Business Advisory Services

Posted Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Table Of Contents

Key Takeaways

  • Year-Round, Not Year-End. Business Advisory replaces the “see you in April” model with ongoing strategy, projections, and touchpoints so tax planning happens before decisions are locked in.
  • Comfort Is the Deliverable. The goal isn’t just tax filings- it’s confidence. Compliance is handled, surprises are minimized, and tax savings don’t fall through the cracks while you run the business.
  • Built for S Corps and Small Owners. BAS is designed for solo operators and small ownership groups, especially those using S corporations where payroll optimization, tax projections, and entity strategy actually matter.
  • Service Levels Match Complexity. Vail focuses on household tax planning and S corp fundamentals, Telluride layers in proactive business entity and state-level tax planning like PTET and franchise taxes, and Aspen is fully customized for situations that don’t fit a standard model.
  • Structure Prevents Emergencies. Scheduled planning and review meetings throughout the year reduce fire drills, last-minute payroll changes, and “how did this happen?” tax moments.
  • Clear Lanes, Clear Communication. Business Advisory sets expectations upfront with structured email rules and clear boundaries between tax advice and financial planning, so questions get answered efficiently by the right professional without endless back-and-forth.

advisory servicesWCG CPAs & Advisors offers three distinct advisory platforms:

  • Tax Patrol
  • Investor Patrol, and
  • Business Advisory

Our advisory platforms ensure you receive the exact level of support your situation and tax footprint demand. The following details our flagship Business Advisory Services (BAS), a comprehensive platform designed for business owners who need robust compliance, payroll integration, and year-round strategy. BAS replaces the traditional “see you in April” relationship with a comprehensive, year-round partnership. It is the complete package for business owners who want a dedicated tax team, not just a tax preparer.

The Why of Business Advisory

The primary deliverable of WCG’s advisory services is comfort. We provide comfort in compliance by handling the regulatory tax filings, comfort in understanding tax consequences so you aren’t surprised, and comfort in tax savings by ensuring no tax deduction is left behind. You sleep better knowing a team is watching the store while you focus on running your business.

Who Is Business Advisory Designed For

BAS is specifically designed for the solo operator and small ownership group who often leverage the S Corporation election for maximum tax efficiency.

We specialize in serving consultants, engineers, attorneys, financial advisors, medical professionals, real estate agents, online retailers, and the occasional widget maker. Whether you are a hands-off owner who wants us to handle the heavy lifting or a collaborative partner who wants to brainstorm strategy, BAS scales to your engagement style. It is for those who view tax as a manageable process rather than an annual emergency.

BAS Platform Service Levels

We offer three Business Advisory platforms, aptly named after fancy-pants ski resorts. Why? Because like a luxury ski resort, we handle the heavy lifting so you can enjoy the ride. Oh stop rolling your eyes- at least snowboarders get it.

While we have a more detailed comparison between the BAS platform tiers below (like way below), here is a nice summary-

Vail $4,260 / year (Paid as a monthly subscription)

Vail is our go-to standard platform tier for S Corps and small businesses.

Compliance & Preparation

  • Form 1120S: S Corp tax return
  • Form 1040: Individual tax return
  • Tax Return Review: Comprehensive review meetings with your tax team

Strategic Planning & Advisory

  • Tax Strategy: Two dedicated tax advisory sessions focused on tax reduction and efficiency
  • Tax Projections: One annual household tax projection, plus a payroll plan with salary optimization
  • Tax Planning Meetings: Pre-planning, tax projection review, and end-of-year wrap-up
  • Routine Support: Three scheduled consultation calls (May through December) for ad-hoc tax matters

Monthly shareholder payroll processing via ADP is not included since many business owners like to handle their own payroll processing (we recommend Gusto for DIY payroll). We certainly can take this chore on as well.

Telluride $4,680 / year (Paid as a monthly subscription)

Telluride is common for businesses with complex state tax issues (such as PTET or separate planning needs) and / or external stakeholder needs. Telluride has everything in Vail, plus:

  • Business Entity Tax Planning: Pro-active planning for state-level complexity, including California’s Franchise Tax, Ohio’s RITA, Portland’s overall madness, NYC, etc. Many cities and states have a “pleasure to do business in our state” fee which can vary wildly and should be planned for.
  • PTET Calculations: Calculation and management of Pass-Through Entity Tax (PTET) payments.
  • External Interfacing: Routine coordination with your lenders, attorneys, and financial planners (yawn).

Why choose Telluride? The primary difference between Vail and Telluride is Business Entity Tax Projections. Vail covers household tax projections (your personal 1040 liability), whereas Telluride adds business entity tax projections (state franchise taxes and PTET).

Not every business needs separate business tax planning! Texas? No (well, not usually). California? Yes. If you are in a state with high complexity or a PTET regime you want to utilize, Telluride is the play.

Aspen Custom Pricing

Aspen is… well, Aspen. The best of the best (or at least the brochure reads that way). Aspen is for the unique “snowflake” situations. Yup, more bad puns. Aspen is a fully customized engagement.

Customization of Vail and Telluride

Unlike modern car packages where you have to spend $8,000 just to get a moonroof, we can tweak or fine tune Vail or Telluride to give you an Aspen-esque customization.

The Rhythm Of The Relationship

client communicationsWe believe in structured communication. While we are always available for an emergency, we find that scheduled touchpoints prevent emergencies from happening in the first place. As an old adage reads, "there are no such things as accounting emergencies; only poor planning."

Here is the typical meeting cadence for our Business Advisory Services (approx. 8 meetings total):

Strategic Milestones (We Reach Out to You)

We will email, text, and call you to get these on the calendar.

  • Pre-Planning Meeting (May/Jun): A check-in to jump-start tax projections. We need to understand changes from last year and your predicted income for the current year
  • Tax Projections Review (Jul/Aug): Once we crunch the numbers, we meet to review the results and discuss any planning changes (i.e., estimated tax payments)
  • End of Year Wrap-Up (Oct/Nov): We tidy up loose ends for the current year and look ahead to the next. This is super important for payroll adjustments and ensuring next year's strategy is in place before the ball drops

On-Demand Support (You Reach Out to Us)

You initiate these based on your schedule and needs.

  • Tax Return Review (Feb/Mar/Apr): A comprehensive review of your tax returns before filing. (Usually 1 meeting, but we can do 2 if things are messy).
  • Tax Advisory Sessions (Anytime): Two dedicated 40-minute sessions to apply your specific tax footprint to tax reduction strategies.
  • Periodic Quick Chats (May through Dec): Three 20-minute consultation calls for ad-hoc questions. Buying a car? Selling a rental? Just want to vent about the IRS? Schedule a quick chat.

Tax Patrol Cadence

Tax Patrol including Investor Tax Patrol meeting cadence is reduced slightly to-

  • Tax Return Review (Feb/Mar/Apr): A comprehensive review of your tax returns before filing. (Usually 1 meeting, but we can do 2 if things are messy).
  • Pre-Planning Meeting (May/Jun): A check-in to jump-start tax projections. We need to understand changes from last year and your predicted income for the current year
  • Periodic Quick Chats (May through Dec): Three 20-minute consultation calls for ad-hoc questions. Buying a car? Selling a rental? Just want to vent about the IRS? Schedule a quick chat.

Here is a visual-

BAS TPS/iTPS TOE
Business Advisory Tax & Investor Patrol Tax Only Engagment

Strategic Milestones (We Contact You)

Pre-Planning Meeting (May/Jun)
Tax Projections Review (Jul/Aug) Video / Email
End of Year Wrap-Up (Oct/Nov)

On-Demand Support (You Contact Us)

Tax Return Review (Feb-Apr)
Tax Advisory Sessions 2 Sessions Add-On Add-On
Periodic Quick Chats (May-Dec) 3 Chats 3 Chats 1 Chat

Tax Reduction Strategies

Discover practical strategies for reducing taxes while keeping you on the right side of things.

Advanced Tax Strategies

Impactful tax strategies take three things- money you can part with, effort (participation) and risk (financial and audit).

End of Year Tax Moves

Here is a list of things to consider as December 31 rolls around.

Schedule A Discovery Meeting

Are you interested in Business Advisory Services? Just tax return preparation? Do you own a rental property and need assistance with our Investor Tax Patrol Services? Let’s chat!

Request a Meeting with WCG Inc

Let's schedule a 20-minute discovery meeting with one of our Partners or Senior Tax Professionals to understand your tax footprint and objectives, and how WCG CPAs & Advisors might help.

Text WCG Offices

Text WCG Offices

Need to get in touch through a quick text?  We’ll respond back within a day and get going!

Chat our amazing team

Call Our Amazing Team

Need to speak to a tax professional now? Give us a call 719-387-9800 and we'll get you connected.

Managing Your Email Expectations

Email is a wonderful tool for sending data, memorializing decisions, and asking simple "Yes/No" questions. It is also a terrible tool for explaining complex tax strategy.

To ensure we remain efficient (and sane), we operate under two primary communication rules:

The "Deep Work" Cadence (Mon & Thu)

To produce high-quality work, our tax team needs uninterrupted focus. As such, we generally process email on Mondays and Thursdays. Why? It allows us to be heads-down in your data on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Friday (during tax season) without distraction.

Need us sooner? Call us! We are not allergic to the phone. If it is urgent, a 5-minute phone call beats a 3-day email wait every time.

The PB&J Rule (Efficiency)

If your email requires more than 5–10 minutes to write a response, we will not reply via email. Instead, we will call you or send a calendar link to discuss. Why? The PB&J Concept!

Everyone loves a Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwich. But trying to explain how to make one via email takes 45 minutes. Seriously! Consider all the options. Crunchy or smooth? Strawberry or Grape? Diagonal cut or straight? Toasted? Pros and cons of each. Proofreading.

We could trade 15 emails debating jelly, or we could have a 12-minute conversation via Teams or phone call, build the perfect sammy, come away more fulfilled, and move on with our lives

The “Recap” Promise

We know conversations can be forgotten within minutes for the busy person. As such, after every meeting, we send a recap email to memorialize the discussion. While no one likes to read anyway, this recap email also gets captured by our workflow software allowing all other team members to view the recap as necessary.

Note: We always make exceptions for our deployed military clients (or those trapped on a secure no-comms base), expats in weird time zones, or those with accessibility needs.

Financial Advisor Boundaries

So many things appear to be tax-related, but they are actually investment-related. While we appreciate the trust you place in us, not all things with a dollar sign are handled by your tax professional.

We operate under a "Stay in Our Lane" philosophy. Even though we have CFPs and former financial advisors on our team, when we are wearing our CPA hats, we must defer to those who provide financial planning and retirement advice on a daily basis.

The “Who Do I Ask?” Test

Here are a few common examples of how to distinguish between a tax question and a financial advisor question:

“Should I maximize my 401k?”

FA: "Yes/No based on your cash flow and retirement goals."

Average CPA: "If you do, you will defer $x,xxx in taxes."

Good CPA (Us): "Be mindful of all your investment cash being illiquid or trapped in a qualified retirement account. There are other ways to build wealth which might have some tax efficiency as well such as real estate, structured equipment leases, working interest in oil and gas wells, among other things."

“Should I do Pre-tax or Roth?”

FA: "Here is my advice based on your long-term betting regarding future tax rates vs. current rates."

Average CPA: We can model the immediate tax impact, but the decision is a retirement and investment strategy.

Good CPA (Us): "It depends on your age (how close you are to those 'not working years') and your projected retirement income. Keep in mind the Rule of 72—your investment will generally double every 9 years. If you are 40, you might have 3 doublings before you need the money. Please coordinate with your financial advisor, but know that we have strong feelings towards Roth contributions here]."

“I want to do a Roth Conversion.”

FA: "You should convert $50k this year to hit your accumulation goals."

Average CPA: "If you convert $50k, you will stay in the 24% bracket. If you convert $75k, about $25k will be in the 32% bracket."

Good CPA (Us): "Let's pair that conversion with a cost segregation study on your short-term rental to offset the tax hit."

“I inherited an IRA. How should I invest it?”

FA: "Let's discuss the market allocation and growth strategy since these items need to be adjusted for your risk profile."

CPA: "We can calculate the Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) and the tax bite, but not the growth strategy."

Our Promise

Your job is to ask us anything. Our job is to either answer it or say, "We are unable to help, but we know who can." We are not punting- plenty of that to go around these days as you can imagine. We are staying in our lane in a legal and suitability sense, and kindly deferring to others who are more capable.

Also! Keep in mind that we are happy to interface directly with your financial advisor- this cuts through all the shuttle diplomacy nonsense and inherent miscommunication.

Tax Patrol Sample Proposal

Explore our comprehensive tax patrol services and personalized consulting sample offer!

Advisory Sample Proposal

See our comprehensive tax advisory services and tailored consulting sample offer!

Transparent Fee Structure

Read about our philosophy on fees, how they change, and what influences your tax prep costs.

Business Advisory Services

WCG CPAs & Advisors specializes in small businesses who generally have fewer than 25 employees. Why? We want to help people, and more importantly we want to help the business owner directly. Frankly speaking, once a business gets to a certain size management layers get in the way of owner access. Access allows us to ensure the owner(s) are leveraging the most out of their business for themselves and their families.

Because small business is a core competency for us, we have created business advisory service plans which include these really cool things-

Vail Telluride Aspen

2025 Tax Planning and Preparation

Household Tax Projections [more]
Business Tax Projections, PTET Calcs, SALT Workaround [more] Add-On*
Tax Advisory Services, Decision-Making Assistance [more] Limited* Limited*
Small Business Tax Deductions, Optimization [more]
Section 199A Qualified Business Income Deduction Optimization [more]
Estimated Income Taxes (via increased payroll withholdings) [more]
Business Entity Tax Return (Form 1065, 1120, 1120S) [more]
State Income Apportionment, Foreign Qualification, Nexus [more] Add-On Add-On Add-On
Individual Tax Return (Form 1040, joint filing), One Owner [more]
Expat, Foreign Income Calcs (Form 2555, FBAR, Form 8938) [more] Add-On Add-On Add-On
Tax Resolution, Audit Defense [more] Advanced Advanced Advanced
Financial Planning, Calculations, Discussions [more] Add-On Add-On
Situational Tax Law Research (up to 3 hours annually)

Payroll and Accounting Services

Reasonable Shareholder Salary Calculation ( RCReports) [more]
Monthly Shareholder Payroll Processing (includes spouse, kids extra) [more]
Employee Payroll Processing (bi-weekly, direct deposit) Add-On Add-On Add-On
Annual Payroll Processing (W-2s, other filings, up to ten 1099s)
Accounting Services (bookkeeping + analysis, see below) [more] Add-On Add-On Add-On
Quarterly QuickBooks Consulting (QuickStart Launch) [more] Add-On Add-On

Business Advisory Services

Consultation
Business Consultation, Periodic Business Reviews (PBR) [more] Annually Routine Routine
Complimentary Quick Chats (CQC) [more] Routine Routine Routine
CPA Concierge Services [more] Add-On Add-On
Interfacing with Lenders, Attorneys, Financial Planners Routine Routine
Financial Analysis
Fractional Controller (monitoring 3rd party bookkeeping) Add-On Add-On Routine
Quarterly Financial Statements Analysis, Comparisons (Reach Report) Add-On* Add-On*
Annual Cash Flow Management, Analysis [more]
Annual Budgeting, Forecasting, Goal Setting
Annual First Research Reports, Industry-Focused Consulting [more]
Annual National and Metro Economic Reports
KPI Analysis, Benchmarking, Hot Sheets, Trend Analysis [more]
Strategy and Maintenance
C-Level Financial Advice, Strategic Planning (Fractional CFO)
Succession Planning, Ownership Changes Consultation Routine
Annual Business Valuation
Annual Corporate Governance, Resolutions, Meetings Add-On Add-On
Annual Fee* $4,500 $4,980 Custom
Paid Monthly $375 $415 Custom
(prorated based on onboarding date)

The primary difference between Vail and Telluride is business entity tax projections which focuses on state-level taxes such as franchise taxes and pass-through entity tax calculations. See below for more details.

Custom! Unlike the modern day new car packages where you have to spend $8,000 for the moonroof, our Business Advisory Service plans can be customized specifically for you. The array above is simply a starting point. If you need more or less from us, let’s chat about it!

Fees Updated! Our Business Advisory, Investor Patrol and Tax Patrol Service fees were updated August 2024, and we usually hold fees for at least two years (or through December 31, 2026) unless inflation skyrockets back to 9%.

*The Asterisk

Yeah, we all dislike the little asterisk. The gotcha! The fine print! Well, here is one of those situations. Tax projections under our Vail platform does not include business-entity tax projections and payments (California’s Franchise Tax, New Jersey’s BAIT, Portland’s overall madness, NYC, etc.), pass-through entity tax (PTET) calculations and payments, among other things. Not every business entity needs separate tax projections or planning! Texas, No. California, Yes.

Please see our Tax Planning Services page and Master Service Agreement for more information.Our Telluride Business Advisory plan includes entity specific tax projections as we just described plus interfacing with lenders, attorneys and financial planners (yawn). Here is a quickie listing of our tax planning service levels-

  • Tax Projections- simple tax liability calculation based on your projected data. We call this "your facts, your tax." This is included with all advisory platforms (business, tax patrol, investor tax patrol).
  • Tax Advisory- a decision, or a few decisions, needs to be made based on tax consequence. This is project based, and is quoted based on the scope. Advisory engagements receive 90 minutes of tax advisory.
  • Tax Strategy- a series of what-if, scenario based outcomes over several years needs to be analyzed to make decisions today, and along the way. This too is project based and quoted.

Afraid of bait and switch? Yeah, we think that stinks too. Our annual fee for Vail, as an example, is $4,500. What can make this fee go up? The most prominent reason is additional state tax returns (taxing jurisdictions). However, we will detail that in your proposal. Please see our individual and business entity tax return preparation pages for more information.

Quarterly financial statements analysis is an add-on service, however it is included automatically if you use our accounting services.

Sample Advisory Proposal

See a sample of our Business Advisory Services proposal and scope of work.

Master Service Agreement

Our proposals incorporate a Master Service Agreement (MSA) which is legal speak for fine print.

Business Advisory Services

We explain how business advisory is different than tax and investor patrol including tax only engagements.

Tax Patrol Services

We also have Tax Patrol! This is another wonderful tax service for those who don’t need business advisory services or real estate investment support, but from time to time want some love from an experienced tax consultant and business advisor. Have a quick tax question? Need to know the depreciation rules as you buy that new car? Wondering what your April tax bill is going to be in August? Your spouse upgraded to a different job- how is that going to affect things? You received a big bonus- yay, but how will that impact your tax bill?

Keystone Copper Breck
Individual Tax Return Prep (Form 1040, joint filing) [more]
Business Entity Tax Return Prep (Form 1065, 1120, 1120S) [more]
Household Tax Projection [more]
Business Tax Projections, PTET Calcs, SALT Workaround [more]
Estimated Tax Payments Calcs
Tax Resolution, Audit Defense [more] Advanced Advanced Advanced
Complimentary Quick Chats (CQC) [more] Routine Routine Routine
Annual Fee* $1,740 $2,400 $3,360
Paid Monthly $145 $200 $280
(prorated based on onboarding date)

Our Copper and Breck Tax Patrol Services platforms do not include reasonable owner salary recommendations and optimization, including 401k, fringe benefit and health insurance matters as they relate to payroll processing. Should you require these services, our Business Advisory platforms (Vail, Telluride, Aspen) above, like way above, might be a better fit.

Real Estate Investor Services

On one hand we have our Business Advisory Service plans which are very comprehensive yet might contain some services that not everyone needs such as salary optimization, payroll processing, multiple tax planning events, among other things.

On the other hand we have transactional relationships where clients come in each spring for tax return preparation, and that’s all they need. No questions. No tax planning. Just a pile of tax documents and a few discussions later and bada bing bada boom they have a tax return and a nice summer.

Is there an in-between? Boom! We have Investor Tax Patrol which is a fancy add-on to our Keystone Tax Patrol platform above.

Investor Tax Patrol is a wonderful tax service for those who don’t need all the advisory bells and whistles, but desire tax planning and, at times, scenario-based decision making assistance from an experienced real estate CPA and tax consultant. Have a quick tax question? Need to know the depreciation rules as you furnish that new short-term rental? Want to kick around Real Estate Professional designation? Wondering what your April tax bill is going to be in August?

Consider these typical fees for a tax-only engagement for rental property tax return preparation. We'll get into an example in a bit-

Rental Property Tax Return Preparation

Here are typical rental property tax prep fees that might be added to your individual tax return (Schedule E reported on Form 1040) or partnership tax return (Form 8825 reported on Form 1065).

Please keep in mind that each rental property is a small business with varying complexity. Operating expenses, improvements, home office deduction including travel, automobile expenses, paying your children, allocated expenses among several rentals among other nuances are business-like considerations and add to the comprehensiveness that WCG provides with rental tax return preparation (learn about our Rental Expert Pod as well).

Rental Tax Prep, Prepared Financials (Rental Bookkeeping) $100 ea
Rental Tax Prep, Clean DIY Records (The SRO Template) $150 ea
Rental Tax Prep, Complex or Messy Records (disguised disorganization) $200 ea
Add On: Existing Rental converting to STR $75
Add On: Streamlined State Tax Return (in addition to your resident state) $125 to $200
Add On: Complex State Tax Return (see below for what makes complex, complex) $250 to $400
Add On: Cost Seg Setup + 3115 / 481(a) Calc, Existing Rental Prior to 2025 $625
Add On: Short-Term Rental Activities (non-investor patrol) $75
Add On: Rental Property Sale $250
Add On: 1031 Like-Kind Exchange and New Setup $450
Add On: Complex 1031 (2:1, 1:2) and New Setup(s) $750

Investor Tax Patrol Example Time

As promised, let's get into an example. Let's say you have 2 rentals, with one being a short-term rental in another state.

Keystone Tax Patrol (as our base) $1,740
First Rental Included $0
Second Rental, Short-Term $175
Streamlined Additional State Tax Return $125
Annual Fee $2,040
Monthly $170

Custom! In the past we tried to have a "3 platform" approach to our rental property owners and real estate investors like we do for business advisory and tax patrol above. There is just way too much customization with rentals- one size fits all is great, but rentals are like snowflakes.

Investor Patrol is specifically designed to give you the freedom to call, text or email us without the worry of being nickeled and dimed like other outdated CPA firms. And! We also provide a tax planning event (usually around May, June and July) where we gather up your financial records like paystubs, rental activities, stock sales, etc. and we create a mock tax return projecting your annual income and eventual tax obligations. We are not big on surprises… bad news in August is palatable, yet bad news on April 15 is unacceptable.Let’s not forget that Investor Patrol also includes IRS audit defense for any tax return that we prepare. Please review our full Investor Patrol Services webpage for all kinds of fine print for your consideration. It’s really not that much.

Also, please check out our rental property book titled I Just Got A Rental, What Do I Do? This is our second book. Our first book, Taxpayer’s Comprehensive Guide to LLCs and S Corps, was first published in 2014 and was well-received by small business owners and tax professionals, so we thought a book on rental properties and real estate investments would be equally helpful. So, here we are with our second iteration, or the 2025 edition. We plan to update annually.

Real Estate Professional Status (REPS)

Discover how REPS can avoid passive activity loss limitations and rules.

Rental Property Tax Returns

We take a deeper dive into all the ins and out of rental property tax preparation.

Short-Term Rental Loophole

Take advantage of this tax loophole to deduct rental losses without qualifying as a real estate professional.

Rental Property Bookkeeping

Let us handle the books so you can focus on growing your rental property kingdom.

Real Estate Holding Company

Why holding rentals in partnerships can reduce audit risk and support defensible tax deductions.

Partnership Tax Return Preparation

Learn more about our partnership (Form 1065) tax return preparation.

We publish our typical fees, but then again they are scattered across several pages and sections of our website. Click below for a consolidated no thrills fee table that combines all our various fees for tax return preparation, tax resolution, accounting services, payroll processing and business services into a simple one pager (you might have to scroll a bit).

Our Way of Business

Here are some quickie FAQs to learn more about WCG CPAs & Advisors, and how we do business-

Do you extend a lot of tax returns?

Nope. We have a t-shirt that reads, “Hate extensions. Love our summers.” We file 70% of our tax returns by April 15, and only extend per the client’s request or if there is missing data such as a rogue K-1. We’ll go as quickly as you let us! Also, we don’t have A listers… we prepare tax returns in first-in first-out sequence. Sure, we leave room for emergencies or other issues that allow for jumping the line.

How is Business Advisory different than Tax Patrol or Investor Patrol?

Good question! Our Business Advisory Service plans (Vail, Telluride and Aspen) are more advisory forward like a robust old-fashioned with lots of planning, tax strategies and business consultation to help you make decisions. Our Tax Patrol Services (Keystone, Copper and Breck) are more tax return preparation forward like a refreshing vodka-lemonade with less tax planning, or at least less-intensive planning and consultation.

Investor Patrol Services for our rental property owners and investors is somewhere in-between since real estate is a business like any other requiring more tax planning, strategy and consultation but falls short of needing shareholder payroll planning and processing.

How Often Do We Schedule Meetings?

Up to you! In the past, we would pro-actively schedule quarterly meetings with all Business Advisory, Investor Patrol and Tax Patrol clients, but it was cumbersome for everyone. Today, we generally connect at least 3 times a year in a meaningful way. Once for tax return preparation, once for tax planning and then another for a myriad of reasons (“hey, I am buying a car” or “hey, we sold a rental”). This is all back-filled with emailed correspondence and touch-ups throughout the year. Having said that, with routine consultation offered above, your goal is to extract everything you need from us.

We prefer scheduled meetings over Teams. Check out our CPA Concierge Service as well. Priority boarding. HOV lane. Early check-in.

What Is Your Communication Style?

We rely heavily on emails and text message alerts. However, we do not have an allergy to the telephone. During friendly hours (let’s say 8AM to 7PM including weekends) we will usually call first if we have a question or need clarification.

Having said that, email can be an effective communication tool, and it is especially good for questions that require thought and good for memorializing conversations. While email is a chore for most people it can also be a distraction. Your WCG team is no different.

As such, we have two big rules that you need to be aware of-

  • The tax team, for example, only checks emails on Mondays and Thursdays. While there is no such thing as an accounting emergency, only poor planning, should you be needing a quicker response, then call us! We are committed to responding to your email within 3 business days.
  • Next, if our response to your email inquiry will take more than 5-10 minutes to write, then we will default to either a) picking up the phone and calling you out of the blue or b) sending you a calendar link so we can discuss it. Email is horribly inefficient. Having said that, we leave room for the expat or the person who works challenging hours or the person in a secure military facility, and needs some love from their tax professional but can only do email. But it cannot be the default.

When we have our amazingly productive and efficient conversation via Teams or phone call, we will always send a recap email to memorialize all the goodies. This recap email also gets captured by our workflow software allowing all other team members to view the recap as necessary.

Who Will I Be Working With?

For tax, we have two-person teams so there is always a backup. Teams are assigned based on who first spoke with you, bandwidth and subject matter expertise. We also have accounting, payroll and business formation / governance. As such, you might have 4 people you work with. Yay! The two tax peeps, and if applicable, a payroll peep and an accounting peep (if you are using our Accounting Services team for bookkeeping + analysis). We also have dedicated Client Support and Tax Support teams to… well… support you and the other teams.

Schedule A Discovery Meeting

Are you interested in business advisory services? Just tax return preparation? Do you own a rental property and need assistance? Let's chat!

Request a Meeting with WCG Inc

Let's schedule a 20-minute discovery meeting with one of our Partners or Senior Tax Professionals to understand your tax footprint and objectives, and how WCG CPAs & Advisors might help.

Text WCG Offices

Text WCG Offices

Need to get in touch through a quick text?  We’ll respond back within a day and get going!

Chat our amazing team

Call Our Amazing Team

Need to speak to a tax professional now? Give us a call 719-387-9800 and we'll get you connected.

Additional Business Services

The following are additional business services to get your venture launched and on the way. Some of these are teased out separately as one and done fees like formation and onboarding stuff.

Accounting, Payroll

Monthly Accounting (bookkeeping + analysis) [more] starting at $525 per month
Bi-Monthly Accounting (bookkeeping + analysis every 2 months) starting at $280 per month
Quad-Monthly Accounting (bookkeeping + analysis every 4 months) starting at $190 per month
Annual Compliance Bookkeeping For Tax Return Prep [more] typically $1,200 annually
Annual Accounting starting at $1,800 annually
Rental Property Bookkeeping [more] starting at $1,200 annually
Sales Tax typically $75 per month
typically $150 per quarter
Personal Property Tax typically $40 per month
or starting at $500 annually
Employee Payroll (direct deposit, bi-weekly) [more] 1 employee, $100 per month
2-5 employees, $175 per month
6-10 employees, $250 per month

Fine Print: Starting accounting service fees are based on 2 bank accounts (one checking account and one credit card is 2 accounts) with less than 250 monthly transactions. Our fee does not include the QBO subscription fee from Intuit. Custom quote is available if you have a lot going on such as third-party integrations (POS, time billing system), accrual accounting method, extensive benefits packages and / or industry specific issues (e.g, job costing in construction). The first step for Accounting Services is to do an accounting assessment with one of our experts to determine scope, service level and ultimate fee (see button below).

Even Finer Print: Employee payroll can be added only if already using our Business Advisory Service plans above (e.g, Vail). Custom quote for more than 15 employees and a referral to therapy or a script for Excedrin.

Business Formation

Articles of Organization or Incorporation, or Dissolution $625 + state filing fee
Initial Report (if required) $125 + state filing fee
Annual Report $350 + state filing fee
Employer Identification Number (EIN) Included
Single Member Operating Agreement (SMLLC) Included
MS Word Templated Bylaws Agreement (Corporations) Included
S Corp Election, Timely Election (made with formation) Included
Accountable Plan Included

Onboarding Fees (one and done)

Payroll Accounts Setup, Transfer, Closing $550 to $650 depending on state
Employee Data Transfer $25 per EE, > 5
Accounting Setup or Transfer (Fractional Controller) [more] Varies
QuickStart, QuickBooks Setup and Support (90 days) [more] $750
S Corp Election, Timely Election (within 75 days) $450
Late S Corp Election Back to January 2024 [more] $600, $1,200 after Jan 1 2024*
Examine Prior Tax Return Included

For late S Corp elections back to January, we have a split fee of $600 or $1,200… and it depends on if we can file your S Corp by March 15. Ideally, we attach the late S Corp election to the tax return and file both electronically. Yay! Conversely, if we cannot file on March 15, we also cannot electronically extend the tax return. As such, when we file in June or July, it is now considered late. We can usually have the penalties abated, but it takes effort hence the additional $600 fee (the $600 v. $1,200). Be a hero, and get us your stuff right away to save a few bucks and trim down the anxiety.

Business Maintenance

Entity Relocation Package (payroll closure and opening, entity move) [more] $800 (some are $1,050) + state filing fees
Address Changes w/o Payroll (IRS, State Dept of Revenue, Secretary of State) $250 + state filing fees
Address Changes with Payroll (above + state and local payroll agencies) $350 to $450 + state filing fees

Our entity relocation package includes closing your current payroll accounts, opening shiny new ones, moving your entity with the Secretary of State (if applicable) and updating addresses as necessary.

Speaking of address changes… these are tough. Basic address changes require IRS, State Department of Revenue and Secretary of State notifications. Address changes that include payroll add another level of complexity since departments of revenue are not the same as departments of labor, and there might be local or municipal agencies as well.

Accounting Services (Bookkeeping)

Best reason to use a small business accountant is to allow you to do what you do best with your time.

Accounting Assessment

Learn how WCG can help you with your Accounting Assessment needs.

Reasonable Shareholder Salary

Determining a reasonable shareholder salary and reasonable officer compensation is the murkiest part of running an S corporation.

Business Formation

Business entity selection is important, but it is not cast in stone. Many businesses often start off as one entity type, and then later convert.

Address Changes are Messy

A lot of small business owners, especially solo operators, work from their home office.

Late S Corp Election

The S Corp election takes your LLC (or PLLC or C Corp or PC) and changes the way it is taxed to reduce self-employment taxes. The underlying entity remains intact. Only the way it is taxed changes.

Advisory Services Fine Print

A la Carte

A la Carte fee ranges are approximates. 80% of our clients fit into our published fees, but there are outliers. We have a handful of clients with over 30 rentals; their individual tax return is north of $4,000. We also are assuming one state; if your business spans the galaxy then additional fees will be discussed with you prior to payroll setup or tax return preparation. Typically, each state or tax jurisdiction is around $250 to $350 for tax preparation since it affects both your business and individual tax returns (frankly, state apportionment is a pain in the butt, but it is our pain… and states, especially California and New York, are crazy about it).

Prorated Fees

Some more things to consider- when a partial year remains, our usual annual fee is decremented to not charge you for services you didn’t use such as payroll processing. However, a large chunk of our annual fee is tax return preparation which is typically a built-in fixed amount of $2,300 (both business entity and individual tax returns) plus annual tax planning. Whether we onboard you in January, July or December, we have to prepare a full year tax return. This increases the monthly fee for the remaining months of 2024 but the monthly fee will later decrease in January of 2025 to reflect the amounts above. Yeah, we make it sound like 2025 is just around the corner.

Payroll Processing

We make very little profits on payroll processing… we offer it as a convenience to our clients. One throat to choke with a single call can be reassuring but if you want to run your payroll, go for it! Everyone thinks payroll is a piece of cake; write a check and done. Nope… we see a lot of mistakes being made by small business owners especially the handling of self-employed health insurance and HSA contributions since there are special rules for greater than 2% S Corp shareholders. Then again, we don’t mind fixing what was broken.

Tax Returns

You can prepare your own individual tax return as well… but the benefit WCG preparing both individual and business tax returns is that can we slide things around depending on income limitations, phaseouts, alternative minimum tax (AMT), Section 199A deduction optimization, pass-through entity tax deductions (PTET), etc. Having our arms around both worlds can yield some good tax savings!

Note: An individual tax return is what the IRS calls Form 1040 and refers to the entity filing the tax return (you, the individual, are the entity). However, a married couple are deemed to be one entity for the sake of an individual tax return. So, when we say we will prepare your individual tax return, it is meant to include your spouse in a jointly filed happy happy joy joy tax return.

Break-Even Analysis (does an S Corp make sense?)

Break-even analysis is based on our annual fee of $4,500 for our Vail package. If an S corporation saves you 8% to 10% (on average) in taxes over the garden-variety LLC, then $4,500 divided by 9% equals $50,000 of net ordinary business income (profit) after expenses and deductions.

This doesn’t factor in the lower audit rate of S Corps versus Schedule C activities, plus the ability to use business funds to pay for your state income taxes otherwise known as the Pass-Thru Entity Tax Deduction (PTET) or the great SALT workaround.

More sales pitch! Keep in mind that our fee of $4,500 includes your individual tax return which you might already be paying another tax professional to prepare. WCG CPAs & Advisors has a handful of clients who are right at the break-even point of $50,000 but leverage an S Corp and our services to get tax return preparation, tax planning and consultation.

No BS

We are not salespeople. We are not putting lipstick on a pig, and trying to convince you to love it, even if Tom Ford’s Wild Ginger looks amazing. Our job remains being professionally detached, giving you information and letting you decide.
Moreover, many CPAs and tax professionals thrust their risk aversion onto their clients. This is bad. At WCG CPAs & Advisors we must perform our due diligence and hurdle our ethical and professional standards. However, after those gymnastics we present a risk-based analysis to the tax return and let you, the client and taxpayer, decide how to proceed. Having said that, we don’t entertain tax scammers or those who can take down the ship. Arthur Anderson anyone? No thanks.

We also see far too many crazy schemes and half-baked ideas from attorneys and wealth managers. In some cases, they are good ideas. In most cases, all the entities, layering and mixed ownership is only the illusion of precision. Just because you can complicate the crap out of your life doesn’t mean you must. Just like Chris Rock says, just because you can drive your car with your feet doesn’t make it a good idea.

Next Steps

Here is a brief summary of the next steps should you want to engage WCG with Business Advisory Services or Tax Patrol-

  1. We schedule an appointment to discuss your needs and ensure that we have the proper resources to help you.
  2. We draft a proposal outlining the scope of services and our fixed annual fee.
  3. If necessary, we schedule another appointment to review the proposal and perhaps tighten things up or make changes.
  4. Once the proposal is signed, the fun begins with onboarding. We have an extensive checklist and internal task list to properly onboard you and your business. Some things are concurrent (such as gathering housekeeping docs and setting up payroll) and some things are sequential (for example, collecting financial data and then offering salary recommendations and creating a tax plan). Onboarding is like having a baby; a SWAT team shows up and does a zillion things, and poof, everyone is gone except for mom and baby.
  5. After onboarding (usually 4-6 weeks), things settle down into a rhythm- Tax preparation in the spring, tax planning in the summer, with payroll and routine consultation bouncing along throughout the year.

New S Corp Puppy

Your corporation or LLC taxed as S Corp shouldn’t change much but there are some gotchyas.

Periodic Business Review

WCG are business consultants first and accountants second.

Late S Corp Election

Late S Corp election can easily be done well into 2025 for 2024 but there are hiccups.

Our Business And Rental Expertise

As mentioned elsewhere we primarily focus on small business owners and their unique consultation and tax preparation needs. With over 60 full-time consultation professionals including Certified Public Accountants, Enrolled Agents and Certified Financial Planners on your teamWCG CPAs & Advisors consults on custom business structures, multiple entity arrangements, S corp elections (even late S corp elections back to January), tax strategies, business coaching, industry analysis, executive benefits, retirement planning including individual 401k plans, exit strategies, business valuations, income tax planning and modeling, and tax representation.

We also work with business law attorneys for business owners who have additional needs such as drafting Operating Agreements, fee for service contracts, buying or selling a business including employee stock ownership plans and partner buy-ins. In addition, WCG coordinates with third party plan administrators create age-based profit sharing plans and cash balance (defined benefit) plans. We can run point on whatever your business needs to ensure that communication is effective and efficient allowing you to sell widgets.

Here are some additional resources you might find useful.

Periodic Business Review

Yes, you want to get a little extra from your hard work and you want this to be tax-advantaged.

Tax-Planning-Strategies

Tax Planning

Accurate estimated tax payments come from proper tax planning. There is nothing worse than the fear of the unknown since most human responses will be the worse case scenario.

Business Tax Deductions

Learn more about how WCG can help you with business tax deductions.

Online Accountant

WCG has been remotely preparing tax returns since 2007 using secure online client portals, text messaging, videoconferencing, and other technologies.

Tax-Planning-Strategies

Business Support Portal

Everything you need from small business tax preparation to S Corp elections to payroll to accounting is located here. Need consultation?

Tax Center

Tax Center

Welcome to the Tax Center Portal! Everything you need from tax return preparation for your small business to your rental to your corporation is here.

WCG CPAs & Advisors is a full-service yet boutique progressive tax, accounting and business consultation firm located in Colorado serving clients worldwide.

Business Valuation

Jason Watson, CPA, CVA is trained by the American Institute of CPAs and the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts (CVA) for Business Valuation. Jason has represented several buyers and sellers in business acquisitions, and has helped divorcing couples value a small business for divorce property settlements. When performing business consultation and business valuation services under engagement, his hourly fee is $350 with a retainer of $5,000 to $8,000 depending on the complexity of the case. Depositions and trial testimony are $450 per hour (possibly with an additional retainer).

Additional Fees

We also have a short list of additional fees that might be incurred depending on your tax and accounting situation, and your level of readiness-

Various Things

Copying and returning of original tax documents $45
Significant changes or additions after a preliminary tax return is prepared- “crud, let me re-work all my numbers.” $250 / hr
Tax resolution and/or audit assistance; Resolution is typically 2 hours; audit assistance is typically two 2-hour sessions $375 / hr
Lender or “comfort” letters $250 to $600
Business Valuations $5,000 – $8,000 retainer,
$350 / hr
Divorce Analysis, Litigation Support $250 / hr,
$350 / hr for court
Client Support, Administrative billable rate $150 / hr
Accountant billable rate $150 / hr
Supervisor billable rate $250 / hr
Manager billable rate $300 / hr
Partner billable rate $400 / hr
Managing Partner billable rate $450 / hr
Senior Partner billable rate $475 to $525 / hr

Wow! We really belabored the heck out of those hourly rates there at the end, didn’t we? All in the interest of tax preparation fee transparency of a growing firm.

Also! Please keep in mind that we pride ourselves in not being the nickel and dime type of tax and accounting firm. Typically, we can offer a fee range or a maximum limit for our services and fees to keep your tax prep cost where you want it. This is what we do all day, every day! We have a solid understanding of what it takes to complete a project successfully.

Table Of Contents

Tax Planning Season

Tax planning season is here! Let's schedule a time to review tax reduction strategies and generate a mock tax return.

Bookkeeping Services

Tired of maintaining your own books? Seems like a chore to offload?

Professional Consultation

Did you want to chat about this? Do you have questions about Business Advisory Services? Let’s chat!

The tax advisors, business consultants and rental property experts at WCG CPAs & Advisors are not salespeople; we are not putting lipstick on a pig expecting you to love it. Our job remains being professionally detached, giving you information and letting you decide within our ethical guidelines and your risk profiles.

We see far too many crazy schemes and half-baked ideas from attorneys and wealth managers. In some cases, they are good ideas. In most cases, all the entities, layering and mixed ownership is only the illusion of precision. As Chris Rock says, just because you can drive your car with your feet doesn’t make it a good idea. In other words, let’s not automatically convert “you can” into “you must.”

Let’s chat so you can be smart about it.

We typically schedule a 20-minute complimentary quick chat with one of our Partners or our amazing Senior Tax Professionals to determine if we are a good fit for each other, and how an engagement with our team looks. Tax returns only? Business advisory? Tax strategy and planning? Rental property support?

Text WCG Offices

Text WCG Offices

Need to get in touch through a quick text? We'll respond within a day.

Chat our amazing team

Call Our Team

Need to speak to a tax professional now? Give us a call 719-387-9800 and we'll get you connected.