Estimate for Accountant and Attorney Fees

March 11, 2025

by a searcher from Indiana University at Bloomington in Chicago, IL, USA

For purposes of financial modeling, I would appreciate thoughts on reasonable estimates for the cost of an accountant and attorney for an acquisition. Assume the purchase price will be between $800k - $2m. FWIW, I am a transactional attorney and would aim to limit my lawyer's involvement.

Is $100k in the aggregate fair enough? Or is there a % of purchase price that is typical?

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Reply by a professional
from University of Virginia in Holmes, NY 12531, USA

Howdy, coming at this also as a transactional attorney, my practice has always been majority-deal driven. Just wanted to add - if it’s your plan to handle the bulk of the legal work, really do honestly self-assess. If you do these kinds of deals regularly, sure, prob ok to primarily represent yourself. But if your transactional expertise isn’t deeply rooted in M&A, think you’d do well to budget appropriately for legal. My own pricing is virtually always deal-specific (I’m either at my hourly rate or a deal fee is negotiated on the amount and complexity of the documentation involved, whether the client wants me to actively engage in negotiations, etc..) In the recent past, have done deals in your price range from as low as 5k to as high as ~80k. I’d be glad to chat on specifics if it’d be helpful (and no Q, deals where I’ve repoed a fellow transactional attorney usually are at the low end of the range).

in re: building the model, on legal, can always take your own rate and estimate anticipated time.

please don’t hesitate to drop me a note at redacted the best!

Reply by a professional
from American University in Irvine, CA, USA

Thanks, Luke. David, as far as the legal costs go, there are several factors which can affect how much time, and therefore cost, is required to complete the transaction. Some of these factors include how organized the due diligence materials are, and the extent to which you want your attorney to be involved with it. Also, having a comprehensive LOI that reduces the amount of back-and-forth in drafting the definitive documents can make a significant difference.. To me the figure you have planned for is very reasonable, but people need to remember that the size of the transaction alone does not dictate the price. Often, the process is the same, regardless of the purchase price. But, managing your team is a large part of the battle. Happy to speak with you if you would like some help..

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