FAQs

How do we get started?

Call or email our office to schedule a complimentary teleconference to discuss your
specific needs.

Determine the kind of service you want – Virtual Accounting Office™, personal bill pay
or bookkeeping.

Standard agreements are available for Virtual Accounting Office™ and personal bill pay.
Bookkeeping services clients will receive an engagement letter that includes a list of the specific services needed. Optional services for bookkeeping clients include filing
sales tax reports and payroll reports, if needed.

An accounting associate who is skilled at accounting for your specific industry will be assigned to your account.

What is the best way to communicate with my accounting associate?

Email is the best way to relay instructions or request information from your accounting
associate. You will also have her cell phone number for immediate service. In addition, you can contact CEO Carolyn@TheAccountantsOffice.biz at any time. Your peace of mind is our primary concern.

When you are paying my bills, how does it work?

All your bills, except for invoices for inventory purchases, will have the billing address
changed to our post office box. We will send a form to your vendors to achieve this.
Fax inventory invoices to us for payment after confirming that the merchandise was received.

What if I want my bills to come direct to me?

You can receive your bills and then fax them to us for payment. Please note that if you select this option we can not guarantee that your bills will always be paid by the due date.

What if I want to review bills prior to payment being issued?

Just tell us that and your accounting associate will forward all bills to you for approval prior to payment. Please note that if you select this option we can not guarantee that your bills will always be paid by the due date.

What if my payments are processed late and I incur late fees and penalties?

If we have received the invoice direct from the vendor, we will pay any late fees and penalties. If you have faxed the invoice to us within one week of the due date, that will not allow sufficient time for timely processing. In that case, you are responsible for late fees and penalties.

How will your service impact our credit rating?

Many of our clients find that their credit scores increase after they start using our bill pay
service because payments are received on time.  Please note that we do not do credit counseling.

Do you help with budget planning?

Depending on how we design your Chart of Accounts, after you have used our service for
a while you will have historical data on which to base a budget. If you are looking
for someone to assist you forming a budget, we can refer you to someone who can
help you do that.

Do you do debt consolidation?

No. In fact, we can’t work with any business or individuals who are contractually past
due on their bills. This is a separable and highly regulated industry for which we
are not licensed.

What do you mean by “reconcile the Balance Sheet”?

Most people recognize the importance of reconciling their bank accounts, but other
accounts on your balance sheet should be reconciled monthly. These include, but
are not limited to, loan and credit card accounts, sales tax and payroll tax payable, 401K contributions, etc. Support for all balance sheet items is provided to your CPA at year-end for preparation of your income tax return.

What do you mean by “trend report”?

A trend report shows income and expense by month on the same report. At the end of a fiscal year, you will be able to see all 12 months side by side as well as a total column for the year. This is very helpful in cash flow planning and asset acquisition.

What is on the annual tax support CD?

Every spring our business and personal bill pay clients receive a CD with supporting
documentation for their income tax return. It will include any 1099s and W2s
that we have received as well as copies of all your bank statements, bank
statement reconciliation reports, bills that have been paid, financial reports, sales
tax reports, payroll reports, etc.

How will you work with my CPA?

We would be happy to work with your CPA to be sure that your Chart of Accounts is set
up the way that they prefer. We will provide the necessary information needed for
tax planning and preparation of your income tax return. We will provide them
with the QuickBooks file and their own user name and password. We will also
provide all the tax support information as well as support for the reconciled
balance sheet. Note: while we have CPAs on our team, we are not tax experts and
will not give advice in that area. We respectfully request that you take all tax
related questions to your CPA. We will gladly implement their recommendations.

What if I have been using a Quicken or QuickBooks file?

If you have a QuickBooks file already, send us a portable company file to use in setting up your file with us.

If you have been using Quicken, send us a backup file. We can convert it to QuickBooks. In either case, we will need to know the administrator password.