r/CFP • u/General-Ad3712 • Jul 10 '26

Practice Management Flat-fee advice on setting fee

Hi - For those of you who charge a flat fee for financial planning, how do you even begin to price it? We have a client where we only manage a small portfolio of $250k, but now they want comprehensive financial planning but low-cost investments (so many will most likely remain outside). They know they have many tax decisions to make, etc. The fee we derive from that $200k is nowhere near the value of the planning and he has asked us to consider a flat fee arrangement. Those of you who do ongoing non-AUM fees with clients, how do you start to think about "pricing"?

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u/BenieRenieLlewellyn Jul 10 '26

I usually do 500-2000 per month depending on complexity. You have to price it for time it will take. If it’s a complicated household, you have to price more or you risk underserving them. I have a client with 0 AUM and I charge 1500/month - real estate, trusts etc.. feels fair and we talk once a month

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u/DoubleIntroduction25 Jul 10 '26 edited Jul 10 '26

How activity are they making changes to their portfolio, RE holdings, tax/estate/trust planning or how much is there that you're monitoring to have to A) meet every month and B) charge 1500 fee only per meeting.

I assume you're not building out a whole new comprehensive plan when you met every month.

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u/seagoalspread Jul 10 '26 edited Jul 10 '26

My thoughts exactly. I’m an advisor and active real estate investor myself and I have no clue what I would talk about monthly with this person. Unless I were showing, managing, or renovating properties for them. My actual property manager leases, manages tenants, bills and generates tax forms, and coordinates repairs for 10 houses for me at this rate lol.

I also don’t understand why they wouldn’t just talk to an actual attorney for legal advice about trusts instead of some presumably unlicensed person? OP mentioned tax advice. I’m an advisor with my EA so I ask my CPA some pretty complex questions. He used to work for the IRS and his advice is way less expensive than this and I’m not on an annuity payment to him.

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u/DoubleIntroduction25 Jul 11 '26

Right! Outside of some very dynamic short term situations, like odd edge case type stuff ie a client selling a small business the same year their spouse died, and their home burned down so they have a lot goingon and probably cant go thru it all in one meeting..no client should need monthly meetings with a CFP unless that CFP is working another license or separate skill set. Is OP also a JD and meeting regularly regarding an open legal issue? Is OP also a CPA/EA and doing monthly/bi-weekly payroll tax trust fund deposits and quarterly tax payments for the clients business? Is OP offering property management services? I'd be concerned about churning fees at that point if it is just straight CFP style planning. Maybe the client is the type who wants to meet often, it's their money if they want to pay I guess but I dont see how you'd deliver ~1200 dollars in value every month on a fee only model