Accounting
The heart of any financially successful business lies in its ability to deliver outstanding products or services. However, even businesses with great products or services need a strong accounting system to assist in managing the organization and maximize profits.
Accurate and timely financial information is critical to the success of every operation. It helps to manage cash flow, and is used to evaluate pricing decisions, costs, create budgets and manage resources. An effective accounting system is easy to use, and helps the owner(s) to better understand the financial performance of the business, and as a result, to make more informed financial decisions on behalf of their customers, their employees and contractors, and perhaps most importantly, themselves and their families.
I provide a variety of accounting services in the following areas:
- Accounting software selection, implementation, and training
- Bank and credit card account reconciliations
- Budgets, cash flow projections and forecasts
- Capital equipment acquisitions, exchanges and disposals
- Chart of Accounts design
- Employee benefit and compensation plan structuring
- General Ledger adjusting and closing entries
- Inventory and depreciation adjustments
- Management reporting support
- Payroll and sales tax preparation
- Representation before the IRS, state or municipal tax authorities
- Succession and estate planning
Customized QuickBooks® Implementation
Most small businesses use QuickBooks® to manage their accounting and financial transactions. However, many small business owners only implement the basic features that QuickBooks® offers, such as check writing and customer invoicing.
I create customized QuickBooks® Chart of Accounts configurations to take advantage of the built-in subaccount and relationship features. This allows me to tailor QuickBooks® to more closely match each client’s particular business needs and operations, not the other way around.
I then set up various layers of “Items” that consolidate and simplify the transaction entry process. This reduces the tedium of making daily accounting entries, thus freeing up additional time that my clients can devote to more important issues, like developing new customers and making more money.
Lastly, I implement many of the more advanced features of QuickBooks®, as needed, including the creation of custom reports.
By carefully implementing each of the above steps, my clients derive the full benefit from the wealth of useful information QuickBooks® provides to help them make better business decisions, and thus manage their businesses more profitability. For example, my clients develop a better understanding as to why certain clients/jobs were more profitable, so they can replicate that success to grow their businesses. Similarly, my clients develop a better understanding as to why certain clients/jobs were not so profitable, so they can learn from those situations and either take corrective actions in the future, or decline such work.
Financial Statements
Financial statements provide clients with vital information upon which they make critical managerial decisions, as well as meet GAAP reporting obligations. I conduct detailed financial statement analysis to help my clients identify strengths and weaknesses, interpret ratios and trends, and understand how their business is performing from a financial perspective. By taking the time to develop a thorough understanding of each client’s markets and industry, I use this information to help them achieve their business and personal goals.
My CPA licenses are unrestricted, and as such, confer on me full authority to issue independent reports of any kind on financial statements of business entities or other organizations.
Tax Services
Tax planning and compliance are critical elements for all businesses. Income tax, payroll tax, sales and use tax, and personal income and estate tax compliance obligations must all be met on a timely basis. These obligations are interwoven together, and thus must be carefully planned for, reported, and reviewed frequently. I take a long-term approach by emphasizing effective tax planning throughout the year.
The key to minimizing tax obligations is to defer tax liabilities for as long as possible under the law. When tax liabilities are deferred, those funds can be invested to earn additional income, pay down debt, or used to make other purchases.
Tax Planning
Perhaps the most important services that I provide for commercial businesses are to help them to better understand their most significant financial transactions, and as a result, to make better decisions on behalf of themselves and their businesses. This includes making details projections and building financial models to help clarify various “what if” scenarios, determine the likely capital gains or (losses) to be realized, and estimate the amounts necessary to satisfy Federal and state estimated tax payment obligations. These services cover a variety of major financial transactions, including:
Business Formation
- Assessing and choosing the right business legal entity for your business
Capital Equipment
- Acquisition, exchanges and disposal
- Accelerated depreciation options
Employees
- Employee vs. contractor considerations
- Compensation plans
- Deferred compensation plans
Expansion
- Merger and acquisition transaction structuring and tax implications
- R&D and other tax credit optimization strategies
Retirement & Pension Plans
- Traditional 401(K) and Roth 401(K) plans
- SEP and SIMPLE IRA plans
Succession
- Ownership succession and transition planning
- Business income tax return preparation
- Sales tax filings and return preparation
- Representation before the IRS, state or municipal tax authorities
