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Upstate South Carolina

Proactive tax planning and business advisory for Upstate business owners.

Planning before the decisions are locked in — what you’ll owe and how to keep more of what the business earns, what the numbers are saying, and how to prepare for a sale or a family transition. Tax preparation, bookkeeping, and fractional CFO support sit underneath.

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Brian Lusco, founder of Upstate Business Advisors
Brian Lusco, AIF®Founder
Seventeen yearsworking with business owners
Two Upstate officesSimpsonville and Spartanburg
One advisoron every engagement, scope in writing first
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The questions owners bring to us.

Most conversations begin with one of these. Each one is a planning question before it is a filing question.

Tax planning

“Am I paying more tax than I need to?”

Tax is shaped by decisions made during the year: entity structure, compensation, timing of purchases, retirement contributions. We work through them before December 31 rather than report on them in April.

Proactive tax planning Keeping more

“The business is doing well. Why doesn’t it feel that way?”

Reliable numbers, a plan for what you will owe, and a clear view of where cash goes. The aim is that more of what the business earns stays with you, within the rules.

Understand the numbers Selling

“I may sell in the next few years. What should I do now?”

Buyers and their advisors read the books closely. Preparation starts with the financials, the entity, and the tax consequences of a sale, well before a buyer is in the room.

Preparing for a sale Family succession

“I want to pass this to my family. How does that work financially?”

The financial and tax side of a transition to the next generation: valuation, timing, and how ownership and income change hands. We coordinate with your attorney on the legal structure.

Family transition
Services

Which kind of help fits your situation?

Proactive tax planning and advisory lead the work. Tax preparation, bookkeeping, and fractional CFO support keep the numbers reliable underneath it.

Tax planning & preparation

The planning conversation that most owners never get.

Planning during the year on structure, compensation, timing, and the decisions that set what you owe; business and individual returns prepared and filed; projections so year-end is not a surprise.

Tax planning

Bookkeeping & financial reporting

You don’t trust the numbers you’re getting.

Reconciled accounts, a reliable monthly close, and statements you can run the business on or hand to a banker. Cleanup of past periods is scoped separately when needed.

Bookkeeping

Fractional CFO

The business has outgrown your finance instincts.

Ongoing financial leadership for a business that has outgrown owner instinct: reporting you can act on, cash visibility, and decision support on margins, hiring, and growth. Scoped in writing; not a full-time hire.

Fractional CFO

Buying, selling & succession

You’re looking at a deal, or thinking about your exit.

Diligence on an acquisition before the price is locked; preparation for a sale so the books hold up under review; planning for a family or management transition. We coordinate with your attorney, broker, and lender.

Transactions

Scope, deliverables, timing, and fees are set out in writing before work begins. All services.

Who you’ll work with

Meet Brian Lusco.

Founder · Accredited Investment Fiduciary®

Brian is the advisor on every engagement — the first conversation, the working sessions, and the decisions. He founded the firm so that owners have one place to bring the questions that usually get split between an accountant, a banker, and a planner.

  • BackgroundTax planning and preparation, fractional CFO work, acquisitions, sales, and succession planning for privately-held businesses; the past eight years in the Upstate.
  • CredentialsAccredited Investment Fiduciary® (Fi360).
  • How he worksScope, deliverables, and fees agreed in writing before work starts. Coordinates with your existing accountant, banker, attorney, or wealth advisor rather than replacing them.
More about Brian
What the work looks like

Advice that points to a decision.

Illustrative example — fictional figures, not client results

One example of what advisory work produces: a cash view and a plain-language note on what to decide this month. The company and figures are invented to show the format; what any engagement includes is set out in writing before work begins. Fractional CFO

The scenario: a 14-person commercial HVAC service and install contractor with one large installation in progress.

13-week cash forecast

Fictional · $ thousands · prepared at week 0
  • Opening cash$142k
  • Low point$73kweek 7
  • Cushion at low point$13kabove minimum
Projected closing cash by week, 13 weeks, fictional example Closing cash starts at $145k in week 1, falls to a low of $73k in week 7, recovers to $104k when a progress billing clears in week 8, and ends at $140k in week 13. A dashed line marks the $60k minimum cash the owner wants to hold; the week 7 low stays $13k above it. $0k $40k $80k $120k $160k $60k Week 1: closing cash $145k W1 $145k Week 2: closing cash $141k W2 Week 3: closing cash $150k W3 Week 4: closing cash $141k W4 Week 5: closing cash $133k W5 Week 6: closing cash $111k W6 Week 7: closing cash $73k W7 $73k Week 8: closing cash $104k W8 Week 9: closing cash $109k W9 Week 10: closing cash $113k W10 Week 11: closing cash $120k W11 Week 12: closing cash $134k W12 Week 13: closing cash $140k W13 $140k
  • Week 1 closing cash$145k
  • Week 7 low point, $13k above the $60k minimum$73k
  • Week 8, after the progress billing clears$104k
  • Week 13 closing cash$140k

Projected closing cashLow week$60k minimum the owner wants to hold

What to decide this month: cash dips to $73k in week 7, when the quarterly estimated tax payment and two truck payments land before the installation’s progress billing clears in week 8. On this forecast the business stays $13k above the $60k minimum without borrowing. The cushion is thin, so the question to settle now is the downside: if $20k of week 7 receipts slipped a week, closing cash would fall to $53k, under the minimum, before recovering to $104k in week 8. Options are to invoice the milestone a week earlier or to have a short draw on the line of credit arranged as a contingency, rather than find out in week 7.

Hypothetical, not in the chart: week 7 receipts $26k instead of $46k → week 7 closing $53k; week 8 receipts $108k → week 8 closing $104k, as forecast.

View the figures as a table
WeekOpeningReceiptsPaymentsClosing
Week 11426158145
Week 21455862141
Week 31416455150
Week 41505766141
Week 51415260133
Week 61334971111
Week 7111468473
Week 8738857104
Week 91046661109
Week 101096359113
Week 111137063120
Week 121207460134
Week 131347266140
13 weeks142820822140
Getting started

How we get started.

Three steps from first contact to work underway.

  1. You send a short message.

    Through the contact form, by email, or by calling an office. Say what you’re working through; a few sentences is enough. Our office team follows up to arrange a conversation with Brian.

  2. We talk through where things stand.

    In person at either office, by phone, or by video. The conversation covers your situation, what would help, and whether we’re the right fit. If we’re not, Brian says so and suggests who might be.

  3. Scope and fees are agreed in writing.

    If there’s a fit, you receive an engagement letter that sets out what’s included, what we need from you, timing, and the fee. Work starts once it’s signed.

Questions

Before you reach out.

Four things owners usually want to know first. More answers.

Is the firm a fit for my business?

We work with privately-held businesses in Upstate South Carolina, led by owners who are still in the business, on proactive tax planning, the financial side of selling or passing on a business, and the bookkeeping, reporting, and fractional CFO support underneath. The first conversation is where we decide that together.

How are fees set?

Every engagement is scoped first and quoted in writing before any work begins. The fee reflects the work involved, and it is confirmed up front, not discovered on the invoice.

Can I keep my current accountant or bookkeeper?

Yes. Many clients keep an existing accountant or bookkeeper for part of the work. We coordinate directly with them, and with your banker, attorney, or wealth advisor where relevant.

Where can we meet?

By appointment at the Simpsonville or Spartanburg office, or by phone or video. Brian works from both offices.

Offices

Two Upstate offices, by appointment.

Simpsonville

674 Fairview Rd, Suite B, Simpsonville, SC 29680 · 864-757-9764

Office details

Spartanburg

115 Southport Rd, Suite K, Spartanburg, SC 29306 · 864-913-1286

Office details

Monday to Friday, by appointment. Phone and video meetings are also available.

Next step

Bring the question you’ve been turning over.

Send a short message and our office team will follow up to arrange a conversation with Brian. If this isn’t the right firm for your situation, he’ll say so and point you toward someone who is.

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