Start with the Cash the Business Keeps
For a smaller rollover, begin with how much launch capital remains after setup and administration fees, then compare what support the provider actually includes. First-year cost = setup + twelve months of recurring fees, unless the provider source says first-year support is included. Three-year cost = setup + thirty-six months of recurring fees, or setup plus years two and three when year one is included. Monthly prices are multiplied by 12 or 36; quarterly prices are multiplied by 4 or 12; annual renewal prices are counted in the years they apply.
The repeatable screen still weighs first-year runway 35%, three-year runway 20%, recurring burden 20%, required ROBS scope 15%, and uncertainty control 10%. Those weights explain how the evidence was organized. They should not be read as a personalized recommendation because quote-only services, employee complexity, valuation defensibility, audit response, correction work, and exit terms cannot be responsibly converted into invented dollars.
Government sources frame the ROBS compliance boundaries; provider-controlled pages checked July 21 and July 24, 2026 establish only provider-specific pricing or service facts[1][2][3][4]. Ties would be broken by lower three-year cost, then alphabetical name. There are no first-year dollar ties in the public recurring cohort.
The Providers with Enough Public Pricing to Compare
The denominator is exactly 14 maintained provider records. The table includes only providers with public setup and recurring administration inputs. First-year-only, quote-only, incomplete, and unverified records stay visible later on the page so missing prices do not disappear from the founder decision.
Read the order as a cost map, not as a universal winner. My Solo 401k Financial has the lowest public first-year cost in this cohort, while broader service needs may point a founder toward a higher published price or a provider that requires a quote[5][6][7][8][9][13][14][17].
What the $30k, $50k, and $75k Examples Show
These percentages show fee drag only: first-year public cost divided by the modeled rollover balance, rounded to one decimal place. A percentage-based burden does not decide suitability because the business still needs working capital, payroll runway, owner reserves, service scope, and compliance controls.
At $30,000, the same fixed setup fee can consume a visibly larger share of the rollover than it does at $75,000. At $50,000, recurring administration begins to matter because the business may still be lean after opening. At $75,000, the founder may have more room to choose a provider for employee administration, valuation, audit response, or exit help instead of chasing the lowest first-year dollar.
What Can Change the Provider Decision
Small balances are more sensitive to work shifted back to the owner. A lower published fee may fit an owner-only startup that can coordinate outside advisors, while a founder hiring employees, buying a franchise, needing valuation support, or preparing for SBA financing may care more about written scope from the provider. The scope summary uses delivered, coordinated, optional, unknown, and excluded exactly as source-specific passages support them. Unknown is not a negative service rating; it is a contract question.
Providers to Quote Before You Decide
Excluded records are not disqualified from real-world consideration. They are excluded from public arithmetic because a missing setup price, missing recurring price, promotional first-year-only price, incomplete kit scope, or unavailable website cannot be converted into a ranked dollar estimate. For a founder with a smaller rollover, that means the next step is a written quote and scope comparison, not an assumption that the provider is better or worse than the public-price cohort.
Update triggers: a provider publishes or removes setup/recurring prices; a promotional price expires; a provider source changes service scope; the IRS or DOL changes ROBS, Form 5500, valuation, fiduciary, or employee-access guidance; a directory record becomes inaccessible; or a provider discloses referral economics.
A Proportionate Next Step
Before choosing a provider, gather the rollover amount, remaining retirement savings outside the business, expected working-capital reserve, hiring timeline, acquisition or franchise deadlines, and whether outside legal, tax, valuation, or lending help is already in place. Then ask each finalist for setup fee, deposit timing, first-year and renewal administration, participant surcharges, valuation, Form 5500, 8955-SSA, employee entry, testing, notices, audit response, correction work, termination, stock redemption, sale support, referral compensation, excluded pass-through costs, and whether each service is delivered, coordinated, optional, unknown, or excluded.
ROBS remains a qualified-plan employer-stock arrangement, not an IRS program or loan. Government sources set duty context; providers define their own commercial packages[1][2][3][4]. Use the public order to narrow conversations, then compare written quotes and service scope against the business plan before treating any provider as the right fit. This article is educational and does not provide legal, tax, investment, fiduciary, or individualized provider advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
These answers summarize the limits of the public comparison and the questions a smaller-balance founder should verify before choosing a provider.
Is there an IRS minimum rollover amount for ROBS?
No source here establishes a special IRS minimum rollover amount. This page models $30,000, $50,000, and $75,000 because fixed setup and administration charges become visibly material at those balances; it does not convert provider silence into eligibility or affordability.[1][2][3]
Which provider is best for a $30,000 rollover?
No universal winner is named. The lowest public-cost record still needs written scope for employees, valuation, audit response, corrections, exit, and business runway.[5][9][14]
Why exclude quote-only providers from the cost order?
Missing public setup or ongoing inputs cannot be replaced with invented averages, even when the provider may be a good fit for complex tax, valuation, acquisition, franchise, or employee needs.[10][11][12][15][16][18]
Can one percentage burden decide suitability?
No. A first-year fee percentage shows runway pressure, not plan quality, employee-administration fit, legal scope, valuation defensibility, correction support, retirement concentration, or whether enough capital remains to operate the business.[1][2][3][4]
What should a small-balance contract request include?
Ask for setup fee, deposit timing, first-year and renewal administration, participant surcharges, valuation, Form 5500, 8955-SSA, employee entry, testing, notices, audit response, correction work, termination, stock redemption, sale support, referral compensation, and excluded pass-through costs.[1][2][3][4]
Sources Behind the Cost and Scope Claims
These are the sources behind the pricing, scope, and compliance-boundary claims in this article. Government sources support duties and boundaries; provider sources support only source-specific pricing or service passages. No source is used to create a review rating, product rating, lead recommendation, or universal winner.
- [1] IRS ROBS compliance project
IRS page last reviewed or updated November 16, 2025; supports ROBS mechanics, determination-letter limits, Form 5500/Form 1120 issues, valuation concerns, promoter-fee concerns, employee-access concerns, and adverse outcomes when arrangements are not operated correctly.
- [2] IRS ROBS examination guidelines
IRS Employee Plans memorandum dated October 1, 2008; supports employer-stock purchase, prohibited-transaction, nondiscrimination, and valuation boundaries.
- [3] DOL fiduciary responsibilities
DOL EBSA guidance on prudence, exclusive benefit, plan-document compliance, reasonable plan expenses, bonding, and provider monitoring.
- [4] DOL Form 5500 reporting
DOL EBSA Form 5500 Series page for annual reporting context.
- [5] Guidant Financial pricing
Checked August 13, 2026: $5,495 setup and $149/month administration.
- [6] Benetrends ROBS/RAPS cost article
Checked August 13, 2026: Rainmaker Plan $4,995 setup and $155/month.
- [7] FranFund pricing
Checked August 13, 2026: $4,995 setup and $165/month TPA fee.
- [8] Pango ROBS and common questions
Checked July 24, 2026: $129/month maintenance; setup conflict disclosed; $4,695 observed setup used.
- [9] My Solo 401k Financial pricing
Checked July 24, 2026: $3,000 setup includes first-year support; $899/year begins after 12 months.
- [10] IRA Financial ROBS 401(k)
Checked July 24, 2026: $3,500 setup and displayed $1,000 first-year promotional price; renewal not verified.
- [11] Tenet Financial Group ROBS funding
Checked July 24, 2026: services described; no exact public setup or ongoing price.
- [12] Business Funding Trust fees
Checked July 24, 2026: no-cost plan administration kit; no exact current public setup fee.
- [13] Accelefund pricing
Checked July 24, 2026: $4,500 setup, $1,000 non-refundable deposit, $99/month administration.
- [14] ROBSPRO fees
Checked July 24, 2026: $4,000 turnkey package and administration from $50/month billed quarterly.
- [15] Aprio ROBS services
Checked July 24, 2026: ROBS services described; no exact public dollar pricing.
- [16] Directed Equity directINVEST
Checked July 24, 2026: directINVEST steps described; no exact public dollar pricing.
- [17] Nexus 401(k) pricing
Checked July 24, 2026: $5,000 setup plus $500/quarter.
- [18] ROBsAdvisor website
Directory record checked July 24, 2026: public website unavailable; current services and pricing remain unverified.