Tax planning meeting agenda: run a consultation that ends in a decision

A good tax planning meeting agenda has five parts in 45 minutes: set the frame, learn what changed, find the next dated decision, outline scope and fee, then agree a yes, a no or a date for one. Prepare from the owner's answers before you sit down, and send the engagement letter the same day.

The goal is a decision, and "no" counts. A meeting that ends in "let me think about it" with no date costs you the hour and a follow-up chase.

Before the meeting: 15 minutes of prep

Read what you already know. If the owner answered fit questions when they booked, you have their entity type, a profit band, states and the reason they're looking. Write three things on your meeting sheet:

Their trigger, in their words.
The next IRS date that affects them. For most owners in the fall, that's the January 15 estimated payment, or a Form 2553 election for next year. The IRS lists estimated payments due April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15 (IRS, estimated tax due dates).
Two areas you expect to look at, such as owner pay and retirement.

Check that everyone who decides is coming. If two partners own the business, both should attend.

Who should be in the room

Invite every owner who has to agree. It saves a second meeting.

There's a professional reason too. If you end up advising two owners whose interests could pull apart, such as on how profits or salaries are split, Circular 230 section 10.29 may apply. It says a conflict of interest exists if representing one client will be directly adverse to another, or if there's a significant risk the representation will be materially limited by responsibilities to another client, a former client or a third person, or by your own interest. You may still proceed only if you reasonably believe you can represent each affected client competently and diligently, the law doesn't prohibit it, and each affected client waives the conflict and gives informed consent, confirmed in writing no later than 30 days after the consent. You keep copies of those consents for at least 36 months after the representation ends (31 CFR 10.29). Spot it in the first meeting and you can handle it in the engagement letter.

The 45-minute tax planning meeting agenda

Minutes	Part	What you do
0 to 3	Frame	Say how the meeting works and that recommendations come in the paid plan
3 to 20	What changed	Ask about the business, the trigger and what it cost them
20 to 30	The next decision	Name the dated decisions you'd settle first
30 to 40	Scope and fee	Describe the engagement and give the fee
40 to 45	Decision	Agree yes, no, or a date to decide

0 to 3 minutes: set the frame

"Here's how today works. I'll ask about your business and what you paid last year. I'll show you where I'd look, and if it makes sense, I'll tell you what a plan covers and what it costs. You can say no at the end and that's fine."

Saying "no is fine" out loud makes the end of the meeting easier for both of you. Our guide to stopping free advice has the full wording.

3 to 20 minutes: what changed

Listen more than you talk. Use the question groups in our consultation questions guide. By minute 20 you should know what changed, what they paid and when, how they pay themselves and what they want different next year.

20 to 30 minutes: the next decision

This is the part that's easiest to skip. Name two or three decisions and attach a date to each.

"From what you've said, three things need settling. Your salary, before your next payroll run. Your January 15 estimated payment. And whether to elect S corporation status for next year, which has a filing deadline."

On that last one, Form 2553 must be filed no more than 2 months and 15 days after the start of the tax year the election takes effect, or during the year before (IRS, instructions for Form 2553). Dates make the plan real. You're naming the decisions. The answers come in the plan.

See if your firm is a fit

30 to 40 minutes: scope and fee

Describe what the engagement covers, in one or two sentences per item, then give the fee. Offer a smaller first step if the full scope is more than they need. Keep your rate the same at each level. Our fee objection guide covers the conversation when they push back.

40 to 45 minutes: the decision

Ask directly. "Would you like to go ahead?"

Yes: "I'll send the engagement letter this afternoon. Once it's signed, I'll ask for your returns and payroll reports."
No: thank them and ask one question: "What would have made this a yes?" Write down the answer.
Not yet: "When would you be ready to decide?" Book that date before they leave, ideally in your calendar while you're both still on the call.

The second meeting

Some owners need a second conversation, usually because a partner or spouse wasn't there. Treat it as short and specific. Recap the decisions and dates, answer the new person's questions, and ask for a decision at the end. Don't run the full first meeting again.

The same day

Send the engagement letter, with scope, fee and the decisions you named.
Send a short summary of what you heard and the dates. Leave recommendations out of it.
Put the follow-up date in your calendar if they said "not yet."
Write down their trigger and objections in your notes for next time.

Our guide on proposals and engagement letters covers what the letter should include.

What our marketing has taught us about planning meetings

We run marketing that fills tax firms' calendars with qualified planning meetings, and a few parts of our process shape how those meetings go.

The firm sets the meeting details at kickoff. How long the planning meeting runs, which days it takes them and how many a week its team can handle. Pick a length you can hold every time, and use the agenda above to fill it.
Owners arrive with an invite and reminders. Each booked owner gets a calendar invite and reminders. If someone misses the meeting, we chase them and rebook, and a missed meeting doesn't count toward the firm's total.
The firm runs the meeting. It explains its planning service, sets its fee and decides who to take on. We don't give tax advice.

Where to start this week

Copy the 45-minute agenda into your meeting template.
Add a line for "next IRS date" to your prep sheet.
Ask every multi-owner business to bring all owners.
Write the three closing answers (yes, no, not yet) on a card and keep it in view.
Draft your engagement letter template so it can go out the same day.

Questions firm owners ask

How long should a tax planning consultation be? Long enough to learn the facts, name the next decisions and give a fee, with a few minutes left to decide. A 45-minute meeting in five parts works if you prepare from the owner's answers beforehand.

What should be on a tax planning meeting agenda? Set the frame, learn what changed in the business, name the next dated decisions, describe scope and fee, and agree a yes, a no or a date to decide.

Should both business partners attend the first planning meeting? Yes, every owner who must agree should attend. If their interests could conflict, Circular 230 section 10.29 sets out when you may proceed and requires written consent from each affected client.

What should I send after a tax planning consultation? The engagement letter with scope and fee, and a short summary of what you heard and the dates, sent the same day. Leave recommendations for the paid plan.

Sources

General information from the official sources listed below, checked 25 Oct 2026. Not tax or legal advice.

If you'd rather have qualified owners booked for you

Financial Sales Insider is a marketing company for US CPA and EA-led tax firms. We fill your calendar with qualified tax planning meetings. Our marketing finds business owners who fit your criteria, qualifies them, and books them with you.

20 qualified tax planning meetings in 90 days, guaranteed.

If you have fewer than 20 qualified meetings after 90 days, we keep booking with no further monthly fee until you reach 20.

A qualified meeting is one where a business owner we've qualified books onto your calendar and shows up.

See if your firm is a fit Form not loading? Book here.

Johnny Logan, Founder, Financial Sales Insider.

Financial Sales Insider · Florida · (305) 513-1710