GILLINGHAM CPA INTRODUCTION VIDEO

Welcome to Gillingham CPA, where we work to add value to our individual and business clients. We generally do this by handling tax compliance, estimates, bookkeeping, and then advisory.

When looking for an advisor, typically prospective clients want to know our areas of expertise, what we can do, how we do it, and yes, how much does it all cost! All these points are addressed on our website, specifically our framework, fit, value added, cost, communication, and even billing policy pages.

For over 10 years our team has worked with mostly Bay Area clients receiving equity compensation, running a small business, or are in the early seed stages of a startup. We can file in all states, incorporate, foreign tax matters, and perform bookkeeping. We do advise on retirement plan types such as IRAs, solo-401Ks, and even supersized Roth 401K planning. We advise tax strategy of equity divestment in conventional, RSU, ISO, real property, and other forms. We have significant experience with Incentive Stock Option (ISO) exercise, planning, and strategy, but have a limited capacity given the niche nature of the work. We also do typical complex work with investors owning rental real estate and several other income streams.

We are not traditional financial advisors that advise on the actual investment decisions. We also limit the forein tax complexity that we take on. Generally our clients are in a growing stage of earning. Company capitalization is generally less than 10 Mil and average annual household earnings in the $250K to $2 Mil range. We do not perform trust and estate tax work. By narrowing our focus we strive to be the best in class for what we do. We also pride ourselves on referring existing and prospective clients as needed to other CPAs, attorneys, financial advisors, mortgage brokers, etc… and do not take referral fees.

Even with our specific guidelines on who we work with there is a strong cross-section between where some households have diverse income streams. For example it is not uncommon to have clients that have been equity compensated, a startup founder, real estate investor, and a consultant all within the same few years.

The majority of the costs is compliance, or, in other words, what the government requires us to do with tax filing. We also reserve a budget for projection work, planning, and advisory. This way we are available and planning year round. We need the solid foundation first and then that extra budget to turn over any opportunitites. At times we have very significant savings or quite often we are able to advise on other incremental beneficial strategies that could have compounding future benefits.

We are not a fixed fee firm but carefully look to scope out projects for new clients and existing clients on request. Each tax year can bring significant variance. We are very diligent with billings and review post relavant corresondence and estimates. If these are questions regarding this, we answer. If there is a rare issue, we will amicably resolve quickly. The goals is to derrive the most value for the fees paid and ensure mutual efficiency. We want you to use your budget to strive towards adivsory, rather than inefficiency.

We are 100% remote and digital. Email forms the backbone of our communication along with secure document exchange. We strive to answer emails within two business days with a meaningful response or scheduled followup. At times patience will be required as we need to continually order projects depending on deadlines and at times dollar value. Any major issue just text the owner or a manager after sending an email. Be sure to CC a few staff at all times to ensure good respones. Finally, our automated booking link is our bat single! Book meetings as neeeded or recommended.

It is important to mention that around 80% of clients go on extension as often we are waiting on documents and information. Should it be possible to finish by April 1st and documents are in Feb 15, let’s go for it. As a point of practicality all of the work cannot get done in a few months so extensions allow us to spread things out. This way even if in busy season, we can still respond to emails, planning, and advisory requests.

We have clients populate there calendar with the one on our site so payments can be made and planning done. At times we will ping and remind for certain items, but that is the exception. Please reach out for planning and questions as needed and as things change.

Wow! That is a lot. Hopefully we have already taken off and this plane will be landing soon! In other words, hopefully that addresses most of the key points, as well as directs you to more detailed resources on our site. Cutting through all of it we want to do a great job for you, many years to come, and treat your work in a similar manner that we would our own. I like to view this opportunity to present the company less as a sales pitch and more of how we can work for you. We look forward to connecting further, getting you in a positive direction, and if it is not a fit now – hey – maybe it could be in the future. Have a nice day.