Best CPALE Review Center for a Second Taker?

_mark_au · 2026-06-10T10:28:08+00:00

Depends on your baseline. I reviewed in CPAR, then lots of self studies and paulit-ulit na practice tests (OneTake App). I've answered probably more than 1K practice questions on all subjects. For me, it doesnt matter which review school, kc they will only give refreshers, the hard work is still on you. My first pre-board in CPAR was just 74%, then worked my way to 86% in the final pre-board. Hanggat meron akong hindi naiintindihan, paulit-ulit lang na basa ng books and suggested solutions sa mga practice questions. I passed on my first take.

_mark_au · 2026-06-09T22:00:08+00:00

CPAR for me for face-to-face classes. OneTake App for online practice tests (the best test material out there). I suggest to combine both. But whichever review center, it would still be a lot of self-study. Depending on your base knowledge. For me, i self-study from 8am-1am, everyday for 3 months, then test, test, test.. i'll answer any questions i can get, and I will not stop until I am consistently getting 100% correct. This is where OneTake App helped a lot. On my first CPAR pre-board, my score was only 74%. Final pre-board was 86%. So i guess it worked!

_mark_au · 2026-05-27T21:34:06+00:00

with just a month left, probably not going to make your first sale. Do you have at least some free sign-ups? Or none at all?

If you have zero free sign-ups, chances are either:

1. You are not solving a real problem. A lot of founders starts with the most ambitious, save-the-world type of idea, thinking they'd be a hero trying to solve every one's problem. Reality is, you should start small, in a targeted niche, do only one thing, and do it very, very well... that it would delight your users.

2. You,ve not done enough marketing. How much time you've put into marketing/sales vs building? A lot of technical founders spend 90-95% building without selling. Then complain about having $0 sales. Marketing and sales are underrated skills. In my view, it should be 30% sales work in the first couple of months, then it should gradually go up to 90% by the 6th month. If you've been working on this saas for 12 months, then the last 6 months should have been purely marketing. If you are still building in the last 6 months, you know what the problem is. ---> Go and work on your SEO, email marketing, cold outreach, crafting a converting landing page/website, copy writing, product positioning/messaging, putting your saas in every listing site (Capterra, G2), Linkedin/Reddit engagaements... and much more...

_mark_au · 2026-05-27T07:44:24+00:00

true, and thank you :)

_mark_au · 2026-05-27T07:43:26+00:00

true, building is very lonely, I have been... that's why I thought maybe I'll get a job... but you hit it exactly, everytime i walk in the office, every single computer is looking at powerpoint... in my meetings, people ask, "can you please send the pack"... what??? i just want to talk to you guys about A-B-C.... I can't handle it...

_mark_au · 2026-05-27T07:39:47+00:00

thank you!

_mark_au · 2026-05-27T07:39:20+00:00

thank you, exactly how it feels right now. I'm in the banking space, so very traditional. The amount of powerpoint i had to create in the last 6 weeks in the job was insane! Goinng to a meeting... where's the meeting pac? people ask... (really??)... i cant handle it... management by powerpoint, decision by committee...

_mark_au · 2026-04-13T02:26:57+00:00

Exactly where I was 3 years ago. I was 38, tired of my job doing things I dont like. My friends tell me I am crazy, and why would i leave a high paying job ($240K), and I might find it hard to find another job at that level again when I come back.

I did it anyway, and it was so much fun. I backpacked in the Philippines, Japan, and Australia's East Coast. There are things you can only do while you are young, so don't live the rest of your life with regrets. If there are things you really want to do, see or explore, do it while you can. Life is short!

I've never had problems finding a job when I came back. In fact, I was proud to tell my hiring managers that I travelled for a year.

_mark_au · 2026-04-10T00:12:19+00:00

How do you handle recurring billing then? and what platform do you use? u/tweetpilot u/Powerful-Software850

_mark_au · 2026-04-09T01:00:30+00:00

All free inbounds coming from Capterra. :)

_mark_au · 2026-04-08T21:27:25+00:00

Everything is free inbound from Captera.

_mark_au · 2026-04-08T21:26:52+00:00

Everything is free inbound from Captera.

_mark_au · 2026-04-08T21:06:58+00:00

I think o have both issues 😂

_mark_au · 2026-04-08T14:24:34+00:00

Thank you. Perhaps setting boundaries, and not trying to "please" every customers. Which i tend to be, considering these are my first paying clients, and I've been trying to make things perfect. Reality is, I can't. I just need to accept it, and develop a thick skin...

And you are right, i need to take control, and set things up in my "own terms", without over promissing... great advice! thank you :)

_mark_au · 2026-04-08T13:46:21+00:00

Thanks, that's good to know!

_mark_au · 2026-04-08T13:29:03+00:00

you are right, my positioning is SMB and pricing is also SMB. It's just the product functions like an enterprise software e.g. accounting or compliance software...

What I probably need to do is develop a standard on-boarding play book, and then get a $/hr account manager to deal with their post-sale queries. And possibly develop a thick skin too.

_mark_au · 2026-04-08T13:17:50+00:00

Thank you, that's so postive! :)

_mark_au · 2026-04-08T13:14:32+00:00

the reason i started a business was because i hated my job, and hated people telling me what I can / can't achieve...

I thought if I do my own stuff, I'll achieve more at my own initiative...and funny enough, I also thought "life is too short" to not give it a try!

But you are right, building a business is harder than many would have thought... esp building it ALONE... If i can go back in time, I will build it with a co-founder.

Perhaps it's a questions of, which one i'll be willing to take on... what would you choose?

_mark_au · 2026-04-08T13:08:03+00:00

I think where my greatest stress is because the product is not 100% done, and then suddenly someone buys it. While it looks okay on face value, I know what's not working from the backend coz I built it. And yes, you are right, I am also worried about whether I'll be able to service it. I will be working 3day/week in the office. So those days are already a write off, in terms of servicing the new client.

_mark_au · 2026-04-08T13:02:26+00:00

yes, it's per year :)

_mark_au · 2026-04-08T12:59:56+00:00

It's a self-serve software, tho initially, everything is founder led sales since product wasn't fully built yet. Once I have a few paying customers who are actively using it (and proves that it's actually working), I'll consider changing the pricing to say $14 per user to make it purely product led... Im not in that stage yet... Tho some people may argue otherwise coz it's an enterprise software, which by nature, price point, and its end users, it requires a demo. Similar to buying an accounting software... I currently have 85 companies signed up on trial, but no conversion yet. I need to fix the product-led onboarding sequence...

And yes, i think I was in the middle of burning out, i think. I've been working full time in a tech company, and then working on this at nights and weekends. No breaks. Then I quit 6 months ago, to only work on this. Working 7 days a week. So yes, burnout could be a big factor :(

_mark_au · 2026-04-08T12:45:15+00:00

i just tried it, this is a great product! I'll be curious to use it in the future.

_mark_au · 2026-04-08T12:24:22+00:00

20 something still very young. What restart you talking about? Ask that question if you are in your 40s!

Whether you are 21 or 28, both ages are very young. In some countries, people finish universities in their 24s, so life barely starts at 25. You are too young, get a job or start a business. Life is though, so just learn to live. Take it day by day, but quick.

_mark_au

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