Question 1

What are the benefits of hiring a bookkeeper?

Accepted Answer

Bookkeeping gives you the clarity and confidence to know your business numbers inside and out, so you can focus on the other parts of your business that you truly love.

Bookkeeping is like a GPS for your business; it helps you know where you are and where you're headed financially. By tracking income, expenses, and other financial transactions, you make it way easier to understand your business's health and to make informed, creative decisions about where your business is going.

Question 2

What makes SmartBird Solutions different from other bookkeepers?

Accepted Answer

Our warm, collaborative  approach with our clients.  If you work with us, you will never feel condescended to,  and one of our informal mottos is "there are no dumb questions" here!  We are a boutique bookkeeping firm which takes a personalized, tailored approach to each of our clients. I pride myself on being accessible and easy to talk to-ready to chat and break down your reports into plain English so you really understand what's going on.

I'm a bookkeeper who loves to organize everything.  This means your finances will always be meticulously managed and (lovingly) organized into well-designed reports.   We specialize in bringing clarity and organization to your business books in a friendly, non-judgmental way.

Speed and efficiency are my middle names, so you will  get your books at the end of the month while your numbers are still fresh and current.  Plus, I’m relentless when it comes to digging deep to solve any discrepancies in your financial data. 
With me, you get more than just a bookkeeper—you get a financial ally who’s invested in helping you understand and grow your business.

Question 3

My books are terrible! Do I need to do anything before I hand them over?

Accepted Answer

Nope! This is part of the reason you hire a Bookkeeper- to organize and clean up your books so you don't have to! We understand this is part of the process and we are here to help and take that job off of your hands.

Question 4

What do you need from me to take care of my books?

Accepted Answer

We will discuss this thoroughly as part of the onboarding process, but in general, we will work together to get online access to all of your banks credit cards, PayPal, your invoicing and payroll systems in a way that keeps your data secure. This allows us to work efficiently every month and avoids us having to constantly bother you for data or information that is available on these platforms.

Question 5

What can I expect from the monthly bookkeeping process?

Accepted Answer

Once your books have been set up, we will maintain them monthly. At month end, we will pull all of your statements and reports and will categorize all of your transactions and reconcile all of your balances. You may hear from us with questions or clarifications before we compile your financial reports.

We will send them to you monthly with highlights and explanations of your numbers so you really understand what’s happening in your business. Depending on your unique business, there may be other bookkeeping tasks (like AR & AP) that we take care of for you- and we would discuss this at our initial consultation.

Question 6

Do I need bookkeeping software?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you will need to purchase a monthly subscription, but it’s perfectly fine if you don’t have it already. Part of our onboarding process is getting you set up with the software.  Some clients like to use the software all the time, and some don’t touch it at all and just leave it to us!

Our preferred bookkeeping software is Xero. You can choose to pay for the subscription yourself or SmartBird Solutions will pay for it and you can have it added to your monthly fee. (Anywhere from $20-40/month

Question 7

What about the cost?

Accepted Answer

Our monthly packages start at $325 per month. If you have many months of books that need to be caught up, there may be a one-time set-up fee in addition to the monthly charge.

There are some situations, where clients are interested in having their books done quarterly instead of monthly. You are still charged a monthly fee, but only will receive quarterly reports. The quarterly  fee starts at $275 per month.

Question 8

Do you do taxes?

Accepted Answer

No, we do not. But we will deliver beautiful, clean, tax-ready books to your accountant!

Tax-time won’t be full of stress and worry, but will be simple and easy. Of course, we are available to answer any questions your accountant has about your business books.

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