Services

Tax law is a complicated affair that changes with each season. Through rigorous professional training and routine participation in industry briefings, we sustain mastery of the current tax law, complex tax code, and new tax regulations. This discipline enables us to offer a full range of tax planning, preparation, and support services.

Tax Preparation

Are you anxious about filing your on tax returns? Even a simple return may require multiple forms. The instructions often evoke more questions than answers. While a computer software program may help, there’s no substitute for the quality of service and advice you’ll receive from an experienced tax professional.

Here are a few of the benefits you’ll reap when using our service:

We’ll prepare all of the appropriate forms and record all figures and calculations accurately.
We’ll make sure that you receive all of the deductions and credits to which you are entitled.
We’ll file your return electronically to speed delivery of refunds.
We’ll work with you to adjust your payroll withholding to make sure you send the right amount to each tax authority – no more, no less.
We’ll show you how to adjust your finances to take advantage of tax benefits on future returns.

Are you a sole proprietor? Have you been so focused on your business that you haven’t paid close attention to your books? No worries! We'll tidy things up and prepare your Schedule C as part of your personal income tax return. Then we'll help you set up an easy system to keep your books current going forward.

Tax Planning

Proactive planning is the key to minimizing your tax liability. We work with businesses and individuals to pay the least amount of tax required by law. A few of the strategies that we consider include:

Splitting income among several family members or legal entities to take advantage of lower income tax brackets
Shifting income or expenses from one year to another when it can yield a lower tax rate
Deferring or eliminating tax liability through use of tax-advantaged investment vehicles
Tracking all expenses eligible for itemized deduction
Taking advantage of tax credits

Your unique circumstances will determine the strategies that we can employ to maximize the money you keep in your pocket.

IRS Audit Representation

If you have been selected for an IRS audit, professional representation can set your mind at ease. We’ll take the lead in dealing with the tax authorities based on our familiarity with their procedures and our intimate knowledge of the tax code. We’ll make sure that you don’t get an unpleasant and unwarranted surprise at the end of the process.

Tax Problems

Even if you have not been targeted for an IRS Audit, you may be aware of problems that will catch up with you eventually. Common examples include:

Missed tax filings for one or more years
Insufficient funds to pay the tax liability when due
Failure to remit payroll taxes

We’ll work with you to review your prior tax years and make sure that all of your tax filings have been submitted accurately. If you don’t know what’s included in your tax record, we’ll help you get copies from the tax authorities without raising any “red flags.” We’ll assess your tax liability and the associated interest and penalties. Then, we’ll work with you on an approach to negotiation. For example:

You may be able to settle your tax debt for less than the full amount owed if the tax authority deems your offer to be the most they might collect within a reasonable time period. This arrangement is referred to as an Offer In Compromise.
We could work with the tax authority on a Payment Plan to resolve your debt. This approach protects you from asset seizure to settle your obligations. It may be possible to secure relief on penalties and/or compound interest.
The IRS provides Innocent Spouse Relief when for an aggrieved party when his or her spouse or former spouse failed to report income, reported income improperly, or claimed improper deductions or credit.
If your circumstances do not lend themselves to a negotiated settlement, then it may be necessary to seek protection through a Bankruptcy filing.

It is far better to face your problems than to wait for them to land on your doorstep. We’re here to help in any way we can.

Most people get involved with a non-profit because they have a passion for the mission. It’s work of the heart. But it’s also a business with a whole lot of reporting requirements to satisfy governmental agencies, funders, partners, donors, and a variety of other interest groups. It takes the right accounting system and associated processes to manage the business end of the operation and satisfy all of its constituencies.

We can help you:

Establish appropriate asset classifications (e.g., permanently restricted, temporarily restricted, and unrestricted) for monies received from funders
Implement tracking systems to receive and acknowledge donations
Design, install, and maintain a robust fund accounting system to track expenditures by program and/or funding source
Develop processes and management controls to address your day-to-day bookkeeping activities (receipts, invoicing, bill payment), and train your accounting personnel
Administer payroll and attend to all related reporting requirements and tax filings
Prepare appropriate monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements for your board of directors, program managers, and major funders
Prepare and file your annual 990 and 990T forms

If you're starting a new non-profit organization, we can help you prepare your organization's application for tax-exempt status. Here’s a brief listing of what you may need:

Articles of Incorporation containing your exempt purpose statement
Employer Identification Number
By-Laws for the Organization
Written reason for formation and organizational history
Mission statement
Description of activities, operations, and programs
Names, addresses, and resumes of board members
Minutes from recent board meetings
Names and addresses of active members (if a membership organization)
Inventory of Assets and Liabilities
Rent/Lease Agreements and Contracts
Revenue and Expense Statements
Sources of Funds (including a description of fundraising activities)
IRS Processing/Filing Fee

Businesses of all shapes and sizes depend on accurate, insightful financial information to manage their day-to-day operations, capitalize on opportunities, and sustain profitability. We lend our expert support to meet your accounting needs so that you can focus your time and energy on building a strong business.

Bookkeeping

We’ll create and maintain a chart of accounts to capture all of your financial transactions, provide the right information to manage your business, and prepare federal, state, and local tax returns. Through periodic internal audits, we’ll identify and resolve discrepancies (e.g., double billings, unrecorded payments) to ensure that you have a complete and accurate picture of your financial position.

Bank Reconciliation

While a clean set of “books” is a key objective for every accountant, it’s also important to match the accounting records with the monthly bank statements. Our bank reconciliation services ensure that every deposit and withdrawal aligns with entries into your accounting records. This assessment enables us to identify lost deposits, lost checks, unauthorized transactions, and inappropriate bank fees. It triggers investigation into any fraudulent activity (identity theft, forgery, embezzlement, etc.), and expedites restitution. And it gives you a clearer picture of your cash position for addressing planned outlays and investments.

Financial Statement Preparation

We can prepare a complete set of financial statements to help you assess the health of your business. This package includes:

A Balance Sheet that gives you a snapshot of your overall financial condition at month, quarter, and/or year end
An Income Statement (a.k.a. Profit and Loss Statement) that summarizes revenues, expenses, and net profits so you can assess the operating performance of your business
A Comparison of Actual Performance to Budget so you can identify trouble spots in your revenue stream or spending patterns
A Cash Flow Statement that shows how changes in your Balance Sheet and Income Statement affect your available cash
Estimated tax liabilities

Our analysis of your financial statements helps you frame strategic initiatives (e.g., business expansion, acquisition) as well as tactical plans (e.g., accounts receivable and accounts payable management). Professionally prepared financial statements are also an essential resource when dealing with creditors (e.g., vendors, banks) and investors.

Individual Consultation

When you use our professional accounting services, you get more than a collection of records and reports. You get the benefit of our skills, experience, and expertise. We’re happy to invest the time to make sure that you understand and utilize all of the information we provide. Call us whenever you have a question or concern.

We provide an array of services to help you set up your business on QuickBooks and get the most out of your investment.

QuickBooks Set-Up

Although QuickBooks is very easy to use, it takes a bit of expertise and foresight to design the system for maximum benefit and effective control. Moreover, a new system set-up or conversion presents the opportunity to address long-standing gaps, inefficiencies, and annoyances. You don’t do it often, so you might as well do it right!

Although we tailor each engagement to each client’s needs, here is a list of QuickBooks Set-Up services that we offer:

Assess accounting and reporting requirements
Establish hardware and software specifications
Install the accounting software
Design and implement the chart of accounts, loading balances as of the start date
Record outstanding accounts receivables and payables
Enter ending statement bank balances and outstanding checks, deposits
Enter transactions since the start date
Compare trial balances from the old and new systems to ensure that all data was transferred correctly

QuickBooks Training

Whether you’ve engaged us to help with your implementation or you simply need a refresher course on the system, we can provide training on using QuickBooks to manage your business. We conduct sessions at your location and adapt the course content to your set-up and business issues. [No need to spend time on capabilities that you won’t use!] We’ll spend as much or as little time as you need on each topic, and respond to any questions and concerns.

QuickBooks Tune-Up

A QuickBooks Tune-Up is a great way to prepare for tax time, an important meeting, or a periodic review of your business strategy. In a few short hours, your QuickBooks professional can review transactions, clean up stray entries, balance the general ledger to subsidiary ledgers, and adjust the chart of accounts to reflect changes in your business model. A Tune-Up can help you make better decisions, minimize the ill-effects of undetected errors, and keep money flowing in the right direction,

A QuickBooks Tune-up is a smart and affordable way to get a handle on your books. Accurate records allow you to make educated decisions for your business and will save you money!

QuickBooks Answers

When folks find QuickBooks baffling, it’s generally not because they haven’t mastered the mechanics of using the system. It’s because they’re facing an unusual transaction that doesn’t quite fit the patterns with which they’re familiar. Fortunately, we’re just a phone call, fax, or email away. For a nominal fee, we’ll provide a detailed answer to your problem or question, usually within 24 hours. Our QuickBooks Answers are money-back guaranteed.

Buy QuickBooks and Save

We can save you money on your QuickBooks purchase! Not sure which version is right for you? Click on the appropriate link to get a brief snapshot of each package.

QuickBooks Simple Start

Organizes your business finances and customer information. Creates professional invoices, and tracks sales and expenses. Provides reliable records at tax time. Easy to set-up, learn, and use. No accounting experience necessary.

QuickBooks Pro

Includes all basic QuickBooks features plus a wealth of customization options (e.g., form templates). Provides one-click budgeting. Handles job costing and time tracking, allowing for multiple estimates per job. Can assign different price levels for different customers. Shares customer, vendor, inventory, and/or financial data with 100+ popular business applications (e.g., Word, Excel, Outlook, ACT!) at user’s option.

QuickBooks Premier

Includes everything in QuickBooks Pro plus tools and features to measure your financial performance against industry benchmarks, and make expert recommendations to help you improve it. Builds business plans and forecasts. Provides advanced sales order tracking and inventory management (components as well as finished goods).

QuickBooks Retail: Point of Sale

Transforms your PC into a cash register. Records sales, and captures customer contact information along with items purchased. Tracks inventory so you don’t have to do manual counts. Integrates with vendor-tested point of sale devices (e.g., receipt printer, cash drawer, bar code scanner, credit card swipe).

QuickBooks Premier: Contractors Edition

Includes everything in QuickBooks Premier plus contractor-specific capabilities. Simplifies accounting, estimating, invoicing, and job costing for general contractors, subcontractors, and specialty trades. Documents and tracks change orders. Progressively bills clients by job phase. Provides Cost to Complete Job reporting. Analyzes profitability by job.

QuickBooks Premier: Professional Services Edition

Includes everything in QuickBooks Premier plus capabilities specific to professional services. Supports custom billing rates by employee or job. Provides custom templates for proposals, and turns proposals into invoices with one click. Manages customer payments; handles retainers and escrow accounts. Delivers keen insights on the firm’s operations using an array of professional services reports. Provides access to contact information, balances, and transaction histories for any client in one window.

QuickBooks Premier: Manufacturing and Wholesale Edition

Includes everything in QuickBooks Premier plus capabilities specific to manufacturing and wholesale. Tracks inventory and sets optimal inventory levels. Automatically deducts raw materials used during the manufacturing process from inventory; adds final product to finished goods. Includes both material and non-material costs, such as overhead, labor, and raw material costs, in your Bill of Materials. Creates customized pricing levels. Manages sales order fulfillment based on criteria that you specify. Tracks profitability by product.

QuickBooks Premier: Nonprofit Edition

Supports general accounting capabilities such as bookkeeping, invoicing, and billing PLUS additional nonprofit-specific features to track donations, pledges, and grants. Allocates expenses to specific grants and programs. Creates required reports for funding agencies, government agencies, and board of directors. Provides data to support Form 990 filings.

QuickBooks Online Edition

Access and manage your accounting services and data through a secure, encrypted Internet connection from your home, office, or other location. Create access controls for multiple users to specify what they can see or do on the system. Enjoy automatic data back-up daily and secure off-site data storage.

Contact us to discuss your accounting needs, take a test drive on QuickBooks, and purchase the solution that’s right for you.

Managing the employee payroll is not a simple matter of calculating the amounts due, writing checks, and handing them out. There’s a host of government reporting and recording keeping requirements that comes with the job. And there are adverse consequences if you get it wrong.

There are 5 good reasons for outsourcing this function:

You’ll save money by letting the experts attend to the task efficiency and accurately.
You’ll avoid penalties associated with payroll tax calculation errors or missed filing deadlines.
We’ll handle employee questions and concerns, and research any issues they uncover.
You’ll receive comprehensive reporting to help manage your business and attend to any special requirements.
You’ll gain valuable time to focus on running your business.

We offer three payroll service options to meet the needs of different business owners and non-profit clients. All three services include:

Vacation, sick, and personal day accruals and tracking
IRS and State tax reporting plus Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) deposits
Monthly, quarterly, and annual payroll tax reports
New hire file creation and reporting
W-2, W-3, and 1099 preparation

The service option you choose defines how payments are processed:

Comprehensive Payroll Processing Service: We manage the secure check processing and direct deposits
After-the-Fact Payroll Service: You process all of the payments, and we post your payroll records and information into our data system and handle all of the other payroll functions.
Online Payroll Processing: We provide access to our payroll system to enable you to enter employee hours and earnings. You print the payroll checks on your printer, and we process the direct deposits.

We can also provide ad hoc services, such as:

Worker's Compensation Audits
Unemployment Claims
Social Security Audits
Child Support Audits
Federal and State registration

We offer value added services that help you structure and manage your business to its best advantage. We help new businesses get off the ground and provide objective assessments of existing ones. We help you establish policies and procedures to protect vital assets and perform audits to ensure the integrity of your records. You reap the benefit of increased efficiency, control, and insight.

New Business Formation

Are you thinking of joining the ranks of small business owners? Along with a great idea and strong sense of the market you’ll serve, you’ll need a business and financial advisor who can help your dream take flight while keeping your feet firmly planted on the ground.

We can help you:

Develop or refine your business plan with the associated pro forma financial statements (Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Cash Flow) and budget
Select a business structure that suits your needs by considering tax advantages, legal exposure, ease of operation, and portability
Develop partnership agreements, as needed, to avoid financial and/or emotional trauma downstream
Prepare and file all required state and local licenses and permits.
Make application for your Federal Employer Identification Number.
Identify start-up capital needs and available resources to address them
Examine your borrowing power and provide coaching on how to cultivate a mutually beneficial banking relationship
Identify your business insurance needs
Select the right accounting software and establish the appropriate chart of accounts
Establish billing and collection procedures to maximize your cash flow
Establish procedures to monitor and control costs
Provide payroll and payroll tax filing when and if you hire employees

We’re eager to get your business off to a good start.

Business Valuation

We provide objective assessments of business interests by helping you identify and analyze the relevant factors that drive value. We examine:

The strength and stability of the customer base and the associated revenue stream
Prospects for growth given the available market and competitive positioning
The overall financial health of the business
Valuations for comparable entities

The results inform your decision making as you buy or sell business interests, forge partnerships, negotiate with third parties for debt or equity financing, navigate martial separation, or settle estates. Our professionals can serve as advisors during due diligence and provide expert testimony in legal proceedings.

Internal Controls

We help you establish appropriate internal controls to ensure proper handling of resources and guard against employee theft. Some best practices include:

Segregating duties across multiple individuals to minimize exposure to error and inappropriate behavior
Establishing lines of authority and the associated processes for transaction approval
Assigning responsibility for periodic review and reconciliation of financial records by someone who was not involved in executing transactions or preparing statements
Scheduling periodic manual counts of equipment, inventory, and other tangible property to ensure alignment with the accounting records
Documenting policies and procedures as guideposts for your employees’ day-to-day activities
Training employees on their respective job duties and establishing appropriate levels of ongoing supervision
Reviewing operations to ascertain whether results are consistent with established goals, objectives, and protocols

Audits, Reviews, and Compilations

We offer three levels of assessment of your financial statements based on your company’s needs:

An audit is the highest level of assurance that we can provide. It entails a systematic examination of the financial statements, internal controls, and selected transactions for purposes of expressing a professional opinion on the fairness of the information provided.
A review is a more limited investigation to provide some level of assurance that material modifications to the financial statements need not be applied. Testing primarily consists of high level examination, year-over-year comparison, inquiry, and analysis. It does not examine back-up data to substantiate the financial data. A review may suffice for selected outside interests.
A compilation presents client-supplied data in financial statement format. No assurance is provided by the accountant as no testing, inquiry, or analytical procedures are performed. This service typically serves an internal audience.

Tax Services