Seasonal concentration

Definition

How much of the year's fee income arrives in the weeks around a filing deadline.

Why It Matters

A practice earning most of its money in ten weeks is a different business from one on monthly retainers, and it is priced differently for good reason: the compressed one needs seasonal staff, carries the whole year's risk in one quarter, and gives a new owner almost no time to fix a problem. Ask for fees by month for three years and read the flat months, because that is the part that survives a bad season.