@alangeh I agree-I've unraveled years of accounting errors and I can gladly attest that it takes much more time to reconcile items in the past. The longer they go unreconciled, the more difficult it is to straighten out the books. Sometimes, I have found that the lack of reconciliation deals with lack of resources, an unwillingness to invest time into the issue, or to cover up fraud. There's a business I dealt with that didn't want to recognize more losses than they already had, so they were loathe to reconcile further so as to prevent expenses from being booked. I'm a business consultant and studying for my CPA (using UWorld Roger CPA), and am a big fan of "reconcile it now/deal with the issue now".
@alangeh I hired am accountant bookkeeper and had a horrible time. I am a small landscape design business. All my expenses are through credit cards and debit that go directly into quickbooks software. I was being charged $270 a month and he would miss meetings, not run payroll for several weeks at a time. And when he does run payroll I cant find any evidence that taxes are being taken out/accounted for. I'm the only employee and I'm paying myself so I'm seeing th money going out is the same as the money going into my personal bank accountant... so no taxes paid. I have no idea where to even start to look for a new trustworthy accountant. Any tips on where to look besides just googling?
@dahmworg Honestly your network is your best friend. Maybe a client knows someone or you can probe a bit to see what they do for a living. Another option is any other businesses in the area that utilize it. In all honesty, $270 is a lot if they aren’t doing payroll correctly. Quickbooks has their own system in place to do payroll, especially if it’s just you.
If all network options are exhausted, Fivver isn’t a terrible choice. But make sure you properly vet them. You don’t need a CPA, just someone to handle the books once a month for an hour or two and be available for when they have questions about what’s taking place inside your business. Best of luck
@alangeh Has fiverr gotten decent? The limited experience I had in there would make me think your avg accountant on there probably cannot spell accountant.
@dahmworg You want someone who can demonstrate a strong understanding of accounting and business taxes. Some of us regularly answer questions in r/bookkeeping for that purpose. Client references also help.
