Welcome to the ReasonableWage beta

Thank you for testing. ReasonableWage builds a documented, source-traced reasonable-compensation determination for an owner-employee — the workpaper behind the salary you recommend. This page is everything you need to get started; it takes about fifteen minutes to run your first one.

What's under the hood

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), the Employment Cost Index, the U.S. Census Bureau and state labor-market data. Every source file is fingerprinted when it is loaded so its origin can be verified.

What makes ReasonableWage different

• Built from the owner's actual duties, not one job titleThe owner's work is split into the duties they really perform, each priced at the government wage for that occupation, weighted by the hours each one takes and the owner's proficiency — so a CEO who also keeps the books is valued as both, in the right proportion.
• Every figure is traceableEach number in the report names its government series, data vintage, the exact geography used and its published margin of error. A reviewer or examiner can check any figure back to the source.
• A defensible range, not just a numberYou get a floor, a point estimate and a ceiling drawn from the surveys' own statistical error, and the report says which end your engagement defends: the floor for an S corporation, the ceiling for a C corporation.
• County-level pay, everywhereLocal wages for every U.S. county, with any fallback to a wider area disclosed on the report rather than hidden.
• Built-in integrity checksThe engine flags implausible choices — a duty list that does not fit the industry, an occupation that inflates the figure, pay below the floor — and records the practitioner's explanation in the report.
• More than one approachCost and Market approaches side by side, a client questionnaire to capture duties in the owner's own words, a salary optimizer, and court decisions and IRS guidance matched to your client's federal circuit.
• Reports you can stand behindWorkpaper and Summary editions from the same determination, the actual salary compared with the range, and a tamper seal on every locked report that proves it has not changed since it was issued.

Getting started

1. 1
   Invite your team (owners). Settings (top right) → Team. Add each colleague's email and pick a role: Staff prepares work, Reviewer can also lock reports, Read-only views. They get an email invitation.
2. 2
   Run a determination. Approaches → Determine. Pick the purpose (S corporation compliance for most), the state and county (or look the county up by city), the industry code, the owner's weekly hours, and the duties the owner performs with the share of time each takes. Compute, then Save determination.
3. 3
   Compare the salary actually paid. Below the result, enter the owner's W-2 wages for the year. ReasonableWage flags pay below the defensible floor for an S corporation, or above the ceiling for a C corporation.
4. 4
   Open the report. After saving, open the record and its report. Switch between the Workpaper edition (every source and derivation) and the Summary edition (client-ready), then print or save it as a PDF.
5. 5
   Try the other tools. Market compares the role with arm's-length pay in the industry. Interviews sends the client a short questionnaire about their duties and hours. Optimize shows where inside the defensible range the salary lands best for tax. Lookup checks a single occupation's local wage.

What we'd most like you to try

• Run two or three real-world situations you know well, ideally in different states or industries.
• Compare the result with how you set reasonable compensation today, and tell us where it differs and whether the report explains why.
• Read the Summary edition as your client would. Is anything confusing, missing or overstated?

Sending feedback

Use the blue Feedback button at the bottom right of any page. Your message arrives with the page you were on attached. Click Capture screen to take a screenshot and circle or point at the problem before sending, or paste one with Ctrl+V. Big or small, it all helps.

Ground rules

• No sensitive identifiers. Never enter Social Security numbers, EINs, bank or account numbers, or tax returns — the determination does not need them.
• Keep client names minimal. A first name and last initial, or the business name, is plenty.
• Keep client details out of screenshots you send as feedback.
• Your judgment governs. Review every figure before relying on it; this is a beta.

Known rough edges

• The first page after a quiet spell can take a few seconds while the service wakes up.
• Wage data is the May 2025 federal release. Connecticut's city-to-county lookup is incomplete because of its 2022 county changes — pick the county directly there.
• Features will change during the beta, and the report wording is still being refined.

Help

Email support@reasonablewage.us, or use the Feedback button. Forgot your password? Use “Forgot password” on the sign-in page.

Participation is governed by the Beta Agreement.