The most useful hour before meeting a CPA is the one you spend turning up with your numbers already assembled. These two tools do that part, they cost nothing, and neither replaces the conversation.
Empower Retirement Planner
Projects whether your savings will last through retirement, and shows how changes — retiring earlier, saving more, a different withdrawal rate — move that answer.
Who it suits: Anyone within roughly ten years of retiring who wants a number before talking to a professional.
The value is arriving at a CPA with a specific question rather than a vague one. "Can I retire at 64?" is hard to answer cold. "Here is my projection, it says 64 works if I draw 4% — what does that do to my tax bill, and should I be converting anything to a Roth first?" is a conversation a CPA can actually price and act on.
Empower Budgeting & Net Worth Tracker
Connects your accounts in one place and tracks spending, cash flow, and net worth over time.
Who it suits: Anyone whose financial picture is spread across several banks and brokerages, or who arrives at tax time unsure what the year actually looked like.
Most useful if you are self-employed or have income from more than one place. A year of categorised spending is the difference between a CPA reconstructing your finances at their hourly rate and simply filing your return.
What these tools can't do
A projection is arithmetic on assumptions you supply. Change the assumed return, the inflation rate, or your retirement date and the answer moves — which is exactly why the output is a starting point for a conversation rather than a decision.
- They don't do tax strategy. Which account to draw from first, whether a Roth conversion makes sense, how a sale lands across two tax years — that is judgment, and it is what you hire a CPA for.
- They don't know Alabama specifics. State treatment of retirement income, and the filings a business owner owes here, sit outside a general-purpose calculator.
- They can't represent you. If the IRS questions a return, only a CPA, enrolled agent, or attorney can deal with the agency on your behalf — see our guide to the three credentials.
Worth knowing how the free version pays for itself: Empower offers these tools at no charge and sells paid advisory services to some users. You are under no obligation to buy anything, and you can use the tools without ever speaking to them.
We earn a commission if you sign up through these links, at no cost to you. It doesn't change what we recommend — we only list tools that are free to use and useful on their own.
Ready for the conversation part?
Every CPA in this directory holds an active Alabama license, verified against state board records.