3-location Italian restaurant group
Hospitality · South Florida · CPA referral
Owner as the contact, referred by the group's CPA. Recurring invoices had been quietly ratcheting. Payroll, merchant processing, and a one-time tax credit.
~$290,000 over 2 years
01
The problem
The operation was healthy, but neither the owner nor the CPA had bandwidth to audit recurring service invoices that ratchet up yearly. Payroll processing was roughly double the market rate. Thin margins, long nights, and a 14-page payroll invoice that never gets reviewed.
02
What we looked at
- Payroll processing cost versus the same service level
- Merchant processing rates and excess fees
- Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) recovery
03
What changed
- Switched payroll providers while keeping the same service.
- We coordinated the migration with the new provider.
- Pay dates, direct deposits, and tax filings were verified before cutover.
- The owner's involvement is a signature and a kickoff call. No missed pay cycle.
- Renegotiated merchant processing rates and eliminated excess fees.
- Recovered a one-time ERTC credit the client qualified for but hadn't claimed.
04
The numbers
- Payroll processing
- ~58% savingsSwitched providers; same service, lower effective cost
- Merchant processing
- ~12% savingsRenegotiated rate structure and eliminated excess fees
- ERTC
- $250,000Captured credit the client qualified for but hadn't claimed
- Total over 2 years
- ~$290,000
05
Why it worked
01
The CPA already trusted us
The owner didn't have to evaluate a new advisor.
02
We found a category the CPA wasn't watching
CPAs audit the books. They don't renegotiate vendor contracts.
03
The economics were risk-free
No upfront, no retainer, no commitment.
- Client time
- ~6 hours
- Upfront
- $0
- Signature → implementation
- ~8 hours
See if the same review is worth it
No savings, no fee. You approve every change before it happens.