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small business accounting

Most Accounting Clients Stay for 5+ Years… but Many Stay for Decades!

July 1st, 2025 | 4 min. read

By Brian Paulson

Before signing up for a high-level accounting service (like monthly accounting), you want to know how long you can expect to work with them. What do most clients do?

At CSI Accounting & Payroll, we’ve provided monthly accounting services to small businesses for nearly 60 years. Our current client base has a variety of longevity.

Let’s talk about the clients who have been with us for… :

  • Decades.
  • A year.
  • More than 5 years (the average client lifespan).

Clients for Decades

Many of our clients have stayed with us for decades. It’s our goal to help them retire in the best position possible!

Why have they stayed that long? Easy. We do a great job, they get a great value, and they like us as people. It’s cliché, but we come to think of them as family.

In the accounting realm, if you’re in that position, it’s a good thing to stick with it for decades. You should only switch accountants if the service is poor, you’re not getting out what you put in, or you don’t like who you’re working with.

Clients for a Year

We require new clients to sign a one-year service agreement. After that, our service is on a month-to-month basis. Here’s why a year-long agreement is beneficial. Plus, tax strategy is most beneficial when applied year-over-year

So, why do some clients move on after the initial year is up? It comes down to:

  • Incorrect expectations
  • and/or low effort

Incorrect Expectations

Do they care about monthly accounting or just taxes? If these clients just want a tax return, then they’ll go back to annual tax preparers. 

What about a quick fix? If they just want to catch up on back work or resolve a different pain point, then they’ll leave when it’s settled.

Low Effort

Some who left early signed up and dragged their feet. If you don’t give us the information we need, and you don’t use our monthly statements and unlimited advice, then you’re not going to see the value.

Some of these clients want out of their year-long service agreements early – but because it’s not due to poor quality or a lack of service on our end, it’s not a good reason to void the agreement and provide a full refund.

If any of this applies to you, then we don’t want you as a client! Learn who’s a good fit to work with CSI.

Average Clients (5+ Years)

I stated in the title that our average client spends more than five years working with us. When you consider that we currently have over 400 accounting clients, that brings the point home:

A majority of our clients see our value year-over-year!

… And since we’re constantly growing and bettering ourselves, there’s plenty of room for that longevity to increase.

Stay as Long as You Like!

Whether they stay for a short time or a long time, we have tons of raving fans. Don’t believe me? Check out our hundreds of Google reviews and testimonials.

Now that you know about our clients who stay for decades, only one year, and an average of 5+ years (and growing), are you ready to check out our monthly accounting services?

To see if we can be a good fit for your business, click the button below for a free consultation:

Not ready to talk? That’s okay! First, let’s make sure we fit your budget expectations. Try our pricing calculator before you ever need to talk to us:

Brian Paulson

Brian is the owner of CSI Accounting & Payroll. After earning a double major in Accounting and Financial Management from the University of North Dakota, he joined CSI in 1996 and purchased it in 2002. With decades of experience, Brian now focuses on education: contributing to professional associations and business books, actively participating in continued learning for his team, and, of course, sharing transparent insights on CSI’s website.