Accounting Services Questions?
We work with clients exclusively using Quickbooks Online. Focusing on one accounting software platform allows us to focus and hone expertise, though we have nothing against other accounting software!
We also integrate with third party apps for invoicing, bill pay and management, and receipt wrangling. Our general philosophy is to design efficacious systems, meaning, the solution that will be most elegant and effective for your particular context.
We are experts at bookkeeping and finance, however we leave the taxes to our CPA partners. Bookkeeping and accounting (what we do) and Tax Planning & Filing are two different, yet crucial pieces of your businesses financial support: A good accountant will take the data and information that your bookkeeper compiles to file your taxes and support your business with a tax strategy. As bookkeepers, we will work seamlessly with your accountant, and can make recommendations for an excellent accountant if you need one. Our bookkeeping clients find that they pay their accountants less per year, and their tax filing process is much less stressful. We've helped multiple clients file without extensions for the first time in years. However, we do file sales tax for clients.
If you've only ever taken care of your books once a year for tax time, or had your accountant doing them for you, you are missing out on the power of being informed about the financial aspects of your business on a regular basis.
We've written more about the differences between accountants and bookkeepers here.
While we work with many different kinds of businesses and organizations, we specialize in working with folks with complex business models, multiple revenue streams, and creative folks with growing businesses that need outside the box problem solvers in charge of their books. We have experience in doing sales tax in almost every state and work with clients with job costing and project costing needs. We are the best fit for businesses with annual revenues over 250K.
We also have expertise in alternative business models and folks that incorporate mutual aide and other types of redistribution and equity in their models. If your business works to change the status quo, doesn't fit into the old ways of doing business (ie, a sole purpose of make owners lots of wealth), we can be a great partner for you.
Learn more about our client experience and who we've worked with here.
( PS: Here is a shortlist of types of businesses we're not a great fit for: real estate & builders; the medical field; restaurants & bars; law firms; tech startups. We also generally aren't the best fit for freelancers or folks that are still figuring out their business model while in start up phase. )
We bill on a monthly retainer model. The amount depends on the size and complexity of your business. Our core accounting services start at $600 per month; for businesses with annual revenues over $750-800K services start at $1000 a month.
We also offer enhanced forward-looking and advisory services integrated with bookkeeping. Those services start at $1500 a month and include forward projections and quarterly or monthly meetings with Kate Tyson, Wanderwell's strategist and consultation.
After our intro call, we'll be able to send you a quote. All clients can also expect a one-time set up fee at the beginning of our work together. Any catch up or clean up work is quoted separately after we assess your books.
Yep! For most of our new clients we end up doing a bit to a lot of clean up. It's pretty normal to have fallen behind if you're an owner who has been doing your own books, and even if you've hired other help, we'll often do a bit of sprucing up to ensure your financials are in Wanderwell-level shape.
We do a comprehensive audit of every new client's books; after we start working together, you'll receive a report with a detailed outline on what we'd like to update and catch up, if needed, with a quote and timelines.
As part of getting started, we will also customize your chart of accounts and financial reports. We will make recommendations for systems upgrades and processes that integrate into our cloud-based approach.
No, we do not teach bookkeeping, though we are always happy to show clients how to pull reports, create invoices, and have a resource database of accounting basics.
For those that want to learn how, we recommend looking into online courses.
Our bookkeeping team is happy to advise around best practices, help you understand reports, and explain what's happening with your numbers; Wanderwell's Founder & Director Kate Tyson offers strategic consulting and advisement around team & business growth, projections and business health, and creating equitable and justice-oriented business models. If you're interested, we can chat about it on our intro call. Read more about consulting services here.
Yup! We work remotely with all of our clients, and can conduct meetings over phone and video calls. As long as you have internet, you can work from your snowsuit in Antarctica** and we can still keep your books.
**We work with U.S. based companies, but far-flung remote work and travels are no barrier.