Engagement Pricing
Priced Against Enterprise Value.
Not Hours Billed.
Every PDA engagement is priced against a single reference point — the enterprise value impact of what we find and what we fix. A forensic brief that surfaces $620,000 in Phantom EBITDA on a practice with a 6x multiple protects $3.7M in enterprise value. Engagement fees are sized accordingly.
Two Lanes
Lane 1: Find It. Lane 2: Fix It.
| Lane 1 — Forensic Analysis | Lane 2 — Data Room Build | |
|---|---|---|
| Led by | James DeLuca | James DeLuca & Joe DeLuca |
| Audience | Strategic sellers, multi-practice leaders, PE-referred | Growth operators, practices 1+ year from exit |
| Core Product | Practice Intelligence Brief | Full data room architecture + live operating manual |
| Entry Price | $6,500 | $3,000/month |
| Commitment | One-time engagement | 3–6 month minimum |
Lane 1 — Forensic Analysis
Four engagement tiers.
Practice Intelligence Brief: Single Location
Full 11-domain forensic analysis benchmarked against 2,500-practice database
EBITDA normalization bridge with hard/soft addbacks and QoE risk deductions
Three-scenario valuation architecture (Risk, Baseline, Optimized)
Remediation roadmap with enterprise value impact sequencing
60-minute briefing with client and advisory team
Fee is fixed regardless of PMS system or practice complexity within single-location scope.
Practice Intelligence Brief: Multi-Location / DSO
Everything in Tier 1, applied per location
Cross-location benchmarking and variance analysis
Consolidated enterprise-level valuation architecture
Portfolio-level Phantom EBITDA quantification
Engagements above five locations quoted individually. Multiple determination deferred to representing broker.
Pre-Exit Retainer: Quarterly Forensic Review
Quarterly forensic audits tracking governance compliance
Growth trajectory reporting and EBITDA forecasting
Continuous Phantom EBITDA monitoring
Remediation progress tracking against prior findings
Retainer engages at the point a practice is committed to an exit horizon — not within 90 days of active transaction. Structured to remain off P&L as a consulting engagement.
Transaction Support: Pre-LOI Conversion
Updated forensic analysis with transaction-ready scope
QoE preparation documentation
Sell-side data room support
10 business day turnaround from extraction
Available as standalone for non-retainer clients at $9,500. Turnaround: 10 business days from extraction.
Lane 2 — Data Room Build
Implementation & Optimization Architecture
Twice-weekly working sessions with practice owner and team
30-day sprint cycles with documented progress reporting
Full five-pillar optimization framework
Live operating manual build with SOP documentation and governance
Scoped individually based on practice complexity, department count, and exit horizon. The minimum engagement gets implementation started — not finished. Full data room architecture: 12–24 months.
What the Fee Protects
From a completed Lane 1 engagement.
Multi-specialty Southern California group practice. $12.2M annual production.
| CPA-Reported EBITDA | $2,877,136 |
| Phantom EBITDA Identified | ($620,580) |
| Precision-Sanitized EBITDA | $2,256,556 |
| Enterprise Value — Risk Scenario | $10.6M – $13.0M |
| Enterprise Value — Baseline | $16.8M – $21.8M |
| Enterprise Value — Optimized | $29.7M – $39.7M |
| PDA Engagement Fee (Tier 2) | $5,000 |
| Enterprise Value Protected | $3.7M+ |
The engagement fee represents less than 0.14% of the enterprise value exposure identified. The question is not whether the forensic engagement is worth the fee. The question is whether you want to find these numbers before your buyer does.
Terms
Engagement Terms
Payment
Lane 1 engagements invoiced at execution. Lane 2 engagements invoiced monthly. All payments net-15.
Turnaround
Lane 1 deliverables within 2–4 weeks of extraction. Transaction support within 10 business days. Lane 2 sprint cycles run on 30-day cadence.
Confidentiality
All practice identifiers sanitized per confidentiality protocols. Extracted data purged at engagement close. No data retained on external systems.
Scope Changes
Any scope expansion beyond the original engagement parameters is documented and quoted separately prior to execution.
Disclaimers
PDA engagements provide forensic practice intelligence and operational analysis. PDA does not provide legal, tax, or investment advice. Valuation scenarios are analytical models, not appraisals.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pricing FAQ
Why is pricing structured per engagement rather than hourly?
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PDA engagements are priced against enterprise value impact, not time spent. A forensic brief that surfaces $620,000 in Phantom EBITDA on a 6x practice protects $3.7M in enterprise value. The fee is sized against what we find and what we fix — not how long it takes.
What is the difference between Lane 1 and Lane 2?
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Lane 1 (Forensic Analysis) is the diagnosis — it tells you exactly what a buyer will find. Lane 2 (Data Room Build) is the implementation — it fixes what was found, systematically, in your existing systems. Most practices engage Lane 1 first, then Lane 2 for remediation.
What does the Pre-Exit Retainer include that the one-time analysis does not?
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The retainer provides quarterly forensic reviews tracking governance compliance, growth trajectory, EBITDA forecasting, and continuous Phantom EBITDA monitoring. It is designed for practices with a 3-5 year exit horizon that want ongoing forensic accountability.
Can I start with the Data Room Build without doing a Forensic Analysis first?
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No. Lane 2 trains you for Lane 1. The Data Room Build addresses gaps identified during forensic analysis. Without the diagnosis, the implementation has no target. Most practices complete Lane 1 first, then engage Lane 2 to remediate findings.
The Next Step
Schedule a Briefing
Confidential intake. Responded to within 48 hours.