Accounting firms are the cobbler's children of this mandate: fluent in the rules, referring clients to solutions, and often uncovered themselves. The structural obstacle is seasonality — tax-season staff swell the DE9 headcount the state counts, and make naive plan eligibility painful. A 401(k) with a one-year, 1,000-hour eligibility requirement keeps seasonal preparers out of the census while the owners defer fully, and because owners here actually read fee disclosures, a fee-transparent 3(38) arrangement is usually what closes the decision.
Why this industry is different
The mandate treats every employer alike. The payroll realities underneath don't cooperate:
- January-to-April staffing spikes make eligibility rules awkward — seasonal preparers and admin staff churn through every spring, and the DE9 average the state uses for the mandate counts them.
- The owners are financially literate and will not tolerate opaque, bundled pricing — which, ironically, is what most small-plan providers quote them.
- The firm advises everyone else on this — clients ask what the firm itself does, and 'we haven't set one up' is an awkward answer.
- Busy season leaves zero administrative bandwidth — any plan that needs attention in Q1 will be neglected in Q1.
- Partner incomes are high enough that CalSavers' Roth IRA structure, with its MAGI limits, does nothing for the people deciding.
What actually works
The design is mostly eligibility tuning: a one-year, 1,000-hour requirement means a preparer who works February through April never enters the plan, which keeps the census stable and the testing clean — watched annually against the long-term part-time rules for anyone who returns season after season. On that base, a safe harbor contribution frees partner deferrals ($24,500 each for 2026, plus catch-ups) from ADP testing, and discretionary profit sharing flexes with the year the firm actually had.
On fees we publish ours, act as a 3(38) investment fiduciary in writing, and expect you to benchmark us — you would tell your clients to do the same. We work with CPA firms in either order — as the fiduciary on a client’s plan, or on your own firm’s plan — and we are comfortable being evaluated before either one starts.
The SECURE 2.0 credits frequently cover most of the first three years' administration for employers under 50 staff — the formula, worked honestly — and if after the arithmetic CalSavers is still the right answer for your shop, we'll say so: the full comparison · run your own numbers.
By county
This guide is statewide. The county pages go local — where the industry physically clusters, which cities it sits in, and the municipal rules that stack on top of the state mandate.
Where this industry clusters near us
Accounting & Tax Firms questions
Do our seasonal tax preparers count toward the CalSavers headcount?
Generally yes — the state works from your average employee count on DE9 filings, and seasonal W-2 staff are on those filings. A firm that is two partners and three staff in July can still be counted at a higher average because of the spring roster. Your own quarterly filings are the evidence; check them before assuming you are under a threshold.
Can we keep seasonal staff out of our 401(k)?
Mostly, yes — a one-year, 1,000-hour eligibility requirement excludes a typical single-season preparer. The caveat is the long-term part-time rule: someone who returns for consecutive seasons and crosses 500 hours each year earns the right to defer. An annual census check — which your own staff can do in minutes — keeps this clean.
We refer clients on retirement plans. How do you work with CPA firms?
As the fiduciary on the plan while you remain the tax adviser — we do not prepare returns and do not compete with you. For your clients we run the same CalSavers-versus-401(k) arithmetic this site shows, with fees published, and you see everything we show them. The industry pages on this site are written to answer that kind of question in public, so you can check our reasoning before you send anyone our way.
What does a plan cost a five-person firm, honestly?
Setup and annual administration vary with provider and design, which is why we publish our fees rather than quote ranges here. Two mechanics matter: the SECURE 2.0 startup credit may cover a large share of administration costs for the first three years for employers your size, and an employer contribution is a design choice, not an obligation. Run the calculator with your own numbers.
A plan designed around accounting & tax firms — not around the average employer
We design around the census you actually have — turnover, seasonality, pay structure and all. Fifteen minutes, no charge, and a straight answer.