Well, now tax season is finally over! San Francisco As one of San Francisco’s favorite boutique agencies, we get a lot of requests “in panic” before tax season hits from busy San Francisco business owners. They want or need a business tax service. Often times, they’re unhappy with their current accountant or CPA, and come to us in December, January, or even February, looking for a “second opinion” and ultimately a “new” CPA firm to help them with their tax preparation. Now that tax season is over they can sigh a sigh of relief (and so can we). But, as accountants, we like to “be organized” and not operate in “panic mode.”

So, as it’s May, 2017, let’s look at some issues surrounding businesses in San Francisco and their tax preparation needs.

  • Bookkeeping. You’ll need a good bookkeeper (in house) or a good bookkeeping service (outside). We can help you find a bookkeeper who can help your small business throughout the year to stay “on top” of your books. That will make tax preparation for 2017 easy!
  • Outsourced CFO Services. If you’re a startup or a more substantial business (too big for an outside bookkeeper but too small to have a full time CFO), we can help. We operate as a San Francisco Chief Financial Officer for many businesses. They get the savvy advice of a tax professional without the full cost of a full-time employee. Let us know if this interests you and we can work on an arrangement.
  • Employee Relations. Many San Francisco businesses compensate their employees with stock options (especially startups). We can help you with employee relations if that is something that interests you. Others need retirement plans and profit-sharing plans. We can help you (and your employees) to minimize the tax bite of these sorts of things.
  • Tax Planning. However your 2016 taxes sorted out, we can usually do better. We know taxes and the tax laws, and we can work with you on a plan for your business and your employees to minimize the tax bite for 2017. Of course, the laws are changing (but we keep an eye on that), so we can work together to do everything legally possible to minimize your taxes.

Beyond taxes, we can also help with audited financials. Many businesses either apply for a loan from a bank, or do business with a larger entity like the City of San Francisco. If you need audited financial statements, we can help with that, too. Now that tax season is “over,” it’s time to plan ahead!