Scope and fee letter
A 30-minute call with a partner, then a written letter: what is included, what it costs, and the dates. You sign before anything is billed.
01How we work
Scope first. Fee second. Then the work.
How a Mapleton & Reyes engagement runs, in the order it happens, and the three things we will not do.
02The four steps
Every engagement, in this order.
Kickoff with your partner
Your partner and senior manager meet your team, set the document list and open your portal. One list, one place, no email chains.
Fieldwork, and the October meeting
Audit fieldwork runs to the dates in the letter. Tax clients get the Q4 planning meeting with projections while there is time to act.
Signed, filed, explained
The opinion is signed or the return is filed on the agreed date, and the partner walks you through what it says and what to do next year.
03The letter
What a fixed-fee letter covers
| Number | Section of the letter | What it states |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Scope | Every entity, return, filing, meeting and deliverable, listed. If it is not in the letter, it is not assumed. |
| 02 | People | The partner who leads and signs, and the senior manager or director who runs the day to day, by name. |
| 03 | Dates | What we deliver and when, and what we need from you and when. Both sides have deadlines. |
| 04 | Fee | One number for the scope, and how it is billed (monthly for recurring work, in stages for an audit). |
| 05 | Changes | Anything outside the scope is described, priced and approved in writing before it is done. No surprises on invoices. |
04The portal
The client portal
- One document request list per engagement, with an owner and a due date on every item.
- Status against the dates in the letter, visible at any time without a phone call.
- Drafts, final statements and returns delivered and e-signed in one place, with a record of who saw what and when.
- Minutes from every planning meeting posted the same week.
05The rules
What we do not do
| Hourly surprises | Standard engagements are not billed by the hour. You will not receive an invoice for a phone call. |
|---|---|
| Staff rotation | Your partner and senior manager stay on your account year to year unless you ask for a change. |
| The March surprise | Business tax clients meet with their partner in the fourth quarter, with projections. Nobody learns their number from the return. |
FAQBefore you call
Questions about the process.
01What happens in the first call?
Thirty minutes with a partner. We ask what is being asked of you, by whom and by when; what the business looks like; and what went wrong last time, if anything. You get a plain answer on whether we are the right firm and, if we are, a letter within three business days.
02What if the scope changes mid-engagement?
We stop, describe the change and its price in writing, and continue once you approve it. If you do not approve it, we finish the original scope as agreed.
03Do you publish fees?
No, because every engagement is scoped. We do commit to quoting a fixed fee in writing before any work starts, and to that fee not changing for the agreed scope.
04How fast do you respond?
A partner replies to a new enquiry within 48 hours. Existing clients hear back from their senior manager the same business day, and from the partner within two.
→Next step
Start with the thirty-minute call.
You will hear from a partner within 48 hours with a scope, a fee and a date.