Profit First for Therapists: A Simple Framework for Financial Freedom

by Julie Herres

Every practice deserves to be profitable.

For therapists, profit is too often an afterthought. You focus on caring for clients and paying rent and clinicians, and take home the leftovers-if there are any. In Profit First for Therapists, Julie Herres adapts the popular Profit First cash flow system specifically for private practice owners. Through client stories and case studies, powerful frameworks, and simple tips, she lays out a clear path to profitability.

In this book, you will learn how

Implement Profit First in your therapy practice, step by stepDetermine spending guidelines for various stages of private practiceScale your space, your people, and your leadership positionsManage clinician compensation, your group practice's largest expenseNo matter the size of your practice, or whether you've read Profit First, this book will give you the tools you need to stop worrying about money and achieve financial freedom.

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, Business, Self Help

272 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 2, 2023

Reviews

[booksnbluejeanz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Practice First a couple of years ago and found it helpful however I had a really hard time implementing it for my private practice. This book filled in all the gaps for me. I was so surprised to learn Julie isn’t a practitioner herself because she understands this field of practice so well.

I’ve been having trouble figuring out how to scale but after reading this book I have clarity and feel like I have a solid plan to move forward. She offers step by step instructions as well as explaining the theory behind Practice First.

She covers scaling, debt, taxes, allocations, as well as several examples of how other clinicians solve really challenging problems. There’s even some guidance on personal finances. I’m really glad I picked this one up.

[Lauryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a new private practice owner, my expectations for this book weren’t met. I just wanted something with ideas and strategies for the best way to make my practice profitable. But really this was a whole book based on a very specific budgeting concept. The concept is … if you have all your business money in one account, you’ll accidentally spend it all. So instead, the book suggests opening multiple bank accounts (like 5+) and each account is for a specific purpose (eg payroll, taxes, operations). This isn’t a problem I experience or a solution that benefits me.

*I don’t really think you need a whole book to describe what I just summarized in two sentences either. 😬

[Michelle Onyango · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a work-related read. There were parts of the book that didn’t pertain to me. As a Canadian, the differences with our taxes (in comparison to the US) was the main thing. I also don’t have a group practice and don’t plan to create that in the near future.

With all that being said, I found it to be helpful and clarified things I once found complicated.

I’ve implemented the strategies that fit with the size and type of practice I have. It’s helped me plan for the future and reduce anxiety about the financial structure of my business.

I will keep the book in mind should I decide to expand or make changes.

4/5

[Stephanie Chenevert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the pleasure to read an advanced reader copy of Profit First for Therapists, and it is stellar!!

Clear, easy to follow and packed with practical guidance that can transform every therapist's relationship to their practice and their finances.

This should be required reading for anyone contemplating starting their own practice, or practitioners at any stage of their business.

In it, you'll learn how to structure your business and your finances to ensure you are profitable as your grow. Highly recommend!!

[William Scoggins-Martz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read Mike’s book first, I can say that this book is no carbon copy. The author takes great care to cover the entire system of profit first with many examples and anecdotes of people who started out just like I am. As a fist year counselor/therapist. This book will help you live the life you want if you learn it, engage in it, and apply the process and principles that lie within. No luck needed, just determination and comprehension.

[Gold Smith]

I Love Everything About This Book Honestly, Even The WorkBook By Aurum Publishing Is Also Top Notch, I'd Recommend It To you all.

The Workbook is currently on Amazon.

[Ariel Landrum · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a therapist, I know how much we’re taught to focus on helping people—but we’re not taught how to run a sustainable, profitable business. Many therapists go into private practice thinking they just need to see enough clients to pay the bills, only to realize that growth alone won’t fix a broken financial model. More clients won’t automatically solve financial problems, and in fact, an overloaded caseload can make things worse.

This book lays out a framework to shift from “paying yourself whatever is left over” to actually building profit into your business model. Profit isn’t an event—it’s a habit. Julie Herres explains how to set up multiple bank accounts to create financial clarity, allocate funds properly, and make sure your business is taking care of you, not just everyone else.

Some of my biggest takeaways:
📌 Your practice should be able to support your needs, not just cover expenses. If you’re barely taking home money after paying for overhead, you don’t have a sustainable business—you have an expensive hobby.
📌 Use multiple bank accounts to create structure and remove temptation. Having separate accounts for taxes, profit, operating expenses, and owner’s pay prevents that “bank balance bookkeeping” mindset where you assume you have more money than you actually do.
📌 The best clinicians aren’t the ones who hustle the hardest—they’re the ones who aren’t constantly stressed about money. Financial stability allows for better clinical work.
📌 Growing too fast can be dangerous. Adding staff, expanding services, or leasing office space before your practice is financially stable can create more stress than success.

I run a solo private practice, which means I’m the only one bringing in income and handling all the administrative work. This book made me realize I need to rethink my operating expenses and start prioritizing paying myself first. I’ve already opened separate accounts for profit, taxes, and business expenses, and I’m planning to gradually shift my allocations to make my practice more sustainable long-term. One of the most valuable takeaways for me was that growth isn’t always the answer—efficiency and financial structure are just as important.

This book is practical, actionable, and therapist-specific. It also acknowledges that debt is common in our field due to the long and expensive road to licensure. It doesn’t shame therapists for financial struggles but instead offers tangible ways to dig out of debt while still prioritizing profit.

I especially appreciated Herres’ breakdown of how different practice sizes (solo, small, medium, large group) should structure their finances and how allocations should shift as the practice grows. I found myself reevaluating a lot of my own beliefs about money while reading this.

There are also helpful appendices and chapters that address different types of tax forms, how to avoid financial bottlenecks, and how to plan for growth without running out of cash.

If you’re a therapist in private practice—or thinking about starting one—this is essential reading. Financial health is just as important as clinical skills, and this book helps therapists stop surviving and start thriving.

[Mabel · Rating 3 out of 5]

📚 Book 32/25 of 2023 📚

⭐️ 3/5 stars!

This was definitely a work-related read for me. I've been trying to read at least one non-fic book from my TBR pile per month - so here it is!

This book started really strong for me and I am excited to try the methods in my business. I started by opening the suggested bank accounts, and I'm just patiently waiting to start carrying out the Profit First method.

I liked how easy and approachable this book was to read, and as someone completely unfamiliar with the Profit First method, I found it very easy to learn about.

As a reminder, my rating of 3/5 stars means I liked the book generally, but there were some parts that I didn't love as much. As a sole proprietor located in Canada with no plans to launch a group practice, I can appreciate that there is a fair chunk of this book that does not apply to me and was not written towards me/for me. While I found the book a quick read (only 4hrs), I did find that several parts could have been reduced, as there was definitely redundancy in the content.

I would still absolutely recommend this book to any of my colleagues, but perhaps with gentle caution re: the above points.

[Deanna Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been so helpful in setting up my private practice for success. I was already using You Need a Budget (YNAB) for personal finances, so the idea of putting funds into different buckets was nothing new. The Profit First framework (and Julie's perspective from her experiences working with therapists) has helped me feel more confident in how much I'm paying myself, setting aside for taxes, using for overhead, etc... And I'm not gonna lie: The quarterly "profit sharing bonus" is a nice little boost for my morale.

[Scott Safford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting financial philosophy and road map, but a little trickier to see how to apply it to a brand new practice where overhead is over 100% of initial income. Also some costs are relatively fixed, such as basic operating costs, but the model is based on deciding percentage of income to devote to each category. Maybe the model will feel more applicable and valuable once my practice approaches being full.

[Caroline Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful read, especially in challenging the indoctrination against profit and personal financial freedom in the helping profession. Helpful breakdown of costs and and insightful analysis of where group practice owners often make well-intentioned business missteps, specifically around feelings of of guilt and over-extending ourselves financially

[Luke B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful book, good breakdowns, some instructions were not so clear (for instance, I was shocked the book did not have a section on managing debt in the profit first model). As a Canadian, the tax codes were not relevant to me. Perhaps an expanded version could work with a Canadian therapist to make the book relevant to multiple audiences in North America.

[Mark Mattek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every therapist who goes into private practice should read this book. Imagine keeping your client-centered approach AND also making sure you are able to support yourself and your family? This gift is a book to society, to help the helpers be able to keep helping (and worry less about making ends meet).

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are thinking about starting a private therapy practice (or growing your therapy practice), this book covers the important things to consider and how to make sure you’re creating a financially sustainable business.

[Erin Elizabeth B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has some very helpful points! I definitely hit a point early on where it wasn’t as applicable to me, but I could see it being very helpful for practices with employees and owners who struggle with budgeting/awareness of their finances on their own.

[Kt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is very good content and helpful but I feel like I could have read it a year ago and gotten more from it prior to expansion. I will use some tools as continual monitoring but all in all I recommend highly for pre-group establishment

[Lindsey Hawkins Gould · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been so helpful. Just one month into practicing the steps, things are already moving much more smoothly.

[Danielle Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Necessary and valuable read!

[Jennifer Utech · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful tools. Happy to hear I’m already doing many of the suggestions. Will likely need to reread to fully absorb and implement the rest.

[Moriah Larocque · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read and helpful framework for those in complex or group practices.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended for any therapists trying to get a handle on their finances. I also recommend the author's other products and resources.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am reading this book for the second time. My purpose is to review the content and the format used by the author for managing business expenses. I believe this is a crucial read for any business owner, and I appreciate that this version is directed toward private practitioners in the mental health field. I highly recommend this book.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.25

[Nicole Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Practical and Insightful

Really helped me think about the way that I am handling my practice finances. I am already on the path to implementing profit first!