For consultants & agency owners
Accounting built for project-based revenue.
Independent consultants, marketing agencies, and fractional executives operate differently than retail businesses. Lumpy income, multi-state engagements, S-corp decisions, and inconsistent earnings make off-the-shelf accounting a liability. Cleared is the integrated practice — bookkeeping, tax, and planning — built around how you actually earn.
Who we serve
Service-based businesses earning $100K+ in net profit.
- ✓Independent management & strategy consultants
- ✓Marketing agencies and agency owners (1–10 person)
- ✓Fractional executives — CFOs, COOs, CMOs, CTOs
- ✓IT, software, and technology consultants
- ✓HR, ops, and people-strategy consultants
- ✓Boutique consulting firms billing $250K–$2M annually
The consultant tax problem
Four costly gaps
generic accounting misses.
Lumpy revenue makes quarterly estimates a guessing game.
A $180K project lands in Q3. Last-year-based safe-harbor estimates leave you under-withheld. Without dynamic recalculation, you find out in April with a tax bill plus an underpayment penalty.
S-corp election timing is a $10K+ decision.
Most consultants stay on Schedule C two years too long. The election, reasonable salary, and payroll setup require coordination — and once you're past Q1, the savings window for the year is mostly gone.
Multi-state engagements quietly create nexus.
Traveling to client sites, working with out-of-state employers, or selling into states with aggressive economic nexus rules can trigger filing requirements you don't know about. The penalties compound silently.
Retirement planning gets punted forever.
Solo 401(k) vs SEP-IRA vs cash balance plan is a five-figure annual decision. Most bookkeepers don't touch it. Most financial advisors don't read your books. We do both.
Why Cleared
An EA and a CFP®, working from one set of numbers.
Most accountants are bookkeepers who can file a return. Most financial planners don't read your books. Raman Singh holds both credentials — Enrolled Agent (the IRS's federally-licensed tax practitioner) and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ — which means tax planning, retirement design, and entity strategy happen alongside your bookkeeping, not in a separate vendor relationship.
For consultants, this matters most when project income spikes, when an S-corp election becomes worth it, when a Solo 401(k) needs to fund before December 31, or when a state nexus question shows up unexpectedly. We see it because we're already in the books.
Bookkeeper vs CPA vs EA vs EA+CFP® — the differences →Run the numbers yourself
Free calculators
for consultants.
Built using current 2026 IRS figures. No email required.
S-Corp Breakeven
Find the net profit at which an S-corp election saves you more than it costs.
S-Corp SE Tax Savings
Compare sole prop vs. S-corp self-employment tax at your specific profit and salary.
Solo 401(k) Max Contribution
See the maximum you can shelter — combined deferral and profit-sharing.
Quarterly Estimated Tax
Recalculate quarterly estimates based on year-to-date profit, not last year's income.
Self-Employment Tax Breakdown
See exactly where SS, Medicare, and Additional Medicare hit your consulting income.
Catch-Up Bookkeeping Cost
If your books are behind, scope the cleanup before you commit.
Common questions from consultants
Do I need an S-corp as an independent consultant?
Once your net business profit consistently exceeds ~$80,000–$100,000 per year, the S-corp election typically saves more than $10,000 annually in self-employment tax. Below that threshold, the added compliance cost (payroll, separate return) often outweighs the savings. The right answer depends on profit consistency, state taxes, and retirement plan goals — which is why we model it before recommending it.
How do you handle lumpy, project-based consulting income?
Quarterly estimates are calculated dynamically based on year-to-date net profit, not last year's income. When a large project payment lands in Q3 or Q4, we adjust estimates immediately, accelerate retirement contributions where appropriate, and time deductible purchases to offset the spike — instead of letting you discover the tax bill in April.
I work with clients in multiple states. How do you handle multistate tax exposure?
Traveling consultants and remote-engagement firms often trigger state tax nexus without realizing it. We track engagement locations, evaluate filing requirements per state, and coordinate pass-through entity tax (PTET) elections where they save you money on the SALT cap.
What retirement plan should an independent consultant use?
Solo 401(k) is usually the right answer for consultants without employees — combined contributions of up to $72,000 in 2026 ($83,250 if age 60–63). For consulting firms with employees, a Safe Harbor 401(k) or SEP-IRA may fit better. Because Cleared's founder is a CFP®, retirement plan design is part of the planning engagement — not punted to a separate advisor.
Do you work with consulting LLCs and partnerships, or just solo consultants?
Both. We serve solo consultants (Schedule C and single-member LLCs), S-corp owner-operators, and small consulting firms (1–10 partners or W-2 employees). Multi-partner consulting firms are a particularly good fit because partnership tax allocations and PTET elections are exactly the kind of work generic accounting services miss.
Ready for accounting that fits how you earn?
Apply for a spot and we'll reach out within one business day.