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In addition to a year-end, tax only service, we also offer business owners the option of a year-round service. Small businesses owners have different financial needs that often go beyond ordinary tax preparation to include tax planning, bookkeeping help, financial statement preparation, advice on incorporating, business consulting, etc.

So what does a year-round service give me?

This service is designed for those who want a higher level of help and support throughout the year including handling all of your required tax forms and filings, tax planning help and assistance, unlimited phone calls, accurate financial statements throughout the year (these are typically required by banks for loans, lines of credit, and by outside investors), bank reconciliations, etc. If your in-house bookkeeper handles some of these items already, don't worry, we adjust our price to reflect the work that's already been done in-house.

Another thing to consider is that tax planning can actually SAVE  you money in the long run. How is this possible, you might ask? Tax laws are numerous, ever changing and complex. A single missed deduction can literally cost you thousands of dollars in extra taxes due. And failing to plan in a proactive manner can cost you thousands more.

If you've been "going it alone" for many years, it's impossible to say how much you might have overpaid in taxes due to mistakes, errors and omissions. This is one of the benefits of working with an expert, the peace of mind it brings. 

 

Am I a good candidate for a year-round service?

That depends on a couple of factors. Typically, a year-round service begins to make sense when a business's annual revenues reach $250K or their annual profit hits $125K. Brand new and smaller businesses often select a year-round service if they don't have an experienced bookkeeper on staff, are too busy to really study the bookkeeping details, or their projected growth is such that it makes sense from the start. Also, professional clients, such as those in the medical industry, often select a year-round service from the start because their revenues tend to ramp up quickly compared to other industries.

The reasons business size matters are two-fold. The first reason is obvious; if you don't make enough profit to cover your basic expenses already, there's no sense in adding another expense into the mix. The second reason is that certain tax planning recommendations we make require a certain minimum level of profit. For example, if we recommend you put $10K into a retirement account, and you have no profit available, that advice won't help you.

Since we're looking to establish long-term relationships, it's important we both have a good fit from the start. That's why we explain some general guidelines we've observed over the years above. Hopefully, it will help with your decision making process, whether that means working with us in the future, or staying where you're at.

 

Our small business clients usually receive the following services:

  • Reviewing and correcting their books each month or quarter
  • Bank reconciliations
  • Generating accurate financials
  • Unlimited phone consultations
  • Year-end income tax projections & planning

Optional Services include:

  • Payroll
  • Sales Tax Returns
  • Business Purchase/Sale Advice
  • Succession planning
  • Audit representation

These tasks, properly done at regular intervals, will allow you to feel much more in control over your business. It will allow you to keep track or your income, expenses, changes in profit, cash flow needs and projected income and tax liability throughout the year... no more April 15th "surprises" with a big payment due.

 

Cost:

The cost varies depending on your particular needs and the amont of work required but typically starts at $750/quarter.

If this service is of interest, please call us to set up an appointment. We'll discuss your situation in depth and work up an exact price quote for you at no charge. Assuming your business meets the revenue targets shown above, we can usually come up with a custom solution that meets your needs and budget.

 

Payroll Services:

If you have the need, we also offer state-of-the-art, fully electronic payroll processing including paychecks, payroll tax deposits and payroll returns using the same technology platform as the largest payroll services.

 

Additional Ways You Benefit by Keeping Accurate Records: 

Bank Reconciliations

Whether you do it in-house or have us do it for you, reconciling your checking account each month will help you to:

  • Identify missing checks and deposits.
  • Detect mistakes with bank charges issued in error.
  • Detect mistakes with regular transactions including checks and deposits cleared for the wrong amounts due to illegible numbers or computer posting errors.
  • Detect fraud including unusual disbursements not authorized by you.
  • Keep better track of your business's bottom line, true cash position. If you don't account for outstanding checks and deposits, looking at the current bank balance only can be thousands of dollars off from actual. For this reason, only monitoring your cash balance is a poor indicator (at best) of determining profitability.
  • Increase your peace of mind by knowing your books have been reviewed by a competent professional and all is in order.
 
Income Statements

An income statement, otherwise known as a profit and loss statement, basically adds an itemized list of all your revenues and subtracts an itemized list of all your expenses to come up with a profit or loss for the period.

An income statement allows you to...

  • Track revenues and expenses so that you can determine the operating performance of your business.
  • Determine what areas of your business are over-budget or under-budget.
  • Identify specific items that are causing unexpected expenditures. Like phone, utilities and office supplies. 
  • Track the percentage an expense has to your sales from one period to another.   Dramatic increases should be easily answered or something is wrong with that expense and you should follow up until satisfied everything is all right. 
  • Determine your income tax liability.
  • Become a tool for business planning.
  • Earmark places where tax savings are most likely to apply.

 
Balance Sheets

A balance sheet gives you a snapshot of your business' financial condition at a specific moment in time.  A balance sheet helps you...

  • Quickly get a handle on the financial strength and capabilities of your business.
  • Identify and analyze trends, particularly in the area of receivables and payables. For example, if your receivables cycle is lengthening, unless you have a situation that prohibits a more aggressive collection policy, you need to revise your methods.
  • Determine if your business is in a position to expand.
  • Determine if your business can easily handle the normal financial ebbs and flows of revenues and expenses. 
  • Determine if you need to take immediate steps to bolster cash reserves.
  • Determine if your business has an increasing accounts payable.   If so, you may be approaching a cash shortage situation and require a prompt solution by borrowing or other way of getting cash.

Balance sheets, along with income statements, are the most basic elements in providing financial reporting to potential lenders such as banks, investors, and vendors who are considering how much credit to grant you.  

[We prepare standard financial statements on a tax basis for the use of management. These are not prepared under the more stringent review rules of the AICPA nor are they audited.]

 
Maintaining a Clean General Ledger

The general ledger is the core of your company's financial records. These records constitute the central "books" of your system. Since every transaction flows through the general ledger, a problem with your general ledger throws off all your books.   A detailed general ledger will be the place you go to right away when you want to identify why an expense is so high.