Reasonable-compensation workflow + reporting
One RC workflow. Less manual work. Faster reports.
HearthRC Defense brings guided client intake, wage research, Cost/Market/Income analysis, reconciliation, firm-branded reporting, and supporting documentation into one connected platform—so your team can move from client question to finished work without rebuilding the process every time.
- Guided client intake
- Less client chasing and manual fact gathering.
- Analysis in one workflow
- Cost, Market, and Income stay connected to the engagement.
- Report + supporting file
- Finish the deliverable without disconnecting the work behind it.
The work around the report
The final report is only one part of the job.
A reasonable-compensation engagement can require client fact gathering, wage research, business context, multiple analytical views, reconciliation, report preparation, and supporting documentation. When those steps live across separate tools and one-off processes, even a familiar engagement can consume more firm time than it should.
The number isn't the only thing your firm is producing. You're producing the entire process behind it.
Why HearthRC Defense is different
Hearth puts the entire RC workflow in one place for you.
HearthRC Defense is built to reduce the work surrounding a reasonable-compensation report. Instead of stitching together intake, research, analysis, reporting, and documentation across separate processes, your team can move through the engagement inside one connected platform.
Let the client provide the facts.
Less chasing. Less manual intake.Send the shareholder through a guided interview for duties, hours, responsibilities, proficiency, time allocation, and other engagement facts. Hearth keeps the answers structured around the client.
Keep the work connected.
Less switching between tools and files.Client information, wage research, analytical views, report activity, and supporting documentation stay connected to the same engagement.
Move through the analysis faster.
Cost, Market, and Income in the same workflow.Access the different analytical views without rebuilding the client context each time, then review how the evidence comes together in the final position.
Reuse the process.
The next RC engagement doesn't have to start from a blank page.Hearth gives the firm a defined workflow for screening, gathering, analyzing, documenting, and delivering reasonable-compensation work.
More than a point solution
A point solution can solve one part of the job. HearthRC Defense is built around the workflow connecting them.
Different tools can solve individual pieces of reasonable-compensation work. HearthRC Defense is designed to connect the pieces.
| Capability | Wage / benchmark tool | Standalone report tool | HearthRC Defense |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial compensation context | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Guided client fact gathering | — | Varies | ✓ |
| Multiple analytical views | — | Varies | ✓ |
| Firm-ready RC report | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Supporting documentation workflow | — | Limited / varies | ✓ |
| Client-level workflow | — | Varies | ✓ |
| Adjacent wage / planning tools | Limited | Varies | ✓ |
Feature scope varies by provider. This comparison reflects common category patterns and should be maintained against current vendor capabilities.
One connected workflow
You bring the client. Hearth helps move the work forward.
From the first compensation screen through the finished report and supporting file, HearthRC Defense keeps each step connected and handles much of the process around the firm’s professional judgment.
Get useful context without starting from scratch.
Select the client and review the situation.
Brings the client record, wage benchmark, and relevant context into one place so the team can quickly understand where deeper reasonable-compensation work may be warranted.
Let Hearth organize the facts the analysis needs.
Initiates the engagement and reviews the client-specific facts.
Guides the shareholder through structured intake, keeps duties, hours, responsibilities, proficiency, and business facts connected to the engagement, and carries those inputs into the analytical workflow.
Move from analysis to finished work without rebuilding the file.
Reviews the evidence, applies professional judgment, and owns the client relationship.
Keeps Cost, Market, and Income views accessible, brings the evidence into reconciliation, produces the firm-branded report, and maintains the supporting documentation around the engagement.
See HearthRC Defense in action
See the workflow your team won't have to build.
Follow one client through HearthRC Defense—from the client record and wage benchmark through guided intake, analysis, reconciliation, the finished report, and supporting file. See how the pieces stay connected before you use it on a real engagement.
CLIENT→SCREEN→INTAKE→ANALYZE→REPORT→FILE
Follow the client, not a slideshow.
The full tour uses the actual HearthRC Defense product screens and explains two things at every step: what Hearth is doing, and what work that simplifies for the firm.
The finished work
A client-ready report in front. The supporting record behind it.
The client sees a professional firm-first RC report. Your team keeps the facts, analysis, documentation status, and supporting record connected to the same engagement.
Sample Report
See the final RC report your firm can deliver.
Hearth brings the client facts, analytical views, reconciliation, and final reasonable-compensation position together in a polished work product designed to stay behind the accounting firm's client relationship.
$63,977
Estimated annual reasonable compensation
Defense File
Keep the supporting record with the engagement.
The Defense File keeps client facts, documentation status, supporting factors, and open gaps visible around the completed analysis—so the finished report does not become an isolated PDF with the reasoning scattered somewhere else.
More than the report
More of the RC workflow, without more tools to manage.
HearthRC Defense keeps the client record, benchmark, guided intake, analytical views, report, Defense File, wage research, and planning tools inside one connected environment—so the value extends well beyond the PDF your firm delivers.
Keep RC work connected to the client.
See clients and reasonable-compensation activity from the same firm environment. The workflow has a defined place instead of depending on separate files or individual memory.
Less hunting for where the engagement stands.Built for more than one engagement
One report solves one client. The platform makes the next one easier.
HearthRC Defense keeps reasonable-compensation work organized around the client and the firm—not just the final PDF. As more engagements move through the platform, your team has a consistent place to screen clients, track active work, gather facts, review reports, and return to the supporting record.
ONE CLIENT→CLIENT BOOK→REPEATABLE FIRM CAPABILITY
Return to the client without reconstructing the last engagement.
Benchmarks, interviews, reports, and supporting documentation have a defined place around the client record, giving the firm a clearer place to return when reasonable-compensation work comes up again.
See the work across the firm.
The client roster and dashboard give partners and managers a broader view of RC activity instead of relying only on individual files or memory.
Start the next engagement with a process already in place.
The firm does not have to decide again how to gather facts, organize the analysis, produce the report, and maintain the supporting file.
Keep useful tools around the client relationship.
Wage Lookup, Entity Planner, client screening, and the supporting documentation layer give the firm reasons to return to HearthRC Defense beyond the day a report is produced.
Start with one file. Expand when the workflow earns its place.
Choose the starting point that fits your firm today.
Use HearthRC Defense once for an immediate need, or move directly to annual capacity when you already expect repeat work.
Solve the immediate client need.
One complete HearthRC Defense engagement with no annual commitment.
- Full RC workflow for one paid engagement
- Structured client intake
- Documented analysis + firm-first report
- Defense File
Give the firm annual RC capacity.
Ten annual HearthRC Defense engagements plus the broader screening and workflow layer.
- 10 RC engagements annually
- Client roster + benchmarking workflow
- Defense Files
- Wage Lookup + Entity Planner
Want to look a little closer?
Explore HearthRC Defense at your own pace.
Some firms are ready to start with one client. Others want to see more of the product, inspect the finished work, or understand the methodology first. Use whichever path gives you the confidence you need.
Follow the workflow from client record and benchmark through intake, analysis, report, and supporting documentation.
Explore the Demo →Inspect the report your firm can put in front of a client and see how the analytical work comes together in the final deliverable.
Review Sample Report →Go deeper on Hearth’s Cost, Market, and Income framework, reconciliation, comparables, documentation approach, and professional boundaries.
Read the Methodology →Ready when you are
Start with one real engagement.
Start with one client. If Hearth earns a place in your firm, upgrade within 60 days and apply the full $449 toward Firm.