How we make money: The Business Funding Club is a referral service, not a lender and not a broker. We refer businesses that ask for capital to ROK Financial. ROK and the lenders it matches you with make every funding decision. ROK pays us when a business we refer receives funding. It is free to you, and nothing here is an offer of credit. Read the full disclosure.
You see the gap in a client's books before they do.
You watch receivables age while payroll goes out on schedule. When a client signs a bigger contract than their cash can carry, you're often the first to know. ROK Financial runs a referral partner program for professionals like you. The Business Funding Club is a free referral club, not a lender. This page covers how to refer cleanly and what your professional rules ask of you.
The partner relationship is with ROK Financial, under ROK’s terms. This link carries our referral ID, and ROK may compensate us for partners and referrals that come through it. How we’re compensated. En español
Cash timing is a common problem, not a rare one. In the Federal Reserve's 2024 Small Business Credit Survey, 51% of employer firms cited uneven cash flows as a financial challenge, and 46% of firms that sought financing were pursuing an expansion or new opportunity[1].
You see the specifics: the contract that starts in March and pays in May, the receivable from a slow-paying customer, the equipment quote on the desk. That's the client a referral can help, when they want the introduction.
Your duty to disclose under the AICPA Code
If you're an AICPA member, the Commissions and Referral Fees Rule (ET 1.520.001) governs this. Here is what it says, in plain terms[2]:
Some commissions are prohibited. A member in public practice may not take a commission for referring a product or service to a client when the member or firm also performs for that client an audit or review, certain compilations a third party may rely on, or an examination of prospective financial information. The bar covers the engagement period and the period the statements cover.
Permitted commissions must be disclosed. A member who is paid, or expects to be paid, a commission must disclose that fact to the person they refer.
Referral fees for CPA services are disclosed too. A member who accepts or pays a referral fee for CPA services must disclose it to the client.
An AICPA ethics Q&A adds the timing: disclose the commission at the time you make the referral, so the client can decide whether to act on it[3]. Contingent fees are covered by a separate rule, ET 1.510[2].
Attest clients
If your firm audits, reviews or examines a client's statements, read 1.520.001 before you refer that client for a commission. The rule is written around those engagements.
Your state board may say more
State boards of accountancy write their own rules, and those rules govern your license. Alabama's board, for example, puts its own commission and referral fee rule in the state administrative code[4]. Some boards may be stricter than the AICPA. Check your board's rules before you sign any referral agreement.
If you're a bookkeeper or tax preparer who isn't an AICPA member, the Code may not bind you, but your credentialing body and state law still might. Paid commercial financing referrals are regulated in some states. See Know your state's rules.
What to send, and what to leave alone
ROK's partner form asks for a client's name, phone number and email[5]. That's the whole hand-off.
Don't send the client's bank statements or returns to ROK yourself. California defines a commercial financing "broker" to include sending a prospect's confidential data, such as bank statements or a taxpayer ID, to a provider with the expectation of compensation for a referral[6].
Don't prepare the application. California's referral statute lists helping prepare applications and gathering documents among acts it does not authorize for unlicensed referrers, with limited exceptions[7].
Don't estimate what they'll be offered. Only the lender can make an offer.
Do check the basics. ROK's application page lists 4+ months in business and $10,000+ in monthly gross sales[8].
Making the referral
Check for conflicts: any attest work for this client, and your state board's rules.
Tell the client, in writing, that ROK pays you a commission if they're funded.
Get the client's permission to share their contact details.
Submit the name, phone and email through ROK's partner portal.
Can a CPA accept a commission for referring a client to a lender?
Under AICPA ET 1.520.001, a member in public practice may not take a commission when the member or firm also performs an audit, review, certain compilations or an examination of prospective financial information for that client. Where a commission is permitted, it must be disclosed. Your state board's rules also apply and may be stricter.
When do I have to disclose the commission?
The Code requires disclosure to the person you refer. An AICPA ethics Q&A says to disclose at the time you make the referral, so the client can decide whether to act on it. Putting it in writing gives you and the client a record.
I'm a bookkeeper, not a CPA. Do these rules apply to me?
The AICPA Code binds AICPA members. If you aren't one, check with whatever body credentials you. Separately, some states regulate paid commercial financing referrals regardless of profession. Read the state table on our partners page and ask a lawyer in your state.
Can I send ROK my client's financials to speed things up?
We'd advise against it. California defines a broker to include sending a prospect's confidential data to a provider with the expectation of compensation. Let the client send their own documents to ROK. Your hand-off is the client's name, phone and email, with their permission.
Who is my agreement with?
ROK Financial. The partner program, its agreement and its terms are ROK's, so read them in full before you sign. The Business Funding Club is a free referral club and is itself a ROK partner; ROK pays Digital Solomon when a business the Club refers is funded.
The partner relationship is with ROK Financial, under ROK’s terms. This link carries our referral ID, and ROK may compensate us for partners and referrals that come through it. How we’re compensated. En español
