Flat fees, not an hourly meter.
Inside an engagement, you should never have to weigh whether a question is worth what it costs to ask. Nothing here is billed by the hour, and questions within scope are part of the work. A new matter is scoped and quoted like any other engagement — but you will know that before it starts, not on an invoice afterward. The published floors tell you where an engagement starts. What lands above a floor is the work itself — the activities, the states, the condition of the records — priced on the job rather than on the clock. Like any job with unknowns in it, the final number reflects what the work turned out to be.
Three things determine every quote.
Scope
What the engagement covers: a single return, monthly books, payroll, planning, or a combination. Bundled engagements price better than the sum of their parts, because shared context is shared work.
Complexity
Entity count, states filed, transaction volume, and the condition of the records. A clean set of books and a shoebox are honestly different jobs — and the quote says so upfront rather than surprising you later.
Cadence
One-time projects (a clean-up, a migration, a consult) are quoted as projects. Ongoing work (books, payroll, planning) is quoted as a predictable monthly or annual fee you can budget around.
Two floors published. Two priced to scope.
Most firms make you call to learn what a return costs. Where a floor can be published honestly, it is. Where the work cannot be bid until we have seen the volume and the records, we say that instead of inventing a number. What moves a fee above a floor is scope, never the clock.
Individual Return
$425 — the floor
W-2 and 1099 income with the standard deduction. Tax preparation by a CPA or Enrolled Agent, signed by our principal CPA like every return here. This is the minimum engagement, not a typical fee.
What moves it up: itemized deductions, rental property, investment activity, K-1s, multi-state filing, and the condition of the records. A return carrying business activity is scoped and quoted with the business engagement, not from this floor.
Business Return
$1,275 — the floor
S-corp, partnership, and corporate returns, where the balance sheet has to tie and the books have to support it. This is the minimum engagement, not a typical fee. Most owners bundle the personal return with it — one firm reading one ledger, priced together.
What moves it up: states filed, entity count, fixed asset and depreciation detail, partner or shareholder count, and whether the books arrive clean or as a shoebox.
Bookkeeping & Client Accounting
Priced upon request
Monthly books, catch-up cleanups, and standing client accounting engagements. A cleanup is quoted as a project; ongoing work is quoted as a predictable recurring fee. Bookkeeping stands on its own — no tax return required.
What we scope first: monthly transaction volume, how many months are behind, how many accounts are involved, and where the data comes from — a maintained file, raw bank statements, or spreadsheets. Whether the work has to run on the accrual basis, with accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, and integrated systems, changes the engagement materially.
Advisory & IRS Representation
Priced to scope
Tax planning, entity and S-corp analysis, analysis and forecasting, business valuation as a calculation engagement yielding a calculated value, and IRS representation. Each is quoted per engagement, against a written scope.
Why it is not a menu item: two engagements wearing the same name are rarely the same work. A notice answered in one letter and an examination worked through Appeals are not one service with one price.
Why a Minimum Engagement Fee?
A simple W-2/1099 return carries less work than a complex one — but not a lower standard. It still moves through the same secure intake, the same licensed review, and the same signature. The minimum reflects the standard we hold and the resources it consumes, neither of which shrinks with the return.
How advisory work actually runs.
Advice is only worth what the preparation behind it is worth. So we don’t sell an hour and improvise in it. The intro establishes what you’re dealing with; the documents come next; the work happens against your actual return and your actual books; and the session that follows delivers conclusions, not first impressions. You keep a prioritized written action list either way. Flat fee, quoted before the work starts.
Why there is no “book an hour” button
A paid meeting booked cold is a meeting where we read your situation for the first time in front of you. That is the weakest version of this firm, sold at its highest rate. Scope gets set in the free intro; the fee follows the scope; the work is done before we sit down again.
What you’ll never see
Hourly surprise bills. Charges for phone calls. Fees buried in fine print. If a simpler or cheaper path fits your situation — including one that involves less of us — we’ll say so.
Pricing, answered.
Do I have to pay to become a client?
No. For most tax returns and bookkeeping clean-ups the first step is simply sending your documents — no meeting and no account required. Owners with an entity, employees, equipment, or books that are behind usually get more out of fifteen minutes first. That intro is with Kevin Hemingway, CPA — we discuss your needs, determine whether our firm is a good fit, and you leave with a clear scope and next steps. The paid strategy consult is a separate engagement for owners who want a full review of their prior return and books before deciding. Neither is required to become a client.
What exactly do the published floors cover?
Each floor is the starting point for the scope printed beside it. The individual floor covers a W-2/1099 return with the standard deduction, prepared and principal-signed; the business floor covers an entity return where the balance sheet has to tie. The drivers listed beside each are what typically move a fee above it: more states, more activities, rougher records. Two ‘S-corp returns’ can be entirely different jobs, which is why we publish where pricing begins rather than pretending every return costs the same.
How do you price bookkeeping and cleanup work?
By volume, condition, and system. We scope monthly transaction count, how many months are behind, how many accounts are involved, and whether the history is a maintained file, raw bank statements, or spreadsheets. Then whether the work has to run on the accrual basis — receivables, payables, payroll, integrated systems — which changes the engagement materially. A cleanup is quoted as a project; ongoing books are quoted as a recurring fee. Both are set in writing before the work starts.
Do you charge for phone calls and questions?
No. Flat-fee engagements exist precisely so you call when something comes up — before the equipment purchase, before the new hire — instead of after, when it’s more expensive to fix. Questions within an engagement’s scope are part of the engagement.
Is the strategy consult fee credited if I sign on afterward?
Ask when you book — arrangements can depend on the follow-on engagement. What you get either way is the deliverable: a written, prioritized action list from a licensed professional that’s yours to keep and act on, with us or without us.
Ready when you are. Virtual or in-office.
Every tax return prepared and signed by a licensed CPA or IRS Enrolled Agent. Documents run through the secure portal; anything you sign is sent to you electronically.
Fifteen Minutes with the Principal
Face to face by video with Kevin Hemingway, CPA. We size up what you need, whether the firm is a good fit, and what an engagement would cover — and you leave with a clear scope and next steps. This consultation is for engagement evaluation and does not include tax advice, tax planning, or detailed analysis of specific tax situations.
New Client IntroSend Documents
New or current, the portal is the way in. Last year’s return, your books, a notice — encrypted, and never by email. No account needed to send us something.
Send DocumentsAlready a ClientClient LoginClient Hub