So how does this process work?
First, we start with the bookkeeping. Nine times out of ten we’re starting in the middle of the year, so I recommend we always go back to January. That means additional work and additional costs but it gets us a clean year to base taxes on. Depending on your needs we can always go back further if you’re looking for year over year results right away. Bookkeeping involves collecting your bank and credit card statements as well as any payroll reports for that time period. I’ll end up making a list of key deposits/payments or just a vendor list to get your feedback on what they were for. I want to make sure we’re tracking income and expenses in a way that will make sense when we prepare your financial reports. This is also a good opportunity for me to identify any items that shouldn’t have gone through your bank or are missing and outstanding.
Next is your first meeting to go over that “catch-up” period. This can be in person or over the phone. But we’ll look at month-over-month results. This is where the fancy CPA title comes in handy. I can give you feedback on trends we’re seeing. This is a great opportunity to discuss together whether there are opportunities to cut costs in certain areas or improve income based on their sources. If you’re not already making estimated payments during the year, we’ll definitely have a discussion as to what needs to be paid to the IRS as of that point.
Going forward, we’ll have you a regular routine where you send in your statements each month and I manage the accounting. Questions about the work will be limited to unique items as we’ve establish trends in your deposits and expenses. Then each month I’ll prepare a report showing the last few 2-3 months of an income and expense report so you can monitor your business and see the direction of your business. If we have the prior year’s data I’ll include a year over year report for that month. Feedback may be a phone call or an email each month to discuss anything that needs to be highlighted. If I haven’t yet, this is a good time to take over payroll as well. There are options involved with this service but it always includes payroll tax management for the quarterly and annual returns. Continued estimated income tax payments, franchise tax and sales tax returns are also managed at this time.
Give me a call or send me a message today so we can discuss what your business needs and how I can be your partner in the growth of your business!