FAQ’s

We have a call with you to get to know you and your business. We will ask you questions about your business, how you operate, and learn about your personal and business goals. This will help us create a plan that is specific for you that maximizes your return on your investment.

This is usually the first question everyone asks. The answer is “it depends”. If you are looking for the absolute cheapest way to get minimally compliant accounting and bookkeeping, we are not the team for you. We are here to help you take charge of your finances so you can grow your business and that requires an investment.

Our plans are not cookie cutter and although we work in a framework, we customize our service and price specific to you. That usually means some accounting, bookkeeping, and advice. Depending on what you are already doing and who else you may be working with, our role could be big or small. That will help us determine our price.

For the most part the small businesses we are best at helping invest between $500 and $1,500 per month for our services. This is much cheaper than hiring a full-time person, or even a part-time underqualified person (to hire someone full-time at minimum wage costs about $2,700 per month).

Is control of your finances worth a fraction of the cost of a minimum wage employee?

We do our best to come up with a price based on the initial consultation and after reviewing your current financials and general ledger. We want to make sure you are paying only for the services you use, and that’s why we don’t offer standard package pricing. Your invoice is based on the time we put into your business, and from our experience, it is nearly impossible to guarantee what that number will be. Every business and their needs are as unique as a fingerprint.

We understand it is helpful for cashflow and budgeting to know what your expenses are going to be, and that’s why we perform a deep dive into your records and history up front. This allows us to provide you with an estimate.

Package pricing appears nice on the outside, but it can limit the help you receive from your accountant, and if you are a self-sufficient business person paying the same price as another business who requires a lot of hand-holding, is that really fair?

Virtual technology means we are equipped to meet with you over phone or video call. We can share screens with you so that we can have effective meetings that take less time out of your day. We collect and share documents through our secure client portal, and any documents we need you to sign can be done so electronically.

Cloud technologies are tools like QBO, Dext, and other industry specific tools that save you time and give you high quality of information quickly. Efficiency makes money, and we are here to help you grow your business and make money.

We will work with you to determine the best frequency. Some clients choose to meet monthly, and others meet less frequently such as quarterly or annually. We want to help you save time with your finances and feel in control. We can help set goals and monitor your money so that you have the funds necessary to grow your business and your wealth.

Although we are set up to be able to do business without ever having to meet face to face, we are available to meet in-person. Some meetings are better face to face, or sometimes it’s just nice to connect in the same room. We want to use a combination of in-person and remote meetings to make the best use of your time so that we can help you focus on growing your business.

A CPA is a Chartered Professional Accountant. This designation is achieved through a stringent education and experience process. When you work with a CPA you can be sure that strict standards and best practices are adhered to. Greg Evans is our resident CPA and oversees the team of accountants and bookkeepers to complete a high standard of work.

Your business is not required to work with a CPA to operate or prepare your tax returns. There are many uncertified accounting practitioners out there serving small businesses. If you have a borrowing relationship with a bank, they may prefer your work with a CPA or require it to ensure accurate financial statements for your reviews. 

We are in Lindsay, Ontario. Most of our clients are within a 2-hour drive including Peterborough, Durham, and the GTA.

Efficiency makes money. You don’t have to be an early adopter of the latest technology, but we need to find as many ways as possible to save you time so that you can focus on what you charge for. If you are avoiding technology to save money, the truth is that is probably costing you a whole lot more than you think it is. From our experience, it will cost a client more for us to handle the bookkeeping without the use of technology. Our preferred method takes advantage of both QBO and Dext. Don’t worry, we’ll guide you on how to use it.

Then you don’t have a business. You have an expensive hobby and we are probably not the right fit for you.

Typical services we are offer are: bookkeeping, HST returns, creating slips like T3, T4, T5, corporate tax returns, creation of year-end financial statements, and assistance with the CRA.

If you are doing all your own bookkeeping, then you are probably wasting time that could be spent generating revenue. Do you have practical bookkeeping experience? If not, it may be costing you more if we have to make corrections and redo some of your work. We will show you the tools you need to manage incoming and outgoing funds and do some of your bookkeeping and data entry. However, we will take care of things like bank reconciliations, accruals, journal entries, and solving any issues. This is an efficient way to save time within your business so you can do more of what you are best at and charge for.

Year-end financial statements give you the full story of what happened to your business. If you are just starting out, you may look at your bookkeeping reports and file your tax returns and get a satisfactory picture of your business. Year-end statements tell us more and allow for better planning. Year-end statements are also usually required if your business wants to borrow from a bank for business purposes.

No. Our team prides itself on doing ethical and accurate work that helps business owners grow. We follow the rules and do things properly because in the end that will make growing your wealth much easier.

The definition of small business varies depending on the context. For us, we define a small business as a business that is typically owner operated with the owner playing a major role in the operations.

To borrow from Profit First, profit is what you take from your business as a reward for being the owner. It is above and beyond the wage you make for doing your job managing your business. We want to help you build a profitable business that serves you and your family, not a business that is supported by you and your family.

Sometimes when we think of profit, we think of giant corporations and big executive bonuses, but that’s not what we mean. Profit is necessary to keep any business going. Profit may not be your only focus in the short term, but in the long term profit is what you need to have the cash necessary to pay yourself, build a future for your family, and build a business that can continue to invest and grow. Profitable businesses attract more customers and the best staff. Without profit we are on a ship that will eventually go down.

Yes, we can work with you to help set your business up success right from the start. Having a strong financial foundation will help you grow in a profitable way. 

If you want to run a serious business where you make a living, then the answer is probably yes. If you only intend to ever make a small amount of money, the answer may be no. As a best practice it’s usually a good idea to register for an HST number and charge it from the start to avoid complications later. We would be happy to discuss this more with you and determine what’s right for you.

Our staff are continually doing training and professional development. On a regular basis we are brushing up on skills for tax and bookkeeping. Staff stay up to date on the best methods and technology tools available to manage a successful small business. 

Unless otherwise specified, for individual personal income tax filings are due by April 30th each year. If you or your spouse are a sole proprietor, you have until June 15th.

For corporations, there are several rules in place. For most of our clients you must file your tax return within 6 months of your fiscal year end, however any income tax balances owing are due within 3 months. 

Working with us we will help make sure you meet all required deadlines.

A fiscal year is a 12-month period for the purpose of record keeping for your business. Each business is required to file income taxes annually and fiscal year ends are set up so everyone is not filing at the same time. There are several factors that will influence your year end, so it is different for each business.

A balance sheet is a snapshot of what you own and what you owe at a point in time, like your fiscal year end.

An income statement is a summary of what you earned and what you spent over a period of time, like your fiscal year.

We know there’s some accounting jargon with how information is presented, which is why we will help you understand the different reports, what they mean, why they matter, and most importantly how to make decisions with the information at hand.

Chart of accounts is what we use in bookkeeping to keep track of your money. Think of it as a jar system that allows us track how money comes in, how we move it around, and how money goes out. We will work with you to make sure your chart of accounts is easy to understand and provides you the information you need to make good decisions for your business.

The absolute no-fail way to pay no tax is to not run a business or to run a business but make no profit. We are here to help you take control and make tax paying an exciting event. Of course, we will help make sure you do not pay more than you have to, but a healthy tax bill is a sign of a healthy business.

The phrase that comes to mind is “you don’t know what you don’t know”. There is a reason why the Certified Professional Bookkeeper designation exists; its not as straight forward as it may appear. Bookkeeping performed by a professional is an investment into your business. When its done properly, you have a set of books you can rely on to help make business decisions. And not only that, your books will be in great shape if the CRA comes knocking.

You can spend some time doing research and figuring out a system that works for you. However, all this time comes at the cost of not being able to do what you do best. Hiring a professional that can set up a chart of accounts and systems that work well specifically for you is an efficient way to get the information you need without the frustration.

That means we have a big opportunity for improvement. Our team has seen it all enjoy organizing chaos. If your books are a mess, we should get started right away.