Credit(k)
Internal · Partner Briefing
How the business runs

Partners originate.
Tony produces.
Vendors do the rest.

The operating model from every partner's seat. Who owns what, where each deal travels, who handles the back office, and exactly where your time goes. Built so three busy partners stay hands-off in good conscience.

1 / 6
Deal steps partners own
7
Functions fully outsourced
25%
Contingent fee, escrow-held
50/50
Milestone release split
Three roles, one engine

The split fits who everyone already is. Mike, JD, and Chad hold the plan-sponsor and TPA relationships. Tony holds the platform. The back office is bought, not staffed.

Mike · JD · Chad

Originate

Point qualified sponsors at Credit(k) and lend reach to the campaign. Two lanes are open and the choice is yours. Your relationships and credibility are the scarce input.

Time commitmentReach & intros, your schedule
Two lanesOutside or inside your book
Admin loadNone
Light touch
Tony · Managing Member

Produce

Runs the (k) Suite end to end: per-employee verification, the Credit Analysis, signature-ready Form 8881 and 3800 packages, and the escrow flow.

OwnsPlatform & production
GovernanceDay-to-day decisions
Scales byContracted preparer
The engine
Outsourced providers

Back office

Books, tax, payments, insurance, legal, IT. Each runs through an outside provider reporting to Tony. None of it touches a partner's calendar.

Functions7, fully outsourced
Reports toTony, not partners
Partner hoursZero
Bought, not staffed
Two ways to bring a sponsor — your call

The growth engine is the campaign aimed outside everyone's book, where there is no conflict and nothing to disclose. Mining your own clients is a separate, optional lane each partner decides on individually, and it comes with one firm rule.

Lane 1 · the engineDefault

Outside the book

Credit(k)'s blue mailer and matched Hunter.io email campaign target the 204,113-plan dataset — sponsors who are nobody's client here. Partners lend reach and credibility; the platform does the personalizing and sending. It scales without anyone's calendar.

Clean by design. These sponsors have no relationship with any partner, so the conflict question never arises.
Lane 2 · optionalYour call

Inside your book

A partner may choose to surface credits for their own TPA clients. Entirely optional and entirely the partner's decision. The sponsor-direct model keeps the partner out of the Credit(k) transaction itself, but the relationship still has to be named.

100% transparency required. If you mine your own book, the client is told in writing that you are both their TPA and an owner of Credit(k), documented before any engagement.
Six steps from intro to payout

Color marks who owns each step. The partners appear once, at the very front. Everything after the introduction runs through Tony and the vendors.

STEP 01Partner

Introduction

A qualified sponsor enters through the campaign or a partner introduction, likely sitting on unclaimed SECURE 2.0 credits.

Only partner touchpoint
STEP 02Tony

Verify

Tally(k) verifies per-employee contribution data and flags deferrals and over-cap amounts. No estimates ever reach a sponsor.

STEP 03Tony

Analyze

The Credit Analysis & Eligibility Report is produced across every eligible year, including prior years via amended returns.

Escrow milestone one — 50% releases on delivery
STEP 04Tony

Package

Signature-ready Form 8881 and 3800 packages are built for each year, with the basis-reduction impact surfaced up front.

Escrow milestone two — final 50% releases on delivery
STEP 05Sponsor

File

The sponsor takes the finished packages to their own CPA to file. Credit(k) prepares the package; it is not the filer.

STEP 06Partnership

Distribute

The fee is earned and net revenue distributes to all four partners by ownership. The cycle repeats with the next intro.

The whole partner ask lives in step one. Five of six steps run without any partner involvement. That is what makes the hands-off promise real rather than aspirational.
Held in escrow, released on delivery, distributed by ownership

The fee never lands in Credit(k)'s hands first. It sits with a licensed escrow agent and releases as work is delivered, then distributes to the partners.

From fee to payout

1Sponsor funds escrowFull 25% of identified credits, paid upfront into Escrow.com100%
2Milestone one releasesOn delivery of the Credit Analysis50%
3Milestone two releasesOn delivery of the filing packages50%
4Net revenue distributesTo all four partners by ownership

Distribution by ownership

32.5%
27.5%
20%
20%
TonyFounder · Managing Member32.5%
MikePartner27.5%
JDPartner20%
ChadPartner20%
Seven functions, named providers, live status

Everything operational is bought, not built. Status reflects where each piece stands going into launch.

Payments

Escrow.com

Milestone escrow, 50/50 release, licensed trust account.

Selected
Banking

Mercury / Relay

Business checking, QuickBooks-ready, no minimums.

Opens at closing
Bookkeeping

Pilot · or CPA in-house

Monthly close, bank reconciliation, financial statements.

To engage
Tax & CPA

Clark Nuber / Baker Tilly

Form 1065, K-1s, capital accounts, IP valuation.

To select
Insurance

Embroker / Vouch

E&O, cyber liability, general liability.

Get quotes
Legal

Formation counsel

Operating agreement, client engagement contracts.

Engaged
Recommended next decision

CPA & Tax — interview Clark Nuber first

Bellevue firm with a real employee-benefit-plan practice and a venture-backed-startup client base, so partnership returns and the Schedule B IP valuation are routine work. Baker Tilly, the former Moss Adams, is the heavyweight to hold in reserve for credibility or a standalone valuation.

Why it fits
EBP practice + startup clients
Clears the blocker
Schedule B IP valuation
Location
Bellevue, WA — local
Reserve option
Baker Tilly (ex-Moss Adams)
Why this holds when you're slammed

The model concentrates production on Tony by design. Here is the honest read on what that means and why it works.

0 hrs
No admin on partners
Banking, books, tax, payments, insurance, legal, and IT all run through outside providers. Books and taxes never depend on a partner being available.
1 risk
Key-person concentration
Everything operational runs through Tony. The honest risk if volume spikes or Tony is out. Worth naming before a partner does.
3 fixes
How it's mitigated
The platform automates most production; a contracted preparer is funded by the revenue new volume creates; finance is already outsourced. Capacity scales with demand.

All we need from the room is the reach and the introductions only you can make.

The engine is built and the back office is bought. The one input that can't be outsourced is your relationships. Bring a few real sponsors, no fee, and we turn them into proof.