/01 Advisory retainers
Span, Keystone, Causeway
Pick the tier that matches how much of the work you need us to carry. Move up or down at the end of any minimum term with thirty days notice.
Quarterly prepayment saves 10 percent
Span
A monthly advisory seat for an owner who needs a sounding board, a scoreboard and someone to ask the hard question.
Three month minimum, then rolling
- Monthly half day advisory session with a partner
- Management dashboard built and maintained
- Quarterly financial and performance review
- Annual plan facilitation
- Email and telephone access within one business day
- Ten percent off any fixed fee project
Best for owner led businesses roughly $1M to $6M in revenue.
Keystone
The working retainer for a business in the middle of real change, where somebody needs to be in the room every week.
Six month minimum, then rolling
- Everything in Span
- Weekly operating review with the leadership team
- Two advisors assigned, one on site monthly
- Initiative delivery support and manager coaching
- Lender, investor and board reporting pack
- Supplier and contract negotiation support
- Same day response during business hours
Best for $5M to $30M businesses in growth, turnaround or transition.
Causeway
Multi entity groups that need one operating standard, board level input and capacity for acquisition work.
Twelve month minimum, then rolling
- Everything in Keystone
- Up to four entities or locations covered
- Named engagement partner and dedicated analyst
- Board attendance and governance support
- Group wide standards written and maintained
- Acquisition and expansion workstreams included
- Direct partner access seven days a week
Additional entities beyond four are $2,400 each per month.
All retainers include travel within 150 miles of either office. Fees are in United States dollars, quoted before applicable taxes, and fixed for the duration of the minimum term.
/02 Fee estimator
Size the spend before you call
Three questions produce an indicative monthly range based on what comparable engagements have cost. It is a guide for budgeting, not a quote. Your written scope carries the real number.
Indicative monthly range
$3,950 to $6,050
Indicative monthly fee for an advisory retainer engagement over 6 months.
- Revenue$1M to $5M
- EngagementAdvisory retainer
- Duration6 months
/03 Fixed fee projects
Standalone work, no retainer required
Every item below can be bought on its own. Retainer clients receive ten percent off, and anything already covered by their tier is included at no extra charge.
| Engagement | What you receive | Timeline | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business diagnostic | Financial, operational and organisational review with a written findings memo and costed recommendations. | 2 to 3 weeks | $4,800 |
| Strategic plan | Profitability analysis, market position, three year plan, capital requirement and sequenced initiatives with owners. | 6 to 10 weeks | from $14,500 |
| Pricing and margin rebuild | Line by line profitability, pricing architecture, quoting rules and a rollout plan for the sales team. | 5 to 8 weeks | from $11,200 |
| Operations improvement | Process mapping, bottleneck analysis, standard procedures, dashboards and the weekly management rhythm. | 8 to 14 weeks | from $16,900 |
| Cash flow and forecasting build | Thirteen week rolling forecast, budget model, reporting pack and training for whoever will maintain it. | 4 weeks | $7,400 |
| Fractional CFO | Ongoing senior finance capacity, reporting, lender liaison and board support, scaled by days per month. | Monthly | from $3,900 monthly |
| Organisational design | Structure review, role definitions, accountability map, compensation bands and a phased hiring plan. | 6 to 9 weeks | from $10,800 |
| Feasibility study | Market sizing, site or entry analysis, capital requirement, break even model and a written recommendation. | 4 to 6 weeks | $8,600 |
| Governance and controls framework | Contract register, internal controls, policy set, risk register and board reporting cadence. | 4 to 8 weeks | from $9,500 |
| Transaction readiness | Diligence preparation, data room structure, normalised earnings analysis and management presentation support. | 6 to 12 weeks | from $18,400 |
| Interim management | A named advisor holding an operating seat, with agreed authority limits and a written handover plan. | 3 to 12 months | from $1,350 per day |
| Advisory day | A single day with a partner, on site or remote, for a specific decision or a leadership session. | One day | $1,950 |
Travel beyond 150 miles of the Jesup or Broomfield office is charged at cost and agreed in writing before it is booked. Fixed fees are confirmed in a written scope after the discovery call and do not move unless you change the scope.
/04 Straight answers
What the fee does not cover
Naming the edges of the scope in advance is cheaper for everyone than an awkward invoice conversation in month three.
- Audit, tax filing and any attest work, which require an independent accounting firm
- Legal advice, contract drafting and litigation support
- Software licences, subscriptions and implementation labour
- Recruitment agency fees and candidate placement charges
- Salaries for your own staff, including anyone we help you hire
- Marketing production, branding and website development
- Capital expenditure, financing costs and broker fees
We hold working relationships with accountants, attorneys, lenders and recruiters in both states and will gladly introduce you. We take no fee for any introduction we make.
/05 Pricing questions
What owners ask before signing
Because a free assessment is a sales call with a report attached, and it will always be shaped to sell the next engagement. Our diagnostic is a paid, fixed fee deliverable you own outright. You are free to take the findings and implement them yourself, and about one client in nine does exactly that. We would rather be paid honestly for two weeks of work than give it away and then need the follow on project to make the economics work.
No. Fees are fixed or retainer based, full stop. Success fees sound aligned but they push an advisor toward the changes that are easiest to measure rather than the ones that matter most, and they make the advisor an interested party in how the numbers are calculated. We would rather charge a clean fee and give you advice you can trust.
Never. We accept no rebate, referral fee, commission or hospitality from software vendors, lenders, brokers, insurers or suppliers. This is a term of our client agreement, and you are welcome to ask any party we introduce to confirm it in writing.
Once the minimum term is served you may pause or cancel with thirty days written notice. During a pause your models, documentation and dashboards remain yours and stay accessible. Restarting within twelve months does not trigger a new minimum term. If something goes wrong before the minimum term ends, call us rather than a lawyer, we have always found a workable arrangement.
Retainers are invoiced on the first working day of each month and are payable within fourteen days, or quarterly in advance at a ten percent discount. Project work is invoiced fifty percent on signature and fifty percent on delivery, except engagements longer than two months, which move to monthly stage payments. We accept bank transfer and card, with card processing charged at cost.
Yes. It runs about forty five minutes, covers the situation and what you have already tried, and ends with a straight view on whether we can help. Nothing is invoiced until a written scope is signed. If we are not the right firm, we will say so on that call and suggest who might be.
Below roughly one million in revenue, a retainer usually cannot pay for itself, and we will tell you that rather than sell you one. A single diagnostic at $4,800, or a couple of advisory days, is normally the honest recommendation at that size. Above about two million, the Span retainer typically returns its annual fee inside the first two quarters, most often through pricing and supplier terms.
Yes. Engagements run nationwide, with a mix of on site and remote work agreed in the scope. Our two offices set the travel allowance, 150 miles from either is included, and anything beyond that is charged at cost with your approval first. A number of our long standing clients see an advisor on site once a month and work by video the rest of the time.
Get a written scope with a fixed number.
One free call, then a scope with a firm fee attached, usually within five business days. No invoice until you sign it.