Cost Segregation Company Ratings Criteria
Many cost segregation companies help property owners claim accelerated depreciation, but not all cost seg companies offer equally good services. Merchant Maverick’s goal is to connect our readers with the most reputable cost segregation companies that focus on IRS compliance while maximizing tax benefits.
- Merchant Maverick has been reviewing cost segregation companies since 2023.
- Each review involves 10-15 hours of initial research, followed by 5-10 hours of research for each review update.
- We update our cost segregation review at least every 12 months, though most reviews are updated twice a year.
While we research and compare many cost segregation companies, the reviews displayed on the site have been handpicked based on metrics like overall reputation and quality. The goal is to provide the most actionable and accurate information to our readers, so while we love to recommend great products, we don’t shy away from pointing out the areas where popular providers fall short.
Our expert writers engage in independent research for each cost segregation company review, evaluating cost, depth of features, and more. When determining the star rating for a vendor, we score the following areas:
- Features
- Fees
- Customer Service
- User Reviews
Each section’s score is weighted differently, with the highest weights on features. The scores for each section are displayed openly in the review and then combined to create a holistic rating for the product out of 5 stars.
Read on for a more minute explanation of how we determine the individual section ratings.
Fees
35% of the total score
The Fees score is broken down into two sections.
- Cost Segregation Study Fees (60% of the total section rating)
- Cost Segregation Feasibility Analysis Fees (40% of the total section rating)
Our expert reviewer evaluates factors including the affordability of cost segregation study fees when compared to other providers and the availability of a free initial cost segregation analysis.
Features
50% of the total score
The Features score is broken into two sections:
- Cost Segregation Services (90% of the total section rating)
- Additional Tax Services (10% of the total section rating)
Our expert reviewer looks at several things when determining the Features score, including nationwide availability, cost segregation resources, tax calculators, in-house engineers, and cost segregation software. While the availability of additional tax credit services is also considered, this has a very low impact on the overall score.
Customer Service
5% of the total score
The Customer Service score is broken down into two sections.
- Personal Support (50% of the total section rating)
- Self-Service (50% of the total section rating)
When scoring customer service, we pay the most attention to the number of support options available (phone, email, in-person, etc.) and the quality of personal support received.
User Reviews
10% of the total score
The Customer Reviews score is comprised of two sections.
- User Feedback (30% of the total section rating)
- Review Site Aggregate (70% of the total section rating)
We scour the internet for user feedback on all the products we review, looking for positive and negative feedback. Merchant Maverick is not a user review platform, so for part of this total rating we rely on aggregate user scores from sites such as TrustPilot, the Better Business Bureau, and more.
