Business accounting
Numbers you can run the business on
Accurate books and useful books are not the same thing. The work here is getting the accounting into a state where it answers the questions an owner actually asks: did we make money, can I take a draw, where is the cash going.
What this covers
We work with businesses small enough that the owner still signs the cheques. That shapes everything: the reporting has to be readable, the systems have to be maintainable without a controller, and the tax side has to be in the same conversation.
1 Understand the situation
- A look at the reports you run the business on now, and what is missing from them
- Payroll and contractor reporting questions, including worker classification
2 Set the books right
- Accounting system selection and setup, including QuickBooks and comparable packages
- Chart of accounts built so the reports actually answer questions
- Cleanup of accounts that have drifted, so the numbers are trustworthy again
3 Keep it running and plan
- Monthly and quarterly close and reconciliations
- Bookkeeping oversight: reviewing, correcting, and closing the books your staff or software produced
- Bookkeeping consulting and services, carrying more of the work when that is what fits
- Choosing the business structure (LLC, S corporation, partnership), and the tax consequences of changing it
- Budgeting, cash flow, and the planning conversations that come out of both
Why people call
Three reasons owners get in touch
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Nobody is sure the books are right
Entries are going in, but no one with an accounting background is checking them. Small errors compound quietly, and by the time they surface at tax time they are expensive to unwind.
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The books are current but useless
Everything is entered and reconciled, and still nobody can answer whether last quarter made money or what the owner can safely draw. Accurate and informative are two different things.
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The business outgrew its setup
A structure that worked for one person and a spreadsheet stops working at four employees and inventory. The fix is usually the chart of accounts and the system, not more data entry.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts adds its own obligations
A Massachusetts business carries filings that have nothing to do with the federal return: state registration and annual reports, sales and use tax where it applies, employer withholding and unemployment accounts, and the paid family and medical leave contributions that run through payroll.
Worker classification deserves particular attention here. Massachusetts applies a stricter test than the federal standard for deciding whether someone is an employee or an independent contractor, and getting it wrong is expensive in back taxes and penalties. It is worth reviewing before a state agency reviews it for you.
Questions
Common questions
Do you do the bookkeeping, or oversee ours?
Usually oversee it. Most closely held businesses are better served by someone in-house or a bookkeeper handling day-to-day entry, with a CPA reviewing, correcting, and closing. Where a client wants us to carry more of it, we will scope that directly.
Our books are a mess. Is that a problem?
It is the normal starting point, not a disqualifier. The first piece of work is a cleanup so the numbers are trustworthy. Trying to plan around unreliable books is worse than not planning at all.
Should I be an S corporation?
Sometimes, and it depends on profit, payroll, the owners involved, and what happens at exit. It is a real decision with real filing obligations attached, not a default. See our page on business planning for how it plays out later.
Can you help us pick accounting software?
Yes, and more usefully, set it up properly. Most of the complaints about accounting software trace back to how it was configured in the first week, not to the software.
Show us the reports you run the business on and we will tell you what is missing
Most conversations start with a look at the reports the business produces now. From there it is clear whether the fix is a cleanup, a system change, or simply a different report.
Please do not send Social Security numbers, tax records, or bank details through the message form. If documents are needed, the office will provide private secure-upload instructions after speaking with you.