Recently, there is an increased demand for accounting and finance-related jobs in America. You can consider producing the right talent for these high demand jobs by establishing your own Accounting School. This accounting college business plan sample is written exclusively for you by our professional business plan writers.
Executive Summary
“BTS Center” (herein also referred to as “Business Technology & Systems College” or “BTSC”) was incorporated on June 3, 2022 in Columbus, Ohio by Co-Founders, Richard Harrison and Beth Harrison. The Business Technology and Systems College (BTSC) is in the process of applying to become a private career college (PCC) offering non-vocational courses, and intends to offer vocational programs upon approval in the fields of technology, business, accounting, bookkeeping and taxation. BTSC is now looking to open a physical campus in Columbus, Ohio to run all future programs and courses.
In the education industry, traditional college degrees do not adequately prepare students with job-specific skills such as aptitude in key technologies or a knowledge of traditional bookkeeping or accounting requirements. As such, private career colleges are increasingly offering specialized courses that aim to upskill and train individuals with in-demand skills for today’s workforce. With a specialization in highly sought after skills, BTSC is well positioned to serve a niche market within the education sector that aims to upskill and prepare professionals for highly demanded roles in today’s evolving workforce.
Both co-founders bring unique experience and specialization to this opportunity. Mr. Harrison has over twenty years of experience in program design, instructing, and educational consulting, and Harrison has deep industry experience in the fields of information technology and computer science. With close proximity to America’s major finance and business hub, the Columbus campus provides a strong opportunity for the Business Technology and Systems College to fill an existing market gap.
The Business Technology and Systems College is currently seeking a $175,000 loan from the SBA Loan Program to support the initial start-up costs associated with opening the Columbus campus. These include setting up the campus classrooms and office administrative space, necessary renovations, and purchasing required equipment and inventory to run the college. With support from stakeholders, BTSC can bring its vision to life and successfully establish and scale its operations to become a top tier profitable and respected private career college in America.
Business Overview
The Business Technology and Systems College (BTSC) operates in the education sector offering professional training courses and career pathways for specific job seekers in the business, accounting, bookkeeping and technology fields. BTSC offers both vocational and non-vocational training courses through ‘pathways’ which include various short courses to equip students with the skills, knowledge, and key technical skills required to succeed in various roles. BTSC plans to open a campus in Columbus, Ohio in the next few months to offer courses in a centralized location within close proximity to Columbus, America’s largest economic hub and finance center.
Mission Statement
Our mission is to provide high quality vocational and non vocational education to job seekers, providing students with the tools and knowledge to excel in business, technology, accounting and bookkeeping roles.
Vision Statement
Our vision is an education system that provides job specific training to professionals, enabling individuals to gain meaningful employment in top tier industries and fields.
Core Values
The BTSC team chooses the following core values to guide all business decisions and operations:
- Creating a safe, accepting learning environment for staff and students
- Top quality instructional design
- Competitive and striving to for excellence
- Honestly and integrity
- Staying nimble and adaptive to ever changing working and economic conditions
Milestones
- Developed the Bookkeeping and Taxation Pathways
- Developed a Quickbooks specific training course
- Successfully taught over 2,500 students since 2014
- Developed and led a number of free workshops to generate brand awareness
Goals and Objectives
- Generate $197,000 in revenue in year one
- Experience 40% increase in revenue between year one and year two
- Experience 60% increase in revenue between year two and year three
- Develop and offer non vocational training courses to accompany current vocational training courses
- Develop additional Career Pathways in Accounting, Bookkeeping, Taxation and Technology
- Become known as a leader in education and job training in the fields of technology and business
Market Analysis
The Business Technology and Systems College operates in the education and executive education industry. It is a private college offering specialized career training to finance professionals. The courses offered will be both vocational and non-vocational, with a certificate of completion offered after each track is completed.
Government Regulations
Private Career Colleges Act 2005
All private career colleges in Ontario are governed by the 2005 Private Career Colleges Act. In Ontario, a private career college is defined as “an education institution or other institution, agency or entity that provides one or more vocational programs to students, administered through individual written contracts with the students, for a fee”. The act lays out financial and administrative matters, prohibitions, registration guidelines, approval of programs, and operational guidelines.
Vocational Education Regulations
According to the Government of America, to sell and market vocational education, schools must be qualified as ‘an organization that is established and operated primarily to provide students with correspondence courses, or instruction in courses, that develop or enhance students occupational skills’. In order to reach these requirements, the college must file articles of incorporation, articles of amendment, and memorandum of agreement and by-laws. The business must also operate primarily to provide correspondence on courses or instruction in courses, with more than 50% of revenues coming directly from the provision of courses that improve occupational skills.
Market Trends
BTSC operates in the education sector, with a focus on finance, bookkeeping, technology and taxation education. Specifically, the company operates as a private training college, offering vocational and job specific training and instruction.
Education Market Trends
The American College and University market is valued at $42.7BN with a compound annual growth rate of 2.0% between 2021-2026. The market is made up of 206 institutions employing over 322,000 individuals in education or administrative roles. The certificate and associate degree segment makes up 24.2% of the entire market, responsible for $10.33BN annually. Key drivers of growth in this market include the national unemployment rate, government consumption and investment, corporate profit, R&D expenditure, number of adults aged 20-64, and per capita disposable income.
In America, certificate and professional training courses are typically regarded as job specific training, and are increasingly being used as industry standard versus formal university education. In particular, the financial industry has been conforming to professional and associate training degrees to a higher extent than other fields. Specific vocational training programs to teach skills such as financial analysis, wealth management, wills and estate planning, bookkeeping, tax, and payroll are typically required in order to gain employment in specific roles within the industry. As such, BTSC’s programming and courses fill a specific niche within the market, appealing to working professionals or those entering the workforce, looking for job specific training and professional development.
Payroll and Bookkeeping Services
The American payroll and bookkeeping industry in America is valued at $5.9BN in revenue, with a compound annual growth rate of 2.1% between 2022-2027. The industry employs 20,697 businesses employing over 31,000 individuals. The market is composed of three segments, payroll administration (56.7%), bookkeeping and billing services (25.2%) and other payroll services (18.1%).
As corporate profit and the rising number of businesses increases in America, so does the need for increased payroll and bookkeeping services in America. It is expected that companies will increasingly outsource these services to third party companies, as well as rely on key technologies and softwares to manage payroll and basic HR admin. Payroll and bookkeeping professionals are required to contain the knowledge and skills to effectively manage the financial responsibilities as well as utilize increasingly mainstream payroll and accounting softwares such as Ceridian, Intuit, and Payworks.
Tax Planning Services
The American tax planning services industry is valued at $1.6BN in revenue, with a compound annual growth rate of 3.6% between 2022-2027. The industry is made up of 3,848 businesses employing 22,680 individuals. Growth in this market is expected to accelerate alongside a decrease in the unemployment rate across America. Larger organizations will typically employ a tax planning team to deal with all tax planning and compilation and consulting for the business. The market is segmented into three categories, client income and tax return preparation services (62.2%), business tax preparation services (4.6%) and assisted software tax preparation services (33.2%).
Many tax planning professionals are trained in using specific software to manage corporate tax filings. As these softwares continue to expand services, so will the need for tax planning professionals to learn the skills and tools for comprehensive tax preparation and filing.
Products and Services
Business Technology and Systems College offers both vocational and non-vocational diploma programs for individuals looking to enter the business, technology and bookkeeping industries. Within the first year, the company will launch vocational and non-vocational courses for accounting, bookkeeping, and taxation with a goal of expanding into the technology education sector in year two.
Business
- Business Administration (Vocational Course)
- Administrative Assistant (Vocational Course)
Accounting and Bookkeeping
- Accounting and Payroll Administrator (Vocational Course)
- Bookkeeping Course (Non Vocational)
- QuickBooks Online Course (Non Vocational)
- QuickBooks Desktop Course (Non Vocational)
- Payroll Course (Non Vocational)
Taxation
- Income Tax T1 Course (Non Vocational)
- Income Tax T2 Course (Non Vocational)
- GST/HST Course (Non Vocational)
Technology
- Web Development (Non Vocational)
Pricing Model
Non Vocational Courses: Course fees will be paid 100% upfront to confirm position. Two payment installments may be granted on a case by case basis
Vocational Courses: Course fees will be priced at $9,000 for nine month courses. The payment structure will be in monthly installments of $1,000 per month
BTSC will accept payment by Credit, Debit, E-transfer and Direct Deposit
Competitive Advantages
BTSC’s competitive advantages that will enable the college to be successful at capturing substantial market share are as follows:
Quickbooks specific training: Quickbooks is an accounting software that currently occupies 80% of the North American market share. Mr. Harrison specializes in Quickbooks training and is an expert in not only using the software, but also teaching students how to excel at all functions. Despite Quickbooks being widely used by companies across America, there are few courses or educational institutions that focus on practical usage, resulting in professionals often using Google or YouTube to effectively learn how to fully use the software. As such, having a Quickbooks training course will provide BTSC with an opportunity to tap into an underserved educational niche, creating an opportunity to offer a necessary course for an extremely in-demand skill.
Competitive Pricing: BTSC is offering its high quality instructional courses for a very competitive and reasonable price. As such, the college aims to compete on price with other educational institutions, while also making vocational and non-vocational training more accessible and available to the American market.
Personalized Teaching: Harsh and Neha have taken active roles in both designing and teaching the lessons and courses at BTSC. The close level and active involvement on behalf of the founder and lead course designer enables students to get a deeper and more personalized experience and understanding of the course content, ensuring a superior and unique learning experience overall.
4.3 Key Success Factors
BTSC as defined their key success factors as the following:
- Strong Curriculum Design: The founding team has years of industry knowledge and expertise in finance, business, technology and education. The team will apply this knowledge to design strong curriculums that provide exceptional training and preparation for a number of roles across industries.
- Free content sharing and contributing to the finance community: Beyond paid instructional courses, the BTSC team will continually spread knowledge and actively contribute to the finance and education community at large. Staff will share knowledge by hosting and distributing free content (workshops, blogs, videos) to generate brand awareness and a strong customer goodwill.
- The BTSC Alumni Network: After graduating from BTSC, students will enter a wide alumni network where they have the opportunity to connect with other professionals in their respective fields of study. The alumni network will serve as a community hub to network, recruit recent grads, share industry knowledge, and create and promote collaborations and business opportunities.
- Committed to Quality Education: Above all else, the Business Technology and Systems College is committed to offering quality education and training. The team is skilled, experienced and qualified to deliver high quality vocational and non-vocational training, preparing students for careers in the business, technology, taxation and bookkeeping industries.
Sales and Marketing Plan
This section outlines the company’s target customers, digital marketing strategy to reach new customers, KPIs and strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
Target Customers
There are five target customers for BTSC, including:
Newcomers to America
This target customer is looking to gain the skills and education required for a career with the opportunity for advancement and higher pay.
In College Seeking Non Vocational Courses
This target customer realizes that a college education alone will not provide the real world experience to successfully execute in their professions, hence they evolve their skillset with BTSC.
Professionals Seeking a Career Change
This target customer is unhappy with their current career and they seek a new opportunity. By improving their education and skill set with BTSC they can access a new and exciting career.
Already in the Field Seeking Specialized Courses
This target customer is already working in the field, but requires additional, specialized training to better perform and gain access to new opportunities.
Accounting Firms
This target customer reaches out to BTSC to improve their team’s skillset, so they can collectively perform at a higher level, and become more competitive as an accounting firm.
Key Channels
This section outlines the company’s digital marketing strategy for reaching new and existing customers:
Free Workshops
Harsh will continue providing free workshops to welcome new leads to the funnel. This is a proven approach that has welcomed tens of new leads to the funnel. Workshops will be recorded and posted on the company site. The company’s data shows that recording and posting free workshops on the site attracts plenty of leads that eventually convert into paying students.
Website
Harsh is an active blogger on the company site. This helps the site rank on search engines for relevant keywords and assists in fostering a community interested in improving their skillsets. Additionally, the FAQ section of the site is proven to attract visitors, and the optional syllabus download.
Facebook Ads
The company runs Facebook Ad campaigns to reach new leads that have not garnered awareness of BTSC yet. Individuals with Facebook “interests” relevant to accounting, bookkeeping and technology are targeted and ads appear through Facebook impressions.
Social Media
BTSC is active on Instagram and Facebook. Harsh is focused on building a community which learns and contributes from BTSC’s evolving curriculum. This provides a central place to post regularly, receive comments and support from past and current students.
Referrals
A great deal of students have come from other students referring them to BTSC. This “word of mouth” marketing decreases advertising spend, and improves brand recognition. The company anticipates continued referrals by providing effective and meaningful education to all students.
SWOT Analysis
Operational Plan
BTSC operates as a college of business and technology offering both vocational and non-vocational courses. Specializations are offered as course ‘pathways’, which include up to six courses on specific topics.
The operational plan for the college will include an operational process for the day to day running of courses, an analysis on the chosen location of Columbus for the physical campus, and a layout of the required inventory and investments in order to prepare the campus for operations.
Operational Process
BTSC operates as a private career college, skilling and upskilling professionals in the fields of technology, business, taxation and accounting. The BTSC Columbus campus will provide skills and training for the four upcoming and established pathways, Business, Technology, Accounting and Bookkeeping, and Taxation. Pathway training courses take place over five steps, with a Certificate of Completion offered after each step. All courses can be taken full or part time, complete with a career coaching course to ensure students are equipped with the skills and knowledge to find meaningful employment.
Equipment & Inventory
BTSC will use the funds from the SBA Loan Program to procure property, plant and equipment (PP&E).
Location
The company plans to open a campus in Columbus, Ohio due to the proximity to New York, one of America’s major financial center, as well as the lack of existing educational institutions within the Columbus city center.
Proximity to Columbus
Columbus is the business and economic center of America, contributing 20% of the nation’s GDP. Columbus is home to the headquarters of America’s major financial institutions, and is the key city for the finance, media, technology, and entertainment industries in America. Columbus’ financial industry employs over 210,000 workers, while the technology industry employs 90,000 workers. As such, the BTSC campuses close proximity to this major urban center will provide students with easy access to a robust job market, while also providing opportunities for students to continue developing their careers through networking, internships and job placements during and post graduation.
Lack of educational institutions in Columbus city center
Despite being located less than one hour from the Columbus City Centre, the city of Columbus, OH is substantially lacking in educational institutions in the city center. As such, a Columbus campus will provide easy access to Columbus, enabling students to continually participate in the active business community both on and off campus during their studies, and post graduation.
Risk Analysis
Management Team
Richard Harrison
School Principal
Mr. Harrison has been a school administrator in the last 20 years. He discovered the need for an accounting and finance school that will provide the deficiency of accounting and finance talents in the market. Being a business major himself, he aims to collaborate with educators and business mentors to build a pool of accounting and finance graduates who are ready to take on the demands of the ever-changing business world.
Beth Harrison
School Superintendent
Ms. Beth Harrison, is an educator for more than 10 years. She has managed the operations of a local bookkeeping center in her hometown for 5 years. She has closely worked with members of the school district and has contributed several short and long term plans for the institution such as creating new curriculums, new policies and new facilities.
Key Personnel
Over the next three years, BTSC plans to hire the following key personnel:
Instructor, Bookkeeping / Taxation
- Responsible for teaching courses which are related to accounting and payroll
- Teaching specific courses such as business mathematics, business finance, business law and ethics
- Prepared to complete administrative work in between classes; answering emails, phone calls
- Offering career counseling support to students in deciding what they should study and aim for
Instructor, Technology Courses
- Teach and supervise students using lectures, demonstrations, discussion groups, laboratory workshop sessions, seminars, case studies, and independent or group projects.
- Develop curriculum and prepare teaching materials and course outlines.
- Prepare, administer and mark tests and papers to evaluate students’ progress.
- Provide consultation services to government, business or other organizations.
- Provide individual tutorial or remedial instruction to students who require it.
- Supervise independent or group projects, field placements, or hands-on training.
- Supervise teaching assistants.
Receptionist, College Administrator
- Managing the front desk of the campus while providing excellent customer service
- Supporting the administrative functions of the campus to enhance the student experience
- Ensuring campus supplies and equipment are kept stocked and in good working order
- Acting in a manner that upholds the College standards
- Support and assist the leadership in handling and processing College documentation and student files.
- Perform daily sorting, filing, scanning and archiving of school or student documents and records.
- Managing incoming phone calls and emails
Financial Plan
Pro Forma Income Statement
Pro Forma Cash Flow Statement
Pro Forma Balance Sheet
Let's Get Started!
