Small Business Accounting · Redding, CA
One CPA for your whole financial picture.Entity setup to year-end close.
Most small businesses piece together their accounting from multiple sources — a bookkeeper here, a tax preparer there, a payroll service somewhere else, and nobody coordinating between them. Susan handles the accounting function as a whole so nothing falls through the cracks between providers.
- CA License #96754
- Full-service accounting — one provider
- CA License #96754
- Full-service accounting — one provider
- Serving Shasta County since 2007
SB
Small Business Owner
Fragmented accounting setup
Before
Entity structure reviewed
Never
Chart of accounts
Generic defaults
Tax prep + books coordinated
Different providers
Year-end close
Scramble every April
After Susan
One CPA, complete picture
Books, taxes, and structure — all aligned.
The distinction
Bookkeeping keeps the records. Accounting runs the business.
Bookkeeping and accounting are related but they’re not the same thing. Most small businesses have the first — and stop there. That leaves a significant gap in what the owner actually knows about their own finances.
- Bookkeeping alone records transactions. Someone enters the data and reconciles the accounts. That’s necessary, but it doesn’t tell you whether your entity structure is costing you taxes, whether your chart of accounts makes sense for your business, or what your financials mean to a lender.
- Multiple disconnected providers. A bookkeeper who doesn’t talk to your tax preparer. A tax preparer who doesn’t know your business. A payroll service that generates forms nobody reviews. Each piece exists but they don’t work together.
- Compliance gaps nobody owns. Sales tax registration, 1099 filing, annual report requirements, entity elections — these fall through when no single advisor is responsible for the full picture. You find out about them when the penalty notice arrives.
Full-service small business accounting means one licensed CPA is responsible for the whole accounting function — from the structure of the entity to the close of the year.
30+
Years in accounting
2007
Licensed CPA
100%
Worked directly with Susan
What fragmented accounting costs
- Wrong entity structure paying thousands more in self-employment tax than necessary
- Chart of accounts that can’t produce meaningful management reports for decisions
- Sales tax penalties from operating in a taxable state without registration
- 1099 filing errors or omissions that trigger IRS backup withholding notices
- Year-end financials that aren’t bankable because no CPA signed off on the preparation
“The most expensive accounting mistake is usually the one nobody knew was happening.”
What’s included
The full accounting function, handled by one licensed CPA.
Small business accounting isn’t bookkeeping with more steps — it’s a fundamentally different scope. Susan handles the whole accounting relationship: structure, systems, compliance, and reporting, coordinated as one service.
- Entity structure review and planning — LLC, S-corp, partnership, or sole proprietor. Susan evaluates whether your current structure is optimized for tax efficiency and advises on elections and conversions when the math warrants it.
- Chart of accounts design built for your actual business — not the QuickBooks default. The right structure makes your financials meaningful for management decisions, not just compliant for filing.
- Monthly bookkeeping and reconciliation as the foundation — accounts reconciled, transactions categorized correctly, and books closed each month to a standard Susan is willing to sign off on.
- Year-end close and compiled financial statements prepared and reviewed by a licensed CPA. Suitable for lender submissions, partnership agreements, and other third-party requirements.
- Sales tax compliance — registration, returns, and nexus analysis for California and any other states where your business has taxable activity.
- 1099 preparation and filing for contractors and vendors, with a review of your vendor list each year to identify who should be receiving a form.
- Tax preparation integrated — entity return and owner personal return prepared by the same CPA who kept the books. No translation layer, no handoff errors, no surprises at filing time.
- Payroll coordination — Susan works with your payroll provider or handles payroll setup and oversight, ensuring W-2s, 940s, and 941s are consistent with the books.
Best for
- Established businesses that have outgrown basic bookkeeping and need full accounting support
- LLCs and S-corps where the entity structure hasn’t been revisited since formation
- Business owners currently using multiple providers with no one coordinating between them
- Companies needing CPA-prepared financials for a bank, a partner, or an investor
- Businesses with sales tax obligations in California or other states that aren’t being managed
How this differs from bookkeeping
Bookkeeping records what happened. Small business accounting includes entity structure, compliance, year-end close, CPA-prepared financials, and full tax integration — all handled by the same licensed CPA.
Bookkeeping vs. Accounting vs. Full-Service.
Most businesses start with bookkeeping. Some need accounting. A few need both — plus strategic advisory. Here’s how to know which level fits where you are.
Foundation
Bookkeeping
- Monthly reconciliation
- Transaction categorization
- Monthly P&L & balance sheet
- Entity structure review
- Chart of accounts design
- Year-end CPA close
- Sales tax compliance
- 1099 filing
- Tax prep integrated
This service
Small Business Accounting
- Monthly reconciliation
- Transaction categorization
- Monthly P&L & balance sheet
- Entity structure review
- Chart of accounts design
- Year-end CPA close
- Sales tax compliance
- 1099 filing
- Tax prep integrated
Full picture
Accounting + CFO Advisory
- Everything in accounting
- Cash flow forecasting
- Budgeting & variance analysis
- Pricing & margin modeling
- Monthly strategy call
- Exit & succession planning
- Learn about CFO Advisory
Why it matters who does this
Accounting touches every part of the business. It should be done by one person who knows all of it.
When your bookkeeper, tax preparer, and entity advisor are all different people who don’t communicate, things fall through the gaps. Susan handles all of it — which means the entity structure, the books, the compliance, and the tax return are all built on the same foundation.
Entity structure and taxes are inseparable
The difference between a single-member LLC and an S-corp election can be tens of thousands of dollars per year in self-employment tax. Susan evaluates this at the start of the engagement and revisits it as the business grows — not as a one-time setup question.
Year-end financials prepared by the person who kept the books
When a CPA who kept the books all year prepares the year-end close, there’s no translation problem. The numbers are clean, the statements are accurate, and the tax return reflects how the year actually went — without a reconciliation scramble in March.
Compliance is tracked, not reactive
Sales tax deadlines, 1099 due dates, entity annual reports, payroll deposit schedules — Susan tracks these as part of the engagement. You don’t find out you’re late from a penalty notice.
You always work directly with Susan
This is a solo CPA practice. The same person who sets up your chart of accounts also closes your books at year-end and signs your tax return. No handoffs, no account managers, no junior staff doing the actual work.
Flat-fee accounting
One fee. Full scope.
Monthly retainer
Covers bookkeeping, compliance tracking, and CPA oversight. Fixed fee based on volume and complexity.
Year-end & tax filing
Entity return and personal return prepared by the same CPA. Included or separately quoted depending on scope.
No hourly surprises
Questions, compliance checks, and mid-year advice don’t generate separate invoices.
How it starts, from first call to a
functioning accounting system.
No generic onboarding questionnaire. Here’s what actually happens when you engage Susan for small business accounting.
01
A free 30-minute accounting review call
You describe the business — entity type, current accounting setup, how far the books are, what compliance you’re managing and what you’re not sure about. Susan asks direct questions and gives you an honest read on what’s working and what’s missing.
02
System review and structure assessment
Susan reviews your current books, entity documents, and prior-year returns. She identifies gaps — in the chart of accounts, in the entity structure, in compliance — and prioritizes what needs to be addressed first vs. what can be built into an ongoing engagement.
03
Scope agreed and systems built right
Based on the review, Susan proposes a flat monthly fee and outlines what’s included. If the chart of accounts needs rebuilding or the books need catch-up, that’s handled as part of the initial setup before the ongoing engagement begins.
04
Full accounting relationship begins
Monthly close, compliance calendar managed, year-end preparation started from day one — not in March. You stop managing multiple accounting providers and start working with one CPA who knows your whole financial picture.
Common questions about
small business accounting.
What’s the actual difference between this and bookkeeping?
Bookkeeping is the recording function — reconciling accounts, categorizing transactions, delivering monthly reports. Small business accounting includes all of that and adds: entity structure review, chart of accounts design, year-end CPA close, compiled financial statements, sales tax compliance, 1099 filing, and tax return preparation — all handled by the same licensed CPA. It’s the difference between having someone keep your records and having someone run your accounting function.
Should I be an LLC or an S-corp?
It depends on your net profit. A single-member LLC pays self-employment tax on 100% of net profit. An S-corp election lets owners split income between salary and distributions, which can reduce self-employment tax significantly — but it adds administrative requirements (payroll, corporate return, reasonable salary documentation). Susan evaluates this as part of every new engagement and makes a specific recommendation based on your actual numbers, not a generic rule.
Do I need to worry about sales tax?
If you sell taxable goods or services in California, yes. California sales tax compliance is one of the most common gaps Susan finds in new clients — especially businesses that started small, assumed they weren’t big enough to register, and then crossed the threshold without realizing it. Penalties for late registration and back-filing can be significant. Susan handles registration, return filing, and nexus analysis as part of the accounting engagement.
What kind of financial statements do you prepare?
Susan prepares compiled financial statements — P&L, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows — suitable for most lender requirements, lease applications, and partnership agreements. These are CPA-prepared and carry her name and license number. If a bank or investor requires reviewed or audited financials, Susan will advise you on that distinction upfront.
Do I need to be in Redding to work with Susan?
No. Susan serves clients in person across Shasta County — Redding, Anderson, Shasta Lake, Palo Cedro, Cottonwood — and works with small businesses across California remotely. Most ongoing accounting work happens virtually: shared access to accounts, monthly report delivery, compliance filings handled electronically. In-person meetings are available for local clients.
