Small businesses

On a small claim, the fee is a large share of the benefit under any model, and a minimum fee can turn a success fee into a fixed cost. The first question for a small business is whether the claim is worth making once the fee and the owner's time are counted; the second is how much help to buy. A small business is also the kind that receives cold calls about refunds for past years, and the kind where one person reads the letter, so that person should read all of it. On the shared example, a 20% fee on a $100,000 claim is $20,000, and a $35,000 fixed fee is more than that; a $35,000 minimum on the same claim would be $35,000. Illustrative figures.

• Are there minimum or exit fees?
• How are your fees calculated?, on the small claim you expect, not a hoped-for one
• Do you file amended or refund claims?, if the approach came from a call
• What records will you need from us?

Cold calls about unclaimed refunds. Pressure to sign quickly. A guaranteed claim amount before anyone has looked at the work. Each can have a fair version: a legitimate introduction, a real filing date, an estimate with its assumptions. The script for declining a cold call moves any approach into writing, where it can be compared with others.

Contingent success fees suit a small claim because they cost nothing if it fails and less than a fixed fee below the crossover point; check for a minimum. Hourly fees can suit a review of a claim you prepared yourself. Software-assisted claims are a subscription rather than a calculation, and what they include varies. The in-house or adviser guide is the place to start if the claim is small enough to consider doing yourself. Illustrative figures.