More clients. Same team. New math◆

It applies one capacity multiplier to your current client base, then re-prices the larger book at your own rate. The multiplier is 3 ÷ 0.62, which is about 4.8×. The 3 is the headroom between serving clients by hand and serving them with the production work off their plate; the 0.62 is the share of a typical firm's capacity that goes to compliance work, which is the part Meridian takes on. Nothing about your rate or headcount changes in the projection: only client volume grows.

From the gap between the industry today and what we already see in production at Pilot. Pilot's own bookkeepers run at $400,000 or more in revenue per accountant right now, with Meridian carrying the production work, and our top accountants clear $1 million. We built the model on $400,000, not the top of that range, so the figure holds up as an average rather than a best case. The AICPA's 2025 National Management of an Accounting Practice (MAP) Survey puts industry median net client fees per professional at $115,000 to $145,000. $400,000 against the $130,000 midpoint of that range is 3× (2.76× at the top of the industry band, 3.48× at the bottom). The 3× is a fixed constant and does not change with your inputs; where your firm lands depends on your client base and how you staff the work, which is what a call is for.

It is the share of firm capacity spent on compliance and production work, drawn from the Intuit QuickBooks Accountant Technology Survey (2025). That compliance work is what Meridian takes on, so the model treats freeing that 62% as what lets a smaller team carry a larger book. Like the 3×, it is a fixed constant and does not vary by input.

Before Meridian, revenue is your clients times your per-client rate. After Meridian, the same rate is applied to the larger client count the multiplier produces. No rate increases are assumed anywhere. The only variable that moves is the number of clients.

Before Meridian, gross profit is revenue minus labor, using the in-house and offshore salaries you enter. After Meridian, it is revenue minus in-house labor minus Meridian's per-client fee. Offshore headcount folds in-house in the after case: the model assumes the offshore production work moves onto Meridian, so those seats are no longer staffed separately. Salary assumptions default to $80,000 in-house and $10,000 offshore and are fully editable, so you can put in your own numbers.

The calculator adds $100 per client per year on the after side only; there is no Meridian cost in the before column. In practice Meridian is priced per client by complexity, and most firms land between $75 and $250. $100 is a mid-range placeholder so you can see an indicative picture. We confirm the exact figure once we understand the complexity of your client base.

Because the model reflects your current cost structure honestly. If the salaries you enter exceed the revenue your current clients generate, before-Meridian gross profit is negative. That is common for a lightly-loaded team, for example a large in-house headcount serving relatively few clients. The after column grows revenue on that same team, which is where the margin comes from. If a negative looks off, check your client-to-accountant ratio and your per-client rates.