The Fee Definition

Which work this covers. This fee definition applies to savings, cost reduction, workflow, and tax recovery work, our specialty. Growth work (revenue, sales strategy, marketing, advertising, startups) is priced separately and quoted in writing before any work begins. Nothing on this page should be read as the price of growth work.

Nothing upfront for savings and recovery work. No engagement fee, no retainer, no setup fee. (Growth work is priced separately. See 'What this fee does not cover.')

The fee is 20% of a verified saving or recovery that is attributable to a written finding, under the baseline and method stated in that finding. If nothing is verified, the fee is zero.

We never hold your money. Recoveries are paid to you by whoever owes them. Specialists are engaged and paid by you directly. The only payment that ever reaches this firm is the fee on a verified saving.

What "verified" means

A finding moves through four states, and only the last one can support a fee:

• Identified — a possible benefit has been found.
• Projected — a benefit has been estimated but has not yet occurred.
• Realized — you took an action and the economic event occurred.
• Verified — the benefit satisfies the tests below. Only verified benefits are billed.

The tests, benefit by benefit

• Cash recovery. Verified when you actually receive the money or a usable credit, the amount can be documented, and no known condition requires you to return the full amount.
• Recurring cost reduction. Verified only for a period in which you actually paid the lower cost for a comparable product, service, volume, quality, and service level, measured against the baseline and method stated in the finding. Recurring savings are billed for no more than 12 months after implementation; a longer period applies only if you agree it in writing before the finding is delivered.
• Avoided cost. Verified only when you would have been legally or contractually required to pay the cost, an action based on the finding prevented the payment, and you accept the calculation in writing.
• Tax benefit. Verified only when a qualified tax professional has prepared or approved the position, the return or claim has been filed or formally adopted as required, and the benefit has produced a refund, a reduced payment, or another documented reduction in tax due.

What this fee does not cover

This definition prices savings and recovery work only. Revenue, sales strategy, marketing, advertising, and startup work are priced separately and quoted in writing before any work starts. You will never be charged a growth fee without a signed quote, and never a percentage of revenue unless that quote says so.

Not verified: a benefit is not verified merely because a vendor quoted a lower price, a law changed, a market rate moved, a return position was identified, or you might save money in the future. And no fee is due for a benefit you prove was fully implemented, or irrevocably committed, before the written finding that identified it was delivered.

How billing works

• Each fee statement identifies the finding, the baseline, the benefit amount, the calculation, the fee rate, and the supporting record.
• For a recurring saving, a fee statement may be issued monthly, as each month's benefit becomes verified.
• The undisputed fee is due 15 days after you receive the fee statement. A statement is issued only once the benefit is verified. You may object to a specific item within 15 days and pay the part that is not in dispute.
• If a verified benefit is later reversed, repaid, disallowed, credited back, or reduced, the benefit and the fee are recalculated. Any excess fee is credited against your next fee, or refunded within 60 days if no further fee is due.

After an engagement ends: if you act on a finding delivered before termination, the fee applies to savings verified within the tail period stated in your schedule. After that, nothing is owed.

This page summarises the fee provisions of the firm's standard engagement in plain English. It is not the engagement itself, and where this summary and a signed engagement differ, the signed engagement governs.