Four Session Types That Sell
Structure your offerings around the topics where your expertise creates the most value.
1. Tax Planning Strategy
The broadest and most popular session type. You review a client's situation and identify opportunities to reduce their tax burden.
What you cover: Income timing strategies, retirement contribution optimization (SEP-IRA, Solo 401k, backdoor Roth), charitable giving strategies, capital gains and loss harvesting, education credits, and state tax planning for remote workers.
Best for: W-2 earners with side income, high-income professionals, retirees managing distributions.
Pricing: $150-250 for 60 minutes. Clients at higher income levels ($250k+) expect to pay $300-400 because the savings at stake are proportionally larger.
Demand peaks: September through December, when people can still act before year-end.
2. Entity Structure Review
Consistently one of the highest-value conversations an accountant can have. A freelancer operating as a sole proprietor could save $5,000-15,000 per year by switching to an S-Corp election. That one session pays for itself many times over.
What you cover: Sole proprietorship vs. LLC vs. S-Corp vs. C-Corp, self-employment tax savings, reasonable salary requirements, state-specific considerations, and when it makes sense to change (and when it doesn't).
Best for: Freelancers earning $60k+ net, small business owners, independent contractors.
Pricing: $200-350 for 60 minutes. High-stakes decisions justify premium rates.
Demand peaks: Q1 (after seeing the tax bill) and Q4 (before election deadlines).
3. Deduction Strategy and Optimization
Many business owners leave money on the table because they don't know what they can deduct, or they're afraid of triggering an audit.
What you cover: Home office deduction (simplified vs. actual), vehicle and travel, Section 179 expensing, health insurance for self-employed, retirement contributions, meals and entertainment rules, commonly missed deductions, and record-keeping best practices.
Best for: New freelancers, small business owners who've been winging it.
Pricing: $150-250 for 60 minutes. Attracts more price-sensitive clients, so it typically sits at the lower end.
Demand peaks: January through April, and whenever someone starts a new business.
4. Quarterly Review and Estimated Tax Planning
Self-employed individuals owe estimated taxes four times a year, and getting them wrong leads to underpayment penalties or tying up too much cash.
What you cover: Year-to-date income review, estimated payment calculations, safe harbor thresholds, cash flow planning around tax payments, and state estimated tax requirements.
Best for: Self-employed professionals, freelancers with variable income, investors with capital gains.
Pricing: $150-200 for 45 minutes. Many accountants offer this as a recurring package (4 sessions/year at $500-700) for consistent revenue.
Demand peaks: The week before each deadline (April 15, June 15, September 15, January 15).
Pricing Your Sessions
Tax strategy commands premium rates because your advice directly saves clients money.
| Session Type | Duration | Price Range | Sweet Spot |
|---|
| Tax planning strategy | 60 min | $150-400 | $200 |
| Entity structure review | 60 min | $200-400 | $275 |
| Deduction optimization | 60 min | $150-250 | $175 |
| Quarterly review | 45 min | $150-200 | $175 |
| Quarterly review (4-pack) |
Factors that justify higher rates: CPA or EA credentials, niche specialization (real estate, crypto, physicians), high-income clientele, and a provable track record ("clients save an average of $8,000 per year").
Package pricing creates recurring revenue. A quarterly planning package at $500-700 is the easiest upsell because estimated taxes are inherently quarterly. An annual bundle (strategy session plus four quarterly reviews) at $800-1,000 builds deep client relationships.
Compliance Considerations
This is the part that makes accountants hesitate. Let's address it directly.
What You're Doing (and Not Doing)
A tax strategy session is advisory. You share general guidance, explain tax concepts, run through scenarios, and help someone understand their options. You are not filing a return, signing IRS forms, providing a formal tax opinion, guaranteeing outcomes, or acting as the client's preparer of record. Advisory conversations carry lower liability than preparation and filing services.
Disclaimers
Every session should begin with a clear scope statement: "This session is an educational consultation. I'll share general tax planning strategies based on what you tell me, but this is not a substitute for formal tax preparation. Any strategies we discuss should be reviewed with your tax preparer before implementation."
Include this on your booking page and reiterate it at the start of each session.
Licensing and Insurance
If you're a CPA, understand your state board's rules about advisory services to out-of-state clients. Most states recognize a "no physical presence" exemption for one-off sessions. Enrolled Agents are federally licensed, so interstate practice is simpler.
Confirm your professional liability (E&O) insurance covers virtual advisory services. Most policies do, but verify it.
Record Keeping
Keep records of each session: date, client name, topics discussed, and recommendations made. On Talkspresso, sessions are automatically recorded and AI-generated summaries capture key points, creating a built-in documentation trail.
Marketing to Small Business Owners and Freelancers
Small business owners and freelancers are the ideal audience. They face tax complexity without the support system that employees enjoy: no HR department, no payroll team, no corporate tax group. They're on their own, and they know it.
Where to Find Them
LinkedIn. Post practical tax tips ("3 deductions every freelancer misses") with a link to book. Tax content performs well because everyone has questions.
Instagram and TikTok. Short-form tax tips go viral regularly. "Stop doing this with your home office deduction" gets views. Genuine advice on your phone builds trust faster than polished corporate content.
Your existing client base. After filing season, email your prep clients: "Now that your return is filed, let's make sure next year's tax bill is smaller. Book a strategy session." This is the single highest-converting move you can make.
Online communities. Reddit (r/freelance, r/smallbusiness), Facebook groups, and niche Slack communities. Answer questions genuinely and include your booking link in your profile.
Content That Drives Bookings
Blog posts: "S-Corp vs. LLC: Which Saves More on Taxes?" attracts organic search traffic from people actively looking for answers.
Email sequences: A 3-email series before each estimated tax deadline reminding your list that payments are due and offering a session to calculate the right amount. Simple, timely, and effective.
Case studies (anonymized): "How a graphic designer saved $12,000 by restructuring as an S-Corp." Real numbers are compelling. Clients see themselves in these stories and want the same outcome.
Webinars and group sessions: Host a "Year-End Tax Planning Workshop" for $49-99 per attendee. This serves as both revenue and a funnel for individual sessions. Attendees who want personalized advice book a 1:1 afterward.
Seasonal vs. Year-Round Demand
January through April: Deduction questions, last-minute strategies, and "my tax bill is how much?!" panic sessions. Entity structure conversations spike because clients just saw the cost of being a sole proprietor.
September through December: Year-end planning is the highest-value window. Clients can still act: sell investments, fund retirement accounts, purchase equipment, adjust estimated payments.
Estimated tax deadlines: Quarterly sessions cluster around April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15.
Building year-round revenue: Quarterly review packages smooth out the dead months (May through August). New business launches happen year-round. Life events (marriage, rental property, stock options, relocation) trigger planning needs regardless of the calendar.
Setting Up Your First Sessions
1. Define your services. Start with two: a general tax planning session and one specialized offering (entity structure review is usually the best pick).
2. Set up your booking page. Use a platform that handles scheduling, payments, and video in one place. Talkspresso lets you create service listings with your price, duration, and description. Clients book and pay without back-and-forth emails.
3. Create an intake process. Collect filing status, income range, business structure, and specific questions before the session. Talkspresso's intake questions feature handles this on your booking page.
4. Deliver the session. Structure your 60 minutes: 10 minutes reviewing their situation, 35 minutes walking through strategies and scenarios, 15 minutes summarizing recommendations and next steps. On Talkspresso, recordings are automatic and include AI-generated summaries.
5. Follow up. Send a brief email within 24 hours with your top 3 recommendations. This reinforces value and opens the door for rebooking.
The Bottom Line
Tax strategy sessions are good for everyone involved. Clients get personalized advice that saves them real money. You get high-margin revenue without filing deadlines, document management, or seasonal burnout.
The accountants who do this well build year-round advisory practices that complement their preparation revenue. The ones who don't keep grinding through tax season, answering "quick questions" for free, and watching margins shrink.
Start with one session type. Set your price. Put up a booking page. Tell your existing clients about it. You can always add more services, raise your rates, and expand your audience later. But you can't build an advisory practice if you never start charging for what you already know.
Explore the full feature set on Talkspresso for Consultants, or read our platform comparison for paid video calls.
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