Our Service Policy.
We will provide as little or as much service as you desire. Some clients see us once a year, some quarterly, and some monthly depending on their individual needs. Clients work with the same personnel as much as possible to establish a productive relationship.
Services We Provide.
Tax Preparation and Planning
Business and Personal Financial Advice
Bookkeeping & QuickBooks Assistance
Business Start-Up and Entity Selection
Payroll and Sales Tax
Audits and Financial Reporting
Business Transition to the Next Generation
Sale or Purchase of a Business
Estate, Trust and Gift Planning
Tax Preparation and Planning
Our highly trained and experienced staff are qualified to prepare all types of returns including individual, corporate, partnership, estate, trust, nonprofit and gift tax returns. We attend continuing education each year to stay current with the continuously changing and complex tax laws to achieve the maximum tax savings possible. We can assist with planning throughout the year and encourage utilizing our expertise for the best possible outcome. Our goal is to minimize your taxes to the extent possible by thorough review of your return and situation for any tax saving opportunities and by developing and recommending tax strategies. All returns go through the firm’s quality control process and are reviewed by a partner ensuring the highest quality for you.
Business and Personal Financial Advice
All advisory services begin with listening to the client’s goals. Each client is unique and we customize the advice to fit your personal situation. A common question we may ask you is “why?”. This is to determine your goals to guide and advise you appropriately. Our objective is to help you with your thought process and guide your decision, making sure you feel good about your choice and plan of action. We will not tell you what to do, rather we will share our opinion and reasoning to help you achieve your goals. The decision is ultimately yours and we want you to ask questions until you feel good about the path you choose.
We can assist you in various financial decisions, including the advantages and disadvantages of your options, for example: lease vs purchase of an asset, whether to refinance your home, how to save for college, financial vehicles to save for retirement, what type of life insurance to purchase, contributing to a Traditional or Roth IRA, should you convert your Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. We encourage you to take advantage of our expertise; the time to call is before you enter into a transaction.
Bookkeeping
We also provide bookkeeping services for those clients who find it more cost effective and time saving to outsource financial transaction recording. For those who don’t enjoy or have the time for bookkeeping it can easily be put on the bank burner and not kept up-to-date. We can assist in keeping your financial transactions entered timely on a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or yearly basis, allowing you time to focus on running your business and providing current financial information to make decisions.
QuickBooks Assistance
QuickBooks is a wonderful tool for the business owner to organize and track their financial data. It can be customized to suit a wide range of business industries and sizes and provides valuable and time saving reports to be used in tax preparation and planning as well as analyzing business trends and growth. We offer various services to suit your needs related to QuickBooks to help you use the program most effectively and efficiently.
• Setup – we can assist with the initial setup of the program including: installing the program, setting up a chart of accounts, banking, customers, vendors, employees and reports.
• Training – we will show you how best to utilize the program based on your comfort level and needs.
• Support – we are available if you have any questions as you enter transactions throughout the year.
• Review – we review your backup or accountant’s copy for adjustments or reclassifications to provide more useful period end reports. We will also provide adjusting journal entries and feedback on classifications as they arise.
Business Start-Up and Entity Selection
If you are considering starting your own business, we can assist with the entity selection and formation process. We will help you select a structure that will best meet your needs now and in the future, by evaluating your goals and the tax advantages each has to offer. We will assist you in setting up your bookkeeping system, payroll system, applying for the various required permits, and informing you of payroll and sales tax rules so you are compliant.
Other Business Services
If you are considering implementing employee benefits, we can explain the tax and financial ramifications of offering health insurance, utilizing a health savings account, setting up an accountable business expense reimbursement plan, and/or offering a retirement plan and which type of plan may be best for your situation.
Payroll and Sales Tax
We offer a wide range of payroll and sales tax services, customized to fit your needs. We can provide any or all of the following services or assist you in performing them.
• Calculating payroll checks, withholdings, and deductions
• Printing paychecks and/or direct deposit of payroll through your financial institution
• Calculating and initiating payroll and sales tax payments
• Preparation of quarterly federal and state payroll and sales tax reports, including federal and state withholding, federal and state unemployment, and state sales tax
• Preparation of annual federal and state payroll and sales tax reports, including W-2s
• Preparation of annual information returns, including 1099s
Audits and Financial Reporting
Audit
An audit is the highest level of financial statement service a CPA may provide. It is often required by grantors for nonprofits, bonding companies, or banks. An audit provides “reasonable assurance” that the financial statements are free from material misstatement. The procedures for an audit are more involved, requiring the auditor to obtain an understanding of the entity’s internal control process, outside verification of information and transaction testing. An audit may also indicate inefficiencies or problem areas which we can provide suggestions and feedback. We have experienced auditors available to assist with your auditing needs.
Review
For entities that don’t need a full audit, we offer the next level of service, a review. The review process is less invasive and provides “limited assurance” on the financial statements. Less time is involved in the review process, which is satisfied with analytical reviews of financial data and inquiries.
Compilation
We offer a compilation, for those who request financial statements, but do not require an audit or review. The compilation process is limited to compiling and reading the financial statements and issuing a compilation report stating “no assurance” is provided on the accuracy of the financial statements.
Preparation
If financial statements are requested and no report is desired to be attached, we can provide the preparation level of service, the least involved process of the above services. We will prepare financial statements with a notation that “no assurance is provided” on each page. This level of service is commonly used in conjunction with bookkeeping services and can be done on a monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or yearly basis.
Business Transition to the Next Generation
Transferring a business to the next generation is different than selling to an outside party. Family business succession can be complicated by relationships and emotions. The interests of all parties must be considered as well as the personalities involved. Planning should begin several years in advance to aid in a smooth transition. We have extensive experience transitioning a business to the next generation and can advise on the practical and tax ramifications.
Sale or Purchase of a Business
The tax ramifications of the sale or purchase of a business can be drastically different depending on how the sale or purchase is structured. If not appropriately structured, you could end up with significantly less proceeds or paying considerably more tax than necessary. At the same time, you don’t want to lose a deal over something that may not be significant. Our expertise can help you analyze cash flow for the buyer and/or seller and evaluate the risks and opportunities associated with various options.
Estate, Trust and Gift Planning
Estate planning can be a difficult topic to discuss or think about. Our experience can help you plan and feel comfortable about making decisions to accomplish your estate, trust and gift goals and ensure your assets are left as you intend. Everyone has their own unique set of circumstances and objectives. We can advise on what assets should be transferred, as well as what assets should not be transferred to achieve your goals and avoid paying more tax than is necessary. We can provide insight on which type of assets to bequest to various heirs or charities such as: various investments, annuities, or retirement accounts, to maximize the net amount your chosen beneficiaries receive. We encourage you to take advantage of our expertise and seek advice before transferring assets to minimize your tax liability.