Your MSP prints cash. Your financial structure is still built for a freelancer.
Most IT firms running $2-5M are overpaying taxes by $40-80K a year and carrying insurance that doesn't cover their actual risk. The IRS knows your industry is booming. Your financial infrastructure should too.
Based on typical client scenarios. Individual results vary depending on your specific situation.
Where it services & technology firms typically have gaps.
Patterns we see most often in this industry.
The IRS Is Auditing IT Worker Classification at 3x the Rate
Your 1099 developers might legally be W-2 employees. The IRS has tripled audits on IT services firms because the industry is ripe with misclassification. The penalties are retroactive — back taxes, penalties, and interest on every misclassified worker, for every year. A proactive classification audit costs a fraction of what the IRS will charge you.
R&D Tax Credits You're Almost Certainly Leaving on the Table
If you build custom software, integrate systems, or develop new processes, you likely qualify for the R&D tax credit. The IRS defines 'research' more broadly than most CPAs realize — and the credit runs 6-8% of qualifying expenses. Published case studies from the AICPA show IT firms recovering $50-150K annually. Most never file because their CPA doesn't specialize in it.
Your Cyber Policy Probably Doesn't Cover Your Biggest Threat
Social engineering fraud is the #1 attack vector for IT firms — and standard E&O policies exclude it. The FBI's IC3 report shows business email compromise caused $2.7 billion in losses in 2023 alone. If your policy was written more than two years ago, it almost certainly has gaps you haven't been told about.
The Foundation Review is a 60-minute working session at no cost.
Book Foundation Review →Frequent missteps in it services & technology.
Not filing for R&D tax credits on software development work +
Carrying cyber insurance that excludes social engineering fraud +
Operating as an LLC when net income exceeds $80K +
Common areas of recovery.
Opportunities we typically identify for it services & technology firms.
What a Foundation Review actually looks like.
An anonymized engagement from our work with it services & technology businesses.
Managed Services Provider
$3.2M annual revenueA 22-person MSP with two co-founders had been operating as an LLC for six years. Neither partner had a buy-sell agreement, there was no key person coverage, and their retirement plan was a basic SEP-IRA that wasn't keeping pace with their growth. Insurance was purchased piecemeal — separate E&O, cyber, and GL policies from three different carriers.
- No buy-sell agreement despite two equal partners — if one died or became disabled, the surviving partner had no funding mechanism to buy out the family and no protection against an unwanted new co-owner
- Zero key person coverage: losing either founder would cost 6-12 months of revenue in client attrition, but neither carried life or disability insurance tied to the business
- Cyber liability policy excluded social engineering fraud — the firm's single largest exposure based on industry threat data
- Also identified: S-corp election opportunity (~$24K/year in tax savings) and three years of unclaimed R&D tax credits (~$185K in recovery)
The Foundation Review led with a funded buy-sell agreement (life and disability insurance on both partners through Ash Brokerage), key person policies sized to cover 12 months of operating expenses, and a cyber policy that actually matched their risk profile. The tax items were referred to their CPA with specific recommendations. Total protection gap closed: over $4M in coverage that didn't exist before.
Details anonymized and modified. Individual results vary — your Foundation Review will be specific to your situation.
An integrated alternative.
One firm. Investments, tax, insurance, business advisory.
Good Deals consolidates investment management, tax strategy, insurance planning, and business advisory into one CFA-led practice. Operator background spans dozens of companies and many industries.
For your industry specifically: we coordinate with your existing CPA and attorney rather than replacing them.
- CFA-led investment analysis and portfolio management.
- Operator background across multiple industries.
- Registered fiduciary — legally obligated to act in your interest.
- Investments at Altruist; insurance through BackNine when an audit identifies a need.
- 90-day money-back on every V-CFO engagement.
- Austin, TX.
Book a Foundation Review.
A 60-minute working session focused on it services & technology. No cost.