For financial advisors and collaborating professionals
A tax partner you can build into the client relationship.
A defined referral, scoping, and collaboration process designed to make your advice easier to implement and your client’s life easier to manage.
The collaboration model
One coordinated experience, with clear professional roles.
You keep the broader advisory relationship. We provide tax preparation, planning, accounting, and implementation within a separately defined CPA engagement.
When helpful, our scope and fee can be presented as an addendum or separate line within your client proposal. The client sees the coordinated cost and service model, while each professional maintains a separate agreement and is paid directly.
Referral to implementation
A repeatable process for shared clients.
- 01
Send brief context
Email two to five sentences describing the client, the reason for the introduction, important timing, and what you believe they need. A brief advance call is also welcome.
- 02
Coordinate discovery
Schedule a 30-minute joint conversation using your preferred system or Chris’s calendar. We hear the client’s priorities directly and identify the next best step together.
- 03
Obtain consent
The client authorizes information sharing among the professionals involved. This creates a clear basis for direct communication and document coordination.
- 04
Review the facts
Prior tax returns are required before a tax proposal is issued. Depending on scope, we may also request a net worth statement, investment details, entity records, or access to QuickBooks, Xero, and financial statements.
- 05
Define scope and fee
We determine whether the client needs tax preparation, a focused planning project, recurring planning, bookkeeping, or a combination of services.
- 06
Add the CPA scope
You receive concise client-facing language covering services, timing, fee, deposit, and billing cadence. It can be included as an addendum or separate line in your proposal.
- 07
Engage and collaborate
The client signs our separate engagement and pays us directly. With consent in place, you receive shared portal access and can coordinate with us throughout the relationship.
Building the client quote
Include the tax work without guessing at the tax fee.
Bring us into the scoping process before you finalize the client proposal. We will give you the information needed to present one coordinated service picture.
Identify the likely need
Tell us whether the expected work involves filing, planning, implementation, accounting, or an upcoming transaction.
Let us review before pricing
We do not issue tax proposals without reviewing prior returns. Accounting proposals may also require general-ledger and financial-statement review.
Receive advisor-ready scope language
We provide the deliverables, expected cadence, client responsibilities, CPA fee, deposit, and billing terms.
Present a coordinated total
You may show your fee and our CPA fee together in the client-facing proposal, while making clear that the CPA work is governed by a separate engagement and paid separately.
Simple presentation: Advisory services + CPA services = coordinated annual or project investment. Attach the CPA scope as an addendum and identify separate engagement and payment terms. Your firm should apply its own compliance review to the final presentation.
Planning reference
Sample fees for early client conversations.
Use these only as directional benchmarks. They are not quotes and should not be promised to a client before the required review and scoping process.
Tax preparation requires a 20% deposit, with the balance charged before e-filing. Defined planning projects generally require 50% upfront, with the remaining balance due at an agreed milestone. Tier 2 engagements can exceed $20,000 depending on scope, complexity, and implementation. Bookkeeping cleanup may be hourly and requires an upfront deposit.
Where collaboration adds value
Common shared-client situations.
Alternative investments and complex K-1s
Tax preparation and planning that account for private funds, real estate, oil and gas, trader funds, and delayed reporting.
Executives and concentrated equity
Coordination around RSUs, options, liquidity events, charitable strategies, and tax-aware portfolio decisions.
Business owners
Entity, compensation, retirement-plan, transaction, bookkeeping, payroll, and multi-state considerations.
Real estate investors
Cost segregation, participation analysis, grouping considerations, entity coordination, and implementation support.
High-income families
Year-round projections, estimated payments, charitable planning, trusts, estates, and professional-team coordination.
Defined transactions
Pre-transaction modeling for a sale, acquisition, property decision, restructuring, or other significant event.
Partner questions
Before making an introduction.
What should I send before the first call?
A brief two-to-five-sentence email is usually enough. Include who the client is, what prompted the introduction, important timing, the likely service need, and any context that will make the first conversation more effective.
Can I include your fee in my client proposal?
Yes. After we complete the required review and scope the work, we can provide advisor-ready language and a fee for an addendum or separate CPA line. The client signs a separate CPA engagement and pays our firm directly.
Can I quote the sample fees shown here?
Use them only as directional benchmarks in internal planning. Do not promise a CPA fee to the client before we review the relevant returns and records and issue the proposed scope.
Can I access documents for our mutual clients?
Yes, after the client signs the appropriate disclosure consent. The portal is designed to let approved advisors access mutual-client documents and help complete information requests.
Do you support clients with alternative investments?
Yes. The practice regularly works with complex K-1 reporting, private investments, real estate, funds, and other tax issues that benefit from direct advisor coordination.
How are late K-1s handled?
When information is not available by the original filing deadline, we may recommend an extension. Quarterly planning and projections can continue while final tax reporting is pending.
Have a client in mind?
Schedule a brief partner call to discuss the client and determine the best next step before making an introduction.