Bookkeeping services in California must have unique expertise. California has some of the strictest laws and regulations around business in the entire United States, and support for navigating these situations is one of the biggest needs for Californian businesses. In this post we’ll look deeper in this topic as well as cover 5 top bookkeeping services in Orange County, CA.
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Who needs a bookkeeper in California?
California bookkeeping services are a precise science under any circumstances. With the complexities of corporate income and sales tax in CA, expert bookkeeping in this state is critical.
In general, any company that cannot keep up with its bookkeeping, will need either an in-house bookkeeping employee or the services of a dedicated bookkeeping company. This could be for several reasons.
Sometimes, your business simply reaches a high enough sales level that you cannot keep up with consistently recording all transactions. There could also be other circumstances: complex financing arrangements, employee payroll taxes and benefits, or industries with specific regulatory requirements.
Any of these circumstances are good reasons to look for reliable CA bookkeeping services.
Do I need a Bookkeeper if I use QuickBooks?
A lot of small businesses use QuickBooks for their bookkeeping services in California. QuickBooks and other cloud accounting software do make bookkeeping a lot easier.
If you can connect QuickBooks to your business bank account and sales software, you can automate a lot of your transactions. Doing this can save you a lot of time every month.
On the other hand, there’s a lot more to bookkeeping than data entry. As a business owner, your time is extremely valuable, and figuring out the ins and outs of QuickBooks is probably not the best use of your time. By outsourcing your QuickBooks to a bookkeeping service in California, you free up more time to serve your clients.
If you’re just starting your business, or are new to QuickBooks, outsourced bookkeeping services can also provide QuickBooks setup for you. Save your brain space for skills that can bring more value to your business.
What things should I consider when choosing a bookkeeper?
Choosing bookkeeping services in CA is a key decision for a business. The right financial and recordkeeping support can help you manage your business well. Choose the wrong one – and it could mean your downfall.
Here’s a sample checklist to keep in mind when choosing bookkeeping, or any back office support service.
- What do their current clients say?
- How many current clients do they have, and what niches are they in?
- Does this service carry the appropriate liability insurance?
- What information will they need from your business to start work?
- Does this service specialize in your business niche?
- Is their pricing fixed or do they charge per the hour?
- Do they offer cloud bookkeeping services?
5 Best Bookkeeping Services in Orange County
Let’s take a look at some of the best Orange County bookkeeping services that you could choose from.
American Tax and Accounting
American Tax and Accounting is an accounting firm located in Anaheim, Orange County. They offer consulting services, accounting and tax preparation, tax relief support, and business startup advisory services to local businesses. They do not work with a specific niche, and can serve startups, franchises, small businesses and large companies.
They have a few locations in the Orange County area, but do not offer their services online.
Smart Tax and Accounting Services
Smart Tax is located in Westminster, California, and chiefly focuses on business tax preparation and representation. They also do business formation services and have a notary public. Their strength is in tax services.
EA Tax Resolutions
This is another business that specializes in tax preparation, consulting, and relief. They do offer CA bookkeeping services as well, but it is chiefly in order to lead into their tax services. If your business is having problems with tax preparation or owing back taxes, this firm can help you be in compliance with the IRS.
Small Business Tax
Small Business Tax, by its name, chiefly offers tax preparation services, but they do offer bookkeeping services California as well. Their biggest operation is financial consulting and support for individuals, estates, and trusts, but they do also have small business clients.
Located in Orange County, they offer their services in-office but not online.
Bluebird Partners
Bluebird Partners is a full-service bookkeeping and back office support company. Located in Newport Beach, we offer online accounting services to clients in Orange County, around the state, and the country.
We offer a full range of support, designed for the small business owner, from day-to-day bookkeeping services, payroll, and California sales tax to quarterly financial statements and annual tax preparation. You can also rely on use for expert cash flow management or CFO and advisory services.
Why Bluebird Partners?
Bluebird Partners offers something few other firms do: fully remote accounting and bookkeeping services in California. We specialize in taking the administrative burden off small businesses. This provides you with a high level of performance and service, while you focus on your business.
Contact Bluebird Partners today for an initial consultation.
FAQ’s
Hiring a bookkeeper or accountant means hiring expertise. Most business owners don’t want to be number-crunchers or analysts – they just want to work on what they know and do best.
The peace of mind alone that comes from knowing your finances and taxes are in order can be worth the price of a good bookkeeper
When you are just starting out, it makes sense to DIY your books. Maybe you are trying to start a business out of your garage or home office. Maybe you have such a low transaction level that you can get away with only doing bookkeeping one or two days a week.
As soon as your bookkeeping starts getting in the way of what you need to be doing as CEO, though, it’s time to consider getting some help.
And, if you need financial statements for lenders or investors, an accountant or bookkeeper can prepare those for you.
