Build a CPA firm database from scratch#

Create a comprehensive list of certified public accountant (CPA) firms without manual research or purchasing outdated lists. PromptLoop's AI-powered dataset generation crawls the web to find accounting practices, then enriches each record with decision maker contacts and firmographic details.

This guide is designed for business development, B2B software sales, financial services marketing, or any outreach targeting accounting professionals.

Prerequisites#

Before you start:

• Enterprise plan access – Dataset generation is available on Enterprise plans
• Target market defined – Decide on geographic region or global criteria
• Firm size preference – Consider whether you want solo practitioners, small firms, or large regional practices

Choose your generation approach#

PromptLoop offers two methods for building CPA firm lists. Choose based on your targeting strategy:

Most users start with Geographic Crawl for tighter regional targeting.

Option 1: Geographic Crawl for regional CPA lists#

Use this approach when targeting specific cities, states, or metropolitan areas.

Steps for geographic generation#

1. Navigate to dataset generation

Go to your Datasets page and click Generate Dataset.

2. Select Geographic Crawl

Choose Geographic Crawl as your generation method.

3. Define your target region

Enter the geographic areas where you want to find CPA firms:

• Single city – "Austin, TX" or "Denver, CO"
• Multiple cities – "San Francisco, CA; San Jose, CA; Oakland, CA"
• State-wide – "New Jersey" or "Florida"
• Metropolitan area – "Greater Atlanta Area"

4. Enter your keyword

Use one of these keywords based on your target:

• "CPA firms" – Broad search for all certified public accountants
• "accounting firms" – Includes CPAs and bookkeeping services
• "tax preparation" – Focus on tax-season services
• "audit firms" – Target firms specializing in auditing

Run one keyword per crawl. If you need multiple service types, generate separate datasets and merge them later.

5. Generate the dataset

Click Generate to start the crawl. The process typically takes 3-10 minutes. You'll see:

• A placeholder row while the crawler works
• Status updates as the system finds and deduplicates firms
• "Completed" status when the dataset is ready to review

6. Review initial results

Your generated dataset includes:

• Firm names – Official business names
• Addresses – Physical office locations
• Websites – Firm websites for research
• Phone numbers – Main office phone lines
• Geographic data – City, state, ZIP code

Option 2: Global Crawl for nationwide targeting#

Use this approach when you need CPA firms across the country that match specific criteria.

Steps for global generation#

1. Navigate to dataset generation

Go to your Datasets page and click Generate Dataset.

2. Select Global Crawl

Choose Global Crawl as your generation method.

3. Set business filters

Define your ideal CPA firm profile using filters:

• Industry focus – "B2B," "Healthcare," "Real Estate," "Technology"
• Company type – "Accounting Services," "Tax Preparation," "Audit Firms"
• Headquarters location – "United States," "Canada," or specific regions
• Firm size – Small (1-10), Medium (11-50), Large (51-200), Enterprise (200+)

4. Generate and review

Click Generate and wait for results. Global crawls may take 5-15 minutes depending on filter breadth. You'll receive thousands of firms matching your criteria.

Enrich your CPA firm list#

The initial generation provides foundational data. Now enrich with decision maker contacts and additional firmographic details.

Add partner and decision maker contacts#

To find individual CPAs, partners, and decision makers:

1. Create a task that extracts professional names from firm websites
2. Target "Our Team," "Partners," or "About Us" pages
3. Extract names, titles, credentials (CPA, EA, etc.), and practice areas
4. Run the task on your generated dataset

This gives you specific contacts instead of just general firm information.

Learn how to create a custom task

Add verified emails and phone numbers#

Once you have individual names:

1. Use Contact Enrichment to find verified emails
2. Add direct phone numbers for outreach
3. Pay only for successful enrichments

This provides direct contact information for personalized campaigns.

Add firmographic details#

Enrich with additional business intelligence:

• Service offerings – Tax, audit, consulting, bookkeeping, advisory
• Industry specializations – Healthcare, real estate, nonprofits, startups
• Technology stack – Software tools they use (QuickBooks, Xero, etc.)
• Client size focus – Individuals, small business, mid-market, enterprise
• Number of CPAs – Firm size and capacity
• Founded date – Firm age and stability

Create custom tasks to extract this information from firm websites and online profiles.

Quality checks#

After generation and enrichment, validate your data:

1. Firm verification – Confirm firms are active accounting practices, not closed businesses
2. Duplicate removal – Check for duplicate entries (same address, phone, or website)
3. Geographic accuracy – Verify addresses match your target regions
4. Contact validation – Test a sample of email addresses for deliverability
5. Credential check – Ensure firms actually have CPAs (some may be bookkeepers only)
6. Website status – Confirm websites are live and professional

Example workflow#

Here's a complete workflow for building a CPA firm list in the Pacific Northwest:

Generation phase:

• Regions: "Seattle, WA; Portland, OR; Spokane, WA; Eugene, OR"
• Keyword: "CPA firms"
• Result: 342 accounting firms found

Enrichment phase:

• Extract partner names from websites: 1,247 individual CPAs identified
• Add email addresses: 891 verified emails (71% success rate)
• Add phone numbers: 1,089 direct lines (87% success rate)
• Extract service offerings: 342 service descriptions
• Extract industry specializations: 298 specialization areas

Final dataset:

• 342 CPA firms across 4 cities
• 1,247 individual CPA contacts
• 891 verified email addresses
• 1,089 direct phone numbers
• Service and specialization data for targeting

Use cases for CPA firm lists#

Practice management software sales:

• Target firms by size and technology needs
• Segment by service offerings (tax, audit, advisory)
• Personalize demos based on specialization

Financial services and fintech:

• Promote banking solutions for accounting firms
• Offer client services (lending, wealth management)
• Partner for referral programs

Professional services marketing:

• Recruit CPAs for new positions
• Promote continuing education and CPE courses
• Offer compliance and regulatory tools

Business development:

• Find strategic partnership opportunities
• Target firms serving your ideal customer profile
• Build referral networks in specific industries

Segment and filter your list#

After generating and enriching, segment your CPA firm list for targeted campaigns:

By firm size:

• Solo practitioners for individual solutions
• Small firms (2-10 CPAs) for emerging technology
• Large firms (50+ CPAs) for enterprise software

By service focus:

• Tax specialists for tax software and prep tools
• Audit firms for compliance solutions
• Advisory practices for business intelligence tools

By industry specialization:

• Healthcare CPAs for medical billing software
• Real estate CPAs for property management tools
• Technology CPAs for startup-focused services

By geography:

• Local targeting for in-person events or field sales
• Regional campaigns for territory management
• National outreach for scalable offerings

FAQs#

How many CPA firms will I find in a typical city?
Results vary by city size. Major cities like New York or Chicago may have 1,000+ firms, while smaller cities might have 50-100. The national CPA firm count is approximately 45,000 firms across all sizes.

Can I filter by firm size during generation?
In Global Crawl mode, yes. In Geographic Crawl mode, you'll receive all firms and can filter by size after enrichment based on employee count or number of partners.

What's the difference between CPA firms and accounting firms?
CPA firms are staffed by certified public accountants and can perform audits and certain attest services. Accounting firms may include bookkeepers and accountants without CPA credentials. Use the keyword "CPA firms" for certified practices only.

How do I find firms that specialize in specific industries?
After generation, create a task that extracts industry focus from the "Services" or "Industries We Serve" sections of firm websites. This reveals healthcare specialists, real estate experts, etc.

Can I identify decision makers beyond just partners?
Yes. Create tasks to extract titles like "Managing Partner," "Tax Director," "Audit Manager," or "Practice Leader" from team pages. This gives you department-level contacts.

How often should I refresh my CPA firm list?
The accounting industry is relatively stable, but we recommend refreshing annually. Firms merge, partners retire, and new practices open. An annual refresh keeps your data current.

Related#

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