Scalable Tax Prep + Advisory for Multiple LLCs / Corps Nationwide

[Andrew Fielder]

Hello everyone. I run a real estate investment company that focuses on investing in defaulted promissory notes secured by commercial and residential real estate nationwide. We also invest directly in fee simple real estate.

These projects vary in length. While we intend to hold on to as many projects as we can long term, from time to time there are some early exit opportunities that make sense for us.

We typically fund these deals with all equity through private placement with varying % interests of ownership and different investors and investor types (ie. IRA, personal, LLCs, corporations) on each project. Accordingly, we set up a pass through LLC on every acquisition.

For 2017 we have 6 entities that would require state and federal filings including K-1s for investors. In 2018 we expect another 8-10 additional entities to be added to the existing 6 entities.

I consulted with a CPA that specializes in this field. The fees were $1,500 for entities that hold only a loan and $2,000 for entities with fee simple real estate owned. This includes federal and one state filing. So 2017 we're looking at about $12,000 in tax prep and in 2018 we're looking at about $32,000 in tax prep. 

That pricing model doesn't seem scalable to me. I get that price includes CPA advisory but over time, as deals are similar to another, the advisory component becomes less valuable, as you already have the model in place. At the pace we're growing, why not just hire an accountant/CPA in house?

Is there a better pricing/compensation model that works for both a tax filer and a business with multiple LLCs that's scalable?