Modern Systems for Today's Firms
Your firm grew. Your systems didn't.
Courses and done for you builds for Canadian accounting and bookkeeping firm owners. Built inside a firm that's still running, not coached from the sidelines.
The accounting industry has been doing it the same way for decades. Legacy systems, hourly billing, and an old boys' club that never had to modernize. We think it's time for an edit. Two women. One mission. Build Canadian firms that actually work. Built for the cloud. Properly priced. Designed for the life you actually want.
Who We Are
The Duo Behind the Build
Most programs in this space are built by people who've either sold their firm or never run one. We're different.
One of us is still in the day to day of running a firm. The other specializes in building the systems, workflows, and processes that make firms run better.
Michelle Arnason, CPA
Owner, Arnason Accounting & Co.
Michelle built a multi six figure Canadian accounting firm from scratch, and still runs it today as the lead partner. Every framework, pricing model, and recommendation she teaches comes from doing the work daily, not from theory or a textbook. She knows what firm owners actually need because she is one.
Joelle Kindret
Operations Manager, Arnason Accounting & Co.
Jo is the architect behind the systems, the workflows, and the operational structure that make everything run. Every framework she builds comes from years of designing processes that hold up under pressure, not from theory or a textbook. If Michelle diagnoses the problem, Jo builds the solution that fixes it.
The Truth
Michelle built a multi six figure CPA firm from scratch. Jo built the systems that made it scale. And we're still running it today. This isn't a backstory. It's the work we're doing right now.
The Shared Pain
We know what it's like to be buried in it. Client work, admin, hiring, tech chaos, pricing anxiety, the quiet worry you've built yourself a job instead of a business. Nobody handed us a blueprint either.
The Shift
For years, Michelle was the bottleneck. Every decision, every fire landed on her desk. Then Jo built the operational backbone underneath the firm. Revenue went up. Hours went down. She got her life back.
The Mission
Accountants spend their careers making other people's businesses run. The industry forgot they're humans too. We're here to change that. A firm should serve the life of the person who built it.
Our Programs
Pick What You Need. Bundle When You're Ready.
Three Edits available right now. Take them on their own, or grab all three together and save.
Three more launch November 2 to complete The Full Firm Edit.
Individual Programs
The Lead Edit
Every inquiry ends in a yes or a no, within 30 days.
- Five modules, from the booking link to the signed proposal
- Six stages with one decision at each, and a 30 day close built in
- Your discovery call framework, with pre call prep questions and post call notes
- A complete sample proposal, with the Commitment section written three ways: fixed fee, hourly and range
- Email templates for the send, the follow up and the Day 30 close
- A two week Implementation Sprint, or four weeks with a team
- Up to 5.0 verifiable CPD hours
The Onboarding Edit
Onboarding that's finished on a checklist, not a feeling.
- Six modules, from the client's yes to their Initial Insights meeting
- Five stages with a clear owner at every step
- Four onboarding questionnaires: corporate, sole proprietor, personal tax and bookkeeping
- Two worked questionnaire walkthroughs to model your own
- CRA authorization instructions and a document checklist by client type
- Four onboarding email templates and an Onboarding Complete email
- Up to 3.5 verifiable CPD hours
The SOP Edit
Get the firm out of your head and into a system.
- Four modules, from deciding what to document to keeping it current
- The three layers explained: the Workflow Checklist, the Training Manual and the SOP
- A format, an AI prompt and a worked example for each layer
- SOP Master Workbook, with 95 SOPs to start from
- Training Manual Master Workbook, with 115 entries by service line
- Workflow Checklist Inventory: 48 checklists from a real firm
- Up to 3.0 verifiable CPD hours
Bundle & Save
All Three Edits. Built to Work Together.
The Lead Edit, The Onboarding Edit and The SOP Edit.
- The Lead Edit, the full course
- The Onboarding Edit, the full course
- The SOP Edit, the full course
- One year of access to all three
On November 2, the three course bundle becomes The Full Firm Edit, all six Edits together.
Coming November 2
Three more Edits are on the way.
The Marketing Edit, The Staffing Edit and The AI Edit join the suite on November 2, and The Full Firm Edit brings all six together. Join the list to hear the day they open.
We can also build it for you.
If you'd rather have it done than do it yourself, we'll set up your workflows in your practice management software. The Install puts our process into your tools. The Build turns your own process into workflows your team can follow. It all starts with a 20 minute call with Jo.
See The Install and The Build
How It Works
No 47 Step Funnel. Just This.
You pick what you need. You do the work. Your firm runs better. That's it.
Pick Your Problem
Need to fix one thing? Grab a focused program. Need the full rebuild? Go with The Full Firm Edit, opening November 2. Want it built for you? Book a call about The Install or The Build.
Do the Work
These aren't courses you watch and forget. Every program is built around implementation. Templates, frameworks, and real steps built for how Canadian firms actually operate.
Run Your Firm
You walk away with systems that work. Documented, repeatable, delegatable. Your firm runs better. Tax season doesn't break you. You breathe again.
Frequently Asked Questions
You Might Be Wondering...
Build the Firm Co. is a Canadian company that helps accounting and bookkeeping firm owners build the systems behind their practice. It was founded by Michelle Arnason, CPA, who owns and runs Arnason Accounting & Co. in Airdrie, Alberta. It offers self paced courses called the Edits (The Lead Edit, The Onboarding Edit and The SOP Edit today, with The Marketing Edit, The Staffing Edit and The AI Edit launching November 2, 2026) and done for you workflow builds called The Install and The Build.
Fair. Most courses dump information and hope for the best. Everything here is built around doing. Templates you fill in, systems you set up, structures you walk out with. Michelle knows what your firm needs because she runs one. Jo builds the systems that make it work. And if you'd rather have it built for you, that's what The Install and The Build are for. This isn't content to consume. It's a build.
This is built from the inside of a Canadian practice. The examples reference GST/HST, CRA, T1 and T2 workflows, and the way Canadian clients and firms actually work. We're not translating American frameworks. We built this in the Canadian market because we work in the Canadian market.
If you know exactly what's broken (your lead intake, your onboarding, your SOPs), grab that specific Edit. If you want the whole firm, The Full Firm Edit brings all six Edits together from November 2. If you'd rather have it built for you, look at The Install and The Build. Not sure? Send us a message. We'll tell you honestly.
Absolutely. Building these systems now (before you hire) is the single best thing you can do. You'll know exactly what to hand off, how to train someone, and what your firm looks like when it runs properly. Don't wait until you're drowning to build the life raft.
That's exactly why the focused programs exist. You don't need a giant program to fix your onboarding. Grab The Onboarding Edit for $1,497 and move on with your life. No upsell required.
Each Edit has its own certificate when you complete it. The Lead Edit qualifies for up to 5.0 verifiable CPD hours, The Onboarding Edit for up to 3.5 and The SOP Edit for up to 3.0, based on the lessons, downloads and video in each course. Time you spend applying the material in your own firm is real learning too, and you can log it as unverifiable CPD. Check your own professional body's requirements for how to record it.
Because we think that's annoying. You're a business owner. You deserve to know what something costs before you commit your time to a sales conversation. If the price works, great. If not, no hard feelings. Transparency isn't a marketing strategy here. It's just how we operate.
Three things. One: we're still running a firm. We're not coaching from a practice we sold years ago. Two: you get accounting expertise and operations expertise in one place, because there are two of us and we cover both. Three: this is built in Canada for Canadian firms. Not generic North American content that doesn't account for how we actually work here.
We're not a Financial Cents training program or a QBO certification course. Software vendors already offer that. We teach you how to build the business that uses the software. You'll see how we run it in our own firm, but the systems and templates work with whatever you already use.