A: For sure! Training is one of our strong points. It is tailored to your specific needs. We are keen to help owners, not only in getting comfortable in using the software, but in understanding the most useful of the extensive reports available. Too often these reports remain a mystery to owners but once understood, they can help tremendously in making your business better, improving any weak areas, improving cash flow and growing profits.

A: An important point of distinction is that we are entirely flexible about the arrangements made for billing. Many clients are comfortable with hourly billing based on the work performed each month. We do not do the fixed “silver-gold-platinum” monthly plans offered by some bookkeepers, but will work with you on a set monthly budget amount if you prefer based on the needs of your business as you see them.

If you haven’t done so already, wait until after we have had the first talk. We can get you the software at a reduced subscription cost in many cases and ensure you are getting the right Quickbooks options and any apps you might want.

A: The easiest way is to call or text me, Brenda Stagg at 905-466-8959. Alternatively you can send us a request for a free phone consultation by filling in this web form on the contact us page.

A: Yes, we can prepare HST submission reports, WSIB reports,and your employee payroll as well. In addition we do financial statements and reporting, bank and credit card reconciliation, receivables and payables reports, prepare useful reports relating to cash flow or industry benchmarking, etc. You determine what it is that we can do to best assist you in operating your business. We find no two clients are exactly alike and each business deserves a custom response from us. After all, we see ourselves as playing an important support role on your business management team.

A: With technology and more auditors Revenue Canada has a greater ability to track HST collected and HST input tax credits. Audits are becoming very commonplace and not understanding the rules is not a defence. We can help you with compliance by getting better systems in place and clearing up late or missed filings.

A: No, we do not do taxes, personal or corporate. We think it is better to have a tax specialist (your accountant) do tax filings and have us work with you throughout the year on your books. We understand tax issues though. We work closely with many accountants and will work with yours if you have one. If you don’t have an accountant, we can recommend some whom we have grown  to respect so that you can choose one who can best serve your needs for tax preparation and financial advice.

A: The best time to do this is at the very start. You might think you can save some money by doing the bookkeeping yourself while you are small, but it is more likely that you will spend time trying to figure out the bookkeeping when you should really be spending your time working on your new business. Having us set-up your books right the first time will save you countless headaches and costs later on.

You need a chart of accounts to track expenses, asset costs and income specific to your business, and a way to bill your customers at minimum. Need someone to talk with about when to register for HST or how to pay yourself, or any new employees? Have you decided to incorporate your business? Have you determined the share structure in your new business?  Taking on partners? We can help point you in the right direction for advice from legal and CPA accounting professionals.

A: It is nice if we can meet face-to-face, but that isn’t always possible. The beauty of Cloud Accounting is that it is accessible wherever you are. We can both look at the same image on our computers or mobile phone screens even if we are on different continents and talk it over. Typically, we meet new clients in person first to discuss setting things up. After that it can be very paperless and you may not feel a pressing need to meet, being happy to communicate by email, text and phone, and by sharing documents through services such as DropBox, ShareFile, Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive.

Not saying we’re at all unsociable, but we have made the old system of regularly handing over wads of paper disappear for our clients. But it would nice to meet together for a cup of coffee sometimes!

A: It may be tempting to simply do you own books on an Excel spreadsheet or other manual method. However you should consider a proper cloud accounting system, which need not be expensive. Compliance with HST, avoiding audits, and presenting a clean set of books for tax filing will save time and cost long-term. Why not discuss your situation with us?

A: Yes, we have converted companies from other desktop based systems. The easiest is QuickBooks Desktop but we also convert from Sage, Simply Accounting and others. The cost often is minimal and depends on the complexities of each business.

A: There are many examples but let’s look at the most popular app we support – Receipt Bank. With it you simply use a smartphone to take a picture of your receipts. It reads the details and taxes paid. These get posted to Quickbooks automatically. The scan is attached to QuickBooks providing a record in case of an audit. You can throw away the paper copy – no more shoeboxes of receipts! It learns too, it “gets smarter” each time used it and will match up the receipt to the right account each time.

Other apps enable lower cost email transfers of money in Canada and USA, pay employees, accept credit and debit cards on your phone, go paperless with bills and invoices and much more, all integrated with QuickBooks Online.

A: Congrats on growing your business beyond our borders! With QuickBooks Online you you can easily pay or receive payments in US dollars, British pounds, Euros and more. With the multiple-currency feature enabled in QBO it will automatically update exchange rates every four hours, ensuring you have accurate exchange rates for each transaction.

A: We would love to try and answer your question. So give Brenda Stagg a call at 905-466-8959 or send in the contact form here.