FAQS
Frequently ask questions
Most Popular Questions
Many small and mid-sized businesses fail to adequately measure and manage their finances, even though poor financial management is a major cause of business failure. If you don’t have good financial practices in place, your business could suffer in a number of ways:
- Lost revenue
- Insufficient tax planning
- Missed financial opportunities
- Penalties and fines
- Closing your doors
Our monthly accounting process starts with receiving your source documents. Our staff compiles the information and reports back to you with the following to help you take back control of your finances:
- Make monthly profit and loss statements
- Make monthly balance sheets
- Perform regular account reconciliation
- Offer advice based on your financial statements, tax planning, and your business’s situation
We also include the following services:
- Business tax work
- Sales tax filings
- Audit representation
Our customer service sets our firm apart. We make it our priority to reach out to clients on a consistent basis because we care about the success of your business. Our experienced team of accountants also provide proactive business advice and tax planning, allowing you to maximize your profits.
Need to reach out? No problem! Other accountants will bill you by the minute, but a unique benefit that we offer is allowing our clients to contact us as much as they’d like – at no additional cost.
If you are looking for an outsourced accounting solution based on price alone, annual accounting may be enough for you. However, if your business is the right fit for monthly accounting services, they provide substantially more value than an annual service.
If an accountant only sees your numbers once a year, it’s too late to offer advice that would have helped to make that year more profitable - and definitely too late to lower your tax liability for a year that is already over with. Read about the benefits of tax planning and tax projections, two things that an annual accountant can’t provide you.
You can also read about why you don’t need to work with an annual accountant if you have a monthly accountant.
Please note that while we can handle your personal taxes as well if you are a business client of ours, many of our clients still choose to have an annual accountant do their personal taxes. Read more about having CSI do your personal taxes (as a sole proprietorship and separate business/personal entities) here.
There are a variety of pros and cons for every accounting service, and we know that we aren’t the best solution for everybody. When you don't know the differences between outsourced accounting options, it's difficult to make the best decision for your business.
If you trust other local vendors to help with your operations, why not trust a local accounting firm? Don’t automatically go for a name you recognize or the lowest price without doing your research first.
Trust your gut. If you’re already thinking about leaving your current accounting firm, then you’re ready to move on. Read more about these fears that disrupt business growth:
- What if I’m making the wrong decision?
- I’ve got too much going on right now.
- I don’t want a new accountant to know that my books are a mess or my taxes have fallen behind.
- I can’t afford a different level of service.
Don’t forget the necessary steps to move forward once you make your decision. If you’d like, we can help you with the process. Read more about these steps to change accounting firms:
- Find a new accounting firm.
- Inform your current accounting firm.
- Set goals with your new accounting firm.
We primarily use two systems: Xero and QuickBooks Online. That being said, we will work with other systems depending on your preferences and needs.
However, depending on the software you use, your subscription fee may be included in your monthly accounting fee.
CSI will file multiple years of back taxes for you at once when you come on board. In fact, if you haven’t been filing your taxes, we require this.
If your taxes are not up-to-date, then your accounting won’t be accurate. We want to provide a quality accounting service for you, so we will need to start with a clean slate. After your accountant has the information that they requested from you in your initial strategy sessions, they are dedicated to getting your records caught up and accurate, as well as getting your financial statements and tax returns done.
We do back taxes for payroll too! You or your payroll specialist need to be paying taxes and filing payroll returns. If this hasn’t been done, you’ll need to get your payroll back taxes done. Our software helps us file your old payroll returns. Plus, when we make amendments to your W2s, we can print them and have the final product in your hands as soon as they’re done.
Pricing for our monthly accounting services varies by your company’s needs. It is not based on the size of your company, rather your company’s accounting activity and the complexity of your financial statements.
Our average accounting fee comes out to about $675 per month. Depending on these factors, your fee can range between $500 to $1,000+ per month. We will work with you to arrive at an affordable, fixed monthly fee.
We provide expert advice for all size businesses.
Whether you’re a startup, small business, or enterprise, our tailored accounting solutions are designed to meet your specific financial needs and goals.
Need more help?
We’re here to assist! Reach out to our team for personalized support and answers to any of your accounting-related questions.