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- Year-Round Help, Not Just Tax Season
- Nonprofit & Church Specialists
The best time to set up your books is before the first sale. The second best time is now. Fixing a bad system later always costs more than building a good one at the start. We design a simple accounting system for Cincinnati businesses, churches and nonprofits that fits how you take in money and pay bills, and set it up so it is easy to keep up every week.
When You Need Accounting System Setup
Most clients come to us at a turning point. You just formed an LLC or got your EIN. A new church or charity is opening its first bank account. Your spreadsheet stopped working once you hired help. A new treasurer or office manager is taking over and nobody wrote down how things were done. Or you just finished a bookkeeping cleanup and do not want to fall behind again.
If any of that sounds like you, set the system up now. Every month on a weak system is another month of entries someone will have to fix later.
Our Accounting System Setup Process
We start by learning how money moves through your business: how customers pay you, how you pay bills, and who touches the money. Then we build a chart of accounts, which is the list of categories every dollar gets sorted into. We match those categories to the lines on your tax return, so year-end is simple.
Next we set up how bank and card activity comes in, how receipts get saved, and who approves what. We set the system up in QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Desktop. If you have staff, we add payroll to the system too. Some Ohio school districts levy their own income tax, and employers have to withhold it for workers who live in those districts, so each employee’s district goes into the system on day one. After that you can keep the books yourself or hand them to us each month, and your questions are always welcome.
Cash or Accrual: Picking Your Method
One early choice is your accounting method. Under the cash method, you count income when you get paid and expenses when you pay them. Under the accrual method, you count them when they are earned or owed, no matter when the money moves. Most small businesses use cash, but some, like many that carry inventory, may need accrual. The IRS explains the rules in its publication on accounting periods and methods. We help you pick the one that fits, because changing later can take IRS paperwork.
Accounting System Setup Cost in Cincinnati
Cost depends on the size of the job. A one-person business with one bank account is quick. A business with several accounts, staff on payroll, or old records to bring into the new system takes longer. Nonprofits that track restricted gifts by fund need more setup. We tell you the fee up front.
Why Choose Us for Accounting System Setup
We have prepared tax returns in Cincinnati since 1993, so we set up your books to land cleanly on your return. We have long designed and installed accounting systems for churches and nonprofits, so we know how to build one a volunteer treasurer can keep up. You can meet us on North Bend Road or do the whole thing online.
Once the system is running, our Cincinnati bookkeeping and reconciliation work can take it from there.
Common Questions
Can a volunteer treasurer keep up with the system?
Yes. Many churches and small nonprofits run on volunteers, so we keep the system simple and focused on the few tasks they do every week, like recording gifts, paying bills and matching the bank statement.
Do I need a separate bank account for my business?
Yes. Keeping business and personal money apart is the single biggest thing you can do to keep your books clean, and it makes your tax return far easier to prove.