ProfitMax

What ProfitMax does

ProfitMax (legal entity: Profit Max, LLC) is a privately held, founder-operated tax credit recovery firm registered in Minnesota and founded by Stacey Doege in 2008. The company identifies and recovers overlooked federal and state tax credits on behalf of U.S. small and mid-sized businesses with at least 5 employees and $1M+ in annual gross revenue. Its core service is the identification and documentation of qualifying activities under programs including the R&D Tax Credit (IRC Section 41), Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), Employer Childcare Credit, General Business Credit, Small Business Health Care Credit, Paid Family Leave Credit, and various energy and investment-related credits. ProfitMax positions itself as a specialist that works alongside a client's existing CPA rather than replacing it, with the average claim refund stated at $151K and per-engagement outcomes ranging from $30K to over $350K.

The underlying offering is documentation- and methodology-driven rather than technology-driven: there is no proprietary software platform, and the value chain consists of consultative discovery, eligibility estimation, and guided claim filing. The technology stack is limited to standard digital channels — a Calendly scheduling flow, a corporate website, and organic social accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube — with no APIs, SDKs, integrations, or AI components disclosed. The company maintains a 1-10 employee footprint with all functions effectively founder-led.

The business model is professional services, structured around contingency or success-based fees tied to the value of credits recovered for each engagement, although pricing is not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is consultative inside sales: all engagements begin with a free 15-minute discovery call, qualified on size thresholds, with no self-serve or product-led distribution. Customer acquisition is concentrated in direct phone outreach and digital self-booking, supplemented by a strategic referral alliance with Lifetime Navigators, LLC, where founder Stacey Doege serves as an independent contractor Field Consultant.

Name

ProfitMax

Legal name

Profit Max, LLC

Website

https://profitmax.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ProfitMax is a Minnesota-based, founder-operated tax credit recovery firm that identifies and documents overlooked federal and state credits (R&D, WOTC, energy, and others) for U.S. SMBs with 5+ employees and $1M+ revenue, working alongside clients' existing CPAs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tax Credit Consulting

NAICS

Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services (5412), Other Accounting Services (541219)

akta.pro primary industry

Indirect Tax (VAT/GST/Sales & Use) Services (BPAHABAJ)

Keywords

• Tax credit recovery
• R&D tax credits
• Tax credit consulting
• Business tax credits
• Tax strategy services

Headquarters

HQ city

Alexandria

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Tax Credit Recovery Services: ProfitMax appears to earn fees for identifying and recovering overlooked tax credits on behalf of business clients. The service is positioned as strategic tax credit recovery rather than standard tax preparation or compliance. Revenue is derived from professional services tied to the successful identification and filing of tax credit claims, likely structured as a percentage of recovered credits or a fixed fee per engagement.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ProfitMax identifies and recovers overlooked federal, state, and industry-specific tax credits for small and mid-sized U.S. businesses, with a primary focus on R&D tax credits under IRC Section 41. The firm works alongside clients' existing CPAs and accountants, providing documentation and strategic guidance to file or amend returns for credits such as Work Opportunity, Employer Childcare, General Business, Small Business Health Care, Paid Family Leave, energy, and investment-related credits. Engagements begin with a free 15-minute discovery call, followed by a consultative process to estimate and claim eligible credits.

Product overview

ProfitMax is a tax credit recovery service that operates as a single unified offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core service is a Tax Credit Recovery Service that includes a free Tax Credit Discovery Call as the entry point. This is complemented by specialized services for specific credit types including R&D Tax Credit (IRC Section 41), Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), Employer Childcare Credit, General Business Credit, Small Business Health Care Credit, Paid Family Leave Credit, Energy Business Tax Credits, Clean Energy Tax Credits, and Investment/International Tax Credits. The company works alongside existing CPAs and accountants rather than replacing them, providing documentation and strategic guidance for filing or amending returns.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tax Credit Recovery Service Strategic identification and recovery of overlooked federal, state, and industry-specific tax credits for U.S. businesses with 5+ employees and $1M+ annual gross revenue. Delivered as a consultative engagement alongside the client's existing CPA.
• R&D Tax Credit (IRC Section 41) Identification and claiming of Research & Development tax credits for businesses that improve processes, solve problems, test new ideas, develop software, prototype, or otherwise make operations more efficient. Refunds typically represent 5%–15% of qualifying wages with no IRS cap.
• Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) — IRC Section 51

Quantifiable outcome

• Average refund of $151K per claim
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Lifetime Navigators, LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfit Max, LLC maintains a strategic alliance with Lifetime Navigators, LLC, a Wisconsin-based marketing and consulting firm. Lifetime Navigators offers products and services to business owners and high net-worth individuals through a nationwide network of independent contractor Field Consultants. Stacey Doege operates as an independent contractor Field Consultant for Lifetime Navigators, LLC, and refers clients to Lifetime Navigators for compensation. Despite this compensation relationship, Profit Max, LLC is legally separate from and not affiliated with Lifetime Navigators, LLC. Neither entity offers tax, legal, or investment advice.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• BDO USA: BDO USA is a top-five US accounting firm with a dedicated R&D Tax Credit practice serving SMB and middle-market clients. It is a broad incumbent peer because it competes for the same R&D and general business credit work ProfitMax sells, but as part of a much larger portfolio of audit, tax, and advisory services.
• Cherry Bekaert: Cherry Bekaert is a top-30 US accounting firm with an active R&D Tax Credit and Credits & Incentives practice serving SMB and middle-market clients. It is a broad incumbent peer because it offers the same Section 41 R&D credit identification and documentation services ProfitMax sells, alongside its broader assurance and tax practice.
• Withum: Withum is a top-100 US accounting and advisory firm with a dedicated R&D Tax Credit and Credits & Incentives advisory serving SMB and mid-market clients. It is a broad incumbent peer because its dedicated credit practice competes directly with ProfitMax's R&D and multi-credit offering for the same 5+ employee / $1M+ revenue SMB segment.
• Marcum LLP: Marcum LLP is a top-10 US accounting and advisory firm with a specialty R&D tax credit practice aimed at SMBs and middle-market companies. It is a broad incumbent peer because its R&D credit service competes with ProfitMax for the same documentation-driven SMB engagements, albeit from inside a much larger full-service firm.

Direct peers

• KBKG: KBKG is one of the largest US specialty tax firms focused on R&D tax credits, cost segregation, and other federal credits for SMBs and mid-market businesses. It is a direct peer because it sells the same credit-identification and documentation services, targeting the same operational-complexity SMBs, with a comparable fee structure.
• Tri-Merit: Tri-Merit is a specialty tax credit firm focused on R&D, WOTC, and other federal incentives for SMBs. It is a direct peer because it competes for the same credit-recovery engagements using a similar consultative, documentation-led approach with comparable average claim sizes.
• Engineered Tax Services: Engineered Tax Services is a US tax credit advisory specializing in R&D, cost segregation, energy, and Section 174 services for SMBs. It is a direct peer because it sells an overlapping credit-recovery portfolio to the same 5+ employee / $1M+ revenue SMB segment and emphasizes IRS-defensible documentation.
• Swanson Reed: Swanson Reed is a specialist R&D tax credit firm serving US SMBs and mid-market companies. It is a direct peer because its core offering — identifying qualifying Section 41 activities and producing audit-ready documentation for SMB clients — mirrors ProfitMax's flagship R&D credit service almost exactly.
• Alliant Group: Alliant Group is a large US tax credit and incentives advisory focused on R&D, WOTC, energy, and other federal credits for SMB and mid-market clients. It is a direct peer because it competes head-to-head with ProfitMax for the same operational-complexity SMB buyer using the same credit-stacking playbook.

Emerging players

• Boast.ai: Boast.ai is a tech-enabled R&D tax credit platform that automates identification of qualifying activities and streamlines documentation for SMB and mid-market engineering teams. It is an emerging peer because it targets the same R&D credit opportunity ProfitMax sells, but approaches it with a software-first model rather than a purely consultative one.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ProfitMaxCo
• Facebookfacebook.com/ProfitMaxCo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/profitmax

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ProfitMax