Do you handle bookkeeping too, or just tax preparation once a year?

Illustrative — not a real business

Bookkeeping is the ongoing process of recording transactions, reconciling accounts and keeping your financial records current throughout the year; tax preparation is the once-a-year process of turning a full year's financial picture into an accurate tax return — they are related but genuinely different services, and doing one well does not require the other. If we only see a client once a year for tax preparation with no bookkeeping relationship, we are working from whatever records they hand us in March, often after months of transactions that were never properly categorized, which means real tax-saving opportunities identified mid-year, like a well-timed equipment purchase or a retirement contribution, are already missed by the time we see the full picture. We do offer monthly bookkeeping alongside tax preparation, and the two working together lets us flag planning opportunities as the year unfolds rather than only after it has already ended, which is the single biggest advantage over a tax-only relationship. For a business with any meaningful transaction volume, monthly bookkeeping is usually well worth the added monthly cost compared to a rushed, once-a-year reconstruction of a full year's records — but for a very simple business with minimal activity, tax preparation alone can still be entirely sufficient, and we will tell you honestly which category your business falls into.