It's hard to compare apples with oranges. Most other umbrellas quote 3-5% fees but the payroll taxes (Social Security etc.) are additional to that. Our fees sound higher at first but that's because they include all applicable payroll taxes. Besides, price is not the most important consideration in choosing an umbrella. See our Frequently Asked Questions for more information. Note that Bonus Points may ultimately be able to effectively reduce our fees to less than nothing.

Our normal administrative fees are lower because of the unique way we're structured and run, more efficiently than most umbrellas and consulting firms. This benefit is derived from commonly known tax principles which are usually overlooked, and the way we use it gives us a competitive advantage, which is why some of the details are confidential.

We're flexible and innovative, continually improving our program to best serve our member consultants. Our current standard fee structure is Plan D.5, which is 15% of the gross billing, but drops to 10% after it reaches $15K total during the calendar year. This reduction is similar to payroll taxes dropping after reaching the FICA limit, and comes in handy for the holidays. During the 10% portion, Bonus Points are accrued at double the normal rate. Because of this and our unique tax advantages, the effective cost works out to around 1-2%, regardless of rate or hours or duration. The limit also makes it a good deal for high earners.

Note - low hourly rates are less feasible for us, but we can probably acommodate them by using a customized fee plan. That way, we can help consultants who can't use umbrellas with high minimums. Also, the umbrella fee doesn't include any optional features selected. We're also thinking of offering a flat monthly rate plan with an attractive discount; let us know if you're interested.

Many umbrellas limit your deductible expenses to a fraction of your gross or net income. We don't do that (as long as the deductions are legitimate). In fact, because of the way we're structured, we're the only umbrella that can handle a net loss. Naturally you don't want to run a net loss, but if for whatever reason you experience a longer time between contracts or you have unusually high deductible expenses, you can still process them through us and our umbrella fee is 15%. Naturally you have to pay enough to cover your expenses, but you'd have to do that anyway, and this way you can keep your benefits and other deductions active. This certainly helps with continuity and simply can't be done through other umbrellas. Also the 15% fee is much less than the 28-40+% you'll save (depending on your Federal and State tax brackets) by being able to deduct your expenses. We even credit this 15% fee against your future umbrella fees when your Division is profitable again, so you're not really paying any additional fee at all! In addition, to help promote our new group health benefits, for the rest of 2003, we'll reduce our umbrella fee from 15% to 14% for those participating.

Note - because states vary widely in their fees and taxes, and it wouldn't be fair for members in low-tax states to subsidize members in high-tax states, we must pass on these costs. We do this by deducting a small percentage from each check, depending on the state. If you incorporated, you would have to pay these fees and taxes yourself anyway, for each state in which you do business. For example, even though Texas has no personal income tax, it has a 4.5% tax on net profit of incorporated businesses, including LLC's (it no longer applies to us, however, since we reorganized). Washington has a 1.5% tax on the gross income of all service businesses even if not incorporated and regardless of your deductions. By working through us, you avoid some of the duplication of any per-company fees for each state, as these can be divided up among all of our members doing business in that state.

Our consultants also earn Bonus Points so we can reward them for their hard work over the years; this can further reduce our fee as we grow. Those who have been with us the longest will have the opportunity to benefit the most, so the sooner you join us, the better deal you'll get in the long run.

If you're already incorporated, your business can join us as a corporate member. Although experienced independent contractors typically need less help and attention with tax and legal issues faced by independent contractors, membership in RMPCP can be helpful even to your incorporated business. This is because many brokers or clients are still reluctant to deal with 1-2 person consulting firms, even if incorporated, and there are discriminatory tax rules (e.g. a 10% corporate owner can't use per diems) which we can overcome. You can even be both an individual and a corporate member for the ultimate combination of flexibility and tax benefits. Then you won't even have to hassle with payroll and benefits any more.

If you've been in business for a while and are concerned that working through an umbrella would reduce your visibility to clients and your marketing presence in general (although with us it shouldn't), you can still use RMPCP for your back office. We can provide the benefits and some deductions you can't as easily handle with your own business.

The referral commission for member consultants who find clients (not brokers) for each other will be 10% of the first 500 hours worked, then 5% of the next 1000 hours. The commission for marketing/sales partners who find clients (not brokers) for our consultants will be the above plus a constant 10%. The recruiting commission for finding consultants will be 5% of the first 1000 hours. Thus, the working consultant will effectively get an automatic raise about every 3 months for a while. I've been waiving my own commissions, but I may not always do that, so join now for the best deal.

I'll determine equivalent rate and hours for work done on other than an hourly basis such as fixed fee projects. Rate boundaries that occur within a billing period or deliverable will be moved to the end of the billing period (or applicable milestone) to avoid splitting timesheets or deliverables to calculate the commissions. It is the consultant's responsibility to remind us when reaching the end of a commission percentage period, so be sure to keep track of your hours worked.

We have a bonus point program to help us reward our consultants. Members will be awarded bonus points based on how much profit we make from their work, and also will be awarded bonus points based on the consultants they recruit or find clients for. As we grow bigger and can afford to pay bonuses, we'll do so in proportion to everyone's bonus points, which never expire. So the sooner you join us, the more you'll earn! You can even buy Bonus Points by using our Deferred Compensation plan!