The Secret: Be very smart about the firm that files your claim

The Employee Retention Credit program, ERC. is arguably the most significant grant program in history for small business owners, nonprofits, private schools, and other organizations that employ 5-500 people. To not file a claim and get back some of the tax money you sent the government during Covid is an opportunity that shouldn’t be missed. There is no need for fear, as long as you don’t get greedy, and are just very smart about selecting the company that files your claim.

We do not recommend you use a CPA to file your ERC claim. You need to find a credible ERC Recovery firm. Quite frankly, most CPAs are not competent at filing grants; they are professionals at filing taxes. The difference is significant.

The money has been set aside, and the government wants you to claim it; that is the good news.  The bad news is because the amount is significant; the number of pop-up, fly-by-night, suitcase companies that are trying to get in on the action have flooded the market.  The best advice we can share with those that feel they may qualify and are confused with all the misinformation in the market is to schedule a call with a credible ERC recovery firm.  For the record, even if you made a profit during covid or received PPP money, you can still qualify and liekly will for ERC grant money.

The firm we recommend is BottomLine Concepts.  They have been in business since 2009 and to date have helped over 15,000 businesses in the USA recover nearly 3 BILLION dollars in ERC Funds.  Their clients include 400 of the Top 1000 firms in USA.   Companies like Hilton Hotels, Rolex, McDonalds, and the list goes on and on.  You can schedule a 10 minute Discovery Call with and ERC pro at a time and day that works for you by clicking here.  Depending on when you are reading this, there is a chance they have and opening today. The good news is because of their Impeccable reputation with the IRS at the time of this writing not one of their clients has experienced an audit.

Bottom line has a direct line to the IRS and a stellar reputation. They are know for processing recovery paperwork quickly and correctly, while maximizng refunds for clients. They staff over 120 tax attorneys, forensic cpas and support staff and to date have not had one ERC IRS audit with their clients. They are not one of these pop up companies. Here is a clue, if the company has ERC in their name, then you know they are less than two years old and unexperienced in the government grant process.

Honestly, because of all the here to day, gone tomorrow companies entering this space I expect there to be a flood of audits in the future because of the filings from companies that really don’t understand what they are doing, but talk a good ERC game.

As a matter of fact, since we first wrote this article multiple businesses notified us that their claims for the employee retention credit (ERC) are being audited by the IRS. This does not mean that these businesses necarrily did anything wrong, or that they will end up owing money to the IRS; it just means that the IRS selected their ERC claims for review. When you file with a company like Bottom Line Concepts whom the IRS is well aware of, their positive reputation speaks for itself.

It is not known whether these companies were randomly selected for audit or whether they were targetted because their audit was done by a company with a bad reputation, or CPA that was not up to date on the multiple amendments that have been made to the program.

There is reason BottomLine Concepts has been in business since 2009 and has 400 of the Top 1000 firms in the United States as clients. So yes, file your claim, but be smart about who you turn the recovery process over to. Without question BottomLine Concepts is the company with the success track record that will give you the peace of mind most are looking for. The wrong company filing your claim could and we believe most definately will trigger an audit for some in the coming months.

The employee retention credit (ERC) started out slow but keeps going strong, even to the present day. When it was first enacted on March 27, 2020 as part of the CARES Act, it received little fanfare because taxpayers that received a forgivable loan under the paycheck protection program (PPP) were prohibited from claiming the ERC. When that prohibition was lifted nine months later by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, claims for the ERC exploded. Then, Congress added fuel to the fire and kept making the rules more generous as time went on.

One unfortunate side effect of the ERC explosion has been the proliferation of tax credit companies offering dubious advice in exchange for outsize fees. Be especially wary of the ones that overstate their credentials or ability to provide advice regarding the ERC. Some claim to have received special training from the IRS (they have not) and others claim to have special knowledge regarding the law for one reason or another (they do not – detailed ERC information about the program is available to anyone with an internet connection). One company claims that its ideas are “proprietary” and refuses to discuss them in front of outside advisors and charges a $10,000 upfront fee just to see if you qualify for ERC Money.
It is amazing how many business owners are falling for these type of shinanigans.

The written advice some of these companies provide to their clients is lacking. We have seen instances where a company provides the same boilerplate tax memo to multiple clients, notwithstanding that the clients are engaged in different businesses and their eligibility depends on different factors. The memos are more than 20 pages in length but as far as we can tell, only two or three lines of text are different. There is no description of the facts and no analysis of the factors in IRS Notice 2021-20, Q&As 11-22 (the ERC claims at issue were all predicated on a partial suspension of business operations). The memos are so generic that they would not even qualify as tax advice that clients can rely on to assert a reasonable cause defense to penalties.

The only firm we can confidently recommend in this space is Bottom Line Concepts,

They have been been in the government grants and small business recovery field since 2009. At the time of this writing they have helped over 15,000 companies recovery over 3 Billion Dollars. The word is getting out about bottom line and they continue to grow month after month. Last month alone they processed nearly 4 Billion dollars in claims.

Some of these advisors also promise indemnification and audit support if their clients are audited by the IRS. These promises are hollow when you consider most of them have been in business less than two years. When the ERC program officilly ends in April of 2025 how likely is it that they are going to be around to support you if they messed up your claim?

Do you really think the Treasury Department is going to give out ERC money and then make it a point to audit all of those people? Alot will probably have to do with the credibility of the firm that files the claim for you. Bottom LIne Concepts has processed over 15,000 claims and to date has not had one client audit.

The rules for the ERC are detailed and complex, and claims for the ERC are filed under penalties of perjury. If a business is concerned with the analysis underlying its claim, then now is the time to have it reviewed. Do not wait until the IRS comes knocking, because at that point it may be too late.

In closing we just want to say that every small business in America that thinks they may qualify for the ERC credit should definately take five minutes and have a conversation with a competent ERC advisor.
You can book a time and day that works for you and book a discovery call with a Bottom Line Concepts ERC professional by clicking here.

Much Success!