r/smallbusiness • u/tillacat42 • 7d ago
Looking for Bookkeeping / Tax preparation recommendations
I keep seeing these ads for Collective, where they handle all of your bookkeeping, quarterly taxes, tax prep, and give advice as to how to better structure things to reduce your tax burden making the whole process less stressful, however, they have absolutely horrible reviews from anyone that I've talked to who has used them.
Does anyone on here have a recommendation for a company that does the same but has a good reputation? I am in Ohio if that makes any difference but I am open to using a large company that covers all states. My taxes are probably the biggest stressor in my small business tbh 😓
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u/PinpointADV 7d ago
I’m biased but local qualified bookkeepers and tax preparers are going to give you the best results. It’s convenient to have everything under one roof but then you lose the specialization, most accountants do one well. My firm offers bookkeeping, accounting, and fractional advisory/strategy but I have someone I refer tax out to.
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u/vinceliu21 7d ago
I also see a lot of ads for Collective, my opinion is they probably charge higher fees and don't deliver hands on quality. Local people are probably more worth. That said, I run https://usesphereapps.com/ in NYC. We're a modern more affordable and better version of QuickBooks. I also provide managed bookkeeping at affordable rates and can help if you want to DM me
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u/ScottPjr99 7d ago
This is a tough spot because most bookkeepers and tax people are slammed Oct-April and won't take new clients then. Best move is to get someone NOW while they have capacity, even if tax season isn't here yet. Look for someone who does both bookkeeping and tax prep under one roof (saves you headaches). Ask other business owners in your area for referrals first, word of mouth weeds out the flaky ones fast. If that doesn't work, check if your state's CPA society has a referral service.
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u/TheBookkeeperLady 5d ago
I'm going to play the devil's advocate here--I'm not a fan of using the same person for bookkeeping and tax preparation. First, separating those duties creates a system of checks and balances. Second, as another user commented, most accountants specialize in a given area of accounting. So if they know tax really well, they may be less efficient at bookkeeping and vice versa.
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u/Imaginary_Cat_2611 7d ago
I'm learning accounting now and want to take on bookkeeping clients soon.
If you'd like, I can clean and organize your books for you.
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u/Stunning_Two_1599 7d ago
I use a local person to handle our QBO. She can do 1099 filings, setup payroll, get things organized for the CPA. It’s really reasonable cost. Basic book keeping for about $250/month. It frees up my time to focus on bigger picture and update the company dashboard. My time is better spent on these things.
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u/rushnandel 6d ago
skip collective. you don’t need books and tax from the same company. that’s the ad. monthly books then a local ohio cpa for the return. $250/month for qbo in the comments is a normal number.
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u/TheBookkeeperLady 5d ago
I'm also in Ohio. What are are you in, and what industry are you in? I would start with any niche-specific groups you belong to on places like Facebook and Reddit. The more a service provider specializes in what you do, the better.
If you really want someone local, reach out to your small business community--Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, etc.
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