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Boulay vs Midwest CPA

Side by Side

Boulay and Midwest CPA, attribute by attribute
AttributeBoulayMidwest CPA
What It IsA Minnesota CPA firm with a search fund practice that runs the whole arc: entity and payroll setup during the search, the tax analysis of a deal structure before the LOI, the quality-of-earnings engagement, and then purchase price allocation, funds flow accounting, the opening balance sheet and the working capital true-up after closing. Its own page says it has served the search fund ecosystem since 2005.A transaction advisory and accounting firm that writes quality-of-earnings reports for buyers of $1M to $5M businesses and then, if you want it, keeps the books after closing. The pricing page states the band for both services rather than gating it behind a call.
CategoryDiligence & Earnings ReviewDiligence & Earnings Review
Pricing ModelCustom PricingOne-Time
What It CostsNothing is published. The search fund page ends at a phone number and a request-a-meeting form, so the price for every service here arrives by call. That is the usual shape on this shelf and the opposite of the two providers that print a band, which is the comparison to make before booking.Published on the firm's own pricing page (August 2026): transaction advisory, meaning the QoE analysis, typically runs $12,000 to $23,000 and above per deal, scaled to deal size. Monthly accounting is quoted separately at $650 to $5,000 a month depending on complexity. Both are bands rather than quotes, so confirm the number for your deal before you commit.
Best ForA searcher who wants the tax structure of the deal decided by the same firm that will write the quality-of-earnings report and file the returns afterwards, and who is comfortable getting the price by phoneA buyer who wants the diligence and the post-close bookkeeping from one firm that already knows the deal, and who wants to see the price band before booking a call
Where It FitsSet Up & Fund the Search, Diligence & Close the Deal, Operate & Grow the BusinessDiligence & Close the Deal, Operate & Grow the Business
Our VerdictWorth a call when the tax structure is the open question, which on an SBA-financed purchase it usually is: the choice between an asset deal, a stock deal and an F-reorganization moves the after-tax price further than a point of interest does, and this is a firm that names those elections on its own page rather than waiting for a buyer to raise them. Quote the quality of earnings separately from the ongoing accounting, and ask which of the named partners is on your file.Worth a quote alongside the other priced providers, especially if you would rather not hand your books to a stranger in month one. Take the diligence and the bookkeeping as two decisions, not one, and get the top of that open-ended band pinned down in writing.
Pros
  • The scope is written stage by stage on the firm's own page, from formation and Forms K-1 through pre-LOI conversations to the post-close opening balance sheet, so you can see where it helps before the call
  • The tax side is written for this deal rather than for deals in general: the page names 338(h)(10), 336(e), F-reorganizations, Section 1202 and the stock versus asset choice, which is the analysis that decides what a purchase is worth after tax
  • The search fund team is named partner by partner with each one's role, including the two transaction advisory partners, so you know who the work sits with before you call
  • The QoE band and the accounting band are both on the pricing page, which most firms in this lane will not do
  • Written for buyers of small businesses rather than for corporate development, and the firm says so in its own positioning
  • The team that reads the target's books during diligence is the team that can run them afterwards, which shortens the first ninety days
Cons
  • No published price for any of it, so the priced providers on this shelf give you a number before this firm gives you a call
  • Hundreds of ETA entrepreneurs and a start date of 2005 are the firm's own claims, with nothing behind either that a reader can check
  • One firm sells the structuring, the quality of earnings and the books afterwards, which is convenient and is also a firm marking its own homework; take the diligence and the ongoing accounting as two decisions
  • The published figure is a band that ends in 'and above', so the top is open and the quote is still a conversation
  • Selling the post-close bookkeeping to the buyer it just advised is a conflict worth naming out loud; judge the diligence on its own and decide the accounting separately
  • Smaller bench than the national firms, so ask about timing and about who covers the work if the principal is on another deal

Our take

Choose Boulay when the tax structure is the part you are least sure of. Its search fund page names 338(h)(10), 336(e), F-reorganizations, Section 1202 and the stock versus asset choice, which is the analysis deciding what a purchase is worth after tax, and the arc runs from entity and payroll setup during the search through the opening balance sheet and the working capital true-up after closing, with the transaction advisory partners named individually. Two limits its own row records. Nothing is priced anywhere on the page, so every number arrives by phone. And every office is in Minnesota while the practice is described as reaching four regions, so ask who staffs your deal and where they sit.

Choose Midwest CPA when you want the band before the call. Its pricing page states $12,000 to $23,000 and above for the quality-of-earnings analysis on a $1 million to $5 million deal, and $650 to $5,000 a month for the accounting afterwards, which is the opposite of a phone number. Two cautions travel with that. The band ends open at the top, so the number is still a conversation once the deal is bigger than the middle of it. And the bench is smaller than the national firms, with no published turnaround commitment, so ask about timing and about who covers the work when the principal is on another deal.