BNA CPA grows revenue 4x and cuts A/R by 97% with Ignition
By automating proposals, engagement letters, billing and payments with Ignition, BNA CPA has sustained steady growth while virtually eliminating A/R.
When you get to our level, you have to have products that will scale with you. You can’t rely on manual processes anymore.
Jason Ackerman, Co-managing Partner, BNA
The challenge: Scaling a modern firm without losing control
BNA CPA has been helping clients for almost 50 years. Founded by Jason Ackerman’s father, Bernie, the family-run business has grown into a team of around 35 on the accounting firm side and 7 in the wealth management group.
The firm has always taken a forward-thinking approach to growth. Long before many accounting firms moved away from hourly billing, BNA had already stopped tracking time and shifted to fixed price agreements.
“One thing that’s different about us is that we haven’t kept track of time since 2013,” says Jason. “We’ve been off timesheets, and we’ve done fixed price agreements since then.”
But while the pricing model was modern, the revenue process behind it was not built to scale.
Before Ignition, BNA created agreements in Microsoft Word, sent them for signature through AdobeSign, and invoiced clients separately. That created a fragmented, manual process with limited visibility across the business.
At one point, BNA had an intern working for over 7 months just updating and preparing agreements for renewal season.
We would have one intern working from May until November just creating the updated Word documents to send out,” says Jason. “Then we would have to send them out and get them signed. And then you’d have to send the invoice out separately.
As the firm grew, those inefficiencies became harder to manage. BNA now handles around 4,000 tax returns each year and serves over 2,000 clients. At that scale, inefficiencies multiply quickly.
At the same time, BNA was focused on sustainable, controlled growth, rather than rapid expansion through acquisitions.
We believe in steady, organic long-term growth,” says Jason. “We aim to grow between 7% and 10% each year.
To support that model, the firm needed a more structured, scalable way to manage its revenue process, one that could grow with the business while maintaining control and consistency.
The solution: Building a scalable, predictable revenue engine
BNA implemented Ignition to bring proposals, engagement letters, billing, and payments into a single, automated workflow.
“I was waiting for a solution like Ignition, because I knew we needed something, but there wasn’t a solution out there at the time,” says Jason.
What stood out was not just automation, but the ability to manage the full revenue process in one place.
There was proposal software, and then there was payment software,” says Jason. “There wasn’t a good one that did both really well, until Ignition.
With Ignition, BNA now creates proposals, sets clear scope and pricing, collects payment details, and automates billing and payments in a single system. That shift has transformed both cash flow and operational control.
You don’t have A/R when you have Ignition,” says Jason. “I think we used to always have $300,000 of A/R just sitting there. Now we have zero A/R.
Reducing A/R has given BNA more predictable cash flow and the confidence to invest in growth.
Today, 93% of payments are collected automatically through ACH or credit card, removing the need to chase invoices and creating a more consistent revenue stream.
Ignition has also helped BNA scale its pricing strategy. The firm applies a minimum standard 6% increase each year for clients with consistent scope, and uses Ignition’s bulk renewal functionality to implement those changes efficiently.
“Every year, we increase prices by at least 6%, and then in Ignition, we just roll over the agreements in bulk with 6% added to the bill,” says Jason.
BNA also leverages Ignition's AI-powered Price Insights for regular spot checks of its pricing before agreements are updated or new proposals are sent out.
That consistency has played a key role in BNA’s long-term growth. Since 2012, the firm has grown from $1.8 million in revenue to a projected $7.6 million this year.
That growth has been deliberate and repeatable, supported by structured pricing, strong client relationships, and scalable systems.
When you get to our level, you have to have products that will scale with you. You can’t rely on manual processes anymore.
For a firm operating at high volume, with thousands of tax returns and proposals each year, having that structure is critical.
We do around 4,000 tax returns a year,” says Jason. “We have to be able to get our processes right. Ignition allows us to run the practice efficiently and continue to scale.
Ignition also provides visibility into revenue performance. Jason regularly checks the dashboard in Ignition to track billing activity and understand how the firm is performing.
I log into the dashboard all the time and see where we are,” says Jason. “Ignition is where the money comes in.
That visibility helps leadership stay in control of revenue as the firm grows, rather than reacting after the fact.
Just as importantly, automating billing and payments has allowed BNA to shift resources toward higher-value work.
If we have to put resources somewhere, I’d rather have more resources on the accounting side than on the billing side,” says Jason. “If we can have Ignition handle all the billing and admin work, I can focus people on client work.
That focus supports BNA’s broader growth strategy: delivering great service to existing clients and expanding relationships over time.
“Our core is just taking care of our clients, and then the referrals they send our way help drive future growth,” says Jason.
By automating proposals, engagement letters, billing, and payments with Ignition, BNA has built a more scalable and predictable way to grow, with stronger cash flow, better visibility, and less reliance on manual processes.
Automating your revenue processes is really what Ignition does well. And that’s something that all accountants need.
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