Hey Everyone,

Wife and I started a small, group travel business two years ago. Thankfully, it's having some success and reaching a point where we want to bring in a CPA and make sure we are set up for success as it continues to grow.

Initially, we are looking for a one-time consultation to make sure the foundation of the business is solid and give us some peace of mind as we enter the next phase of growth.

- Ensuring we have the right systems/ process in place for monthly accounting (Quickbooks)
- Being as efficient as possible with taxes
- Accuracy in our quarterly self-employment taxes
- Categorizing expenses correctly (Contractors vs. professional services, COGS for a service based company, etc.)
- Other miscellaneous questions we have

Essentially, a meeting where we say "Here's what we are doing currently, where can we be better? What do we need to change?"

Questions for all of you:
- Any recommended CPAs/ small business specialists?
- What is the expected cost (Flat fee or hourly rate) for something like this?
- Other small business owners, what did you do when first starting your business to make sure all of the accounting was handled correctly?

Thanks, everyone! Really enjoy reading this board and appreciate any insight you can offer.

Alex C. '15

Check out these guys:

https://zenkeep.com

I've referred them to several small businesses over the years for various accounting projects. If you'd like a personal introduction to the owner, email me at the address in my profile and I'd be happy to do that for you.

I've used the same CPA for 18 years. She's great with Quickbooks, awesome at handling taxes, and she specializes in small businesses.

http://www.sugarlandcpa.com/

Here is some free advice.

1. Use a full service payroll company. I like gusto. You can also use QB online payroll.
2. If you screw up your coding in quick books just screw it up the same way ever time. Much easier to fix that way.

I don't know the size of your business but assuming it is still relatively small you should consider a good bookkeeper for some of your tasks and an independent tax cpa for for your tax needs. Some firms will do both.

I second Sugarland CPA used for17 years excellent