Accounting & Tax Services for Business Owners | By the Books Consulting
Accounting & Tax Services

Every financial function. Aligned.

The full range of accounting and tax services for business owners — operating not as isolated tasks, but as one coordinated practice that protects clarity, compliance, and long-term position.

A Coordinated Practice

Not a list of services. A single financial operation.

Most firms offer these services as separate transactions — bookkeeping handled by one team, taxes by another, strategic decisions made without the data those teams hold.

We deliver them as one practice. Books inform tax positioning. Tax strategy informs structural choices. Structural choices inform cash flow planning. Each service strengthens the others — which is what makes the difference between accounting that records the past and accounting that protects your future.

Operational Foundation

Day-to-day discipline.

The financial work that runs in the background of every successful business — performed with accuracy, integration, and the kind of structured cadence that prevents small misses from becoming expensive corrections later.

  • i.
    Accounts Payable & Expense Management

    Vendor invoices captured, categorized, approved, and paid on a consistent cadence with full audit trails. Receipts collected and matched against transactions. Credit card and corporate spending tracked against budget and reconciled monthly. The discipline that keeps cash flow predictable and prevents the small leaks that quietly compound.

  • ii.
    Accounts Receivable

    Consistent invoicing cadence, structured follow-up on aging receivables, and disciplined collections — so cash that should be in the business actually arrives there. We track days sales outstanding, surface accounts that need attention before they become bad debt, and integrate receivable timing into cash flow planning. Your revenue stops being theoretical and starts being usable.

  • iii.
    Bookkeeping

    Monthly reconciliation of every account — checking, savings, credit cards, merchant processors, loans. A chart of accounts structured to mirror how the business actually operates, not a generic template. Financial statements (profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow) prepared and reviewed each month, not reconstructed at year-end. When tax season arrives, the books are already closed; when a banker, investor, or buyer asks for financials, they're ready.

  • iv.
    Payroll

    Compliant, on-time payroll for W-2 employees and 1099 contractors. Federal, state, and local tax withholdings. Quarterly 941 filings and annual W-2 and W-3 issuance. Direct deposit, garnishment handling, fringe benefit tracking, and integration with the books so payroll expense flows through correctly. Owner compensation strategy coordinated with tax planning so you're paying yourself in a way that is both compliant and tax-efficient.

Tax Strategy & Filing

Forward-looking. Defensible.

Tax work that begins long before April — designed to minimize leakage, manage exposure, and convert tax season from a reactive scramble into a routine confirmation of decisions already made.

  • i.
    Quarterly Tax Estimates

    Federal and state estimated tax payments calculated and submitted on schedule, four times each year. Estimates updated as the year progresses based on actual results — not just last year's numbers — so you're neither underpaying and accruing penalties nor overpaying and starving working capital. April becomes a confirmation, not a surprise.

  • ii.
    Business Tax Filing

    Annual returns prepared for S-corps, C-corps, partnerships, LLCs, and sole proprietorships. Multi-state filings where required. Coordinated with personal returns where pass-through entities are involved. Filed accurately, on time, with positions defensible if examined later. Extensions managed when strategy calls for them — not when we're scrambling.

  • iii.
    Personal Tax Filing

    Form 1040 preparation including all the schedules that come with a complex life — Schedule C for self-employment, Schedule E for rental and pass-through income, Schedule D for capital gains, foreign income reporting where applicable, retirement account considerations, charitable giving strategy, and the interaction of all of these with state and local obligations.

  • iv.
    Tax Resolution

    Direct representation before the IRS when notices arrive, audits are opened, or unresolved exposure surfaces. As Enrolled Agents licensed by the U.S. Treasury, we have full authority to represent you in all 50 states. We respond to correspondence, negotiate installment agreements and offers in compromise, request penalty abatement where appropriate, and represent you through audit and appeals. Calm, structured response — not panic. Learn more about our tax resolution approach →

  • v.
    Tax Planning

    Forward-looking analysis of how this year's decisions affect this year's tax outcome. Estimating tax liability under current trajectory, identifying timing opportunities (income deferral, expense acceleration, retirement contributions, depreciation strategies), modeling alternative scenarios, and producing a tax projection you can actually use to make decisions. Done in Q3 and Q4, not in March.

  • vi.
    Tax Strategy

    The structural decisions that play out over years, not single returns. Entity selection and elective S-corp treatment. Multi-entity structuring for liability and tax efficiency. Owner compensation modeling. Real estate cost segregation studies. Qualified Opportunity Zone evaluation. Succession and exit planning from a tax perspective. The decisions that determine how much of what you earn you actually keep, decade by decade.

Begin

Not sure which services your situation actually requires?

Start with a Financial Clarity Conversation. We'll review where you are, identify the gaps, and outline what an appropriate engagement would look like.

Schedule a Financial Clarity Conversation