About us

How the 1099 CPA does it differently

The old, stale model of accounting, legal, or consulting services is to bill by the hour — one hour of our time is worth $XXX.XX. But as the client of a professional service organization, you don’t care how much time it takes to get the job done — the inputs — you only care that the job gets done on-time, correctly, and reasonably priced — the outputs. So why are you paying us for the inputs, when you are interested in the outputs???

The 1099 CPA difference is guided by these core principles:

Aligned incentives

The traditional model of bill by the hour encourages the accountant, lawyer, or consultant to work as slowly as possible, balanced only by the fear of angering the client. The slower we work, the more we get paid. Unless we work so slow that you decide to take your business elsewhere.

But what happens if we flip that model on its head? What if, rather than billing you based on our time (input), we bill you based on the outputs. And what is the output that every self-employed individual wants from their accountant? Lower taxes, hassle-free processes, lower taxes, good customer service, lower taxes, and lower taxes (no, that isn’t a typo — we meant to put lower taxes on the list 4 times). If these are the outputs you are looking for, we will only bill you when we have achieved these outputs. In essence, we only bill you if we save you money. This gives me every incentive to work quickly, use streamlined processes that are hassle free for you and for us, make sure the job is done right, and make sure you are happy with our service. When our incentives are aligned with your incentives, everyone wins!

Every client matters

The old saying states that the customer is always right. We humbly disagree. Especially in matters of tax law, the customer can definitely be wrong. But every client deserves the same level of respect. We have seen hundreds of 1099 independent contractors jump from accountant to accountant. Why? Because when they call the big accounting firm, they are sent to the most junior accountant. While the big client paying $1,000s each month gets a direct line to the partner’s cell.

We believe that it should be the other way around. If we go the extra mile and save the huge client $500 they won’t even notice the difference. If we do the same work for a small independent contractor and save them $500, that makes a much bigger difference. So when you reach out to your dedicated accounting team, you know that the email or text is not sitting in an automated queue that will send you to the lowest paid employee on the ladder.

Trim the dead weight

The average accounting firm is weighed down by traditional symbols of success — the fancy car in the parking lot, office in a fashionable part of town, cushy leather chairs in the waiting room, mahogany paneled walls, and partners who work 10 hours a week but golf 30 hours a week. In the old days, these signs of success were used as sales gimmicks. “Look at how successful we are… Don’t you want to do business with successful accountants?” But who do you think pays for all those symbols of success? The clients see every penny of that cost passed on to them.

The world has changed. It is time for accounting firms to change too. We work from our home offices — no need to park a fancy car in the parking lot, rent a fancy office building or have cushy leather chairs. Because we don’t use those traditional symbols of success in our marketing, we can pass that savings down to you.

Kaizen — Japanese for “continuous improvement”

The one place that we will not cut corners is investing in processes and people. Remember, our incentives are aligned with yours. If we can invest in a new technology or a great human resource that saves us time, that is a win-win for you as well. So we will gladly invest in great tech and great people.

What the 1099 CPA does

The 1099 CPA provides the full range of accounting services — LLC/S-corp formation, monthly bookkeeping, payroll, business tax prep, personal tax prep, and tax planning. This service is tailored specifically to the needs of a 1099 independent contractor, self-employed individual, freelancer, side-gigger, or gig-worker.