Questions business owners bring us
Most engagements start with one question. These are the ones that come up most, and several have a guide on this site if you want to read before you book.
- Should my business be an LLC, S corporation or C corporation, and what should I pay myself? We analyze reasonable compensation, self-employment tax, the QBI deduction and how the entity choice affects a future sale. See how much salary an S corporation owner should take in 2026 and LLC, C corp or S corp.
- Which retirement plan fits my business? SEP IRA, solo 401(k), safe-harbor 401(k) or a cash balance plan. The answer depends on your income, your employees and how many years you want to shelter at a high rate.
- How much cash should the business keep, and how much should I take out? Reserves sized to payroll, seasonality and borrowing capacity; owner draws; and the line between business and personal spending.
- What can I do about this year's tax bill? Estimated payments, timing of income and expenses, whether to buy equipment before year end and the strategies in how to reduce taxes for a small business.
- What would a sale mean for me personally? Asset sale versus stock sale, installment notes, earn-outs, rollover equity and qualified small business stock. Read what happens if you sell your Houston business for $25 million and private equity roll-ups in Houston.
- How do I protect what I've built? Entity structure, umbrella coverage, buy-sell agreements, key-person coverage and succession. We don't sell insurance, so the analysis is about what you need, not what pays a commission.
- How does the business affect my family's plans? Hiring your children, the small-business exclusion on the FAFSA, gifting shares and the estate plan. Our college planning page covers the education side.
How we work with business owners
Business and personal finances are analyzed together. Compensation, distributions, retirement contributions and estimated taxes all flow from the business to your personal return. We look at both sets of numbers, including your business returns when they affect your personal taxes.
Your CPA keeps preparing the returns. We don't prepare tax returns and we don't perform audits, reviews or compilations. We do the planning in between and coordinate with your CPA, attorney and banker so the plan gets carried out.
The work is collaborative and hourly. Sessions are working sessions, not presentations: we enter your numbers into the planning software together, test the what-ifs and you see the analysis as it's built. You can stop when you have your answer. Fees are published, there is no asset-based fee and there is nothing to sell you.
Ryan has sat on your side of the table. Before starting Mercer Street in 2018, Ryan spent nearly two decades as a financial consultant to businesses across industries, most of that time in financial services. He has run this firm as an owner since, so cash-flow timing, owner compensation and estimated taxes are not abstractions.
Before, during and after a sale
Many owners first call when a letter of intent arrives. The best results come earlier. Here is how the work breaks down across the life of a sale.
| Stage | What we analyze | What you leave with |
|---|---|---|
| Two to five years before | Entity and QSBS eligibility, compensation history, retirement plan funding, cleaning up owner-paid personal expenses, estate planning while the value is lower | A short list of what to fix now, shared with your CPA and attorney |
| When an offer arrives | Asset versus stock sale, purchase price allocation, installment note versus cash, rollover equity, earn-outs, state tax on the gain, charitable gifts of shares before closing | An after-tax comparison of the deal structures on the table and an estimated-tax schedule for the closing year |
| After closing | Installment income, Roth conversion windows, a concentrated rollover position, cash-flow plan for the proceeds, trusts and gifting at the new net worth | A multi-year tax projection and a plan for the proceeds, coordinated with your estate attorney and whoever manages your investments |
For a worked example, see the case study below: an owner selling to private equity on an installment note, including what the engagement cost.
Making sense of the business numbers
Some owners want help understanding what their company's financials are telling them, not just their personal plan. We can work through the business numbers with you, such as cash flow, owner compensation, reserves and what a lender or buyer would see, in coordination with your CPA, bookkeeper or fractional CFO rather than in place of them. The point is to connect the business back to your personal finances: what you can safely take out, what to shelter, and what the business needs to be worth for your own plan to work. We don't provide bookkeeping, accounting or attestation services; if you need a compilation, review or audit, we refer you to a licensed CPA firm.
What it costs
All work is $600 per hour with a 2-hour minimum, and the 20-minute fit meeting is free. Before any work starts you receive an engagement letter that sets out the scope and an estimated range of hours, and you can stop at any point. There are no asset minimums, no subscription and no commissions.
A single question such as an S corporation salary analysis or a retirement plan comparison is a few hours of work. A sale engagement is larger: the case study below ran to about 70 hours of implementation in the first year after the sale. Either way, you know the estimate before you commit. The services and fees page explains how fees work and lists typical hours for the common starting points.
Who this page is not for
If you need bookkeeping, payroll, tax return preparation, an audit or a formal business valuation, we are not the right fit for that piece of work, although we are glad to refer you. If you want someone to manage your sale proceeds for a percentage of assets, that is not how we work; we give investment advice by the hour, and your accounts stay where you choose, in your name and under your control.
