Flat-fee budget planning for dentists starting, relocating, or building a practice. I don't sell equipment, construction, or loans — I build the one document your lender, contractor, and equipment rep all have to answer to.
Every dental office project comes with "free" help. None of it is free — it's priced into the equipment order, the loan, or the lease. That doesn't make those people dishonest. It makes them salespeople.
| Who | What they offer | How they're paid | Whose side? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equipment dealer design team | "Free" office design | Margin on the equipment order | The sale's |
| Lender project manager | "Free" project coordination | Interest on a bigger loan | The bank's |
| Tenant-rep broker | "Free" site search | Landlord-paid commission at signing | The closing's |
| Design-build firm | Bundled plan + construction | Profit on the build they scope | The build's |
| Alithos Advisory | The independent budget plan | Flat fee, paid by you alone | Yours |
FOR THE RECORD — IN 2019 THE FTC ISSUED A FINAL ORDER AGAINST TWO OF THE INDUSTRY'S LARGEST DISTRIBUTORS FOR CONSPIRING TO DENY DISCOUNTS TO DENTAL BUYING GROUPS. INDEPENDENCE ISN'T A SLOGAN; IT'S A BUSINESS MODEL.
You're 2–10 years out of school and ready to own. Before you tour a showroom or sign a letter of intent, you need one honest number: what this project actually costs — and whether the cash flow carries it.
How to open a dental practice →Your lease is up in 12–24 months, or the space stopped fitting years ago. Your office is your second-biggest expense — and you get one chance every 5–10 years to fix it.
Relocating a dental practice →Land, shell, finish-out, equipment, contingency — the biggest check a dentist ever writes. Every vendor at the table profits when it gets bigger. I don't.
Building a dental office ground-up →A live planning estimate from the same model behind every Budget Plan. Move the sliders — watch what op count and finish level do to the loan your practice has to carry.
PLANNING MATH, NOT A QUOTE — 15-YR AMORTIZATION AT 8.25%, VERIFIED INDUSTRY COST RANGES, 1.25× LENDER COVERAGE STANDARD. YOUR BUDGET PLAN RUNS THIS AGAINST YOUR PRODUCTION DATA.
Total project cost — build-out, equipment and imaging, cabinetry, IT and furnishings, soft costs, and working capital — by operatory count, project path and finish level.
| Size | Lease / TI · standard | Lease / TI · premium + CBCT | Ground-up · standard | Ground-up · premium + CBCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 operatories 1,500 sq ft | $604K–$668K | $803K–$888K | $900K–$995K | $1,151K–$1,272K |
| 4 operatories 2,000 sq ft | $746K–$824K | $989K–$1,093K | $1,140K–$1,260K | $1,452K–$1,605K |
| 5 operatories 2,500 sq ft | $887K–$980K | $1,174K–$1,298K | $1,379K–$1,525K | $1,754K–$1,938K |
| 6 operatories 2,700 sq ft | $969K–$1,071K | $1,283K–$1,418K | $1,501K–$1,659K | $1,909K–$2,110K |
| 7 operatories 3,150 sq ft | $1,100K–$1,216K | $1,456K–$1,609K | $1,721K–$1,902K | $2,186K–$2,416K |
| 8 operatories 3,400 sq ft | $1,192K–$1,318K | $1,578K–$1,744K | $1,862K–$2,058K | $2,366K–$2,615K |
| 9 operatories 3,825 sq ft | $1,319K–$1,458K | $1,744K–$1,927K | $2,073K–$2,291K | $2,630K–$2,907K |
| 10 operatories 4,250 sq ft | $1,445K–$1,598K | $1,910K–$2,111K | $2,283K–$2,523K | $2,895K–$3,200K |
Methodology. Space at 500 sq ft per operatory (450 for 6–7 ops, 425 for 8+). Construction at $170–$220/sq ft for lease finish-out and $340–$420/sq ft for ground-up. Equipment at $42,000–$58,000 per operatory; imaging $60,000 (sensors + pano) or $130,000 (with CBCT). Cabinetry 10% and soft costs 12% of construction, IT and furnishings $45,000 + $3,000 per op, $85,000 working capital. Ranges are ±5%. Planning assumptions checked against published industry ranges, not a quote — your market, site and scope move these numbers. Land is not included for ground-up builds.
Full dataset and methodology (with CSV download) → · Free calculators →
Most firms make you book a sales call to learn what they charge. Here's mine, up front. Flat fee, scope in writing, no commissions behind any line of it.
What you want to produce, how you want to practice, what the office must do for your life — before a single square foot is drawn.
DELIVERABLE — VISION & GOALS BRIEFThe Trust & Verify questionnaire: production, new-patient flow, schedule pressure, lease status. Existing practices bring six months of real numbers; startups model from verified benchmarks.
DELIVERABLE — BASELINE DATA FILEOperatory count and square footage from production math, not showroom enthusiasm. Then a line-item equipment budget priced against verified industry ranges — not one dealer's quote.
DELIVERABLE — SPACE PROGRAM + EQUIPMENT BUDGETBuild, lease, or condo — side by side: shell and finish-out, cabinetry allowances, contingencies, soft costs. You see what each path costs before anyone shows you a rendering.
DELIVERABLE — BUILD VS. LEASE VS. CONDO MODELThe stress test: debt-service coverage against the 1.25× standard, Section 179 and tax math, the production increase the new facility demands — and an honest conversation if the numbers say wait, shrink, or restructure.
DELIVERABLE — DSCR & TAX ANALYSISEverything bound into one document your bank underwrites from, your contractor bids against, and your equipment rep quotes against — plus a working session so you can defend every number in any room.
DELIVERABLE — THE BUDGET PLANSix tools from Dan's playbook in one app for iPhone and Android. Model the project, check every quote, compare leases, track the build, and stay bankable after opening day.
Waitlist members get the prototype preview today, early beta invites on iPhone and Android, and a direct line to tell us what to build.
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Early prototype · screens use illustrative sample data · swipe or use the arrows
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Prototype screens show illustrative sample data. Features and timing may change before launch.
DAN ELLYSON — FOUNDER
I've spent my career inside dental office projects — space and equipment budgets, financing, real estate — watching the same story repeat: a smart clinician surrounded by helpful people, every one of whom earns more when the project gets bigger.
The dealers aren't villains. The good ones genuinely like my clients — a doctor with a verified budget closes faster, changes orders less, and pays on time. But none of them can be your advocate, because none of them are paid to be.
So I built what I kept wishing my clients had: a flat-fee plan from someone with no line on the invoice. The model behind it — I call it Trust and Verify — turns your production, your market, and your debt capacity into one number you can defend in any room. A true line doesn't flatter and doesn't negotiate. It just shows you what's really there. That's the job.
Not a range with a shrug — a line-item walk through space, equipment, imaging, working capital, and the categories that quietly double.
Read →The three-path model I run for every client — and the debt-service math that decides it, whatever the renderings look like.
Read →Dealer design teams do real work — and recover every hour of it in the equipment order that follows. How to use free design safely.
Read →Dealer design is paid for by the equipment order that follows it. It can be good work — but nobody whose paycheck depends on a bigger order will tell you to build smaller. I will, when the numbers say so.
Before you sign anything — the letter of intent, the equipment order, the loan application. The plan is worth the most when nothing is committed yet. Already signed a lease? A plan can still catch the next six figures of decisions.
Most Budget Plans complete in 3–5 weeks from kickoff, depending on how quickly we can gather your production and financial data.
The package maps directly to what dental lenders underwrite: total project cost, cash-flow analysis, and debt-service coverage against the 1.25× standard. Lenders prefer prepared borrowers — that's the point.
No — in either direction, ever. Referrals flow in because prepared clients are good business for everyone at the table. Not one dollar flows back. If anyone ever offers, you'll hear about it from me first, with the word "no" attached.
A Project Fit Call is a working conversation, not a sales call. Bring your timeline and your questions — leave with a straight answer.
One question or ten. Dan replies personally within one business day.
Dan replies personally within one business day. Want to talk it through sooner?
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