Bring us the business problem. Keep the client relationship.
Help your clients find practical opportunities for growth, margin improvement and stronger operations. BTI provides the technology discovery, implementation and support behind an agreed business outcome.
For accountants, fractional CFOs, business transformation consultants, exit-planning advisors and other trusted professionals.
Secure, support and measure the improvement.
At a glance
- Growing revenue, flat margin The client may be adding manual work with each new customer.
- Too much owner involvement Routine decisions and operational knowledge may depend on one person.
- Fragmented technology expense Several providers and subscriptions may overlap while internal staff perform the coordination.
You do not need to know whether AI is the answer.
An advisor can recognize an expensive process, a growth constraint or a key-person dependency long before the client is ready to buy technology. That is the right time to discuss the operating problem.
BTI can help determine whether the answer is AI, conventional automation, an integration, a technology-management change or a simpler process. The advisor contributes business context; BTI contributes technical and operational analysis.
Start with the issue in plain language. Margins are not improving as revenue grows. Administrative work keeps requiring more people. Customer-service expense is rising. The owner is preparing for a sale. We can evaluate the situation before anyone writes an AI specification.
Recognize the situations worth discussing.
Growing revenue, flat margin
The client may be adding manual work with each new customer. Examine the cost and handoffs behind the additional volume.
Too much owner involvement
Routine decisions and operational knowledge may depend on one person. Capture the process and identify what can become repeatable.
Fragmented technology expense
Several providers and subscriptions may overlap while internal staff perform the coordination. Review spend and responsibility together.
Unfocused AI spending
Teams may have tools but no defined operating outcome. Establish the business use case and the conditions for a useful implementation.
Preparing for a transaction
The business may need clearer cost, ownership, documentation and evidence of sustained operating improvements.
Control concerns
A client may want to use AI but need an approved information, authority and support model before expanding access.
Begin with a confidential, limited discussion.
A preliminary conversation can use an anonymized description of the business, process, systems and intended result. Share only what you are authorized to disclose and what is necessary to frame the opportunity.
BTI does not need to contact the client to begin that discussion. Agree when an introduction is appropriate, who should participate and what confidentiality arrangements are required before sensitive information is exchanged.
The objective is to help the advisor make a useful recommendation. A conversation should not turn into an unsolicited sales handoff.
A straightforward advisor-to-client process.
- 1
Discuss
Describe the operating issue at an appropriate level.
- 2
Qualify
Decide whether analysis could create useful value.
- 3
Authorize
Agree the client introduction and information boundaries.
- 4
Scope
Define business objectives, roles, costs and deliverables.
- 5
Deliver
Implement and review results with the agreed participants.
Stay involved where your expertise matters.
A fractional CFO may help establish the financial baseline. An operating consultant may own process redesign and employee adoption. A transaction advisor may set the planning horizon and evidence requirements. BTI can complement those roles.
Agree who leads the client conversation, who approves the business case and how recommendations are presented. Keep professional judgments with the advisor responsible for them.
That creates a stronger team for the client. The advisor does not have to become an implementation company, and the technical project remains connected to the operating reason it was commissioned.
Use a detailed technology review as an entry point.
An accountant or consultant often sees technology expense without a complete view of what the services include. A five-domain review can make that spending understandable to management.
BTI can analyze Managed IT, Cybersecurity, Physical Security, VoIP/Contact Center and Compliance/GRC. The work includes recurring charges, internal labor, usage, contracts, ownership, service gaps and lifecycle requirements.
The output is a practical cost and responsibility baseline with prioritized recommendations. It can support the advisor's broader margin, risk or transformation work whether or not the next step involves custom AI.
Choose the relationship that fits the professional role.
| Relationship | How it works | Required boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Uncompensated introduction | The advisor introduces BTI in the client's interest | Client authorization and confidentiality |
| Permissible referral arrangement | A qualifying, unrestricted partner may receive an agreed fee | Legal, professional, employer and disclosure approval |
| Separate client advisory work | The advisor continues their own defined services | Independent scope and transparent responsibilities |
| Collaborative delivery | Each party performs an agreed part of the project | Clear deliverables, authority, data access and commercial terms |
Referral compensation is subject to professional eligibility.
BTI can discuss documented referral arrangements where they are permitted. We do not offer a universal paid-referral promise to every accountant, consultant or professional advisor.
Rules depend on the professional role and engagement. For example, the California Board of Accountancy states that its licensees may not accept a fee solely for referring a client to a third party. Disclosure alone does not remove that restriction. Source: California Board of Accountancy: commissions and contingent fees
For restricted professionals, a noncompensated introduction remains available. Any separate paid advisory or delivery work must be genuine, properly scoped and independently permissible, not a renamed referral payment. Have qualified counsel and the advisor's professional leadership approve the arrangement before compensation is offered.
Discuss performance partnerships when the value is measurable.
Some client opportunities may support an outcome-based arrangement. BTI may consider sharing implementation risk in exchange for verified savings or incremental margin.
The advisor can help identify whether the client has a reliable baseline, a meaningful opportunity and the ability to implement the required changes. The commercial structure follows that analysis.
Referral compensation, client professional fees and any performance agreement are separate decisions. Each needs its own eligibility, disclosure and contractual treatment. The client should understand the relationships influencing the recommendation.
Support owners preparing for growth or a sale.
A client may want stronger operating margins, more transferable knowledge or better documentation before succession or a transaction. BTI can help identify technology and process changes that can be implemented and observed within the available time.
Keep the evidence practical: the original problem, the operating change, the recurring cost and the measured result. Your finance and transaction specialists determine how the information is used in their respective work.
The same discipline helps clients who are not selling. A better-controlled, more scalable process is useful to the business regardless of its ownership plans.
Speak with a BTI partnership advisor before bringing us the client.
A BTI partnership advisor takes the initial conversation. Describe the business situation, the result the client needs and the role you want to retain.
The next step may be a technical feasibility discussion, a jointly framed discovery scope or a client introduction. No detailed financial records or confidential identities are needed in the first inquiry.
What business leaders ask.
Will BTI contact my client without permission?
No. Client contact should occur only after the introduction and authorization have been agreed.
Can a CPA receive a referral fee?
Not universally. Professional restrictions vary, and California licensees are prohibited from accepting a fee solely for a third-party referral. Eligibility must be reviewed before any arrangement.
Can I stay involved with the project?
Yes. Define your role, deliverables and client authorization alongside BTI's scope.
Do I need technical details to start?
No. A clear business problem and the intended result are enough for a preliminary conversation.
Is a paid referral required to participate?
No. Noncompensated introductions and properly scoped professional collaboration are available.
Explore the related decisions.
Published resources and references
Get matched with a partnership advisor who knows your use case
Tell us about the client situation and what you want AI to accomplish, and we'll connect you with a BTI partnership advisor experienced in your industry and use case to discuss the opportunity and a practical next step.