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Phænix
Phænix Advisory Services

Tax. Bookkeeping.
Strategy. All handled.

You Delegate. We Deliver.

Tax preparation, bookkeeping, and advisory services for real estate investors and business owners in San Jose, CA.

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What We Do

Three services. One firm.
Everything handled.

From filing to forward planning, Phænix manages every layer of your financial life under one relationship.

Service 01

Tax Preparation

Flat-fee, all-inclusive individual and business returns. Filed accurately, on time, with a debrief call so you actually understand your taxes.

Service 02

Bookkeeping

Monthly subscription bookkeeping. Books closed by the 10th, a 60-second flash report in your inbox, and proactive anomaly monitoring.

Service 03

Advisory

Year-round proactive tax planning, entity optimization, and financial strategy. For investors and owners ready to engineer their tax future.

Our Commitment

You delegate.
We deliver.

Flat-Fee. No surprises.

Your fee is confirmed before we begin. No hourly billing, no scope creep, no invoice waiting after filing.

Proactive, not reactive.

We reach out before you have to ask. When something affects your situation, you hear from us first.

One relationship. Year-round.

Tax prep, bookkeeping, and advisory under one roof. No hand-offs between strangers. One team, your entire financial picture.

A Virtual CPA Firm

We're a virtual CPA firm designed for convenience.

Work from Anywhere
Meet on Your Schedule
Everything Handled Digitally

Everything is done to make the experience as seamless as possible — so you don't miss a beat of your day.

Start Your Tour

Ready for the
Phænix Experience?

Now let's talk about each service in detail. We'll start with tax preparation, since that's where most of our client relationships begin.

Tax Preparation

Accurate. Thorough.
Done right the first time.

Tax preparation is the foundation — but at Phænix, it's the starting line, not the finish. Flat-fee, all-inclusive returns with a debrief call that makes you feel in control.

Your Experience

What Happens, Step by Step

From your first message to your filed return, here's exactly what to expect.

1
Before You Sign

A conversation, not a pitch

We make sure we're a fit before you commit to anything.

  • You reach out and hear back within one business day — from a real person, not an auto-reply
  • We schedule a 20–30 minute discovery call to understand your situation. We listen more than we talk.
  • After the call, you receive a written proposal with your flat fee. No mystery pricing, no "starting at."
"They told me exactly what I'd pay before I signed anything. That alone was different."
2
Your First Two Weeks

Onboarding that actually makes sense

You'll never wonder what the next step is.

  • The day you sign, you receive a welcome package — everything you need to know to get started
  • We send a tailored document checklist based on your specific situation, not a generic 40-item form
  • Everything routes through your secure client portal — no lost email attachments, no confusion
"They actually asked about my business, not just my tax forms."
3
Tax Season · January – April

Calm, clear, and always in the loop

We kick it off — you don't have to wonder when to start.

  • In early January, you get a personalized message with exactly what to gather based on your situation
  • Your portal shows real-time status — documents received, in progress, ready for signature, filed
  • When your return is ready, we walk you through it on a 15–20 minute call before you sign anything
"Here's your refund. Here's how we could have gotten you another $3,200 if we'd started planning in October."
4
After You File

Filed and done. No invoice waiting.

When it's over, it's actually over.

  • You receive a clean filing confirmation with your federal and state confirmation numbers
  • Because you're on a flat-fee package, there's no bill waiting for you after filing
  • Advisory clients receive a year-end planning call in October or November to prepare for next year
"My CPA actually called me before I knew there was an issue. I don't have to worry. Someone's watching."

What You'll Feel, Step by Step.

An honest emotional arc of working with us across the tax year. This is the experience we're aiming for at every phase.

🔍
Discovery
Impressed.
They actually speak my language.
✅
Onboarding
Relieved.
Organized, clear, no chaos.
📁
Tax Season
Calm.
I know where things stand.
💡
Debrief Call
Enlightened.
I finally understand my taxes.
📞
Mid-Year
Supported.
They reached out first.
🏆
Year-End
Loyal.
This is worth every dollar.
Transparent Pricing

What It Costs

Your fee is based on the complexity of your return, confirmed before we begin. No hourly billing, no surprises.

Individual Returns

Phænix Standard
For Personal Returns
Simple returns with W-2 income and standard deductions, prepared by a CPA — not software.
$350 – $500
flat fee · federal + 1 state
Includes:
  • ✓Federal Form 1040 preparation
  • ✓Up to 1 state return included
  • ✓W-2 wages, interest, dividends
  • ✓Standard or itemized deductions
  • ✓Common credits — child tax, EIC, education
  • ✓30-min review call before filing
Typical ClientMaria, a nurse with one W-2, two dependents, and consistent income year to year.
Most Common
Phænix Moderate
Freelancers & Landlords
One or two schedules beyond a basic W-2. The most common tier for active earners.
$600 – $1,000
flat fee · federal + up to 2 states
All of Standard, plus:
  • ✓Up to 2 state returns
  • ✓Schedule C — self-employment
  • ✓Schedule E — rental income (1 property)
  • ✓Schedule D — capital gains
  • ✓Self-employment tax planning
  • ✓45-min review call before filing
Typical ClientJames has a W-2 from his day job and a Schedule C for rideshare income. One extra schedule, clean deductions.
Phænix Complex
Investors & Multi-Source
Multiple schedules, active real estate, or several overlapping income sources requiring deeper review.
$1,100 – $1,800
flat fee · federal + up to 2 states
All of Moderate, plus:
  • ✓Schedule E — up to 3 rental properties
  • ✓Multiple Schedule C sources
  • ✓Depreciation schedule review
  • ✓Real estate tax strategy review
  • ✓Active stock and crypto reconciliation
  • ✓60-min review call before filing
Typical ClientDavid is a solar sales rep with commission income, a home office, two rentals, and brokerage trades.

Business Entity Returns

Business returns are priced separately and are not a continuation of the tiers above. Prices below are starting points — your actual fee is confirmed before we begin.

S Corporation
Form 1120-S
Pass-through entity with K-1 distributions. Includes officer compensation and shareholder basis tracking.
Starting At
$1,200/ year
Partnership
Form 1065
Multi-member LLCs and partnerships. Includes partner K-1 preparation and capital account tracking.
Starting At
$1,100/ year
C Corporation
Form 1120
Standalone corporate return with separate tax liability. Includes dividend analysis and retained earnings review.
Starting At
$1,500/ year
Trust or Estate
Form 1041
Fiduciary returns for trusts and estates. Includes distributable net income calculation and beneficiary K-1s.
Starting At
$900/ year
Nonprofit
Form 990
Annual information return for tax-exempt organizations. Complexity scales with revenue size and schedules required.
Starting At
$1,000/ year

Note: Business entity returns are typically filed alongside the owner's personal 1040, which is priced separately under the individual tiers above. We quote both together and confirm the combined fee before we begin.

Continue Your Tour

Taxes filed.
Now keep the books clean.

Monthly bookkeeping is how clean tax returns become possible. Books closed by the 10th, a 60-second flash report, anomaly monitoring all month long.

Bookkeeping

Your books, clean.
Your numbers, always clear.

No chasing receipts. No confusing spreadsheets. No logging into QuickBooks to figure out if you made money last month. Clean books, every month, without a reminder from you.

Your Experience

A predictable monthly rhythm.

Every month runs the same way. You never wonder whether it happened or when to expect it.

Days 1–5
📥

Transaction Capture

Bank feeds sync automatically. Receipts you've snapped or forwarded land in your shared folder. We pull everything together.

What happens behind the scenes:
  • Bank and credit card feeds reconciled
  • Receipt folder reviewed and matched
  • Recurring vendors auto-categorized
Days 6–9
🔍

Review & Anomaly Check

Your senior bookkeeper reviews every transaction. If something looks unusual, you get a quick text-style message. No portal login, just a reply.

What we're watching for:
  • Duplicate charges or unusual vendors
  • Categorization edge cases
  • Patterns that don't match prior months
Day 10
📊

Books Closed. Flash Report Sent.

Your books are reconciled, every account is tied out, and your 60-second monthly summary lands in your inbox. Cash in. Cash out. Net.

Delivered to your inbox:
  • P&L and Balance Sheet
  • 3-line flash summary in plain English
  • One watchlist item, one action item if needed
Mid-Month
💬

Quiet Background Mode

You go run your business. We're watching the books, monitoring transactions as they post, and ready when you need us. No noise, no busywork.

Available when you need:
  • Quick question? Text-style message gets a reply
  • Major decision pending? Loop us in early
  • Quarterly advisory call (when scheduled)
🗓️
December — Year-End

January Starts Calm

December 31 closes the books on your year. By late January, your full-year close is complete — clean financials, top vendor and category summaries, and an estimated tax liability all delivered in one tidy package. You're already ahead of the season.

Transparent Pricing

What It Costs

Your monthly fee is based on the size and complexity of your business. One flat number, confirmed before we start.

Every Plan
Includes

✓Monthly categorization & reconciliation ✓P&L and Balance Sheet monthly ✓QuickBooks subscription ✓Annual 1099 preparation ✓Secure client portal
Phænix Essentials
Solopreneurs & Simple LLCs
Lean operations with straightforward books and minimal complexity. Built for solo owners with standard financials.
$400/ mo
billed monthly · all-inclusive
Includes:
  • ✓Up to 1 bank or credit card account
  • ✓Up to 100 transactions per month
  • ✓QuickBooks Simple Start (included)
  • ✓Monthly P&L and Balance Sheet
  • ✓Monthly close and reconciliation
  • ✓Quarterly advisory call (30 min)
Typical ClientAna runs a solo photography business. One checking account, under 60 transactions a month.
Most Popular
Phænix Growth
Growing LLCs & S-Corps
Active small businesses with moderate volume and a need for reliable monthly reporting.
$650/ mo
billed monthly · all-inclusive
All of Essentials, plus:
  • ✓Up to 3 bank or credit card accounts
  • ✓Up to 250 transactions per month
  • ✓QuickBooks Essentials (included)
  • ✓Monthly P&L, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow
  • ✓Accounts payable and receivable monitoring
  • ✓Quarterly advisory call (60 min)
Typical ClientKevin's landscaping S-Corp does $600K a year. Two credit cards, a truck loan, and a growing team.
Phænix Scale
Established & Multi-Entity
Higher-volume operations with complex books and regular financial oversight built in.
$1,000/ mo
billed monthly · all-inclusive
All of Growth, plus:
  • ✓Unlimited bank and credit card accounts
  • ✓Up to 500 transactions per month
  • ✓QuickBooks Plus (included)
  • ✓Multi-entity or multi-location support
  • ✓Monthly advisory call (45 min)
  • ✓Priority turnaround & dedicated contact
Typical ClientA consulting firm with two entities and high monthly volume. Wants clean financials and priority.

Add-Ons & Optional
Services

The following are not included in the base subscription and are quoted separately. Each one is itemized clearly and you'll only pay for what fits your situation.

Payroll Processing — Gusto
P
1–5 employees
Full-service Gusto payroll: payroll runs, tax filings, direct deposit, and year-end W-2s included.
+$100 / month
P
6–15 employees
Same full-service payroll scaled to a larger team.
+$175 / month
P
16–25 employees
Larger team payroll with multi-state and benefits handling included.
+$250 / month
P
1099 Contractors
Contractor payments, year-end 1099-NEC preparation, and TIN matching.
+$10 / contractor / mo
P
Multi-State Filing
Additional state payroll tax registration and quarterly filings.
+$50 / state / mo
Volume & Complexity
V
Excess Transactions
Transactions above your plan limit, assessed at the end of each month — never up-front.
+$0.75 – $1.50 / txn
V
Additional Bank Accounts
Each account beyond your plan's included count, with full reconciliation included.
+$25 – $50 / account
V
Catch-Up Bookkeeping
Bringing books current for prior months that weren't previously maintained. Assessed per month-back.
+$200 – $500 / month
V
Inventory Tracking
Setup and monthly maintenance of product inventory inside QuickBooks.
+$100 – $200 / month
Reporting & Advisory
R
Custom Report Build
One-time setup of a non-standard financial report or KPI dashboard.
+$150 – $350 (one-time)
R
Additional Advisory Calls
Calls beyond your included quarterly or monthly touchpoint.
+$150 – $250 / call
Tax & Compliance
T
Sales Tax Filing
Monthly or quarterly state sales tax return preparation and filing.
+$75 – $150 / filing
T
Tax Preparation
Annual business and personal tax return preparation. See Tax Prep page for full pricing details.
See Tax Prep Pricing
Continue Your Tour

Books in order.
Ready for real strategy?

Advisory is where planning begins — proactive tax strategy, entity optimization, and year-round guidance. Built for investors and owners ready to go further.

Æ
Phænix Advisory Services

Your taxes are filed.
Now let's make them
work for you.

Tax preparation records the past. Advisory changes the future. Most CPAs hand you a finished return and go quiet until next April. We start where they stop.

Where Advisory Fits

Three services. One arc.

Each Phænix service answers a different question about time. Tax preparation looks backward. Bookkeeping holds the present. Advisory builds what comes next.

Step 01
Last Year

Tax Preparation

Reports what happened last year. Reactive, once a year, no forward-looking strategy.

Step 02
This Year

Bookkeeping

Records the present, so the past is accurate and the future is possible.

Step 03
Next Year

Advisory

Plans for what happens next year. Proactive, year-round, strategy-first.

Due to the wide range of complexity, advisory pricing is determined after a free consultation.

Client Outcomes

What changes when
planning comes first.

Representative outcomes from clients who moved from tax preparation to ongoing advisory. Numbers are approximate and depend on individual circumstances.

$14K+
Average first-year tax reduction for real estate investors
Achieved through cost segregation, passive loss optimization, or entity restructuring.
$8–22K
Savings identified for S-Corp owners through compensation restructuring
Most S-Corp owners overpay self-employment tax for years before a CPA corrects the split.
$0
Surprise tax bills for clients who complete a full year of proactive planning
Our clients know their liability before the return is filed — not after opening the envelope.
What We Do

Four disciplines.
One relationship.

Four specific areas where proactive planning consistently delivers measurable outcomes — not a catch-all retainer.

  • Year-end projections & safe-harbor planning
  • Retirement contributions (SEP, Solo 401k)
  • Income timing & deduction acceleration
  • Capital gains harvesting
  • Quarterly estimated tax payment scheduling
  • 1031 exchanges & cost segregation
  • Bonus depreciation & passive losses
  • Short-term rental & material participation
  • Real estate professional status
  • Depreciation recapture planning on dispositions
  • S-Corp vs. LLC vs. holding analysis
  • Salary & distributions optimization
  • Multi-entity structuring
  • Exit & buyout scenario modeling
  • State registration and compliance management
  • Margin analysis by service line
  • 12-month rolling cash flow projections
  • Owner compensation modeling
  • Pricing & break-even review
  • Working capital and reserve target setting
How It Works

From compliance to strategy,
one step at a time.

Advisory is the natural next layer after your books and taxes are in order. Here's how most clients arrive at a full planning relationship with Phænix.

Step 01

Tax Prep or Bookkeeping

Most advisory clients start here. Clean books and an accurate return give us the baseline we need to plan effectively.

Already a client? You're close.
Step 02

Advisory Application

A brief written application — not a phone call. Takes about 10 minutes. It tells us your situation before we spend either of our time.

Step 03

Strategy Session

If there's a fit, we schedule a 60-minute session to identify your highest-value opportunities and outline what advisory looks like. No obligation.

Step 04

Year-Round Advisory

Ongoing access, proactive outreach, and quarterly planning built into one flat retainer. No meter running.

Client Fit

Advisory is not for everyone.
That's the point.

We take on a small number of advisory clients by design. Here's a direct look at who gets the most out of this relationship, and who probably doesn't.

✓
Good Fit
Real estate investors with 2+ properties

Landlords, builders, and flippers where depreciation, entity structure, and 1031 planning generate meaningful savings every year.

S-Corp owners paying themselves a salary

Business owners who want compensation structured correctly and a CPA who reads their financials regularly.

Existing Phænix tax prep or bookkeeping clients

We already know your file. The transition to advisory is fast, and the first planning session usually surfaces something immediately useful.

Owners who want to understand their numbers

Clients who want financial clarity, not just a return filed. Advisory is a working relationship, and you'll come out of it understanding your business better.

✗
Not a Fit
Clients whose primary driver is the lowest fee

Advisory is priced to reflect its value. Tax preparation alone is a better fit, and we offer that well.

Clients who prefer to be reactive

Advisory requires engagement on both sides. If you'd rather bring problems than prevent them, the investment won't pay off for either of us.

One-time or transactional relationships

Advisory compounds over time. A single session has value, but the real return comes from a multi-year planning relationship with consistent context.

Situations with minimal tax complexity

If your financial picture is simple and unlikely to change, the advisory fee won't generate proportionate savings. We'll tell you honestly if that's the case.

Final Step of Your Tour

Ready when
you're ready.

Whether you're applying for advisory or just want to ask a question — the next step is a conversation. We respond personally within one business day.

You delegate. We deliver.

Phænix

Let's talk.

You Delegate. We Deliver.

Whether you're ready to start or just exploring — we respond personally within one business day.

✉
🌐
📍
Address
171 Branham Lane Ste 10-1036, San Jose, CA 95136
⏱
Response Time
Within 1 business day

Not sure where to start?

This form is for anyone who wants to learn more, ask a question, or get a sense of whether Phænix is a fit. No commitment required.

Tax Preparation

Individual and business returns

→

Bookkeeping

Monthly subscription plans

→

Advisory

Apply for year-round planning →

→

Send a message

Tell us a bit about what you need and we'll be in touch within one business day.

We respond within one business day. No sales pitch, just a real conversation.

Message received.

Thanks for reaching out. We'll be in touch within one business day.

Advisory Application

Tell us about your situation.

This is not a contact form. It's a brief application that helps us understand whether advisory is the right fit before we schedule time together. It takes about 10 minutes. Incomplete applications are not reviewed.

Why a form, not a call? The right advisory relationship starts with the right information. Clients who complete this thoughtfully are consistently the clients who get the most out of working with us. This is the first filter, and it's intentional.

We review every application personally. If there's a fit, you'll hear from us within 2–3 business days to schedule a strategy session.

Application received.

Thank you for taking the time to tell us about your situation. We review every application personally and will reach out within 2–3 business days if there's a fit.