How Much Should an Accounting Firm Budget for Marketing in 2026?
Every August we get the same question from accounting firm directors: "how much should we actually be spending on marketing?" Most firms have never had a straight answer — just a vague sense that marketing is something you do when there's budget left over. We think that's backwards; marketing isn't the reward for a good year, it's part of what builds one. 💖 Below are real percentage benchmarks, a channel split you can actually use, and the mechanics for turning a guess into a proper budget line.
What most accounting firms get wrong
We see the same patterns on repeat. Firms spend hard in the six weeks before tax season, then go quiet for the rest of the year — which means the phone stops ringing right when the team finally has capacity to take on new clients. Marketing gets treated as the first thing to cut in a slow month, even though it's usually the thing that would fix a slow month. There's rarely a line item for retaining existing clients or upselling them into advisory and SMSF work, even though that's often cheaper and more profitable than chasing new logos. And a lot of firms pour the whole budget into one channel — usually Google Ads — with nothing left for the website, content or referral relationships that make those ads actually convert.
Start with where your firm actually is, not where you wish it was:
- New firm building a client base: 10–15% of revenue. You need visibility fast, and there's no existing client base to lean on for referrals yet.
- Established, compliance-focused firm: 3–5% of revenue. Demand is steady and churn is low — spend is about staying visible and defending your patch.
- Firm shifting toward advisory or SMSF work: 6–10% of revenue. You're educating a market that doesn't yet know to ask for what you offer.
Then split that budget roughly like this:
- Website & SEO: 25%
- Google Ads, weighted heavier pre-EOFY: 25%
- Content & client newsletters: 20%
- Referral partner nurture: 15%
- Branding & design: 15%
A sole practitioner two years in puts 12% of revenue into local SEO and their Google Business Profile, because ranking for "accountant near me" in their suburb matters more right now than a slick brand. It's unglamorous but it works — within a year they're not chasing leads, leads are chasing them.
A 15-year-old suburban firm with steady compliance revenue keeps spend flat and always-on at around 4% of revenue year-round, instead of spiking before EOFY and vanishing after. The result is a pipeline that never fully dries up, and a team that isn't scrambling every July.
A firm tired of being seen as "just tax" reallocates a chunk of its budget from Google Ads toward advisory-focused content — case studies, SMSF explainers, business structuring guides — because that's the work they actually want more of, and nobody searches for it by name.
How to actually set the number
Start with revenue, not gut feel — apply your percentage to the last 12 months of actual revenue, or a realistic forecast if you're growing fast. Smooth that spend across the full year instead of front-loading it into the EOFY rush; a consistent monthly amount keeps you visible when competitors go quiet, which is exactly when you want to be seen. Review the split quarterly, since what worked in February won't necessarily work in June. And keep one-off costs — a website rebuild, a rebrand, new signage — separate from your ongoing spend, so a single big project doesn't distort what "normal" marketing spend looks like next year.
Mistakes to avoid
- Spending only in the six weeks before tax season
- Cutting marketing as the default response to a quiet month
- No budget at all for retaining or upselling existing clients
- Putting the entire budget into one channel
- Treating a one-off project cost as your ongoing "normal" spend
- Setting a budget once and never reviewing it again
Frequently asked questions
Is 4–8% of revenue really enough? For most established firms, yes — but treat it as a starting point, not a ceiling. A firm in a competitive metro market, or one actively growing into advisory services, may reasonably need to spend more to get noticed. Benchmarks help you sense-check your budget; they shouldn't be the only thing setting it.
How fast will we see results? Realistically, months rather than weeks. SEO and referral nurture especially take time to compound, so budget with that in mind rather than expecting payback in the first quarter.
Should we spend more in the lead-up to EOFY? A bit more on Google Ads makes sense, since demand genuinely spikes. Just don't let that be the only time you spend — always-on activity is what stops the June-to-July drop-off.
What if we genuinely can't afford 4% right now? Start smaller and prioritise the highest-leverage channel for your stage — usually local SEO or referral nurture — rather than spreading a tiny budget too thin across everything at once.
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