Pricing & engagement

Flat retainers, planning included, returns bundled.

Most CPAs bill hourly or charge per form, with planning sold as an extra. We don’t. Pricing starts at a known number, the return is part of the work, and the planning happens quarterly — not in March.

If the only question is “how cheap can I file,” we’re the wrong firm and the free resources will get you further than a sales call would.

How it works

Free resources

80+ articles, calculators, and worksheets — no gate

Owner Review

Nine questions. See where the gaps are.

Fit call

30 minutes. Honest evaluation — we’ll say no if it doesn’t fit.

Ongoing engagement

Quarterly planning, returns bundled, flat retainer.

Ongoing engagements

Three tiers. Same firm, different scope.

All three are flat-retainer engagements. The right tier is the one that matches how complex your business and personal picture actually are — not the one with the most checkboxes.

Tier 1

Foundations

Solo service or early S-corp owners getting the structure right.

From $650/mo

Flat retainer, billed monthly. Includes business return + one personal return.

Quarterly planning calls — not just filing-time contact
S-corp salary review and quarterly estimates handled together
Business return (1120-S or Schedule C) and one personal 1040 prepared as one picture
Year-end planning checkpoint in October, not March
Email access for in-the-moment questions — no hourly clock

Best fit: Jamie, Alex, early Ray

Book a fit call

Tier 2

Most common

Active Planning

Profitable owners ready for a real planning rhythm — not just a return.

From $1,500/mo

Flat retainer. Includes business return, one personal return, and quarterly planning meetings.

Everything in Foundations
Formal Q3 planning meeting tied to projected numbers
Distribution strategy: how much, when, and in what form
Retirement plan design (Solo 401(k), SEP, defined benefit where it fits)
Bookkeeper coordination so the year-end picture matches the books
Multi-state filings and payroll tax review where applicable

Best fit: Marcus, established Ray, growing Jamie

Book a fit call

Tier 3

Coordinated Wealth

Established owners with cash building up, or executive-level personal complexity.

From $2,800/mo

Tax planning retainer. Investment advisory billed separately by Measured Risk Portfolios as a percentage of assets under management.

Everything in Active Planning
RSU, ISO, and concentrated-position tax strategy
K-1 and partnership income coordination
Distribution and investment plan run as one decision, not two
Charitable, estate, and basis-shifting basics where they apply
Direct coordination between Matt Reese, CPA and Measured Risk Portfolios

Best fit: Dana, Priya

Book a fit call

Pricing reflects starting points. Final retainer is set after a fit call based on entity count, state filings, owner count, and complexity of the personal return. Multi-entity or multi-state engagements are quoted directly.

What this looks like in practice

Real outcomes by tier — one year in.

The figures below come from composite client engagements: actual owner profiles and real outcomes, with names and identifying details changed to protect privacy. Outcomes vary with revenue, profit, and how much room there is to optimize.

Foundations

Year 1

Tax savings: $12,600

Solo S-corp consultant, $280k revenue, $85k profit.

First-year setup: S-corp election, $50k W-2 + $35k distributions, Solo 401(k), quarterly estimates locked in.

S-corp SE tax savings: $6,200
Solo 401(k) deduction: $4,100
Quarterly precision: $2,300

Net benefit after retainer: +$4,800

1.6× return in Year 1

“I was paralyzed before. Too many decisions, too many unknowns. Having a clear roadmap meant I could focus on growing the business.”— Composite owner, first-year S-corp

Active Planning

Year 1

Tax savings: $22,400

Service business owner, $650k revenue, $210k profit.

Moved from a CPA who showed up in February to an October planning meeting plus quarterly cadence — S-corp salary review, deduction capture, and quarterly estimate precision.

S-corp salary optimization: $8,200
Deduction capture: $9,100
Quarterly estimate precision: $5,100

Net benefit after retainer: +$4,400

1.24× return in Year 1

“I used to dread April. Being proactive instead of reactive changed everything.”— Composite owner, service business

Coordinated Wealth

Year 1

$92,400 tax + $125k wealth optimization

Tech executive: $400k W-2 + $150k RSU + $80k K-1 + $2.2M concentrated stock.

Quarterly CPA + advisor + personal calls. ISO/AMT timing, RSU coordinated with tax-loss harvesting, K-1 distribution timing, three-year concentrated-position diversification.

RSU strategy: $18,500
ISO/AMT deferral: $24,300
Tax-loss harvesting coordination: $18,600
Concentrated stock diversification: $20,000
K-1 timing: $11,000

Net benefit after retainer (tax alone): +$58,800

2.75× return in Year 1

“I was bleeding $30–50k/year from poor coordination and didn’t even know it.”— Composite owner, tech executive

Value compounds. Year 1 is the starting line.

Foundations

$42,600

cumulative benefit over 3 years

Active Planning

$73,800

cumulative benefit over 3 years

Coordinated Wealth

$295,400

cumulative benefit over 3 years

What most owners lose without a plan

The $65k April surprise — no quarterly estimates, no S-corp salary review, no October checkpoint.
The $45k unexpected AMT bill — ISO exercises with no coordinated tax plan.
The missed Solo 401(k) year — no plan established before December 31, contribution window gone.

Composite case studies. Past results don’t guarantee future outcomes; every engagement is scoped to the situation. Tax and accounting services are provided through Matt Reese, CPA. Investment advisory services are provided through Measured Risk Portfolios, a registered investment adviser. Separate entities; clients are not required to engage both.

Project engagement

Exit planning — scoped, fixed-fee, run before the LOI.

The decisions that determine what an owner actually nets from a sale — entity structure, deal structure, QSBS eligibility, installment treatment — are made before the letter of intent. After the LOI is signed, most of these options have closed.

The exit project is a one-time, scoped engagement that runs on a fixed fee set after a fit call. It pairs naturally with an Active Planning or Coordinated Wealth retainer during the runway to close.

Book an exit-planning call See the exit-planning page

Project fee

$15,000–$50,000+

Scoped to the situation. Fixed fee, agreed to in writing before any work begins.

Pre-LOI tax analysis — run before the deal terms are signed, not after
Entity structure review and conversion timing
Asset vs. stock sale modeling — buyers prefer asset, the seller usually doesn't
QSBS eligibility check (a federal exclusion that can be worth $10M+ if it applies)
Installment sale and earn-out modeling
California exit considerations — the gain is taxed even after a move
Coordination with M&A advisor, attorney, and investment advisor in the same room

Best fit: Sam

What this looked like in practice

Pre-close engagement · composite

+$420k after-tax on a $6.8M deal

Service business owner, 11 years in. $4.5M revenue, ~$1.2M EBITDA. LLC taxed as S-corp; approached by a strategic acquirer with a $6.8M asset-sale offer.

Pre-LOI engagement run before terms were countered. Deal structure, installment election, California PTET in the year of sale, charitable bunching, and earnout taxation all modeled together. Coordinated with the M&A attorney and Measured Risk Portfolios on post-close cash deployment.

Installment sale on $1.8M of deferred consideration: $145k
Working capital and net-of-debt negotiation: $95k
California PTET election in year of sale: $80k
Charitable bunching via DAF: $65k
Earnout restructured (capital vs. ordinary): $35k

Composite engagement — representative owner profile, real planning levers, with names and identifying details changed. QSBS doesn’t apply to S-corps; for C-corp owners with five-year holding periods, the qualified small business stock exclusion is a separate analysis that can be worth materially more.

How we price

Five rules the pricing follows.

Flat retainer, not hourly.

Hourly billing punishes you for asking questions. A flat retainer means you call when you need to, and the answer is included.

Returns are part of the engagement, not an add-on.

Planning that doesn't include the return ends in a January handoff to someone who wasn't in the conversation. We don't do that.

No commissions on insurance or product sales.

We don't earn on what you buy. Insurance and product recommendations are for fit, not revenue.

Investment advisory billed separately, transparently.

Advisory work goes through Measured Risk Portfolios at a disclosed percentage of assets under management. Engagement with one firm doesn't obligate engagement with the other.

Pricing doesn't drop with discounting.

What it costs is what it costs. If price is the deciding factor, we're not the right firm — and the free resources will get a long way on their own.

How we evaluate fit

We’d rather be honest about fit than sell a bad engagement.

The first call is a fit call, not a sales call. If the answers below don’t match your situation, we’ll tell you on that call — and point you somewhere useful.

Likely a fit

California business owner, $200k–$10M in revenue
S-corp, single-member LLC, partnership, or actively considering one
Willing to share both business and personal returns
Wants quarterly planning, not just a March filing

Likely not a fit

The only goal is the cheapest possible return
Not willing to coordinate with an existing advisor or share both returns
Wants exit work after a letter of intent is already signed
Net profit under ~$80k and no near-term path above (resources are a better use of money)

Not a fit yet? The Owner Review and resources cover most of what you’d get on a paid call.

Common questions

What people actually want to know.

Why is pricing public when most CPAs hide it?: Because the alternative wastes everyone's time. Owners who fit see what to expect and can decide whether to book. Owners who don't fit can route themselves to the resources without sitting through a discovery call. We'd rather lose a meeting than burn an hour.
Can I just get a return done?: No. Returns are bundled into a planning engagement. If you want a one-shot return with no ongoing relationship, we're not the right fit and we'll say so on the first call.
How does this compare to a typical local CPA?: Most local CPAs bill hourly or charge per form, with planning sold as an add-on if at all. Our retainer covers planning, returns, and access — and the whole point is that decisions get made before December 31, not after.
What if I'm under the Foundations threshold?: Use the resources. The Owner Review tool, the calculators, and the persona guides cover the math for solo service owners and first-year businesses. When net profit clears about $80k–$100k, the conversation usually starts to make sense.
Do you take percentage-of-tax-saved fees?: No. Contingent fees on original tax returns are prohibited under Treasury Department Circular 230 §10.27 and AICPA Statements on Standards for Tax Services. Beyond the rule, the model rewards aggressive positions and creates conflicts on planning decisions. Flat fees keep the advice clean and the engagement defensible.
What does the exit project fee actually cover?: A scoped engagement before any LOI is signed: pre-sale tax analysis, entity and deal structure review, QSBS check, installment modeling, and coordination with your M&A advisor and attorney. The fee is set after a fit call so you know what you're paying before you commit.

Not sure which tier fits?

Take the Owner Review — nine questions, two minutes. The results show where the gaps are and which tier is the natural starting point.

Take the Owner Review Or book a fit call