How We Work With You

Working with a CPA shouldn’t be confusing. Whether you’re a Houston small business owner, a real estate investor, or an individual taxpayer, here’s exactly what to expect when you start working with Whetzel & Co — from the first call to your first delivered tax return and beyond.

Step 1: Free 30-minute consultation

The starting point is a phone call. (832) 594-0339 or contact form. We talk for about 30 minutes about your situation: what you have, what you need, what hasn’t been working with prior CPAs, what your financial picture looks like, and what you’re trying to accomplish.

This call is free. There’s no commitment. The goal is to figure out whether we’re the right fit before either of us invests time in a formal engagement. About a third of the time we conclude we’re not the right fit and refer the prospect elsewhere — that’s a feature, not a bug.

Step 2: Engagement letter and quote

If we both agree it’s a fit, we send an engagement letter within 24-48 hours. The letter spells out:

Exactly what we’ll do (and won’t do)
The fee for each service line
Timeline expectations
How invoicing works
What you’re responsible for providing

No surprise invoices. The fee in the engagement letter is the fee. If scope changes during the engagement, we send an amended letter before doing additional work.

Step 3: Document collection via secure portal

Once you sign the engagement letter, we set up your client portal. Everything happens through the portal — no emailing W-2s and bank statements as PDF attachments. The portal handles:

Secure document upload
E-signature for tax returns and engagement letters
Document storage for ongoing reference
Internal messaging

For tax engagements, we provide an organizer (a structured questionnaire) covering everything we need. For business engagements, we set up bank feeds and start onboarding existing accounting data.

Step 4: Work performed

This is where the work happens. For tax returns: 2-3 weeks during normal season, longer during March/April. For bookkeeping setup: 1-2 weeks for clean books, 4-6 weeks for messy catch-up work. For consulting projects: typically scoped in 30-60 day blocks.

Throughout the engagement you have access to ask questions via the portal. We respond same-day to most messages, next-business-day at the latest.

Step 5: Review and delivery

For tax returns:

Draft return delivered through the portal for your review
Phone or video call to walk through the return, answer questions, discuss tax planning opportunities
E-sign authorization to e-file
We e-file federal and state returns
Confirmation of acceptance sent within 48 hours of e-file

For ongoing engagements (bookkeeping, payroll, advisory): regular monthly or quarterly reporting through the portal with scheduled review meetings.

Step 6: Ongoing relationship

Tax preparation isn’t transactional — the value happens between filings. Most clients have:

Mid-year tax planning meeting (May) — we covered this in our mid-year tax check-in article
Year-end planning meeting (November) — finalize moves before December 31
Ongoing access — reach out via portal for tax questions on transactions, deals, or life events without per-question billing
Coordination with other professionals — we work directly with your attorney, financial advisor, and banker as situations require

What you’ll be responsible for

To make the engagement work, you need to:

Provide complete and accurate documents on time
Respond to questions within 48 hours during active engagements
Notify us promptly of life events that affect your tax situation (marriage, divorce, business sale, real estate transactions, etc.)
Pay invoices when due
Be honest about issues — we’re here to solve problems, but we can only solve problems we know about

Pricing transparency

We provide written quotes before work begins. Indicative ranges:

Individual tax return (W-2 + standard items): $400-$800
Self-employed return (Schedule C with bookkeeping clean): $800-$1,500
S-corp or partnership return: $1,500-$3,500+
Monthly bookkeeping for small business: $400-$1,200/month
Virtual CFO services: $1,500-$5,000/month
Tax planning project (one-time): $750-$2,500
IRS resolution work: hourly or fixed-fee depending on scope

Fees vary with complexity. Quote provided in writing before any work begins.

What we’re NOT

To be clear about expectations:

We’re not a tax mill that processes returns at $99 each. The price reflects the depth of work and ongoing relationship.
We don’t take every client. We turn down engagements that aren’t a fit for either side.
We don’t make aggressive tax positions that won’t survive an audit. The goal is the lowest legitimate tax, not the lowest theoretical tax.
We don’t replace a financial advisor, attorney, or insurance professional. We coordinate with yours and refer to trusted partners when you need one.

Common questions

How quickly can you take me on as a client? Outside of tax season (October-March): typically 1-2 weeks from initial call to engagement letter. During tax season: 2-4 weeks.

Do you work with clients in person or remotely? Both. Most ongoing work happens through the portal, with periodic in-person meetings as needed. We’re based in Houston and serve clients across the metro area.

Do you take on clients outside of Houston? Yes, particularly for specialty industries (oil and gas, real estate investors). Most of our specialty engagements happen entirely virtually.

Can you handle prior-year amended returns? Yes. Common starting point for new clients moving from another CPA.

What if I need work outside the engagement letter? We discuss it before doing anything. New scope = new written quote.

Get started

The first step is a 30-minute phone call. No commitment, no cost. If we’re a fit, we move forward. If not, we point you in the right direction.

Call (832) 594-0339 or use the contact page to schedule the conversation.