Own Your Firm Episode 9: Build vs Buy: What's Right for Your Firm

Buy vs Build for Accounting Firm Software in the AI Era Logan Graf and AJ Zepeda discuss whether accounting firms should buy or build software as AI tools proliferate, noting that post–tax season is a common time for firm owners to reassess their tech. They describe being inundated with AI outreach and argue that personal, non-automated communication can stand out. They suggest firms use AI first for marketing and content creation (visuals, social posts, meeting-note-derived ideas) rather than trying to force AI into core tax workflows. On build vs buy, they caution that building client-facing, document-handling systems creates security, compliance, support, and maintenance burdens, and is usually only feasible for those with engineering backgrounds; they prefer buying integrated tools like Karbon and Ping. Logan shares a limited “build” example using Airtable for lightweight project tracking and considers building an internal reporting workflow to avoid per-client software costs. They expect major accounting platforms to converge in features, emphasize documenting processes before automation, and preview attending Intuit Connect and recording an in-person episode 10. 00:00 Welcome and Topic Setup 00:50 Post Tax Season Reset 01:44 AI Spam and Outreach 03:51 Personal Beats Automation 06:25 AI for Content Creation 10:36 Web Design in the AI Era 12:13 Build Versus Buy Framework 15:35 When Building Makes Sense 17:51 AI Consultants and Process First 24:23 All Apps Converging 27:04 Unified Dashboard Dream 29:38 Intuit Connect and Wrap Up 00:00 Welcome and Topic Setup 00:50 Post Tax Season Reset 01:44 AI Spam and Outreach 03:51 Personal Beats Automation 06:25 AI for Content Creation 10:36 Web Design in the AI Era 12:13 Build Versus Buy Framework 15:35 When Building Makes Sense 17:51 AI Consultants and Process First 24:23 All Apps Converging 27:04 Unified Dashboard Dream 29:38 Intuit Connect and Wrap Up