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Flat-Fee CFP® Near Me (What It Covers & What It Should Cost)
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A flat-fee CFP® charges a clear dollar price for a defined scope. Use the mini quote check below to see the effective % vs assets and whether your quote is in range.
The short version
Flat-fee = a fixed annual dollar price tied to a written scope (meetings, deliverables, response time). Get the quote in dollars first, then sanity-check it against your asset level before you say yes.
Flat-Fee CFP® Quote Check
Effective rate: 0.80% (on $750,000)
Break-even vs AUM: $600,000 (assets where an AUM fee at 1.00% ≈ your flat-fee)
Pay-as-you-go: $500 / month (same math, different cadence)
Educational only. Scope and service quality matter as much as price.
Want deeper math? Try the Advisor Fee Calculator.
What your flat-fee should actually cover
- Written scope & cadence: what’s included, meeting rhythm, response time.
- Plan & updates: investment policy refresh, retirement paycheck/guardrails, cash-flow and savings targets.
- Tax coordination: account location basics, annual tax checklist, Roth conversion windows.
- Equity comp (if relevant): RSU/ESPP/options playbook and sell-down plan.
- Boundaries: what’s not included (e.g., full tax prep, estate drafting) and hourly/project rates for extras.
Ask for a one-page scope sheet. If it’s vague, the price is hard to judge.
How to hire in 3 steps
- Get the scope in writing. Deliverables, cadence, turnaround time, exclusions.
- Price in dollars, then compare. Use the tool above or our Advisor Fee Calculator.
- Check fit vs other models. Some needs are better served by retainer or hourly—try the Which Fee Model Fits Me? quick quiz.
Educational content, not advice. Choose fiduciary/fee-only whenever possible.
Search filters that narrow a flat-fee CFP® shortlist
Start with compensation, engagement type, credentials, and client fit. A useful first pass is fee-only plus flat annual, retainer, or project pricing; then confirm that the quoted scope matches the decisions you actually need help with.
- Credential: confirm the person’s current status with the CFP Board verification tool.
- Registration and history: check both the individual and firm through Investor.gov’s investment-professional search.
- Pricing model: ask whether the stated fee is annual, one-time, monthly, or project-based and whether investment management is included.
- Client fit: screen for the planning work that matters to you, such as retirement income, equity compensation, a business sale, taxes, or a second opinion.
- Location: decide whether you need an in-state office or are comfortable with a remote engagement.
Verify scope, fiduciary duty, and conflicts in writing
- Fiduciary commitment: ask the adviser to state when the firm will act as a fiduciary for every service in your proposed engagement.
- Form ADV: review the current brochure, especially Item 5 for fees and compensation, Item 12 for brokerage practices and platform arrangements, and Item 14 for referral or other compensation.
- Service calendar: request meetings, written deliverables, response-time expectations, implementation help, and exclusions on one page. Compare it with these financial-adviser service-calendar examples.
- All-in cost: confirm advisory, fund, custody, platform, trading, tax-preparation, and out-of-scope project costs in annual dollars.
The mark and the fee model are independent questions.
A CFP certificant can still be paid in ways that create conflicts. Ask about the credential and the compensation separately, and do not accept one as an answer to the other. It is free to you, and it is not the only way to find an adviser.
Before you start, what actually happens. The form is run by Kapitalwise, our advisor-matching partner. Kapitalwise sends your details to advisers who pay for the introduction, so expect calls and texts. Clear Money Guide is paid when you submit the form, whether or not you ever hire anyone. This is free to you and there is no obligation to hire anyone.
The Kapitalwise form opens here — you stay on this page.
What happens when you press the button
It asks about nine questions — age, investable assets, location — then your name, email and phone number, and verifies the phone by text. Nothing loads and nothing reaches Kapitalwise until you press the button.
Red flags and green flags
| Red flag | Better evidence |
|---|---|
| A price with no written deliverables or exclusions | A clear annual dollar fee tied to a service calendar and renewal terms |
| “Fiduciary” used without explaining when it applies | A written fiduciary commitment covering the services in the engagement |
| Portfolio, platform, fund, or referral costs left out of the quote | An all-in cost schedule that reconciles with Form ADV and the agreement |
| Unlimited access promised without response standards | Named contacts, normal and urgent response times, and escalation rules |
Copy/paste request for an apples-to-apples quote
Subject: Flat-fee CFP® quote and written scope Hello — I am comparing flat-fee planning engagements. Please send: 1) the total annual or project fee and billing cadence; 2) a one-page service calendar with meetings, deliverables, and response times; 3) whether portfolio oversight, implementation, and trading are included; 4) every separate fund, platform, custody, referral, or hourly/project cost; 5) your current Form ADV brochure and the fiduciary commitment that applies to this engagement. Please also note what becomes out of scope and how extra work is priced. Thank you.
Flat-fee CFP® FAQs
Is a flat fee automatically fee-only?
No. “Flat fee” describes how one service is priced. Confirm the firm’s full compensation, product or referral payments, and conflicts in the agreement and Form ADV.
Is a flat fee automatically cheaper than AUM?
No. Convert both quotes to annual dollars and compare equivalent scope. Use the AUM fee calculator when the percentage has breakpoints or extra platform costs.
Does a flat fee include investment management?
Sometimes. Ask who implements trades, which accounts are covered, how rebalancing works, and whether custody or platform costs are separate.
Can a flat-fee engagement include hourly add-ons?
Yes. Ask for the hourly rate, approval rule, and a not-to-exceed cap before extra work begins. The hourly scope estimator can help size a separate project.
Educational only, not individualized financial, tax, legal, or investment advice. Verify credentials, registration, disciplinary history, scope, and all-in fees before signing.
What to do next
Editorial standards: see our Editorial Policy.
Before comparing flat-fee quotes: Use the certified financial planner near-me guide to verify current CFP® status, registration, fiduciary scope, service fit, and every layer of compensation.
What the filings actually say. We measured the fee schedules 176 SEC-registered advisers publish in their Form ADV Part 2A filings: at $250,000 only 28.4% disclose a fee you can price at all, and the weighted median annual cost among those that do is $2,000 to $2,500. The full benchmark, with method.