Operating Model is built on different principles: fewer clients, higher prices, the right services, leverage. A firm that generates real profit — and is worth something when the time comes.
Average Hourly Charge Rate of $250+ — not the profession average of $152
100% ICP (Ideal Client Profile) — every client in the portfolio is a target client
Owners / partners and team members working under 40 hours per week
Profit per equity owner before comp: $500K+ — the benchmark for a firm that works
A firm that runs with leverage — and is worth selling when the time comes
Three stages. One clear path.
The Renew Hierarchy is built from over decades of real firm data. It gives every firm a clear read on where they are, what they need to do next, and what success looks like at each stage. Every priority is tied to a metric. Nothing is left vague.
Do we have the right clients, at the right price, with the right people, doing the right work?
The fundamentals: pricing, client rationalization, target client definition, service mix. This is the foundation everything else is built on. Most firms start here regardless of revenue. Transformation is a structured, supported 24-month journey — not an overnight disruption.
Are we building a firm that grows without proportionally growing our costs and hours?
The fundamentals are in place. Now build a marketing system that brings in the right clients consistently — and structure the firm to serve them with leverage. Most firms arrive here with no defined ICP, no structured marketing journey, and multiple false starts with marketing.
Does the firm run with leverage? Can senior partners be replaced? What is the value of the firm? Have you valued your firm considering EBITDA?
Every firm will transition. The question is whether you're ready when it does. This stage isn't reserved for those near retirement — it's for any firm owner exploring acquisition, merger, partner restructuring, or succession at any career stage.
A structured proven pathway. Not a resource to browse.
The Renew Operating Model is not a library. It's a structured pathway — every stage has a defined sequence of actions, tools, and conversations. At every decision point, there's a proven process ready to follow. No firm starts from scratch.
Tier 1
Transformation
Tier 2
Strategic Growth
Tier 3
Transition
Pareto for Profit™
Every member submits their Pareto data annually. We identify which clients are creating value — and which are creating the insanity. The analysis you can't unsee.
Peer Execution Groups
Small groups of non-competing firms that meet regularly. Real numbers. Real challenges. Real accountability. No posturing. Every firm at the table shares what's actually happening with practical insights.
Direct Coaching
Coaching calls with Shannon or Colin — not someone reading from a script. Working calls. Structured, with clarity on actions and metrics. Direct access to the people running the program.
The Benchmark Assessment
Built from real Pareto data submitted by member firms — not surveys. 50+ real peers. You see exactly where you stand and what the highest-performing firms actually look like.
Regroup — Annual Gathering
Three days. Every firm's numbers on the table. You come prepared. You leave with a plan. And someone at your table will hold you to it. Denver, Colorado — August 2026.
AI-Assisted Execution
At key stages, AI tools help member firms work faster, price smarter, and build marketing engines that would have taken years to build manually. A tool, not a strategy.
Real targets. Real firms. Real data.
Every target is drawn from the actual performance of high-performing Renew member firms. These are not aspirations. They are proof points — validated against the Rosenberg MAP Survey, the most widely referenced benchmarking study for US CPA firms.
Member avg today: $152.
Top firms: $238+.
Member avg today: $233K
Member avg (tax season): 57 hrs/wk
Member avg: $326K. Best result: $819K.
$152
$250+
$6,175
$12K - $25K
27%
0%
49%
100%
$233K
$250K+
$326
$500K+
Average price increase across members in 2025
AHCR improvement 2024 → 2025
Revenue growth across members in 2025
Client attrition despite 14% price increases
"Renew shall not trade in fluff."
Renew Core Value — Everything else is built on this
What the program looks like when someone does the work.
No silver bullets. No overnight transformations. This is what happens when accounting firm owners commit to changing the model — and stay with it.
Case Studies
$980K revenue → $2.37MM. Net income up 149%. ICP/recurring revenue: $1.73MM (was $0). Revenue per professional: $382K. There were no silver bullets. It took six years.
2010: $1.69MM / 1,178 clients / AHCR $100. 2025: $3.08MM / 157 clients / AHCR $238. Clients below $1K: from 928 to 10 — a 99% reduction. Acquired by a platform group in 2025. Every major decision: made in collaboration with Renew.
"We never agree to reduce the quoted price. Anyone who negotiates should not be a client of the firm. We price to win — not to win the work."
The longer you're in, the better your firm gets.
Members in the program 3 or more years consistently outperform newer members across every key metric. The data says so.
Higher revenue per partner for 3+ year members vs. newer members
Higher minimum individual client prices for 3+ year members
Fewer partner hours during tax season for 3+ year members
Source: 2025 Renew Bite-Size Benchmark Assessment — built from actual Pareto data submitted by member firms.
We say the things other people won't.
The accounting profession is full of vague coaching language and gentle advice. Renew's voice is the opposite. Here's what we actually believe.
Hourly billing is dead. If you're running your firm on time-and-rate, you're running the wrong model.
If your AHCR is below $250, you're leaving significant money on the table. This is fixable.
You cannot correctly price the wrong client. Pricing and client rationalization must be done together.
The Insanity Zone is not a tax season problem. It's a firm model problem. Our Pareto for Profit Analysis holds the key.
You cannot grow revenue as a way out of a broken model. Fix Transformation before Strategic Growth.
A program is not a community. Accountability is Adult.
Making the Firm the #1 Client is not selfish. It's what a healthy firm does to create value for the key stakeholders.
Most accountants are pricing apologists. The first sale is to yourself.
Find out where your firm stands.
The Renew assessment is not a survey. It's a diagnostic — built around the six pillars that separate firms that transform from firms that stay stuck. You'll get a clear read on where you are in the Renew Hierarchy, what's holding you back, and whether the program is the right fit.
Not theorists. Accountants.
Shannon and Colin left the profession themselves. They know what it costs — personally and professionally — to stay in the wrong model. 60+ combined years coaching accountants from the inside.